Executive Coach In Melbourne For Leaders Who Want The Truth
For owners, founders and senior leaders carrying a team, a P&L and the decisions nobody else wants.
Book A Confidential CallBe clear on what you’re buying
I’m An Operator, Not An Accredited Executive Coach
Let’s get the honest part out of the way first, because it matters more than any of the marketing on this page. I don’t hold an executive coaching accreditation. I don’t run psychometric profiling, I don’t administer 360-degree instruments and I don’t have a coaching qualification hanging on the wall.
What I have is 20+ years of doing the job you’re doing. Four businesses founded, two exited — including an IT managed services provider that grew past $5 million in revenue with 24 staff and 160 clients before I sold it with no earnout. I have hired, promoted, demoted and let go of people. I have carried payroll through months where I wasn’t sure it would clear.
For some leaders, a credentialled coach with a validated instrument is genuinely the right call, and if that’s what you want you should go and get it. Plenty of good ones practise in Melbourne. What I offer is a different thing: an experienced operator across the table who has made the decision you’re circling, will tell you what it cost, and will not soften it to protect the relationship.
That distinction is the whole proposition. You’re not buying a methodology. You’re buying judgement earned the expensive way. The full background is on the about page, and the why Rob page sets out how I work.
Book A Confidential CallWhat we work on
The Conversations Senior Leaders Actually Need
Executive coaching with me is not a personality workshop. It is a recurring, confidential conversation about the decisions in front of you and the team you’re asking to deliver them.
- The decision you keep deferring. The underperforming executive, the unprofitable division, the partner conversation. Usually you already know the answer and need someone to test it with.
- Building a leadership team that operates without you. Delegation that survives contact with reality, clear ownership, and meetings that produce decisions rather than updates.
- Holding senior people accountable. How to have the conversation early, in plain language, without it turning into a performance-management process six months too late.
- Culture you can actually feel. What your team believes about how things work here, and how much of that came from you. Covered in depth on the culture pillar.
- Where the money really goes. Marketing retainers, IT spend, headcount and vendor contracts nobody has reviewed in three years.
- Growth, acquisition or exit. Whether the business is actually ready, what a buyer will look at, and what to fix first.
- The bit nobody else hears. The load of being the person everyone else escalates to. That conversation has to happen somewhere, and it can’t be with your team.
How it runs
The Shape Of An Executive Engagement
- 1
A confidential 30-minute call
You describe the situation. I tell you whether I’m the right person, and if I’m not, I’ll say what kind of coach is.
- 2
A grounding session
Before advice, context: the business model, the numbers, the leadership team, the history and the constraints you can’t change.
- 3
Fortnightly sessions, in person
We meet every two weeks in Melbourne, at your office or somewhere neutral if the conversation warrants it. It is booked in both calendars and it does not slip.
- 4
Access when the decision lands
Executive decisions do not wait for the calendar. When something breaks on a Sunday night, call me. That is included, not billed.
- 5
Work with the team where it helps
Sometimes the constraint is your leadership team, not you. I can sit in on a leadership meeting or work with individual managers when that’s the fastest way forward.
- 6
No contract, one flat fee
You stay while it is worth it. No lock-in, no notice period, no travel charges.
Receipts, not promises
What Sits Behind The Advice
- 5.0Average rating across 36 verified Google, Facebook & Trustindex reviews
- 20+Years running, scaling and selling real businesses — not theory
- 4Businesses founded by Rob, two of them successfully exited
- $0Lock-in contracts, travel charges and surprise invoices
The deal
Why Melbourne Leaders Work With Rob
No Contracts, Just Results
Fixed Monthly Pricing
20+ Years In The Trenches
Bi-Weekly Onsite Strategy
Straight Talk, Zero Ego
Founder-Speed Support 24/7
Real client feedback
What Leaders Say About Working With Rob
Roberts service is exceptional; not good, EXCEPTIONAL when it comes to action and communication. He created a new website for me and although I will not know for a little while if it does everything we want, I am convinced and believe it will. No BS with Robert is accurate and I look forward to having Robert work on more projects into the future. Thank you Robert.
