Selecting a Coach

So, you’ve identified a goal and you realize it might be helpful to have a thought companion for the journey—someone to help you draw out your ideas and walk with you as you plan a strategy for accomplishing it. You’ve decided you need a coach. Now what? How do you find and choose the coach that is right for you?

First, be aware that lots of people call themselves coaches but they have no training or credential. If you want a coach that has been thoroughly trained and vetted, you want a coach that has an International Coaching Federation (ICF) credential.  In order to receive that credential, they had to go through hours of training, coaching, and even pass an exam.  They are also required to log regular continuing education hours to maintain that credential.

Fortunately, ICF has a useful tool called the Credentialed Coach Finder that can assist you in your search. It can be found here: https://apps.coachingfederation.org/eweb/CCFDynamicPage.aspx?webcode=ccfsearch&site=icfapp

Look for a couple people that you’d like to interview. Check out their website and social media for additional background. Then come up with some questions for them like:

  1. What’s your background?
  2. How long have you been coaching?
  3. What attracted you to coaching?
  4. What does a typical session look like?
  5. What does your coaching agreement look like?
  6. How much do you charge?

Have a conversation with those you are interested in speaking with and pay attention to your interactions.

When I interviewed a coach, one of the things that I noticed was that our energy didn’t match. I’m a high energy person and the coach I spoke to was noticeably lower energy than I am. I went with someone else, and that’s okay. Not everyone is a good match for you.

If you do your homework in selecting a coach, you’ll be much happier with the experience and the growth and learning journey ahead.

 
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