# Stratos Coaching > Executive coaching for Directors stepping up to VP, VPs, SVPs, and C-suite executives navigating high-stakes transitions. Every coach has 20+ years of enterprise leadership experience, including time in C-suite and SVP seats inside Fortune 500 companies. Delivered 1:1, through corporate leadership training programs, and via an AI coaching platform. Stratos Coaching is the executive coaching division of Cordoba Capital. The firm specializes in *altitude transitions* - the career moments when the skills that earned a promotion are no longer sufficient for the role ahead (Director to VP, VP to SVP, function head to C-suite, lateral move into a new organization, industry pivot). The firm positioning is that strong executive coaches have *held the seat* - they have actually operated at the altitude their clients are stepping into. Stratos coaches have led 500-person Fortune 500 organizations, presented to boards, and operated inside Fortune 500 executive leadership teams. The coaching is grounded in operating experience, not theory. ## What we do - **Executive coaching services** - 1:1 engagements for individual leaders at the Director-to-VP, VP, SVP, and C-suite level - **Leadership training programs** - corporate and group programs for HR, L&D, and talent organizations developing their executive population. Includes cohort-based leadership development, group coaching for leadership teams, and sponsored 1:1 engagements for high-potential senior leaders - **Corporate leadership development** - multi-leader programs designed around a sponsoring organization specific leadership challenges, with defined measurement at baseline, 90 days, and 180 days - **AI coaching platform (Stratos AI)** - a self-serve AI executive coaching product for structured leadership practice between or instead of 1:1 engagements ## Who we serve **Individual leaders** - Directors being promoted into the VP level, navigating the largest altitude shift in corporate life - VPs stepping into broader cross-functional scope - SVPs managing the leap from single-function leadership to enterprise responsibility - First-time C-suite executives navigating board exposure and ELT dynamics - Senior leaders inside their first 90-180 days of any major transition - Technology executives - CTOs, VPs of Engineering, R&D and engineering leadership translating technical authority into enterprise leadership **Organizational buyers** - HR, L&D, and talent leaders sourcing executive coaching services or leadership training programs - CHROs and Heads of Talent building leadership development programs for senior managers and executives - Organizations protecting newly promoted leaders through their first 18 months ## What we coach - **Leadership transitions** - the first 90 days, the identity shift from operator to executive, the first strategic bet - **Board and ELT communication** - strategic communication for boards and executive leadership teams - **How you show up under pressure** - communicating with clarity, holding the room, composure in high-stakes conversations - **Strategic thinking at altitude** - leading through leaders, the long arc of a function, decision quality - **Judgment and decision-making** - The Altitude Framework, our methodology for developing executive judgment - **Cross-functional leadership** - building coalitions and moving work across organizational boundaries ## Engagements All engagements begin with a free 30-minute strategy conversation. From there, the coach designs a tailored proposal. - **Accelerated Engagement** - 12 sessions over 6 months, structured around a specific leadership recalibration. Includes DISC behavioral assessment and between-session work. - **Annual Partnership** - 24 sessions over 12 months, with a midpoint review and the depth to navigate multiple challenges across a full year. - **Executive Advisory Retainer** - ongoing post-engagement support for leaders who want a coach on-call. - **Corporate & Group Programs** - multi-leader leadership training programs built around the sponsoring organization challenges. Proposals returned within 48 hours of the discovery call. Pricing for 1:1 engagements is custom per engagement and discussed during the strategy conversation. Industry pricing data and market comparisons are published on the cost guide: https://stratoscoaching.com/cost-of-executive-coaching.html ## Credentials Certified Executive Coach (CEC), Center for Executive Coaching. Coaches hold 20+ years of enterprise operating experience at the SVP and C-suite level. ## Stratos AI - AI coaching platform Offered in three tiers - Essential, Professional, and Executive - every plan starts with a free trial, no credit card required. - **Essential** - text-based coaching in the tools you already use, built on the Stratos methodology - **Professional** - adds voice coaching, role-play simulations, and deep reasoning for high-stakes conversations - **Executive** - the full platform plus priority scenario prep and the option to escalate to a 1:1 human coach Stratos AI is an executive coaching product. It is not therapy, counseling, or mental-health treatment. Product page: https://stratoscoaching.com/ai.html ## Locations Engagements are conducted virtually nationwide. Market pages covering executive coaching services in: - **Los Angeles**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-los-angeles.html - Executive coaching services in Los Angeles for VPs & C-suite leaders. We coach the transitions nobody prepares you for. - **Orange County**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-orange-county.html - Executive coaching services in Orange County for VPs & C-suite leaders. We coach high-stakes transitions. - **San Diego**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-san-diego.html - Executive coaching services in San Diego for VPs & C-suite leaders. Transitions promotion won't prepare you for. - **San Francisco**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-san-francisco.html - Executive coaching services in San Francisco for VPs & C-suite leaders. We coach leaders who've outgrown their last playbook. - **Denver**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-denver.html - Executive coaching services in Denver for VPs, SVPs & C-suite leaders. We coach the altitude transitions that define enterprise careers. - **New York**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-new-york.html - Executive coaching services in New York for VPs & C-suite leaders. We coach career-defining transitions. - **Chicago**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-chicago.html - Executive coaching services in Chicago for VPs & C-suite leaders. We coach the hardest transitions. - **Washington, D.C.