What is executive function coaching?
- Lorna Thomas
- Mar 21
- 4 min read
Executive function coaching helps you understand how your brain processes and organises information and creates strategies for more effective ways of working, if necessary.
Like tending to a garden, it’s about creating the right conditions for growth. Some plants thrive in full sun, while others need shade. Some require careful watering, while others prefer dry soil. Your brain works the same way - when you recognise the conditions that help you focus, plan, and follow through, you can nurture the strategies that help you flourish.
First things first, what is executive function?
Executive function is so much more than remembering appointments, planning projects, or staying organised. It’s a set of mental skills that help you manage daily life and work efficiently. These skills allow you to adapt, make decisions, and regulate your thoughts and emotions.
Executive functions set us as humans apart from other animals and means we can do things like create and build businesses. Here are some examples of executive function:
1. Adaptable thinking
2. Planning and prioritisation
3. Self-monitoring and reflection
4. Self-control (e.g., delayed gratification)
5. Working memory
6. Time management
7. Organisation
8. Effective decision-making in uncertain situations
9. Cognitive inhibition (stopping unwanted thoughts)
10. Risk assessment
11. Emotional regulation
How ADHD affects executive function
Many people with ADHD struggle with executive function because ADHD is a regulation disorder.
This often results in experiencing too much or too little of:
Emotion: heightened emotional responses or difficulty managing frustration
Inhibition: acting impulsively or struggling to pause before responding
Attention: difficulty focusing on tasks or shifting between them efficiently.
Research finds that people with ADHD usually have around a 30% delay in executive function and that it can impact every facet of life.
For business owners, executive dysfunction can be especially challenging. It may lead to difficulties with identifying priorities / decision making, time management, meeting deadlines, staying focused, handling feedback or following through on long-term goals. It may also mean that you fear rejection, can’t handle ‘constructive’ feedback or struggle with emotional boundaries. This can impact productivity, confidence and your likelihood of success in business.
If you struggle to make meetings on time, it can create difficulties when you have client meetings. If you can’t face rejection, how will you cope networking or on a sales call? And when you’re motivated by the topic of your hyper-focus, you can miss opportunities or avoid essential work that isn’t quite so motivating.
Returning to the garden metaphor, when executive dysfunction comes into play, it’s like trying to garden with missing tools, unclear instructions or unpredictable weather.
You might know what needs to be done but struggle to start (like having potted plants but no trowel or spade to dig the hole) Or you get stuck midway through, distracted by other tasks, leaving half the garden untended. And sometimes, you put in all the effort but still feel like nothing’s growing the way it should.
It’s not about lacking ability - it’s about needing the right strategies and systems to support how your brain works. With thoughtful planning, the right tools, and adjustments for your natural rhythms, your garden (and your goals) can flourish.
How can executive function coaching help?
While ADHD symptoms cannot be ‘cured’, there are many ways to manage them effectively. Executive function coaching helps you to develop strategies to navigate your unique challenges.
What works for one person may not work for another. Even strategies that help you now may suddenly stop working and need adjusting over time. This is where coaching plays a crucial role providing adaptable solutions tailored to your individual needs.
What an ADHD-informed coach can offer:
Identify your strengths and weaknesses and raise awareness and understanding around how executive function challenges show up in your life and business
Develop practical strategies, structures, frameworks, rules and habits that support your focus, organisation, and productivity
Improve emotional regulation by learning techniques to manage frustration, overwhelm, and decision fatigue
Increase accountability by providing external deadlines, setting up systems to follow through on commitments and long-term goals
Build confidence by shifting from self-criticism to self-compassion and finding sustainable ways to work with your brain, not against it.
Medication can be an option and is life-changing for some individuals with ADHD. However, even those who take medication often find coaching essential in building effective, real-world strategies for lasting success. For those who cannot or choose not to use medication, executive function coaching provides a powerful alternative.
How can executive function coaching help your business?
When you have mechanisms in place to support how your brain works best, it can help you address some of the challenges you face in business.
For example, you might be struggling to know which idea you should follow next. A specialist ADHD-informed coach can help you match your ideas to your business vision and goals, using your core values as a guide. You’ll get a much clearer picture of what ideas may be a distraction. And in turn, this helps steer you to the actions you need to prioritise to reach those goals.
If you are neurodivergent, finding a coach who can support your unique executive function will work to find the best strategies for your needs.
Is executive function coaching different from traditional coaching?
Yes and no.
Many coaches will look holistically at you and your business. It’s one of the questions you should ask when looking to hire a coach. However, hiring someone with specialist knowledge of neurodiversity will give you better insights. Add to this someone who will also work to support your executive function, and you have a tailored experience that really addresses some of your challenges.
Choosing the right coach
If you’re considering executive function coaching, it’s important to work with someone who is ADHD and neurodivergent-informed and understands the nuances of executive dysfunction. The right coach will help you develop tools that fit your unique needs so you can run your business (and life) with more ease and confidence.
An holistic coaching approach
My coaching works with your unique life experience and approach to business. I have a whole kitbag of tools and strategies from which I can pull to provide a bespoke coaching experience for you and your business. Find out how I can help you develop your business and achieve your goals.
