As you seek better health and wellness for yourself and your employees, we recognize the challenge in finding the right fit. Check-out the following interview with our CEO, Barrett McBride, to learn more about our philosophy, our approach and how you can begin today to integrate healthier strategies into your life and the lives of your employees.

What exactly is Executive Health Strategies?
At EHS, we offer coaching services to executives and professionals on an individual basis, and to organizations who value the benefits of a healthier workforce. Coaching programs are individually tailored to your needs.

What can you offer a professional like myself who is in a high-level position that carries considerable stress and little time or energy to deal with it?
For you and others like you who may have health challenges they need to address with a demanding career, need to lose weight but can’t find a way or are simply searching for a healthier lifestyle that can be integrated with your career, we work with you to design a coaching program to help you meet your goal of integrating health with profession.

What can you offer my company employees?
Research has proven that healthier employees are more productive and use fewer healthcare dollars. At Executive Health Strategies, we offer corporate wellness programs that promote healthy behaviors in the workplace. We offer a variety of programs to fit your workplace and budget, and will gladly design one to meet your specific needs. For example we can provide monthly educational seminars, one-on one and group coaching and newsletters and other helpful information to keep constant reminders of a healthy lifestyle before your employees.

I’ve heard so many definitions. What exactly do you mean by coaching?
There are almost as many definitions of coaching as there are coaches and hundreds of approaches! At Executive Health Strategies, coaching involves a clearly defined program in which a coach works with you to:
• develop a vision for your healthy life
• establish achievable goals to achieve your vision
• identify and overcome obstacles along the way
• ensure accountability.

So what role does the coach play in the process?Are you a cheerleader or a taskmaster?
A coach can be both, depending on what is needed in the moment. At Executive Health Strategies, the most important role a coach plays in each moment is holding the vision of you as capable of achieving your goal of ensuring your health as you soar ever higher in your career. From this place of knowing your ability to achieve whatever you desire, our coaches use a combination of proven coaching techniques and processes, experience and an intuitive sense of what you need to get to the next level of good health.

Okay I have a better idea of what coaching is, but still not clear how it compares to therapy, mentoring or training. Can you help me understand a bit better?
Sure. An EHS coach may play the role of a mentor at times, and may provide you with techniques that can be viewed as a form of training. However the most confusing distinction for many is the difference between coaching and therapy or counseling, as the goal of both is a healthier, happier individual. But there are distinct differences. While a therapist will often delve into your past with you to help you understand and heal emotional wounds, a coach works with you in the present moment forward to help you establish healthy behaviors and create the future you desire. A coach may occasionally look at past experiences with you, but as a vehicle to help you in the current moment to achieve your goals. For example, if you are struggling with balancing work with family life, a coach may ask you to look back into your life at a time when you were able to balance these things with the goal of gleaning the processes you used then that may serve you now.

I also understand there are many different types of coaching. How does your approach differ from other types I have heard about?
For many practitioners, the “pure” coaching model is one that assumes the client has the answers and it is the coach’s role to help the client see these answers. At Executive Health Strategies, we provide lifestyle and wellness coaching services, which really include a combination of coaching and consulting. When it comes to health and wellness, we agree that clients often do know the best way to achieve a goal, and sometimes need additional information or education to achieve it. We provide both within the scope of practice as coaches.

What are your qualifications for coaching executives and for providing corporate wellness programs?
I have more than 15 years of experience as a corporate executive, business development consultant, facilitator and leadership coach. When I began consulting more than 10 years ago, my business was strongly consultative in nature and has evolved with a greater emphasis on coaching. It continues to evolve with an even stronger focus on wellness & lifestyle coaching and development—the result of my lifelong personal interest in health and wellness and the personal challenges I have faced along the way when I failed to integrate my health into building and sustaining my own career! To learn and apply the unique aspects of health and wellness coaching to my programs, I became a Certified Wellness Coach and Certified Fitness Coach through a program endorsed by the prestigious American College of Sports Medicine. In addition, I am a Certified Personal Trainer, with certification from ACSM’s rigorous program.

Do you offer medical advice as part of your service?
No. Diagnosis and medical advice is beyond the scope of lifestyle and wellness coaching. We will, however, work with you and your physician to create a program that is safe and healthy for you. Depending on your health status, we may require certain tests and an okay from your physician before working with you to develop your personal program. If you decide on a corporate program, we will work with you and your employee health plan to ensure your employees receive the necessary screeing tests.

I am really busy. What will the time commitment be for me to see results?
How much time are you willing to devote to your health? Individual coaching requires a commitment of time on your part. The success of corporate programs are in large part dependent of the buy-in of leaders. Whether individual or group, our programs are about facilitating the integration of new habits and behaviors into your life. The biggest time commitment emerges out of your willingness to be conscious of the actions that improve your health, as well as the ones that detract. We can help you and your organization find a plan that fits the parameters of your life.

How can I get more detailed information about your programs?
Send your request to us at info@exechealthcoach.com or call us at 916.996.6705. Also, see our publications page for subscription information to our newsletters/