Frequently Asked Questions

1. Understanding Coaching

1.1 What is coaching, and how does it differ from mentoring, consulting, or therapy?

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential“.

Coaching is a partnership that focuses on where you are now, what you want to achieve, and how to get there. It is future-oriented, with the coach challenging and supporting the client while the client is responsible for finding their own answers and creating their own solutions.

Coaching differs from other forms of support:

Mentoring involves a more experienced person providing guidance, advice, and skill development, often based on their own experience.
Consulting focuses on solving business problems, where the consultant provides expertise, evaluates issues, and designs solutions.
Therapy addresses past experiences and emotional challenges that may be affecting the present, aiming to promote healing and well-being.
Coaching is not about giving advice; it’s about helping you think differently, take action, and achieve your goals in a way that works best for you.

If you’d like to see real examples of the impact coaching can have, take a look at our success stories. They highlight the powerful transformations our clients have achieved!

1.2 How do life, professional, and executive coaching differ, and which do you offer?

Coaching can focus on different aspects of life and work. Life coaching helps individuals improve personal well-being and relationships. Professional coaching focuses on career growth and workplace success. Executive coaching is designed for senior leaders looking to enhance their leadership impact.

We offer professional and executive coaching, with a strong focus on delivering tangible business results that justify the investment in coaching. That said, there is a strong relationship between all three types of coaching. You can only achieve outstanding professional success if what you do aligns with who you are and what truly matters to you.

True success isn’t just about performance at work—it comes from maintaining balance across four key areas: mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. When these areas are aligned, clients can fully focus their energy on achieving exceptional professional and leadership results—and that’s where real transformation happens.

That’s why our coaching takes a holistic approach, ensuring that clients have the energy, clarity, and resilience needed to excel in their careers.

1.3 How do I know if coaching is right for me?

Coaching is for people who are committed to growth and always looking for ways to improve. If you challenge yourself, seek feedback, and are open to stepping outside your comfort zone, coaching can help you achieve more. It’s for those who want to reach their full potential, not just settle for “good enough.”

Coaching is valuable at any career stage, whether you’re in a junior role, mid-level, or an executive. No matter your experience level, if you want to grow, develop new skills, and achieve better results, coaching will be a great fit.

1.4 What benefits can I expect from coaching?

Coaching accelerates your ability to gain deeper insights, make better decisions, and deliver stronger results; faster than you would on your own. Senior leaders are constantly pulled in different directions, leaving little time to step back and solve complex challenges strategically. Coaching creates that space, helping you cut through the noise and focus on what truly drives impact.

Coaching doesn’t just bring clarity, it delivers real results and tangible benefits. Many clients see financial growth (promotions, higher earnings, better decisions). Coaching also helps you reclaim time by optimizing priorities and working more effectively and efficiently.

And on a more personal level, coaching increases confidence, fulfillment, and engagement while reducing stress and self-doubt.

Don’t just take our word for it, see how coaching has transformed others by exploring our testimonials and success stories.

1.5 How long does it take to see results?

Many clients start noticing shifts in their thinking and behavior after just a few sessions. One of the first changes they often experience is a reduction in anxiety and stress levels.

Often, clients have long been aware (at a deep level) of challenges they need to work on but didn’t know how to approach them. When they realize they are finally making progress on these issues, it brings relief and creates a sense of momentum. This shift alone can open up mental space, reduce stress, and create a sense of clarity early in the process.

As coaching continues, clients work on applying new behaviors, reinforcing insights, and solidifying lasting changes. While progress can certainly be seen within 3 months, a typical coaching engagement lasts 4 to 8 months to ensure that new behaviors become habits, allowing for sustained personal and professional growth.

1.6 What happens in a typical coaching session?

Before each session, you should take time to reflect on your coaching goals, recent progress, and the topic you want to work on. At the beginning of each session, we set a clear objective for that particular session that captures the outcome you want from this conversation. This coaching agreement ensures we stay focused and can pivot as needed to help you reach that outcome.

