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o youve decided to hire a coach to help you take your business and/or personal life to the next level. Congratulations! Now all you need to do is decide who to hire. This is a big decision for several reasons: First, as I mentioned last week, coaching represents a significant outlay of time and money and you deserve a positive return on said investment. Second, there are many coaches to choose from. While most of them have valuable tools and insights to offer, none of them can be all things to all people. Third, different coaches have different specialties. Some focus solely on business matters, others on personal (or life) coaching, and still others (myself included) offer a mix of the two.
Feeling confused yet?
My suggestion is to decide exactly what you need, or at least what you think you need. What do you want to accomplish with your coachs help and why do you feel that youre not getting there on your own? Are your needs purely business related, purely personal, or is there some overlap? Chances are excellent that the two overlap to a greater degree than you may realize but this is not always the case. Knowing what you need is the first step to narrowing the field of potential coaches.
What size business are you involved with? A coach with extensive corporate/executive experience is perfect for someone running or working in a big business, but are they the best choice if youre in a small or medium business? Ive run my own small businesses and worked in large corporations and there are worlds of differences between the two.
What is the coachs own business and life experience? If youre looking for help with your business, then you should probably seek a coach with a solid track record of running her or his own concerns. If youre looking for life coaching, then a coach with an interesting background that involves overcoming significant obstacles may be the perfect choice. Notice that Im leaning strongly in favor of hands-on experience versus mere education or book learning. I am certainly not saying that education is not important. I am saying that flying Flight Simulator and flying an actual airplane are two completely different propositions.
Does the coach have any certifications? Anybody can hang out a shingle and call themselves a coach at any time with no restrictions that Im aware of. Be aware that no amount of certification can guarantee a good coach, nor does not having any certification mean that the coach is in any way incompetent or dishonest. The question you have to ask yourself is whether certification is important to you and if so why. Do you want a good coach, or a coach with a piece of paper? Yes, I put this question in absolute terms because I want you to focus on whats really important to you. No, I do not mean to imply that certification and quality are mutually exclusive because they most certainly are not.
Heres a big one: Does the coach understand the difference between coaching, consulting, training, and therapy? I outlined my definitions of these four modalities in my column two weeks ago. A good number of coaches confuse coaching and consulting, offering one (usually consulting) under the guise of the other (coaching). They either dont know the difference or made a marketing decision, neither of which bodes well in my never-humble opinion. The most important distinction, however, is between coaching and therapy. Some coaches have therapy licenses, but most dont. Ive said it before and will say it again: Coaching is not therapy.
What guarantee does the coach offer, if any? Some coaches go out of their way to offer free samples while others charge from the word go, and there are valid reasons for doing both. I personally believe that the coach must receive value for her or his time while also ensuring that the risk remains on her or his shoulders where it should be. My personal favorite is therefore a hybrid model where the client pays for all sessions in arrears, that is, after seeing what the coach has to offer and deciding whether or not the value is being given and received. This pays the coach for her or his time and ensures that the client receives value. At least in this coachs opinion.
Hiring a coach can be the best decision youll ever make. Just make sure youre clear on what you need and why and youll be on your way to finding an excellent match. Cant figure out who to select? Shop around. You do that for most major purchases, why not your coach?
Feeling confused yet?
My suggestion is to decide exactly what you need, or at least what you think you need. What do you want to accomplish with your coachs help and why do you feel that youre not getting there on your own? Are your needs purely business related, purely personal, or is there some overlap? Chances are excellent that the two overlap to a greater degree than you may realize but this is not always the case. Knowing what you need is the first step to narrowing the field of potential coaches.
What size business are you involved with? A coach with extensive corporate/executive experience is perfect for someone running or working in a big business, but are they the best choice if youre in a small or medium business? Ive run my own small businesses and worked in large corporations and there are worlds of differences between the two.
What is the coachs own business and life experience? If youre looking for help with your business, then you should probably seek a coach with a solid track record of running her or his own concerns. If youre looking for life coaching, then a coach with an interesting background that involves overcoming significant obstacles may be the perfect choice. Notice that Im leaning strongly in favor of hands-on experience versus mere education or book learning. I am certainly not saying that education is not important. I am saying that flying Flight Simulator and flying an actual airplane are two completely different propositions.
Does the coach have any certifications? Anybody can hang out a shingle and call themselves a coach at any time with no restrictions that Im aware of. Be aware that no amount of certification can guarantee a good coach, nor does not having any certification mean that the coach is in any way incompetent or dishonest. The question you have to ask yourself is whether certification is important to you and if so why. Do you want a good coach, or a coach with a piece of paper? Yes, I put this question in absolute terms because I want you to focus on whats really important to you. No, I do not mean to imply that certification and quality are mutually exclusive because they most certainly are not.
Heres a big one: Does the coach understand the difference between coaching, consulting, training, and therapy? I outlined my definitions of these four modalities in my column two weeks ago. A good number of coaches confuse coaching and consulting, offering one (usually consulting) under the guise of the other (coaching). They either dont know the difference or made a marketing decision, neither of which bodes well in my never-humble opinion. The most important distinction, however, is between coaching and therapy. Some coaches have therapy licenses, but most dont. Ive said it before and will say it again: Coaching is not therapy.
What guarantee does the coach offer, if any? Some coaches go out of their way to offer free samples while others charge from the word go, and there are valid reasons for doing both. I personally believe that the coach must receive value for her or his time while also ensuring that the risk remains on her or his shoulders where it should be. My personal favorite is therefore a hybrid model where the client pays for all sessions in arrears, that is, after seeing what the coach has to offer and deciding whether or not the value is being given and received. This pays the coach for her or his time and ensures that the client receives value. At least in this coachs opinion.
Hiring a coach can be the best decision youll ever make. Just make sure youre clear on what you need and why and youll be on your way to finding an excellent match. Cant figure out who to select? Shop around. You do that for most major purchases, why not your coach?