Executive Career Coaching
A career transition begins with clarity.
When experience, ambition and market opportunities need to come together in a clear professional direction.
NAKAMA supports C-level executives, experienced leaders and managers through strategic career transitions.
Together we sharpen your executive USP, define your future direction, develop a realistic target market and search strategy and prepare you for interviews and negotiations.
You shape and implement your transition yourself. NAKAMA provides critical sparring, a clear structure and the perspective of 25+ years in Executive Search and more than 20,000 interviews.
A role may be professionally right and still be in the wrong organisational environment.
At leadership level, it is not simply about finding another role. It is about understanding which responsibilities fit your experience, personality and future goals, what business contribution you can make, where that contribution is needed and how to communicate it convincingly to decision-makers.
Many executives start their transition with a new CV, a revised LinkedIn profile or a search through job advertisements.
Yet before you become visible, the decisive questions need answering:
- What do you stand for as a leader?
- What is your executive USP?
- Which roles and company situations genuinely fit you?
- What does your realistic target market look like?
- Through which channels do you reach relevant companies and decision-makers?
- How do you convey your contribution clearly and convincingly?
Good documents can make a clear strategy visible. But it is you who must convince, through clarity, strategy and confident communication.
Who benefits from Executive Career Coaching?
The coaching is aimed at:
- C-level executives in career transition,
- experienced leaders at the second and third management levels,
- managers who want to reposition themselves in the market,
- team leads preparing to take on responsibility at the next leadership level.
Executive Career Coaching may be right for you if you
- are reorienting yourself discreetly from an existing position,
- want to gain clarity about your future direction after a separation,
- need to decide between several career options,
- struggle to convey your experience convincingly,
- have not yet clearly defined your target market and suitable companies,
- are not reaching the opportunities you want through job advertisements, your network or headhunters,
- want to prepare for demanding interviews or remuneration negotiations,
- are considering a change of industry or function,
- are aiming for a move into general management,
- are considering a supervisory board, non-executive director or advisory role,
- are weighing up permanent employment, Interim Management and self-employment,
- want to compare several career scenarios on a sound basis.
Your professional direction does not need to be fully defined at the outset. Developing it can be part of the coaching.
What makes Executive Career Coaching at NAKAMA different?
Executive Career Coaching is strategic support tailored to your individual circumstances and objectives.
Together we analyse your career to date, your leadership identity, your achievements, your motivation and your career options. From this we develop a positioning and an approach that fit your profile and the relevant market.
NAKAMA brings the perspective of Executive Search, management consulting and many years of career coaching experience.
You will not receive generic career tips or a standardised group programme. You receive critical sparring, clear feedback and an individually developed strategy.
The roles are clearly defined. NAKAMA structures, challenges and supports. You decide and implement your strategy yourself.
If you would like NAKAMA to research target companies, identify decision-makers and manage the outreach on your behalf, Inverse Headhunting is the better fit.
Six modules. Individually combined.
Assessment and professional direction
We look at your career to date not just chronologically but from the perspective of future responsibility.
This includes:
- professional identity and leadership philosophy
- competencies, experience and demonstrable achievements
- values, motivation and personal priorities
- desired responsibility and possible future scenarios
- realistic opportunities and recognisable limits
We consider not only which role you want to take on, but also the environment in which you can be effective. That includes company culture, decision-making channels, ownership structure, room to shape, pace of change and the expectations of relevant stakeholders. The result is a clearer understanding of what you want next and what no longer fits you.
Executive USP and positioning
We develop a positioning that makes your business contribution clearly recognisable.
In doing so we answer:
- For which roles and situations are you particularly relevant?
- Which problems can you demonstrably solve?
- What sets you apart from leaders with comparable experience?
- Which results and achievements support your positioning?
- How do you convey your executive USP precisely and credibly?
The result is a robust statement of the business contribution you can make to a company.
Executive communication
A convincing positioning has to be consistently recognisable in conversations and in your professional presence.
Together we develop:
- your executive story
- a clear self-introduction
- your executive pitch
- a convincing presentation of achievements and leadership impact
- a clear and credible explanation for your transition or departure
- confident answers to critical questions
Target market and opportunity mapping
We create clarity about the market in which your experience can be particularly relevant.
Together we define:
- suitable functions and areas of responsibility
- relevant industries and company sizes
- ownership structures and organisational forms
- suitable growth, transformation or restructuring situations
- regional and international options
- personal exclusion criteria
- criteria and a structure for developing your own target company list
Search and application strategy
At leadership level, it is rarely enough to respond only to advertised positions.
We develop a strategy that combines different routes to market:
- the visible job market
- personal and professional networks
- executive search consultants
- direct company contacts
- digital visibility and targeted initiative
You gain clarity about which routes make sense for your profile, how to set priorities and how to manage your activities in a structured way. The operational identification and approach of target companies and decision-makers is part of Inverse Headhunting, not of Executive Career Coaching.
Interviews and negotiations
We prepare you for the situations in which your positioning has to convince.
These include:
- interviews at executive level
- conversations with managing directors, boards and investors
- board and stakeholder conversations
- video interviews
- critical questions about moves or separations
- remuneration and contract negotiations
- the assessment of concrete offers
You learn to convey your contribution clearly, to lead conversations actively and to assess offers not only financially but also strategically.
Not every executive needs the same support. The modules are combined according to your starting position and objectives.
How the collaboration works
Free initial consultation
In a first conversation we clarify your starting position, your objectives and the support you need.
We tell you openly whether Executive Career Coaching is the right offer or whether Executive Branding & Communication, Inverse Headhunting or another form of support seems more suitable.