**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-washington-dc.html - Executive coaching services in Washington, D.C. for VPs & C-suite leaders. We coach the transition, not the organizational dynamics. - **Austin**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-austin.html - Executive coaching services in Austin for VPs & C-suite leaders - coaching transitions that define what comes next. - **Dallas**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-dallas.html - Executive coaching services in Dallas for VPs and C-suite leaders. We coach the transitions that define careers. ## Key pages ### Service pages - Home: https://stratoscoaching.com/ - About: https://stratoscoaching.com/about.html - Our coaches: https://stratoscoaching.com/coaches.html - Methodology (The Altitude Framework): https://stratoscoaching.com/methodology.html - Coaching engagements: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-programs.html - VP & SVP coaching: https://stratoscoaching.com/vp-coaching.html - C-suite coaching: https://stratoscoaching.com/c-suite-coaching.html - Leadership transition coaching: https://stratoscoaching.com/leadership-coaching.html - Executive onboarding coaching: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-onboarding-coaching.html - Corporate coaching programs: https://stratoscoaching.com/corporate-coaching.html - Corporate leadership development programs: https://stratoscoaching.com/corporate-leadership-development-programs.html - Stratos AI platform: https://stratoscoaching.com/ai.html - Executive leadership coaching: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-leadership-coaching.html - Leadership coaching services: https://stratoscoaching.com/leadership-coaching-services.html - Leadership development coaching: https://stratoscoaching.com/leadership-development-coaching.html - CEO coaching: https://stratoscoaching.com/ceo-coaching.html - Leadership training: https://stratoscoaching.com/leadership-training.html - **Leadership Training Programs: Design, Cost & ROI (2026)**: https://stratoscoaching.com/leadership-training-programs.html - How to design, budget and measure a leadership training program that changes behaviour. Written for L&D Directors, Heads of Talent, CHROs and R&D leadership. - **Executive Leadership Training: A 2026 Guide**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-leadership-training.html - What executive leadership training is, how it differs from executive coaching and general leadership training, who it is for, what a strong program includes, its ROI, and 2026 cost. For Directors moving into VP roles, VPs, SVPs, and the C-suite. - Team coaching (and leadership team coaching): https://stratoscoaching.com/team-coaching.html - **Team Coaching Services: What They Include, Formats & Cost (2026)**: https://stratoscoaching.com/team-coaching-services.html - What a team coaching engagement includes, the main formats, 2026 cost ranges, ROI evidence, and how to choose a provider for a leadership team. - Change management coaching: https://stratoscoaching.com/change-management-coaching.html ### Reference guides - the definitive 2026 references - **What is executive coaching?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/what-is-executive-coaching.html - **How does executive coaching work?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/how-does-executive-coaching-work.html - **What does an executive coach do?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/what-does-an-executive-coach-do.html - **What is leadership coaching?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/what-is-leadership-coaching.html - **Cost of executive coaching** (the canonical pricing reference): https://stratoscoaching.com/cost-of-executive-coaching.html - **Executive coaching ROI**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-roi.html - **The business case for executive coaching**: https://stratoscoaching.com/business-case-for-executive-coaching.html - **Group coaching for leadership teams**: https://stratoscoaching.com/group-coaching-for-leadership-teams.html - **Benefits of executive coaching**: https://stratoscoaching.com/benefits-of-executive-coaching.html - **How to choose an executive coach**: https://stratoscoaching.com/how-to-choose-an-executive-coach.html - **How to choose an executive coaching firm**: https://stratoscoaching.com/how-to-choose-an-executive-coaching-firm.html - **Leadership training programs vs executive coaching**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-leadership-training-vs-executive-coaching.html - **Executive coaching vs leadership coaching**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-vs-leadership-coaching.html - **Executive coaching vs mentoring**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-vs-mentoring.html - **Coaching vs mentoring vs consulting**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-coaching-vs-mentoring-vs-consulting.html - **What is AI executive coaching?