10 criteria on how to choose a coach
... or a facilitation coach for that matter
Photo by Medienstürmer on Unsplash
You are either a manager, executive, or a start-up entrepreneur struggling with your enterprise, and have finally decided that you want to improve your career, business and financial situation by using an executive, business or facilitation coach.
You may be wondering now how to take the next step and choose your coach. It is not as easy task, I may tell you, because there is a jungle out there with lots and lots of “coaches” from lots and lots of “schools”, and choosing the RIGHT ONE FOR YOU is going to make a big impact and difference in both the quality of your business and your career moving forward, and the quality of your own life and your family and loved ones around you.
So how do you make the right choice? What are the important factors to consider in making such a decision?
Let me help you and share with you the 10 (+1) most important criteria you must consider before choosing an executive, business or facilitation coach.
Business acumen
1. Business education.
If you want to get help with your business, make sure that your coach has a proper and right business education, knowledge and knows the tools of the trade. You would not go to a dentist, if what you have is pain in your feet, wouldn’t you?
2. Industry experience.
Your coach should have real work experience in the industry you are in, and have done and accomplished what you do in the world, so he understands where you come from, the challenges you are facing, where you want to go and how to help you to get there.
3. Leadership experience.
In dealing with leadership and managerial issues, make sure your coach has proven leadership experience (has worked as a manager or executive) and can show you some specifics results. If you have problems with your marriage, you would not ask for relationship advice to your unmarried and “forever” single friend.
4. International and multicultural experience.
We live in a diverse world. Nowadays we do business internationally and work together with people from different nationalities and cultures. Make sure your coach has international experience and multicultural understanding so he can bring you different perspectives and approaches in communication and cooperation.
5. Organisational experience and savviness
Make sure your coach has a broad span of organisational experience, both in the sense of the size of the companies - he has worked with / in, from international big corporations to small start-up companies. You want somebody thats knows and understand your reality and the politics of your context , but at the same time can challenge you and bring you some new points of views and fresh experiences.
6. Entrepreneurial experience.
In this fast moving reality, where change is happening faster and faster, and has become the only business constant, you should have a coach with a proven entrepreneurial track record, so he can bring to the discussion table knowledge and experience in topics such as innovation, lean start-up, agile product development, design thinking, service design, social media, prototyping...
7. Thought and social media leadership.
Check out the coach thought leadership. What does it say about him? How is his social media footprint? Do you like his website, his LinkedIn profile, his articles, his comments, his network....? After reading his material, you should feel like you simply can’t wait to work with him.
Coaching acumen
8. Coaching experience.
Identify a coach who has had enough experience coaching people at your level and above. Make a choice not only on the breadth of experience he has, measured by the number of years of experience, but more importantly the depth of relevant experience. Choose a coach who can answer questions about and evidence the results that they have helped their clients achieve. Check out his references and if possible talk to previous clients.
9. Advanced degree in human relations and organisational dynamics.
A degree in organisational psychology and knowledge about social and group processes and dynamics could be valuable, along with certifications in personal and leadership courses and assessment tools.
10. Recognized high standards coaching education.
There are thousands of coaching schools and hundreds of coaching approaches, and since the coaching tittle is not protected by law, everybody can start a “coaching school”, and after taking a course for a couple of days, everybody can call himself “coach”. Be aware and look specifically after world-wide recognized coaching schools and educations, with high professional focus, and high ethics standards.
The most serious, international and professional coaching schools and educations are the ones approved by the “International Coach Federation - ICF”. Here in Scandinavia where I live, ICF has approved only 3 coach educations:
Make sure your executive or business coach can document that is certified in one of them.
Bonus criteria - last but not least
+1 Chemistry and trust
Have a talk and make sure that you have chemistry and trust with your coach. Check in how you feel right after the talk. A good sign is if you feel really excited and inspired by your discussion, but a little bit scared.
This typical means that you’re inspired to grow, ready to commit to the process, but part of you is scared because you know there will some stretching involved. That’s a good sign, indicating the coach will facilitate moving beyond your comfort zone, which is essential if you want growth.
Which of those 11 criteria are the most important and relevant for you? Do you have any suggestion to new ones?
I hope I managed to help you, so now you know how to choose the right coach for you, and can take the next step easily.
👉🏻 If you liked what you read and are curious about coaching in general, please contact me at jose@facilistation.com so we can schedule a discovery call with me to find out if you and me are the right fit and how I might help you to achieve your goals.