Leadership and Personal Development
Choosing Your Coach

Here are a few things to think about when choosing a Coach for personal development, so you get maximum value from the relationship. Remember, this is a person you might end up working with again and again, over a lifetime.

Executive Summary

1. Be clear on what you want to achieve
2. Engage a full-time professional Coach
3. Look for International Coaching Federation membership
4. Evaluate training and credentials
5. Look for specific coaching experience
6. Look for specific life experience and/or worldview
7. Ask about life, business and other relevant experience
8. Find out what the Coach did before becoming a Coach
9. Take advantage of any complimentary coaching session
10. Trust your intuition
11. Look for an approach that challenges your thinking
12. Consider any testimonials and references
13. Remember you are investing in your life, not purchasing a commodity

Full Details

With the exception of one, maybe two, coaching organizations, coaching is largely an unregulated profession. Anyone with minimal money and a telephone can hang out their shingle, advertise some personal developement 'program', and call themselves a coach … and buyer beware … they do. Remember, when you are choosing a coach - ‘anyone’ can call themselves a coach.

I spent several years listening, studying, practicing and training to graduate, not one, but two, intensive Coaching and Corporate Coach training programs. I invested the time, energy and money to obtain the most recognized credential in the coaching industry. I take my profession very seriously. I regularly take courses as the profession matures.

With this background, I recommend you consider the following checklist when choosing a Coach.

1. When Choosing a Coach - Be Clear on What You Want to Achieve

A Coach will ask you to outline what it is you would like to accomplish and why you think working with a Coach is important to you right now. The clearer you can be about what you want to achieve, the better conversation you will have with less chance of a mismatch.

Do your major personal development goals center on executive, corporate or leadership opportunities and challenges? Personal, family or relationship goals? Small Business needs? Reaching personal, professional or organizational targets? Career or Transition concerns? Something else?

Do you want your Coach for accountability, to help you brainstorm and create new ideas, serve as a sounding board or something else? When choosing a Coach, try to be clear on what you want, so your initial conversation can be as productive as possible.

2. When Choosing a Coach - Engage a Full-time Coach

There are many who only coach part-time while doing something else. There is no problem with this if they are a new Coach, or on track to becoming a full-time coach. If they are simply supplementing income by coaching on the side, while struggling to pursue a different career, beware.

Engage a full-time seasoned Coach. Your investment in yourself is too important to entrust it to just anybody.

3. When Choosing a Coach - Look for ICF Membership

If someone claims to have expertise in a field, they should have affiliation that shows:

• they are committed to and governed by professional standards of practice
• they adhere to a code of ethics for that profession

The International Coaching Federation is the key governance body for coaching worldwide. Check to see your coach is a member.

4. When Choosing a Coach - Evaluate Their Training and Credentials

Ask where the Coach received their training. How extensive was it? A weekend or one month course does not count. Tell them to get serious. There are more goofy initials out there behind coach’s names than you can imagine.

Yes, it is possible to be a good coach without having formal coach training. But for someone to claim they have expertise without a commitment to advanced, quality training and ongoing improvement is questionable.

When choosing a Coach, check out the list of accredited training organizations at the International Coaching Federation.

An ICF member Coach may be:

• A Coach currently training at an ICF Accredited Coach Training Program
• A Graduate from an ICF Accredited Coach Training Program
• A Professional Certified Coach (PCC) meaning they have graduated from an ICF Accredited Coach Training Program, passed an ICF peer review that includes both written and oral examination
• A Master Certifed Coach (MCC) meaning they hold the highest recognized accreditation in the world of professional coaching from the ICF

5. When Choosing a Coach - Look for Specific Coaching Experience

Modern coaching as a distinct profession had its beginnings in the mid 1980’s. The first Training Schools dedicated exclusively to coaching started in the early 1990’s. So coaching is a relatively new discipline, and seven or eight years experience is substantial.

If someone tells you they have been a professional coach for over 20 years … start asking questions. Remember that coaching is not training, therapy, consulting, mentoring or pastoring. Find out what their background is and how dominant a role it plays in their coaching.

If you are looking to work with a Coach who holds a particular worldview (example: Christian) with particular experience (example: Has held executive responsibilities) ask about that by email before you even interview the Coach. It will save you a lot of time. Once established, question the person closely around your requirements to make sure there is a fit.

7. When Choosing a Coach - Ask About Life, Business and Other Relevant Experience

A Coach doesn’t have to know your business. It isn’t necessary that they have gone through exactly the same experiences as you. But let’s face it, a broad depth of life experience is an asset. Experiencing similar things in other areas is helpful.

The Coach’s expertise and experience in life, business, leadership and personal growth may complement the very goals you bring to the table. The vast experience they have in working with other clients across a broad range of topics will serve you well.

8. When Choosing a Coach - Find out what the Coach did before becoming a Coach

Ask yourself how their prior experience could actually give you leverage and help you think and move forward in new ways. But remember, a Coach may be able to work well on personal growth but not have much of an idea on leading groups of people or improving productivity. Ask questions.

9. When Choosing a Coach - Take Advantage of a Complimentary Sample Coaching Session

Most Coaches make an initial, sample coaching session available. Take advantage. Bring a specific concern or situation to the call and be coached. This is your opportunity to ‘kick the tires’ and see if you both work well together.

10. When Choosing a Coach - Trust your intuition

This may be the most important factor in choosing the right Coach for you. Do you sense this person really understands who you are and where you want to go? Don’t make your judgement based on the fact they too own a horse or play baseball just like you. You are not looking for a friend. You are looking for a Coach.

• Do you have a good rapport?
• Did you like their style of conversing, personality and approach?
• Can you be open and honest with this person?
• Are they a good listener?
• Are they supportive of you and your goals?
• Do they address the topic you brought to the call?
• Did they challenge your thinking?
• Were their questions penetrating beyond niceties?
• Can you see yourself enjoying an ongoing relationship with them?
• Was there an energy on the call?
• Did you feel motivated?
• Can this Coach help you accomplish your goals?
• Did anything about their worldview bother you?
• Would you trust them with details of your life?
• Would they value your observations, no matter what?

11. When Choosing a Coach - Look for an 'edgyness' to the Coach's questions, in order to challenge you to better thinking. Seasoned coaches may not be the bubbliest, but they can lead you to clarity and sustainable forward movement. Your relationship with your Coach is guaranteed to deepen as it grows.

Seasoned coaches will engage and challenge you around ‘your’ concerns, help you gain clarity and identify options. Finally they will let you decide what is best for you, without judgement of your choices.

Trust your intuition as you interact with potential coaches. You will know when you have a good fit with someone who has the edginess to move you out of your comfort zones, through your self-imposed barriers and forward to your desired outcomes.

12. When Choosing a Coach - Look for Testimonials and References

To respect confidentiality, most coaches do not publish names and contact information of their clients. By permission of clients, they may put testimonials on their website. If you specifically ask, coaches will generally provide you with individual client names who have agreed to have others contact them for references.

Ask these references:

• What was the experience of being coached by this person like?
• Did they help you achieve your desired outcomes?
• Would you hire this coach again?

13. When Choosing a Coach - Remember you are investing for your lifetime success, not purchasing a commodity

Low fees don’t always mean good service. And high fees don’t always mean better service. Be careful. Do not look at a Coach as you would some item in a furniture store. Coaches are not interchangeable and all coaches are not equal. You cannot go out shopping for the best price. You are not looking for a sofa. You are looking for someone to partner with to assist you in moving you or your organization forward in a substantive way.

Since you are the priority, do not hesitate to invest in a Coach who can assist you to move forward, even if the investment costs more. This is an investment in you.