During the session, we combine support and challenge to create a safe space for open discussion, while also pushing you to step outside your comfort zone. The role of the coach is not to solve your problems but to help you change how you see them. Often, what seemed like a barrier turns out to be just a matter of perspective. Instead of figuring out how to climb over a wall, you might realize you can simply walk around it.

We always close each coaching session by taking ownership of next steps. Coaching is about progress, and a session without action is meaningless. We also identify potential obstacles that could slow you down and strategize ways to navigate them.

1.7 What does a full typical coaching engagement look like

In our coaching practice, we use a proven approach that is both structured and flexible, and that is designed to accelerate your progress and create lasting transformation.

A coaching engagement starts with defining your goals, challenges, and desired outcomes, which we capture in a structured action plan. This plan outlines what you want to achieve, why it matters, and how success will be measured, providing a clear path for the coaching process. The first 2–3 sessions focus on gaining clarity and setting this foundation.

From there, we move into bi-weekly coaching sessions where we tackle real-world situations and challenges that bring you closer to your goals. Throughout the engagement, we provide tools such as self-assessments, 360-degree feedback, and practical resources to support your growth. Each session is recorded and transcribed, allowing you to revisit key insights, reinforce learning, and prepare for the next session.

Every quarter, we conduct a review to assess your progress, new insights, and skill development. At the end of the coaching engagement, we reflect on your growth, evaluate goal achievement, and explore next steps if desired.

1.8 How confidential are coaching sessions?

Confidentiality is of the utmost importance in coaching. As a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), we are bound by strict ethical guidelines that ensure all coaching conversations remain fully confidential. The only exceptions are if a client discloses an intent to break the law or harm themselves, in which case we are legally required to take action. You can find the ICF Code of Ethics here.

Confidentiality is especially important when a company is sponsoring coaching for an employee. In these cases, we may be required to share general coaching topics or logistical details (such as the number of sessions or scheduling information). However, we will never disclose the content of our conversations—not even in response to a seemingly casual question like, “How is it going?” Instead, we direct all inquiries back to the client.

This commitment to privacy is what creates a safe, trusted environment where you can speak openly about your challenges, emotions, and goals without fear of judgment or external influence.

1.9 What makes your coaching approach different from others?

Marcel’s coaching combines 30+ years of consulting experience, a structured yet deeply empathetic approach, and a powerful coaching framework backed by professional training.

Having worked across industries with professionals at all levels, Marcel understands what it takes to succeed in corporate life. His mechanical engineering background makes him methodical and solution-oriented, while his Dutch directness helps him get to the core of issues with kindness and respect. Clients often say his ability to listen deeply makes them feel truly heard.

What truly elevated his coaching was his professional training at the University of Texas at Dallas. Before, Marcel coached more intuitively—but with a strong, structured coaching framework, his approach is now far more effective and impactful, helping clients achieve real transformation.

Marcel also brings a holistic perspective—through meditation, fitness, and breathwork, he recognizes the connection between mindset, well-being, and performance.

To learn more about Marcel’s background, coaching philosophy, and how he works, you can visit our Contact Us page or view Marcel’s LinkedIn profile.

2. Commitment & Expectations

2.1 What is expected from me as a coaching client?

The most important expectation in coaching is having a curious and open mindset. You need to be willing to look inward, explore what you truly want, and identify what’s holding you back. Growth happens when you challenge yourself, step outside your comfort zone, and commit to doing the hard but rewarding work.

Coaching is most effective when you take ownership of the process. The real work happens between sessions. During coaching, you will uncover insights that help you move forward, but growth comes from applying them in your daily life.

Experimenting with new behaviors, reflecting on the results, and adjusting as needed is where real transformation occurs. A regular reflection practice—such as journaling, meditation, or prayer—can help solidify your progress and keep you moving toward your goals.

2.2 – How do I prepare for a coaching session?

Preparation is key to getting the most out of coaching.

Before each session, take time to reflect on your progress, challenges, and what you want to focus on in the upcoming conversation. Since you are in the driver’s seat, it’s important to enter each session with a clear intention—what do you want to get out of it? Without that clarity, coaching will be less effective.

