Find the Right Coach for You

You’ve made the decision to hire a professional coach. Congratulations! This can be the start of a powerful partnership that helps you realize your goals and equip you with new insights and skills. Only the partnership hasn’t started yet. First you have to select the right person for the job, which seems like a daunting task in and of its self. Well, it doesn’t have to be. With a little diligent preparation and research finding the right coach is just another step in your path to success.

You’ve already got the secret to making the right choice: prepare and do your research. You wouldn’t hire someone for a job without exploring his experience and qualifications or conducting an interview, so why would you engage a coach without the same effort? Set aside time to identify good candidates and consider what you need to know about each one in order to make an informed decision. Here is a summary of what you can do:

1. Build a list of potential coaches.

2. Know what you want to accomplish and what you need a coach to help with.

3. Establish your list of must have qualities in a coach.

4. Prepare for the interviews.

5. Take notes and review them to compare the candidates.

6. Trust your instinct.

Where to Look for a Coach The first step is knowing where to find a professional coach. The easiest place to begin is with your colleagues and friends. Ask around for referrals and, even better, recommendations for an effective coach. Don’t stop at one. Think of this as building your candidate pool, you want a few options to choose from. Between three and five candidates will give you plenty to consider, more then that can get unmanageable and fewer then that may not give you the opportunity to really choose the best provider.

If your own circle of resources doesn’t turn up a sufficient number of names check with the Human Resources department (if you have one) and then hit the internet and the coaching networks. Just remember that a referral from a trusted source will give you more information about your potential coach. When you gather names from the internet plan additional time for your interviews so you can get to know each individual well. It’s also a good idea to get a bio or CV on your potential coach. This will help you determine if an interview is appropriate based on your criteria for consideration.

Defining Your Criteria and Preparing to Interview Believe it or not there are a lot of possible providers out there. You may find you have too many choices. This is when it helps to have your criteria established. You may know from the onset what these are or you may define them as you work through your preparation. Not only will your key factors help to whittle the list to a workable size, it will help you to compare all of the providers consistently, aka apples to apples. Some possible criteria: background, amount of experience, type of experience, amount of access to your coach, schedule considerations, ability to meet in person, and verifiable references.

After you have a list of candidates you need to plan your interview. To do this requires clarity on what you are looking for so you know what you want to ask about. Even if you like to be informal and impromptu in your interview it’s worthwhile to predetermine a few questions and take notes. This will help you compare the candidates later on. Once you’ve talked to two or three people their responses can begin to blur. Your interview notes will help you remain clear and focused.

As you organize your questions keep in mind that a professional coach will maintain the confidentiality of his prior coaching relationships. That means he may not give you specific names, company information or project details. However, he should be able to discuss the approach, skills and experiences without compromising his client’s privacy. If a candidate is too forthcoming with information proceed with caution. Remember you will be revealing information that could then be shared in the future too.

Here are things to consider as you prepare along with questions you may want for your candidate interviews.

Your Need If you’ve decided to work with a coach you have probably already familiarized yourself with what a coach can do for you. Now put your energy into defining what you require in a coach. Think about the type of support you need so you can look for those skills. For example if you need a new approach to getting things done, a thinking partner who can brainstorm creatively may be important to you.

Ask yourself:

• What do I want my coach to do for me?

• What activities does that include?

• What types of skills do those activities require?

After sharing your goal/objective ask your potential coach:

• How do you define success in a coaching relationship?

• What experience have you had working with clients that have similar goals?

• How successful were those clients at reaching the goal?

• What types of things did you do to help the client achieve the goal?

• What aspects of your background, education or experience were useful in that?

• How did those activities impact the client?

Qualifications This is a good place to bring up the question of qualifications. Coaching is a growing profession that has not yet established uniform certification and licensure requirements, though this may change as the industry matures. Know that many “coaches” are technical experts offering their specific know how. A professional coach should have some type of formal training in coaching skills. At a minimum look for skills and demonstrated experience in things like active listening, asking impactful questions, and relationship building techniques.

There are a number of industry groups and training centers that offer their own accreditation. Since there is no standard as yet, ask about things like supervised coaching sessions and skills assessment in the curriculum for the certification. Another hallmark of a professional coach is adherence to a standard set of ethical guidelines, which should be readily available for you to review.

Ask yourself:

• How vital is it that my coach has some form of certification or training?

• Where can I locate reputable coaches?

Ask your potential coach:

• What training have you received in coaching?

