When I left my career four years ago and landed in a job as an executive coach, some people looked at me like I had three heads. Believe me when I say friends, family, and colleagues had a lot of questions for me, but the one that surprised me the most was this one:

What in the world is an executive coach?

That’s the question I’m answering in this podcast episode. I walk you through what an executive coach is, what it isn’t, and how you know if a coach might be beneficial for you.

My guess is that you fall into one of three camps.

Camp A: You have an executive coach, and you are ALL ABOUT IT! Stick around–this episode is for you, too. I talk about my role as a coach so that you can make sure you’re using every opportunity your coach provides, from the clarity to go after what you want to the action plan to get you there.

Camp B: You hear “executive coach” thrown around as a buzzword, but you’re really not sure what coaches do, who they help, or how they help them. You may not have ever considered working with a coach in your own career.

Camp C: You have absolutely no idea what an executive coach is. Don’t worry, Camp C, we’re going to clear that right up.

No matter which camp you’re in (or, if you’re like me, you’re in NO CAMP because you’d way rather stay in a hotel) this episode will lift the veil on executive coaching. Because I have heard every question in the book about executive coaches, I know all the most common misconceptions. So, I’m busting these six myths about coaches and replacing them with the cold, hard truth.

Myth #1: You have to be an executive or at a specific level in your career to use a coach.

Myth #2: An executive coach tells you what to do

Myth #3: An exec coach needs to be from your industry in order to help you

Myth #4: Executive coaches are only for the super rich

Myth #5: You must be bad at your job to need a coach

Myth #6: I have a mentor, so therefore, I don’t need a coach

Check out the episode to get all the goods. And if you’re still wondering how an executive coach would ever have anything to do with you, let me leave you with this:

If you know that where you are currently is not where you want to stay forever…

If there’s something inside of you that’s whispering to you to explore something new or something bigger…

if you know you have work to do and you want to work on it…

Maybe an executive coach is a better fit than you thought.