After the session, reviewing the session summary, transcript, or even listening back to the recording can significantly enhance your learning. There’s often more discussed than you consciously absorb in the moment, and revisiting the conversation helps reinforce insights and maximize your return on investment.

2.3 How much time should I set aside for coaching outside of the sessions?

Coaching is a journey of self-discovery, intentional action, and continuous reflection. The more time you invest in understanding what you want, how to get there, and how your actions shape your results, the faster and more effectively you will reach your goals.

While coaching sessions provide clarity and direction, the real work happens between sessions. The time you set aside depends on how much you want to get out of coaching, but at a minimum, you should:

Prepare before each session by reflecting on your progress and what you want to focus on.
Take time after each session to review key insights and reinforce your learning.

Beyond that, developing a regular self-reflection practice will help you integrate your coaching insights into daily life. Many clients find that journaling for 10 minutes a day helps them stay intentional about their actions. Others incorporate meditation, breathwork, gratitude practices, or prayer to deepen their self-awareness and focus.

Ultimately, the more aware and intentional you are about your actions, the more successful you will be in achieving your goals.

2.4 What if I don’t know exactly what I want to work on?

Not knowing exactly what you want to work on is not a problem at all. In fact, figuring that out is a key part of coaching. Many clients start coaching with a general sense that something needs to change but struggle to define exactly what.

Coaching helps you separate what you really want from what you feel you should want—expectations shaped by family, work, culture, or society.

Early in the coaching engagement, we spend time exploring your goals, why they matter, and what is truly aligned with your values and beliefs. We use proven tools and questions to guide this process, and without exception, clients always gain clarity on their true desires.

Once that clarity emerges, it becomes your North Star—guiding our work together and shaping the actions that move you toward your goals.

Ultimately, coaching helps you align with who you truly are and create results that are meaningful to you.

2.5 Can I change my coaching goals after starting?

Yes, your coaching goals can and probably will evolve as you gain new insights during the process. In fact, this often happens naturally.

The more we explore your goals—asking questions like “How will you know you’ve achieved that goal?“—the clearer your true objectives become. This iterative process refines and sharpens your goals over time, ensuring they align with what you truly want.

The role as your coach is to keep you on track and help you distinguish between deeper, meaningful goals that resonate with who you truly are and temporary distractions that may cause you to deviate. We help you stay focused so that, by the end of the coaching engagement, you have real results that justify your investment in coaching.

2.6 What if I don’t feel like I’m making progress?

It’s common for clients to feel uncertain or even stuck at some point in their coaching journey. In fact, the initial stages of self-reflection often create a sense of confusion before clarity emerges.

When we start questioning what you want and what your goals are, what’s holding you back, and why certain challenges persist, we may challenge deeply ingrained beliefs—some of which may have been shaped by external expectations rather than your true self. This process can feel unsettling, almost like cleaning out a cluttered room—at first, things seem messier before they become clear.

However, this phase is actually progress. Opening yourself up to new perspectives and challenging old assumptions is what leads to real breakthroughs. Over time, as you gain clarity on your values, goals, and path forward, you’ll begin to feel a stronger sense of direction.

To ensure that you recognize your progress, we will define clear success indicators—specific things you can see, feel, or experience that signal movement toward your goals. Throughout our coaching, we will regularly check in on these indicators to measure how far you’ve come. Often, when you take a step back and reflect, you’ll realize that you are making far more progress than you initially thought.

3. Logistics & Support

3.1 How often are coaching sessions scheduled?

Coaching is highly structured yet fully tailored to your needs and preferences. While the process follows a proven framework for delivering results, flexibility is key to ensuring it aligns with your pace and goals.

For most clients, bi-weekly sessions work best. A two-week period allows enough time to reflect on insights, apply them in real-life situations, and observe the results. This cycle ensures that each session builds on real experiences, leading to deeper learning and meaningful progress.

For high-performing individuals who want to move faster, we offer premium coaching packages that include more frequent coaching sessions and on-demand laser coaching. These options provide more frequent touchpoints for those who are ready to absorb insights quickly and apply them at an accelerated pace.