Assessment
At the start we look at your professional situation, your career to date, your motivation and your possible future scenarios.
From this we derive the focus of the collaboration.
Individual coaching roadmap
The six modules are combined according to your objectives. Not every topic needs the same intensity.
The scope, number of sessions and your expected contribution are agreed transparently before the coaching begins.
Strategic sparring
In the coaching sessions we develop and test your positioning, your target market and your approach.
You receive clear feedback, concrete tasks and a structured framework for implementation.
Implementation and reflection
Between sessions you implement the agreed steps yourself.
Experience, feedback from the market and new options feed into the evolving strategy. That keeps the coaching aligned with your actual progress.
Optional
Onboarding support during the first 100 days
The real leadership challenge begins when you take up the new role.
On request, NAKAMA also supports you as you transition into your new role. Together we structure the first 100 days, analyse expectations and stakeholders and reflect on important decisions during the first months.
This service is not included in Executive Career Coaching and can be booked in addition.
What you take away from the coaching
- Strategic clarity. You gain clarity about your professional direction, future responsibilities and the criteria by which to assess potential opportunities.
- Robust positioning. You can communicate your executive USP and business contribution clearly, credibly and appropriately for your audience.
- Confident communication. You engage with companies, executive search consultants and decision-makers with a consistent executive story and a clearly defined direction.
- A professional search strategy. You understand which companies and markets are relevant, which search channels suit your profile and how to structure your career transition.
- Confidence in interviews and negotiations. You are thoroughly prepared for interviews, critical questions, remuneration negotiations and the assessment of specific offers.
- A sound basis for decisions. You assess new roles not only by title and remuneration, but also by responsibility, environment, ownership structure, expectations and long-term prospects.
Individual, not standardised
The coaching takes place in a confidential 1:1 format, online or, by arrangement, in person.
The coaching runs for six months. The number, length and spacing of sessions follow your starting position and objectives. Between conversations you work on agreed questions and implement the steps you have developed.
You are not booking a rigid standard programme. Before the collaboration begins, we agree a clear framework with defined priorities, sessions and mutual expectations.
AI, where it creates concrete value.
AI can support reflection, research and preparation effectively. It replaces neither experience nor personal judgement.
In Executive Career Coaching, AI can be used for, among other things:
- structured reflection questions,
- developing and comparing career scenarios,
- research on companies and markets,
- interview preparation,
- simulating critical questions,
- structuring achievements and arguments,
- preparing remuneration negotiations.
AI is used selectively and with due regard to the GDPR and the EU AI Act.
No technical background is required. Which tools are used depends on your objectives and personal needs.
AI expands the possibilities. The career decision remains yours.
Why NAKAMA?
- The Executive Search perspective. 25+ years in Executive Search and more than 20,000 interviews shape our view of positioning, market requirements and hiring decisions. We know how companies assess leaders, what decision-makers are really assessing beyond the questions they ask, and what makes a profile relevant in the decision process.
- More than ten years of Executive Career Coaching experience. Long-standing experience in supporting career transitions enables guidance that goes beyond generic application advice. The focus is on your future responsibility, your market and the quality of your decision. LINC-certified personality coach and business coach.
- Understanding of companies and investors. NAKAMA works with companies, growth-oriented organisations, investors and portfolio companies. We know the situations in which leadership positions are created, changed or re-evaluated.
- Clear feedback. Professional sparring does not mean confirming every initial idea. We tell you when positioning, target picture and market do not fit together, and develop realistic alternatives with you.
- AI competence with judgement. AI supports analysis, research and preparation where it creates concrete value. Personal assessment, positioning and career decisions remain human tasks.
A clear brief. Confidential collaboration.
In Executive Career Coaching, you are the client. The content of the conversations and all personal information are treated confidentially.
As part of the coaching, NAKAMA does not contact your current employer, potential target companies or executive search firms.
You alone decide which insights, documents or decisions you use outside the coaching.
Confidentiality is the basis for honest reflection and effective sparring.
Frequently asked questions
Is Executive Career Coaching only for C-level executives?
No. The offer is aimed at C-level executives, experienced leaders at the second and third management levels, and at team leads and managers preparing to take on responsibility at the next leadership level.
Do I need to know my career goal already?
No. Developing a realistic target picture can be a central part of the coaching.
Does NAKAMA take on my applications or approach companies for me?
No. In Executive Career Coaching you develop your strategy and implement it yourself. If you would like NAKAMA to research target companies, identify decision-makers and take on the outreach, Inverse Headhunting is the right offer.
Are my CV and LinkedIn profile fully revised in the coaching?
Yes. Your CV and LinkedIn profile are revised as part of the coaching. This service can also be booked separately under Executive Branding & Communication.
How does the coaching differ from Executive Outplacement?
Executive Career Coaching is commissioned by the executive personally. Executive Outplacement is usually funded by the previous employer and offered as professional support in the context of a separation.
How long does the coaching take?
The coaching runs for six months. Intensity and focus follow your starting position and objectives. The scope, number of sessions and your expected contribution are agreed transparently before the coaching begins.
Do I need experience with AI?
No. AI is only used where it offers concrete value for your objectives. The tools involved are introduced in an accessible way.
Does the coaching guarantee a new position?
No. Executive Career Coaching improves clarity, positioning, strategy and preparation. A new position, a specific number of interviews or a concrete offer cannot be guaranteed.
Is the coaching confidential?
Yes. The content of the conversations and personal information are not shared with employers, companies or any other third parties.
It starts with a good conversation.
Let's talk about your current situation, your professional direction and the questions you want to clarify. Together, we will determine which form of support fits your goals and how much of the process you want to manage yourself.