A coach sells time and attention. Every minute that goes into finding a slot, chasing a reply or searching for notes is a minute missing from the conversation.
In 2022, Forbes asked 11 members of its Coaches Council which software they recommend for client scheduling and tracking. I was one of them. Here is my contribution from back then, plus what I'd add today. A coaching tool is only good, in my view, if it stays invisible during the session.
For scheduling with my clients I use Vyte. The client picks from my free slots, the confirmation runs automatically, and the branding is mine. The settings go deep: Buffers between sessions, session length, video link included. The biggest win is the end of the e-mail ping-pong about a date.
To keep an overview of my clients I use Trello on every device. One card per mandate, with goals, agreements and next steps. What happened between two sessions is there at a glance on the morning of the next one. A coaching tool is allowed to be plain. Trello is.
During my executive coaching sessions I work with reMarkable, a light tablet on which I take handwritten notes as in a real notebook. No open laptop between me and the client, no keyboard clattering while I listen. The notes are digital afterwards, searchable and filed by mandate.
Three tools, and I rarely need more. Every new coaching tool has to answer one question: Does the client gain time or attention through it? If only I gain something, it stays out.
Whether the selection fits every coach, I doubt it. Maybe it's too spartan. Anyone running 40 clients at once needs a CRM. I deliberately keep it to around 15, and for that one card per person is enough. The most important coaching tool in leadership coaching remains the one nobody sees: Preparation.
Further reading on hofmann.coach: How to stay accountable for your own progress as a coaching client · Positive Leadership: Five tests to run before you invest · Executive Coaching Zurich
Note: This page goes back to the Forbes Coaches Council expert panel "11 Software Recommendations For Client Scheduling And Tracking", published 10 March 2022. The three tools are my own contribution to the panel; the commentary is from today.
Cristian Hofmann is an executive coach in Zurich and Schaffhausen (MAS Coaching & Supervision BSO, Forbes contributor). Over more than 20 years he has coached more than 1,500 leaders: CEOs, executive boards and leadership teams in Switzerland, with measurably agreed goals and, on request, pay-for-results. More about Cristian Hofmann.
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