Women at the WaterCooler Tip #2 – How to find a good coach

In thinking about how many people these days are looking for support, I put myself in the shoes of someone considering working with a coach for the first time. I imagine I’d feel intimidated. It’s a huge world out there with so many people using the term - life coach, career coach, personal coach, executive coach… How would one know where to find someone who’s a good fit for them? How do you judge and choose? After doing this job informally and formally for over 20 years now, I have thoughts about how to find a coach that’s right for you.

Important factors to consider:

Is your workplace sponsoring this work or are you seeking the support individually?

Some coaches, especially executive coaches are employed by the organization yet work with you individually and confidentially. If you are considering working with a coach and coaching is offered by the organization you work for, I’d really suggest pursuing that option. Those coaches are often of the highest caliber being vetted and tested over the years by many organizations. You can often get a lot of information about the coaches your organization works with and get recommendations or referrals from people within your own company. Also, it’s a fee you don’t have to pay and coaching is like any other industry – you get what you pay for. The more experienced the coach, the likely their fees are at the higher end of the industry. Therefore, if you are looking to pay for this yourself, price shouldn’t be the only criteria or if you go the least expensive route, you’re likely to get the least experienced resource.

What do you really want to work on? Are the issues solely career-related or likely is your career simply one of the areas you are looking for assistance in?

Many coaches now regardless of title work with the entire person’s life. So though you may begin working on a work-related topic, coaches may want to explore how satisfied you are with your life as a whole. What we find with coaching is that often-times things that ‘get in the way’ at work of your success also get in the way in other areas of your life. In that vein, the coach may help you delve into some underlying patterns of behavior or habit you’re unaware of and changes you make in the work environment may be applicable in other aspects of your life. For example, a leader who learns how to listen more effectively and be supportive of other’s ideas at work may find that this practice enhances their relationships with others in their lives as well.

If you have a contained and specific need for a short-term change, then you might seek a coach with a specialty in the area you’re interested in. for example, if you’re really focused on finding a next job somewhere else, then a certain type of coach, a career or job coach, might be a better fit.

How do you find someone reputable and experienced? Does that matter?

One thing that many experienced coaches get frustrated by are people who call themselves coaches without any background, experience or training. In the past, there were few ways to know who was good and who wasn’t. Who was experienced and who wasn’t. Several years ago I was working with a big Silicon Valley firm that went through a significant layoff. Several people at the Director and Vice President levels left the firm, hung out a coaching shingle, then went back to the company to coach their colleagues and friends. Hopefully, you can see what might be the problems with that scenario.
The best coaches have only one thing in mind, supporting your growth. They’re not there to tell you what you want to hear or be a friend. They’re there as trusted advisor who can maybe see things from a slightly different angle than you so they can offer alternative perspectives.

Inexperienced coaches are not hard to spot. When you go looking for someone to work with, ask them about their ‘process or methodology’ they use when coaching. Ask them how you’ll both measure success and determine together how you’ll know the coaching is working for you. Ask them for referrals. People who have used the coach themselves are great testaments to whether the coach served them well and you can ask those people about the coach’s style and fit. Ask them about how the coach went about working on the issue with them and how much they prescribed vs. discovered with the client the right things to focus on and change.

What’s the most important thing in finding a coach?

Chemistry. The intangible fit of two people who will need to work closely together, trust one another and share intimate, honest information. So, it comes down to a ‘gut check’. Will this person guide me in a way that I’m open to? Will their suggestions challenge my thinking? Will they ‘get me’ and truly ‘hear me’?

When you can answer yes to those questions, you’re on the right track to identifying someone who will be a great partner for you on this journey of discovery and growth.

I wish you well.