Private executive coaching

You got what you wanted. Somewhere along the way, you stopped recognizing yourself.

A private practice for leaders at every rung – those who reached the top and lost themselves on the way, and those still climbing who would rather not.

Book a free 30-minute conversation

The climb has a cost.

Nobody warns you about this part. The promotion came. The title is real. People would say you're doing well, and they're not wrong.

And still: it's late, the house is quiet, and you can't remember the last time you felt like yourself. Decisions you keep deferring. A role you've outgrown but can't put down.

This isn't a performance problem, and a framework won't fix it. It's a perspective problem.

Perspective is what gets left behind on the climb – and it can be refreshed.

If you're earlier in the climb, this is worth knowing now. You've watched the people above you and you can see what it takes to be "successful" here – the hours, the trade-offs, the version of yourself it seems to require. And something about it doesn't feel right for you.

That instinct is worth listening to. Most people override it, arrive one day, and notice something's missing. Knowing what the climb asks of you, and deciding ahead of time what you won't hand over, is most of the work.

This is for you if

  • You're senior enough that there's no one at work you can say this to
  • You're doing well and you're also not okay, and both are true
  • You're rising fast and want to arrive as yourself, not as whoever the climb makes you
  • You've tried your company's coaching and it felt like another review
  • You want to keep leading – just as yourself

This is not

  • A leadership development program
  • A platform, a dashboard, or a cohort
  • Something anyone else needs to know about, unless you want them to

This is private work, and it stays that way. What we talk about is between the two of us – not part of any review, file, or report. You decide who knows you're here, if anyone.

How it works

Simple by design. The first conversation costs nothing and asks nothing of you but honesty.

  • A 30-minute conversation, no chargeWe talk. You tell me what's actually going on. I tell you honestly whether I think I can help, and we both decide if this is a fit.
  • Private, one-to-one sessionsRegular time, protected on your calendar however you choose to label it. By video or in person.
  • Work on the person, not the résuméThe decisions you're avoiding, the roles you've outgrown, the gap between who you are and who the title requires.
  • Leave when you're readyNo long contracts. You stay because it's working, and you go when you've found your footing.

Why me

I've spent more than three decades climbing: 24 years in telecom at Fortune 500 companies, then Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at a fintech serving community banks. I got the titles. I also know what it feels like to look up from the work and not recognize the person doing it.

Today I run GCB Consulting – fractional executive, strategy advisor, and the person who gets technology built for growing businesses. Coaching isn't a side door to that work. I've been moving toward it for years, and I chose to educate myself and train formally because this work matters too much to improvise. It grows out of the same conviction as everything else I do: that the most useful thing an experienced person can offer is honesty, delivered kindly.

GCB isn't just a company name. It's my daughters' initials. I put it on the door as a reminder of why I do this – and why, for me, this is a passion and not a job.

I'm grounded in my faith and supported by my wife and girls.

— Chris Raper

Book a 30-minute conversation.

No charge, no obligation, no one else on the call. Tell me a little about where you are and a few times that work, and I'll reply personally within one business day.

Prefer email? chris@gcbconsulting.co