They have to find someone to spend high-quality intellectual time with. He says CEOs fall into that category, and many have kept their coaches a secret. But not anymore. It used to be a dirty little secret, kind of like therapy, but more people can talk about it now. There's a certain cachet now.
People even brag about it now.
It doesn't indicate a weakness. Although Leonard doesn't coach anymore, he does have stories from when he did. He remembers advising one of his clients to bankrupt his company. Another coach might have pushed him harder, but I thought that was the wrong path. You can even have a coach who will give you a complete personal makeover, which takes about three years.