• What skills do you believe are essential to a good coach?

• Which of your skills will most benefit me? Why?

• How do you keep your skills sharp?

• Which, if any, industry groups to you participate in?

• Can I see the code of ethics you follow in your coaching engagements?

• Will you provide referrals from past clients that I can check?

Specialization Prior experience in your particular field or with your goal is not necessary for a coach to be effective. Therefore it is up to you to determine how important having that background is. Like most industries coaching has practitioners that offer support across a broad spectrum and others who prefer to work in niches. A few of the more common specializations are executive development, relationships, life planning, health & wellness, careers, and small business, but this is far from a complete list. If having a particular focus is critical to you be sure to ask your potential coach about this during the interview process.

Ask yourself:

• What impact does familiarity with my company/industry/situation have?

• How likely is it to find a coach with that familiarity?

Ask your coach:

• What types of coaching engagements do you prefer to take on? Why?

• What percentage of your clients have goals/situations similar to mine?

Price Ok, let’s talk about price. Once you’ve landed on what you are looking for in a coach you need to think about what that is worth to you. One of the biggest fallacies out there is the coach’s rate is an indicator of the quality of service. Again, as with most industries, coaching fees are determined by a number of factors like coaching niche, type of coaching (ie. group vs. individual), geographical region, size of the firm and market demand. None of these give an indication to an individual’s skill.

A professional coach should be upfront about rates, fee structures for different types of coaching and payment terms. Independent coaches may offer price consideration for bundling coaching with other development initiatives, longer engagements, or multiple clients. The bottom line is there is wide range for coaching fees, you should feel comfortable that the rate you agree to is commensurate with the service and support you are receiving.

Ask yourself:

• What is my budget for coaching services?

• Do I have flexibility to add assessments or other development tools to this budget?

• What payment terms am I looking for?

• Will I be receiving coaching as an individual are as part of a group?

Ask your coach:

• What is your fee structure?

• What, if any, pricing features to you offer?

• How do expect payments to be made?

• What are your payment terms?

Working Relationship Finally, and probably most importantly, is your ability to work well together. To get the most from your coach you have to develop a deep trusting relationship. That takes communication, personal understanding and reliability. You want to be at ease with your coach. This may not sound very scientific or business driven, but it actually plays a big role in how quickly you build the relationship and how efficiently you use your time together. If you spend the majority of your 45 minute session explaining your concern four different ways you cover much less ground then if you communicate well. Some people call this variable chemistry, or fit and describe it as “clicking” well. However you want to characterize it make sure you have the basis for an open and honest work process.

Ask yourself:

• What successful relationships have I had?

• What traits did the other person have in that relationship?

• How do I prefer to communicate?

• What circumstances contribute to my working at my best?

• What leads to trust for me?

Ask your coach:

• How do you establish a good working relationship with your clients?

• What traits do you think are crucial to successful coaching relationships?

• How do you prefer to communicate?

• Describe a client situation where you had to flex out of your preferred working/communicating style.

• What are looking for from me to make us successful?

• Describe your coaching process.

After the interviews Once you have spoken to all of the candidates you are ready to make some decisions. Consult your notes and look for responses that align with your needs. Be consistent in how you apply your criteria. Preferably you will decide on your top one or two choices. Take the time to make a few phone calls to check those references.

Yes, you can assume you have gotten only the past clients who would give a positive reference, but don’t let that prevent you from placing the call. Ask about how that client came across the coach. Multiple levels of positive referrals indicates you are considering someone who gets good results. Ask about how the engagement concluded. Strong coaches will not only help you achieve your results but also set you up to repeat the process without their help. You aren’t looking to become dependent on this provider. If you have any concerns from the interview now is the time to investigate, though again you may run into the limitation of confidentiality.

You should follow up with your first choice and see how he or she felt the conversation went. Coaching is a two way street. You both have to feel that working together will yield positive results. After meeting you the candidate may self determine that he is not the best person to work with you. In some cases he may even refer you to another local coach.

The last step is a gut check. Listen to your intuition. At this point you probably have a sense of who you think is the best match. If not, its ok to decide you have not found the right person. Don’t settle or let someone else convince you to move forward with a candidate you are unsure of. It’s tough to achieve results if you are second guessing your coach after each conversation.

An effective coaching relationship can help you accomplish many things so finding the right coach is worth the extra effort. Once you find him or her you’ll be on your way.



Find the Right Coach for You - To learn more about this author, visit Chris Dawson's Website.

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