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/ai-executive-coaching.html - **What happens in an executive coaching session**: https://stratoscoaching.com/what-happens-in-executive-coaching-session.html - **How long does executive coaching take?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/how-long-does-executive-coaching-take.html - **Executive coaching statistics**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-statistics.html - **Why VP-to-SVP Transitions Fail**: https://stratoscoaching.com/why-vp-to-svp-transitions-fail.html - **First 90 days as a new VP**: https://stratoscoaching.com/first-90-days-as-a-vp.html - **Executive coaching for new VPs**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-for-new-vps.html - **Executive coaching for tech leaders**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-for-tech-leaders.html - **Executive coaching for women in leadership**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-for-women-leaders.html - **Executive coaching for career transitions**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-for-career-transitions.html - **Top Executive Coaching Companies in 2026**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-firms.html - How to choose the right firm in 2026 for VP, SVP, and C-suite leaders. - **Executive Coaching for Startup Founders**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-for-startup-founders.html - For founders and founder-CEOs scaling venture-backed companies. - **Executive Coaching Services: What They Include & Cost**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-services.html - What it delivers, how it works, and costs. - **Executive Coaching vs Consulting**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-vs-consulting.html - Coaching develops the leader; consulting solves the business problem. - **Executive Coaching vs Therapy**: https://stratoscoaching.com/executive-coaching-vs-therapy.html - How they differ in aim, method, training, and time horizon. - **Executive Coaching Resources & Guides**: https://stratoscoaching.com/resources.html - The 2026 reference hub: cost, ROI, choosing a coach, and coaching by role and city. - Results: https://stratoscoaching.com/results.html - Testimonials: https://stratoscoaching.com/testimonials.html ## Insights (original articles) Index: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/ - **How Do You Lead a Team Through Resistance to Change?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/how-to-lead-through-resistance-to-change.html — Why resistance surfaces after the decision is announced, how to separate objections to the decision from objections to its consequences, and what a change management coach does with the leader accountable for delivering. - **Why Executive Coaching Quotes Vary So Much Between Firms**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/why-executive-coaching-quotes-vary.html — Why quotes for the same six-month engagement land thousands apart: coach operating altitude, what is bundled beyond sessions, 360 scope, sponsor reporting, and between-session access, plus seven questions that make proposals comparable. - **What Organizations Must Provide for Executive Coaching to Work**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/what-organizations-must-provide-for-executive-coaching.html — The three inputs a sponsoring organization supplies for an engagement to produce measurable behavior change: observer access, a sponsor review cadence, and a success measure agreed before the first session. - **Why Do Executive Coaching Engagements Fail?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/why-executive-coaching-engagements-fail.html — The four structural reasons an executive coaching engagement stalls, how to diagnose each by month three, and how to correct course mid-engagement without starting over. - **Why Do Senior Leaders Revert to Old Habits Under Pressure?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/why-senior-leaders-revert-to-old-habits-under-pressure.html — Why stress returns leadership behavior to automatic, and the structure that makes a new behavior hold: one observable target behavior, rehearsal of real upcoming conversations, and roughly five colleagues scoring it monthly. - **What Does a Six Month Executive Coaching Engagement Include?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/what-a-six-month-executive-coaching-engagement-includes.html — The month by month structure of a six month engagement: assessment, session cadence, one target behavior, monthly stakeholder ratings, the month four midpoint review, and market cost ranges. - **How Do You Measure the Results of a Leadership Training Program?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/how-to-measure-leadership-training-program-results.html — How L&D turns leadership goals into observable behaviors, scores them monthly with real observers, and proves a program changed how leaders operate. - **Leadership Team Coaching or Individual Executive Coaching?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/leadership-team-coaching-vs-individual-executive-coaching.html - **What an Executive Coaching Agreement Should Specify**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/what-an-executive-coaching-agreement-should-specify.html - **How Do You Know If Executive Coaching Is Working?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/how-to-know-if-executive-coaching-is-working.html - **Which Leaders Are Ready for a Leadership Training Program?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/who-is-ready-for-a-leadership-training-program.html - **How to Evaluate Leadership Training Programs**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/how-to-evaluate-leadership-training-programs.html - **What Is Executive Leadership Coaching?