Executive Coaching with Success Fee: Pay-for-Results for CEOs
Strategic sparring for CEOs, executive teams and board members in Zurich, Schaffhausen and across Switzerland. Whether your leadership becomes more effective is assessed by your own stakeholders: superiors, peers, direct reports. My fee is tied to their verdict.
What Does Pay-for-Results Mean?
The term "Pay-for-Results" in executive coaching was shaped by Marshall Goldsmith, one of the world's leading executive coaches. The principle: the coach's fee is tied to the client's measurable improvement – assessed not by the coach, but by the client's own environment.
What is measured?
Concrete behavioural goals defined at the start: decision quality, stakeholder impact, leadership presence, team dynamics.
Who assesses?
Your stakeholders: superiors, peers and direct reports. The same people who work with you daily.
When does the success fee apply?
At the end of the engagement – when your stakeholders confirm measurable improvement.
What if goals are not reached?
I waive the success-based portion of my fee. You bear limited financial risk.
Which mandates qualify?
Behavioural goals with measurable stakeholder impact: leadership effectiveness, decision quality, conflict resolution, transition.
When is it not suitable?
For purely technical questions, acute health issues, or goals that cannot be assessed by stakeholders.
What is Executive Coaching?
Executive coaching is structured, results-oriented collaboration between a coach and a senior leader. The focus is on the leader's behaviour, decisions and impact – not on the organisation's strategy or the team's performance.
Unlike consulting, coaching does not deliver solutions. Unlike training, it does not teach general skills. It works on your specific situation, your specific patterns, and your specific goals. The result is measurable: your stakeholders assess whether your leadership has become more effective.
Executive coaching is suitable for leaders who carry result responsibility and want to work on their impact. The prerequisite is willingness to change – because what is measured is your behaviour.
Coaching vs. Consulting: What is the Difference?
| Dimension | Executive Coaching | Consulting |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Your behaviour and leadership impact | Organisation's strategy and processes |
| Output | Measurable behavioural change | Recommendations and concepts |
| Accountability | Shared – coach accountable for your improvement | Consultant accountable for the recommendation |
| Duration | 6–12 months, ongoing | Project-based, defined deliverables |
| Success measure | Stakeholder assessment of your leadership | Implementation of recommendations |
How a Mandate Works
Strategy Conversation (30–45 min, no obligation)
We clarify your situation, your goal and your stakeholders' expectations. I tell you openly whether coaching is the right instrument. No commitment on either side.
Stakeholder Survey (360° baseline)
Your superiors, peers and direct reports assess your current leadership effectiveness. This creates the measurable baseline for the Pay-for-Results model.
Coaching Sessions (every 2–4 weeks)
We work on your concrete leadership situations. Between sessions, you implement what we have worked on. I am available for brief exchanges between sessions.
Final Assessment (same stakeholders)
The same people who assessed you at the start evaluate your progress. Their verdict determines the success-based portion of my fee.
Typical Mandates
Six areas where Pay-for-Results coaching creates measurable impact.
CEO Transition and New Leadership Roles → Learn more
The first twelve months in a new C-level role determine authority, alliances and room to manoeuvre. We clarify your 100-day agenda, your stakeholder map and the signals you want to send.
Executive Team Development → Learn more
Executive teams rarely fail on strategy – they fail on dynamics: unspoken conflicts, silos, unclear roles. We work on decision architecture, conflict capability and accountability.
Leadership Under Pressure → Learn more
Sustained pressure narrows focus: those who only react lose the ability to prioritise. We create distance from the situation, clarify what only you can do, and build routines for focus and delegation.
Conflict Resolution and Stakeholder Management → Learn more
Unresolved conflicts at C-level cost pace, talent and eventually your own position. We analyse interests and relationship logic, and prepare the critical conversations concretely.
Executive Transition and Newplacement → Learn more
Leaving a top position is a leadership project in its own right. We work on positioning, narrative and the decision about what the next role must deliver.
Leadership Presence → Learn more
Technical strength does not replace leadership presence. We work on clarity, presence and consistency: what you want to achieve, how you show it matters, and what follows when agreements are ignored.
