"We refine or adjust targets along the process," he said, "but we never lose sight of the end-goals."

Although executive coaching is gaining wider adoption, Willinge said it has yet to catch on with local IT executives.

"I focus on coaching senior executives like CEOs, CFOs and CMOs, but I've only coached one CIO so far and that person is in Australia," he said.

Willing pinpoints technical focus as a likely cause. Most senior executives at MNCs or large corporations take up different roles, ranging from finance, marketing and operations, as they move up the corporate ladder. CIOs tend to develop a technical career and are more likely to switch CIO jobs between different companies than different roles within a company.