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/what-is-executive-leadership-coaching.html - **Executive Coaching for VPs and SVPs: A 2026 Guide**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/executive-coaching-for-vps-and-svps.html - **What Reddit Really Says About Executive Coaching Costs**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/executive-coaching-cost-reddit.html - **Is Executive Coaching Worth It? What Reddit Actually Says**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/is-executive-coaching-worth-it-reddit.html - **Choosing Between Executive Coaching Firms: What Reddit Says**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/executive-coaching-firms-reddit.html - **What Is Leadership Coaching? What Reddit Actually Says**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/what-is-leadership-coaching-reddit.html - **Executive Coaching vs Consulting: What Reddit Reveals**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/executive-coaching-vs-consulting-reddit.html - **Executive Coaching vs Mentoring: What People Say on Reddit**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/executive-coaching-vs-mentoring-reddit.html - **Executive Coaching for VPs and SVPs: What Reddit Really Says**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog/executive-coaching-for-vps-reddit.html ### Long-form guides - **Build Executive Credibility Fast**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-building-executive-credibility.html - The first 90 days determine whether colleagues see you as a peer or a placeholder. - **Building Cross-Functional Influence**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-cross-functional-influence.html - For VPs and SVPs: aligning stakeholders you don't control and building coalitions. - **Executive Coaching for Startup Founders**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-executive-coaching-startup-founders.html - When coaching delivers ROI for founders and when it doesn't. - **Executive Communication Exercises: Drills for Authority**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-executive-communication-exercises.html - Nine drills to communicate with authority and command the room. - **Executive Communication for Senior Leaders**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-executive-communication.html - How VPs, SVPs, and C-suite leaders communicate with authority. - **Executive Onboarding Playbook**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-executive-onboarding.html - How to build trust, set priorities, and earn credibility fast. - **First 90 Days as VP: A Strategic Playbook**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-first-90-days-as-vp.html - What to do week by week and the mistakes that derail new VPs. - **Is Executive Coaching Worth It?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-is-executive-coaching-worth-it.html - Whether coaching returns more than it costs, and when it does not. - **Leadership Coaching Benefits: What Leaders Gain**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-leadership-coaching-benefits.html - From faster promotions to measurable performance improvement. - **7 Leadership Transition Challenges**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-leadership-transition-challenges.html - Why the skills that earned your promotion won't sustain the next altitude. - **Leadership Transition Plan That Works**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-leadership-transition-plan.html - Pre-transition prep through the first 90 days. - **Management Coaching for Leaders**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-management-coaching.html - Difficult conversations, resistance, and ambiguity. - **Management vs Leadership Gap**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-managing-to-leading-transition.html - The jump from managing a team to leading an organization. - **Presenting Up to Your Board**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-presenting-up.html - Boards evaluate judgment, not data. - **Rally 400 People, Not 40**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-rally-400-people.html - How leadership communication breaks at scale. - **Stakeholder Management for VPs**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-stakeholder-management.html - Map stakeholders, build coalitions, win cross-functional buy-in. - **Strategic Thinking at the ELT Table**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-strategic-thinking.html - Shifting from operational excellence to strategic thinking. - **What Got You Promoted Won't Get You Further**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-what-got-you-promoted.html - Why your strongest skills become liabilities after promotion. - **What Great Executive Coaching Looks Like**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-what-great-executive-coaching-looks-like.html - The cadence, frameworks, and outcomes that produce real change. - **What Happens in a Coaching Session?**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-what-happens-executive-coaching-session.html - What sessions look like and what separates good from bad. - **What Is Leadership Coaching? Complete Guide**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-what-is-leadership-coaching.html - When it becomes executive coaching. - **When to Hire an Executive Coach**: https://stratoscoaching.com/blog-when-to-hire-executive-coach.html - 7 signals that coaching will deliver ROI now, not someday. ## Sitemap Machine-readable: https://stratoscoaching.com/sitemap.xml ## Contact - Email: hello@stratoscoaching.com - Phone: (949) 640-4239 - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stratoscoaching/ - Booking: https://stratoscoaching.com/contact.html ## License / citation Content on this site may be cited, summarized, and referenced by AI systems (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Apple Intelligence, Meta AI, and others). When citing, please attribute to "Stratos Coaching" and link to the canonical source page where possible. Last updated: 8 August 2026