About Cristian Hofmann
I am a Leadership Executive Coach with 20 years of senior expertise and a Master's degree in Supervision and Coaching in Organisations. Based in Zurich and Schaffhausen, I work with CEOs, executive teams and board members across Switzerland and internationally.
My approach combines systemic consulting, solution-focused coaching and applied organisational psychology. I work with what is measurable: your stakeholders' assessment of your leadership effectiveness.
I am a member of the Forbes Coaches Council and have been verified on ProvenExpert.
More about Cristian Hofmann, his experience and methodology at hofmann.coach →
What Clients Say
"The Pay-for-Results model was the decisive factor. Cristian delivered what he promised – my board assessed my leadership as significantly more decisive and clear."
CEO, industrial group, Switzerland
"After six months of coaching, our executive team makes decisions faster and holds to them. The dynamic in the room has fundamentally changed."
CFO, financial services, Zurich
"Cristian helped me navigate a difficult board situation with clarity and without losing my position. His preparation of the critical conversations was invaluable."
COO, technology company, Switzerland
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does an executive coaching engagement last?
A typical engagement runs 6 to 12 months with sessions every two to four weeks. Duration depends on the goal and complexity: a role transition usually takes six months, behavioural and team goals closer to twelve. We define measurable criteria at the start, and the engagement ends when they are achieved.
How does the Pay-for-Results model work?
My fee is tied to your measurable improvement. At the start, we define concrete behavioural goals together with your stakeholders. The same people – your superiors, peers and direct reports – assess at the end whether your leadership has become more effective. If the verdict is negative, I waive the success-based portion of my fee as agreed.
What does executive coaching cost in Switzerland?
The investment depends on the scope and format: number of sessions, stakeholder surveys, and any team components. A typical engagement runs 6 to 12 months. After our strategy conversation, you receive a proposal with the total investment. The Pay-for-Results model limits your risk, because the success-based portion is tied to demonstrated impact.
What happens in the first session?
We start with a no-obligation strategy conversation of 30 to 45 minutes. We clarify your situation, your goal and your stakeholders' expectations – and I will tell you honestly whether coaching is the right instrument. You then receive a proposal with goals, process and investment. You decide after that.
How is this different from consulting or mentoring?
Consulting delivers solutions. Mentoring shares experience. Coaching works on your behaviour and your impact in your specific context. I do not give you the answer – I help you find clarity, make better decisions and act more effectively. The Pay-for-Results model makes this distinction concrete: I am accountable for your measurable improvement, not for advice delivered.
Can coaching also work for executive teams?
Yes. I work with executive teams on decision architecture, conflict capability and accountability – in individual sessions and facilitated team sequences. The starting point is always the individual leader; team work is added when it makes sense and is requested.
How do you measure success?
We define measurable behavioural goals at the start of the engagement. The same stakeholders who were surveyed at the beginning – superiors, peers, direct reports – assess at the end whether your leadership has demonstrably improved. This is the basis for the success-based portion of my fee.
What if I am in the middle of a crisis?
A crisis can be the best moment to work on your leadership. What matters is that you are willing to work on your behaviour even under pressure – not just react to the crisis. I have accompanied CEOs through restructurings, board conflicts and public setbacks. The method stays the same; the pace adapts.
How do I recognise a good executive coach?
Check four things: a solid academic background, verifiable experience at your leadership level, checkable references, and an approach that measures results. Credible coaches also tell you when coaching is the wrong instrument. A first conversation quickly shows whether trust and productive friction are both present. You need both.
Who is executive coaching suitable for?
For leaders with accountability for results who want to work on their impact: CEOs, executive team members, board members and leaders on their way there. The prerequisite is willingness to change, because what is measured is your behaviour. For acute health issues or purely technical questions, other instruments belong on the table – I will tell you that openly in the first conversation.
Your question is not here? Let us talk directly.
Book a Strategy CallLocations
Zurich
Dufourstrasse 77
8008 Zurich
Switzerland
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen
Switzerland
Sessions in person (Zurich/Schaffhausen) or via video. International mandates on request.
Ready for a Strategy Call?
30–45 minutes, no obligation. We clarify your situation and whether coaching is the right instrument for you.
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