Not Your Average Executive Coach || Tattooed. Direct. Deeply human.

I once said, “I want to study psychology or music therapy.”

Being half-Arab, that wasn’t exactly encouraged.

So I chose the right path instead.

Business. Finance. HR. Leadership roles. Boardrooms. Titles.

On paper? Success.

In reality? Misalignment.

For over 15 years, I sat in polished offices having the wrong conversations—avoiding the human ones that quietly decide whether leaders thrive, burn out, or take their families and businesses down with them.

What I finally accepted was simple: I was never drawn to power. I was drawn to people under pressure.

People inheriting systems they didn’t design.

Managing teams they didn’t choose.

Carrying decisions that affect livelihoods, legacies, and family relationships—not just balance sheets.

Executive coaching didn’t change who I am.

It gave me a discipline to do what I was already wired for; with structure, ethics, and accountability.

My first session? With my father. Yes… it went badly.

Conflict of interest is very real.

For a brief moment, I questioned the decision. Not because the work was hard; but because the standards were higher than I expected.

Then the real sessions began.

Leaders. Founders. Family business successors.

Clearer decisions. Hard conversations handled properly. Measurable movement.

One example:

A next-generation family business leader inherited a senior manager who operated on a “if it isn’t broken, don’t touch it” mindset. On the surface, things looked fine. Underneath? Aging receivables, a massive unsold inventory order, and a supplier cutting them off until payments were resolved.

The leader tried everything—pressure, incentives, patience. Nothing changed.

Through coaching, we identified an overlooked senior contributor who already understood the operation better than anyone else. The decision wasn’t dramatic—but it was decisive: promote internally, exit the wrong leadership fit, and simplify the structure.

The result?

Lower costs, higher accountability, faster recovery, no external consultants, and no ego hires. Just clarity.

Another case:

A senior HR leader at a large organization struggled to address persistent underperformance.

Not due to lack of competence; but because the CEO was both deeply empathetic and unwilling to relinquish control.

Through coaching, we reframed the problem.

The solution wasn’t firing faster; it was designing a termination framework with the CEO. Policies he helped shape. Guardrails he trusted.

The outcome?

Control was preserved, authority was delegated, and decisions became timely instead of emotional.

That’s what real coaching looks like.

I don’t fix people. I don’t perform motivation. And I’m not interested in surface-level leadership.

I work with leaders who say, “I’m doing well… but something’s off.”

Coaching, when done properly, is support.

It's governance for the human side of leadership.

That’s why leaders don’t come to me when things are broken.

They come when things are working; and they refuse to let them quietly fail.

Signing Off! Laith (Leo) Khoury [Connect on LinkedIn] Family Business Advisor & Executive Coach Founder, SpartanSC.co & LeoKhoury.me