Waiting too long between sessions isn’t ideal, as it can cause insights to fade, motivation to drop, and momentum to slow down—reducing the impact of coaching. That’s why bi-weekly is the standard, with more frequent sessions available for those who want to push themselves further.

3.2 What support do you offer in between coaching sessions?

Coaching sessions are typically bi-weekly, but important situations can come up in between where additional support is helpful. To ensure continuous progress, we offer several ways to stay connected and get support between sessions.

For all clients, email support is always available for questions, quick feedback, or reviewing important documents. If you need input on a key decision or preparation for an important meeting, you can reach out anytime.

For premium coaching clients, we also provide on-demand support through laser-coaching; short, focused conversations to address urgent needs as they arise. Whether it’s preparing for a performance review, a major client meeting, or a critical decision, these sessions help you gain clarity, refine your approach, and move forward with confidence.

3.3 What assessments and resources do you offer?

In our coaching practice, we don’t use assessments for judgment; we use them to uncover strengths and potential. They are designed to spark curiosity and lead to powerful insights. Often, clients are surprised by what they learn, which opens new paths for growth and improvement.

We use tools like the VIA Character Strengths Assessment, which reveals personal strengths that can be leveraged in new and meaningful ways. Other assessments focus on leadership capabilities, team performance, strategic thinking, social skills, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal relationships.

For premium coaching clients, we also conduct 360-degree feedback interviews with a focus on positive psychology. Rather than emphasizing what needs fixing, these interviews highlight what is already working well and how those strengths can be used more effectively.

3.4 Do you offer in-person, virtual, or hybrid coaching?

We offer a hybrid approach, with most coaching sessions conducted virtually via video meetings. Most busy professionals find virtual coaching easier to fit into their demanding schedules, as it provides greater flexibility and removes geographic limitations. This allows us to work with clients worldwide.

A key advantage of virtual sessions is that they can be automatically recorded, transcribed, and summarized using AI technology. Clients receive a session summary immediately after, which enhances learning—many gain new insights by reviewing the transcript and catching details they may have missed in the conversation.

While virtual coaching is the standard, we also recognize the value of in-person meetings, particularly at the start of a coaching engagement. Establishing trust and a strong partnership is essential, and an in-person meeting can help create a deeper connection. When possible, we aim to meet Chicago-based clients in person at least once or twice, but this is not required.

3.5 Can coaching sessions be rescheduled if something urgent comes up?

Yes, coaching sessions can be rescheduled when necessary.

Every coaching engagement includes an agreed-upon notice period—if you request to reschedule within that timeframe, we will do our best to find a new time that works for both of us.

If the request comes after the notice period, we may not be able to reschedule, depending on availability. However, we always aim to be flexible and collaborative to accommodate changes when possible.

For executives and high-performing professionals who need more flexibility, we offer premium coaching packages that include priority scheduling and greater flexibility to adapt to demanding schedules.

3.6 How do I track my progress throughout the coaching engagement?

Progress is measured in two key ways: your own perception of growth and feedback from stakeholders.

Your internal perception is the fastest way to track progress. Early in coaching, we define clear success indicators, and we use a rating scale to help you assess your progress over time. This acts as a leading indicator, showing shifts in your mindset and behavior before others notice the change.

However, the ultimate measure of success is how your stakeholders—your team, peers, or manager—perceive your growth. This lagging indicator takes longer to emerge, as people need time to recognize and respond to your new behaviors.

Both are important: self-assessments build early momentum, while stakeholder feedback confirms real-world impact—the key to justifying your investment in coaching.

3.7 What happens at the end of the coaching engagement?

Every coaching engagement has a clear start and finish, with a defined goal and timeline to ensure measurable progress. Coaching is not an open-ended process—it is designed to deliver a strong return on investment by helping you reach specific outcomes within an agreed timeframe.

