Executive Advisory
Executive Career Coaching for Directors, VPs, and C-Suite
Most senior leaders do not have a skills problem. They have a positioning problem. The gap between the organizational scope you operate at and what the market currently understands about you is exactly where executive coaching works.
Steve J. Ngoumnai is a former engineering leader with direct hiring-side experience at the executive level. Askia works with Directors, VPs, SVPs, and C-suite professionals across tech, finance, and healthcare targeting $150K–$350K+ roles.
- Executive positioning and leadership narrative
- VP and C-suite interview preparation
- Board and stakeholder communication
- Equity and executive offer negotiation
- Exploring VP+/C-suite opportunities
The gap most executives miss
The problem is rarely your experience. It is how your materials and stories present that experience to the market.
Your resume lists deliverables instead of organizational decisions. Your LinkedIn reads like a team lead, not a VP. Your interview answers go deep on execution — what you built, what you shipped, how you scaled the system — instead of wide on strategy, leadership leverage, and the decisions only you could have made at that scope.
Hiring managers and executive search firms evaluating VP and C-suite candidates are asking a different set of questions: What is this person's organizational impact? Do they think at the level the role requires? Can they lead at scale, communicate to the board, own a P&L? If your materials do not answer those questions, you are being evaluated at the wrong level.
What executive coaching actually changes
- Positioning at the organizational level, not the functional level — scope, decisions, and impact that read at VP or C-suite
- Stories that demonstrate P&L thinking, stakeholder alignment, and leadership leverage — not individual execution
- Interview answers calibrated to the right altitude for VP and C-suite evaluators, including executive presentations and multi-round loops
- Offer strategy built for complex executive compensation packages — equity, RSUs, title, scope, and cash components
- Market signal that moves the market proactively, rather than waiting for inbound from the same sources that have been reaching out for years
Who this is for
Executive coaching at Askia is built for professionals at a specific inflection point in their career trajectory.
Making the move from functional leader to organizational executive for the first time — requires a complete repositioning of how your scope and decisions are communicated.
Competing for roles where the gap between candidates narrows and positioning at the organizational level becomes the primary differentiator.
Returning to the market after a company sale, acquisition, or wind-down — rebuilding narrative and market signal from a position of strength.
5+ years at the same company. Your internal influence is real, but the external market does not know who you are or what you have built.
First-time VPs and professionals on the CTO, CPO, or CFO path whose materials still read at the level they are leaving behind.
A specific and common transition with a specific positioning challenge — moving from technical ownership to organizational leadership at scale.
What we cover
- Executive resume writing and leadership narrative
- LinkedIn optimization for executive visibility and recruiter inbound
- Interview preparation for multi-round executive loops
- Board presentation and stakeholder alignment stories
- Offer evaluation for complex executive compensation packages
- Executive search strategy and market targeting
Why hiring-side experience matters
Most career coaches have never been in the room where executive hiring decisions are made. They can teach frameworks. They cannot tell you what actually moves a VP-level hiring committee, how executive search firms evaluate candidates before a single interview happens, or what separates a strong VP story from one that lands at the Director level.
Askia's coaching is built on direct hiring-side experience. The feedback you receive is not generic — it is calibrated to what actually moves the market at the level you are targeting.
Executive coaching — common questions
What is executive career coaching?
Executive career coaching is strategic career support for Directors, VPs, SVPs, C-suite, and board-level professionals targeting senior leadership roles. It goes beyond resume help — covering executive positioning, leadership narrative, board-level communication, executive search strategy, and offer negotiation for roles paying $150K–$350K+. Unlike general career coaching, executive coaching works on how your scope, decisions, and leadership impact read at the organizational level, not just the functional level.
When do executives need a career coach?
Four situations: (1) You are moving from IC or functional leader to executive for the first time. (2) You are stuck below VP or C-suite despite the scope you are operating at. (3) You have been in the same company for 5+ years and your market signal has atrophied. (4) You have a live executive search and need to sharpen your story, interview performance, or offer negotiation. The common thread is a gap between the role you are capable of and what the market currently understands about you.
How is executive career coaching different from regular career coaching?
Three key differences: (1) The positioning work focuses on organizational impact, P&L ownership, and leadership at scale — not individual contributions. (2) The interview work covers executive presentations, board-level communication, stakeholder alignment stories, and multi-round executive interview loops. (3) The offer work involves equity, RSU vesting, relocation, title negotiation, and compensation packages that are often more complex than individual contributor offers.
How long does executive coaching take?
For executives with active searches, the most impactful engagement is 4–8 weeks of intensive work: positioning, materials, interview prep, and offer strategy. For longer-range moves — a VP preparing to position for C-suite — engagements typically run 90 days. Most executives who start with a strategy call can scope the right engagement in the first session.
What does executive coaching cost?
Executive coaching at Askia is priced based on scope — the level you are targeting, the complexity of the search, and the services needed. Resume-only and LinkedIn-only work is available at lower tiers. Full-scope executive advisory engagements covering materials, interview prep, and offer strategy are priced for the scope and the compensation band being targeted. Current pricing is discussed on the free strategy call.
Do you work with first-time executives?
Yes — this is one of the most common engagements. First-time VPs and C-suite leaders face a specific challenge: their materials and interview stories are still written for their previous functional role, not for the organizational scope they are targeting. The coaching rebuilds the story at the right level, which is often the single biggest unlock in a stalled executive search.
Executive career guides
In-depth strategy for senior leaders at every stage.
Career stage
- Career Coach at 40 — Director → VP → SVP advancement strategy
- Career Coach at 50 — C-suite positioning and fractional executive transition
- Career Coaching After Layoff — Severance negotiation and faster senior re-entry
- Executive Resume Guide — Resume strategy for Directors, VPs, and C-suite
Company targeting
- How to Get a Job at Google — Hiring attributes, interview loop, and prep strategy
- How to Get a Job at Amazon — Leadership Principles and bar raiser process
- How to Get a Job at Meta — E5–E7 hiring process and total comp strategy
- How to Get a Job at Microsoft — Growth mindset culture and L63+ levels
Start with a free executive strategy call
In one call we will identify the exact gap between how the market sees you and the role you are targeting — and what it takes to close it.
