A first engagement at Hanover Executive in Berlin is a written stretch of work — with a sitting executive, or with the existing senior team. Format, cadence, and what stays off the record are agreed before a series is booked. If those three things cannot be named, we wait.
For a general definition of executive coaching written for CEOs, read the 2025 guide on Executive Coaching Blog.
What a first engagement looks like
The first hour is a test of the brief: no tour of the organogram, and no sale. We sit with a sitting or incoming executive and ask what they want to be able to do that they cannot do now, how often they can actually meet, and what must stay off the record. If the answers are fog, we do not invent a retainer to fill the diary.
Hanover Executive receives in Berlin, at Regus Kontorhaus, Kronenstrasse 63, 10117 Berlin. The work can be in person or remote; the location does not change the contract. Fees are agreed in writing only after fit is clear. Do not send confidential company files in a first note — the contact form asks for name, role, and the kind of conversation.
Linus Murphy works with leadership teams on executive team coaching and business coaching. See Our Coaches for the roster.
Cadence, length, and what “done” means
Typical cadence is every two to four weeks. That is slow enough to be kept and frequent enough to notice when the original sentence has changed. An open-ended weekly slot looks serious in January and becomes a guilt object by March. We would rather write an end date at the start and review it.
Done is a checkable sentence: the leader can hold the conversation they named, or they cannot. “We transformed the culture” cannot be checked. The last meeting of a stretch is a review of the original brief, not a tour of feelings about the year. If the brief has changed, we write a new one or we stop. We do not quietly extend because the calendar still has a hole.
The public menu is one-to-one work, a role transition, a sounding board, leadership teams, and organisational performance. Mixing those conversations in the same hour is allowed only if both people name which hat they are wearing. Mentoring says “I walked this path.” Advising says “choose A.” Coaching stays with the leader’s own call.
What belongs on paper before session two
Confidentiality that lives only as a vibe fails the first time a board wants “colour.” Before a series starts we want three lines in writing: the change the leader named, the meeting rhythm, and the date we will stop or renew. The sponsor, if there is one, is entitled to process — that the work exists, that meetings are happening, that the leader has not disappeared. The sponsor is not entitled to the contents of the hour.
That rule is why names stay in the room. If a chair or an HR sponsor pays, they hear that the work is underway. They do not receive a file on the executive. If the brief is in fact a request for a file, we decline. Coaching is not performance management in a softer chair.
| Decision | Stays with the executive | Stays private |
|---|---|---|
| Whether to book a series | Named in the first hour | No package price, no invented retainer |
| Cadence and end date | Written before session two | Not published as a product tier |
| What the sponsor hears | Process, not content | Not a report on the hour |
| What “done” means | A checkable sentence | No scorecard of promotions |
If you cannot keep the calendar, do not call it a plan. Missed sessions are data. Two cancellations in a row are a reason to ask whether this is still the right door, not a reason to “make up the time” with a longer call.
What Hanover will not do in Berlin
We will not draft your board script, sit in the meeting, or publish a before-and-after valuation. We will not run a team offsite and call it coaching. We will not guarantee promotion, retention, or a number a sponsor already wants.
Role-transition work is about the first stretch in a new seat: stakeholders, decision rights, and what to stop doing. Hanover Executive does not run outplacement or search. A sounding-board hour is for deciding what you will say and what you will not.
If you need a consultant to diagnose a market and hand you a plan, hire that team under that name. A useful first note is short. Name the role, the kind of conversation, and the stretch you think you need. Keep the board pack until scope exists. If the first meeting fails to produce a series, that can be the honest outcome. Fog is a timing problem, not a methodology problem.
When you are ready to test fit, write from Berlin’s contact page. Prior operating roles belong to the companies that employed them. They are not Hanover Executive results, and they are not a promise about your next hundred days.