Does the coaching pay back?

Executive coaching typically costs 5,000-25,000 for a 6-12 month engagement. The return comes through promotion probability - specifically, the increase in likelihood of reaching the next level within a given timeframe. This calculator puts numbers on the expected value.

A 12,000 coaching engagement that lifts promotion probability by 30% on a salary jump from 80,000 to 110,000 has expected annual lift of 9,000 (30% × 30,000). Over 10 years of retained benefit, the expected net value is 78,000 - a 550% ROI. The math looks good when promotion lifts are meaningful.

The tool is about expected value, not certainty. A 30% probability lift doesn't mean a 30% pay rise - it means a 30 percentage point increase in the chance of an outcome that was already possible. If the baseline chance was 40%, coaching might lift it to 70% - still not certain. Run the numbers with honest probability estimates, not wishful ones.

A worked example

Try the defaults: total coaching cost of 12,000, promotion probability lift of 30%, current annual salary of 80,000, expected salary at next level of 110,000. The tool returns 78,000.00. You can adjust any input and the result updates as you type — no submit button, no reload. That's the real power here: seeing how sensitive the output is to one or two assumptions.

What moves the number most

The result responds to Total Coaching Cost, Promotion Probability Lift, Current Annual Salary, Expected Salary at Next Level, and Years of Benefit. Not every input has equal weight. Flip one at a time toward extreme values to feel which ones move the needle most for your situation.

The formula behind this

Annual lift = next salary - current. Expected lift = annual lift × probability lift. Total expected = expected × years. Net value = total - cost. ROI = net / cost. Everything the calculator does is shown in the formula box below, so you can check the math against your own spreadsheet if you want.

Using the result to decide

The figure gives you a threshold. Below it, paying someone else usually wins. Above it, doing it yourself usually wins. The number isn't destiny — some tasks are genuinely worth doing personally — but it sets the default.

What this doesn't capture

Hour-for-money math misses the tasks you enjoy and the ones that build skill. The number is an efficient-markets view of your time; real decisions about what to do yourself vs outsource should also weigh what you learn and what you enjoy.