At the end of the coaching engagement, we review your progress, assess what has been achieved, and reflect on what worked well and what could be improved. Many clients experience a heightened sense of self-awareness by this stage, uncovering new opportunities for growth that may not have been visible before. This could include recognizing blind spots, seeing feedback in a new way, or identifying areas for further development.

While some clients choose to begin a new coaching engagement to focus on new goals, this is entirely optional. The goal of every engagement is to ensure you leave with clear insights, meaningful growth, and the tools to sustain your success moving forward.

4. Pricing & Getting Started

4.1 How much does coaching cost?

Coaching is an investment in transformation—not just for you, but also for your professional environment. Whether it’s accelerating your career, strengthening your leadership, or driving business success, the true value of coaching lies in the results you achieve.

Clients don’t pay for the time spent in sessions; they pay for the transformation, impact, and lasting change that coaching creates. The cost reflects the depth of experience, insights, and tools we bring—built over a lifetime of learning and growth—not just the hours we spend together.

Having said that, because different clients have different needs and budgets, we offer three coaching packages:

A budget-friendly option for those looking for structured support at an accessible rate.
A balanced package that offers a blend of structure, flexibility, and deep transformation—ideal for most professionals.
A premium package for high-demand executives who require on-demand coaching, priority scheduling, and maximum flexibility.

To find the right option for you, schedule a call to discuss your goals and explore the best coaching package for your needs.

4.2 Do you offer a discount if I pay for coaching myself? (instead of my employer)

Yes. Most clients have their coaching funded by their company, but not everyone has access to corporate sponsorship.

To make coaching more accessible, we offer a discount for individuals paying out of pocket.

Our goal is to lower the barrier to starting coaching while ensuring that the value you gain far exceeds your investment. Whether your coaching is company-funded or self-funded, the focus remains on delivering transformational results that create long-term professional and personal growth.

4.3 Do you offer a free consultation before committing to coaching?

Yes, absolutely—and we strongly encourage you to schedule one. Rather than just explaining the logistics of coaching, this session is designed to let you experience coaching firsthand. Many clients find that even in this first session, they begin to see the impact coaching can have on their thinking, decisions, and approach to challenges.

This consultation is also an opportunity to determine if there is a good fit between us—both in terms of coaching style and whether the areas you want to work on align with what we can offer. The session typically lasts between one and two hours, allowing us to go as deep as needed so that you can make a fully informed decision about whether coaching is right for you.

We highly encourage you to reach out and schedule your free consultation—it’s the best way to understand if coaching is the right next step for you.

4.4 Will I be charged if I miss or reschedule a session at the last minute?

Senior executives and busy professionals have demanding schedules, and unexpected changes are unavoidable. Our goal is to provide as much flexibility as possible while ensuring that every client gets the full value of their coaching engagement.

To maintain fairness and productivity, we agree on a notice period for rescheduling. If a session is missed or rescheduled after that period, it may be considered forfeited and counted as a used session.

That said, we always strive to accommodate changes whenever possible. For clients who require even more flexibility, we offer premium coaching packages with priority scheduling and rescheduling options to better fit unpredictable schedules.

4.5 What is your cancellation or refund policy?

We want to make it as easy as possible for clients to get started with coaching. If you’re new to coaching, you might not know exactly what to expect.

To reduce any concerns, we offer a one-month money-back guarantee—no questions asked. If you decide to cancel before the end of your first month, we will cancel the contract and refund your payment, including any upfront fees.

For cancellations after the first month, the policy depends on the coaching package:

Basic package: This operates on a month-to-month basis, so you can cancel anytime before your next billing cycle with no further commitment.
Other coaching packages: These require 50% of the package fee upfront and 50% at three months. If you cancel after the first month but before the three-month mark, you will not be billed for the remaining 50%.

4.6 How do I get started with coaching?

The best way to start is simple—reach out and schedule a free consultation. This session will give you a firsthand experience of coaching and help us explore your goals and whether coaching is the right fit for you.

Before the consultation, we recommend reading through some of the testimonials and success stories on our website to get a sense of the impact coaching can have.

It’s also helpful to take some time to reflect on what you want to get out of coaching. Ask yourself: