Case study interview and outline template for executive coaching
Use this case study interview and outline worksheet to document a real engagement with evidence, permission and a clear account of what changed. It is written for executive coaching and starts with an illustrative offer: a structured leadership coaching programme. Replace the assumptions with evidence from your own business before using the result.
Leave with a case study outline ready to populate with verified customer evidence.
Start with a real buying situation
For the worked example, the audience is a founder preparing to manage a growing leadership team. Their problem is that important decisions return to the founder even after delegation. The desired practical outcome is clearer decision ownership and a repeatable reflection routine.
The example is deliberately bounded: personal discussions must have explicit confidentiality boundaries. That condition should influence the promise, scope and next step rather than disappear from the marketing copy.
| Illustrative offer | a structured leadership coaching programme |
|---|---|
| Buyer question | Which recurring decision would you like your team to own without you? |
| Possible evidence | a sample session agenda and a client-owned progress journal |
| Useful asset | a delegation reflection worksheet |
How to complete your case study interview and outline
- Obtain permission for the specific material you plan to publish.
- Describe the original situation and constraints.
- Record the work performed and who contributed.
- Use verified results with definitions, dates and limitations.
- Explain what another buyer can learn without implying the same result is guaranteed.
Worked example
These entries are illustrative planning material, not research findings or customer results. Keep the structure and replace the content with verified details.
| Permission and scope of disclosure | Obtain the customer’s permission for names, quotations, screenshots and figures. This worksheet contains no actual customer result. |
|---|---|
| Starting situation | Document the original problem and constraint: important decisions return to the founder even after delegation; personal discussions must have explicit confidentiality boundaries. Replace these illustrative prompts with verified facts. |
| Actions and responsibilities | Describe the actual work. Reference a structured leadership coaching programme only where it matches the agreed and delivered scope. |
| Verified result and measurement | Record completion and reflection on agreed behavioural experiments only if measured; include the baseline, period, source and what else changed. |
| Lessons and limitations | Explain what the case can teach a buyer. Keep coaching separate from clinical care and avoid psychological diagnoses. State limitations and avoid attributing all change to one intervention. |
Review before using it
A useful operational measure in this example is completion and reflection on agreed behavioural experiments. That does not automatically make it a marketing attribution metric. Define the source, period and owner before drawing conclusions.
- Can the customer verify the account, and are all numbers traceable?
- Check the delivery assumptions: Agree session cadence, confidentiality, cancellation and sponsor reporting.
- Use evidence rather than promises. Keep coaching separate from clinical care and avoid psychological diagnoses.
- Discuss the draft with someone who understands the buying situation. Start with: “Which recurring decision would you like your team to own without you?”
- If the next step is a trial, define its purpose. One possible starting point is to run a clearly scoped introductory session and agree one behaviour to practise.
Common mistakes and a better review
Do not fill a missing fact with an impressive-sounding number. Mark it as an assumption, explain how you will check it and give that check an owner. A short, honest document is easier to use than an elaborate plan built on unknowns.
| Watch for | Do not turn an illustrative example into a customer success story. |
|---|---|
| A real buyer concern | How can I prove coaching will pay for itself? |
| Useful response direction | We can agree observable behaviours and review them. We should not present a coaching conversation as a guaranteed financial return. |
| Evidence to collect | The buyer’s own account, a sample session agenda and a client-owned progress journal, and records relevant to completion and reflection on agreed behavioural experiments. |
Your working sheet.
Make the exercise your own. Notes are saved in this browser when storage is available. Download a copy to keep; avoid confidential information on a shared device.
Example: Obtain the customer’s permission for names, quotations, screenshots and figures. This worksheet contains no actual customer result.
Example: Document the original problem and constraint: important decisions return to the founder even after delegation; personal discussions must have explicit confidentiality boundaries. Replace these illustrative prompts with verified facts.
Example: Describe the actual work. Reference a structured leadership coaching programme only where it matches the agreed and delivered scope.
Example: Record completion and reflection on agreed behavioural experiments only if measured; include the baseline, period, source and what else changed.
Example: Explain what the case can teach a buyer. Keep coaching separate from clinical care and avoid psychological diagnoses. State limitations and avoid attributing all change to one intervention.
Review your work
This is a reflection checklist, not an automated assessment.
Questions
How do I adapt this for my executive coaching business?+
Is the filled example ready to publish?+
What should I do after completing the worksheet?+
Illustrative business worksheet. No customer results, market rates, traffic volumes or performance benchmarks are implied.
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