The best! Rob commits to what he says and really is the No BS coach a business needs. Always finding and encouraging new technologies, a great soundboard and motivator to push ahead. Would highly recommend Rob to anyone who needs to step into the next stage of business.
I’ve worked with Rob across several of my businesses over the years, and I can’t recommend him highly enough. He’s one of the true pioneers of the SEO industry, having been involved since the early days of websites and search engine optimisation. That depth of experience really shows in the results he delivers. Rob has helped improve the Google rankings and overall search engine visibility for multiple companies I’ve owned, leading to increased traffic, stronger online presence, and more enquiries. He’s incredibly knowledgeable, stays passionate about what he does, and is always focused on achieving long-term, sustainable results rather than quick fixes.
Where this fits
Executive Coaching Or Business Coaching?
The line is simple. If the thing that needs work is the business — pricing, systems, marketing, cash — you want business coaching in Melbourne. If the thing that needs work is how you lead, decide and delegate, that’s executive coaching. Most engagements end up covering both, because in an owner-led business the two are the same problem wearing different clothes.
If you run a smaller owner-operated business and the leadership team is you plus a supervisor, the small business coaching page is a better fit and a better use of your money. If what you’re really after is an experienced operator to mentor you rather than coach you, read the business mentor page — there is a real difference and it is worth understanding before you engage anyone.
Everything is confidential. What you tell me stays between us, including from your board and your leadership team, and I don’t take on two clients competing in the same market at the same time.
Book A Free 30 Min ChatStraight answers
Executive Coaching Questions, Answered
Are you a certified or accredited executive coach?
No, and I won’t pretend otherwise. I hold no coaching accreditation and I’m not credentialled by a coaching body.
My qualification is having run the businesses — four founded, two sold, more than twenty years of leading teams and carrying the consequences. If a formal credential is what you need, hire a credentialled coach; there are good ones in Melbourne. If you want an operator’s judgement, that is what I sell.
Do you use psychometric profiling or 360-degree feedback?
No. I don’t administer psychometric instruments, personality profiles or 360 assessments, and I’m not qualified to interpret them.
If a formal assessment would genuinely help, I’ll say so and point you to someone who does that work properly. What I do instead is talk to the people around you and tell you plainly what I observe.
Who is your executive coaching actually for?
Business owners, founders, managing directors and senior leaders who carry real accountability for a team and a set of numbers — typically in owner-led or private companies rather than large corporates.
It suits people who want to be challenged. If you’re looking for validation of a decision you’ve already made, we’ll both find the sessions frustrating.
Can you work with my leadership team as well as me?
Yes. I’ll sit in on leadership meetings, work with individual managers, or run a session with the whole team where that’s the quickest way to unblock something.
Often the most valuable hour is watching how your team behaves in a room with you in it, then telling you what I saw.
Where do sessions take place?
Usually at your office in Melbourne, fortnightly, booked into both calendars. Some leaders prefer to meet away from the business for the harder conversations, which is easy enough to arrange.
I also travel to Sydney and Brisbane regularly and coach leaders elsewhere by video between visits.
Is what I tell you confidential?
Completely. Nothing you tell me goes to your board, your business partner or your team. If I’m also working with people who report to you, I’ll agree the boundaries with everyone up front so nobody is guessing.
I also won’t coach two businesses competing head-to-head in the same market at the same time.
What if my leadership team resists an outsider?
That’s common and it’s usually about safety rather than ego. People assume an outsider brought in by the boss is there to build a case against someone.
I deal with it by being direct about why I’m there, what I will and won’t report back, and by being useful in the first meeting rather than observing silently for a month.
How long do executive engagements usually run?
There’s no fixed term because there’s no contract. Some leaders work with me for a specific stretch — a restructure, an acquisition, a succession — and some stay for years because the fortnightly sounding board is worth it on its own.
You cancel whenever the value stops. That arrangement is deliberate and it keeps the pressure on me.
Let’s chat business
Free 30 Min Chat
Tell me what you’re carrying at the moment. The conversation is confidential and there’s no pitch at the end of it.
Real business coaching client testimonials