7 Steps to Find
the Right Coach

Coaching has the potential to change your life. But only if you find a coach who understands your individual needs and helps you towards a deeper understanding of your potential.  

This guide will help you find a life or career coach that is properly trained and qualified professional, with a wealth of experience in the field, who has a proven track record and the commitment to support your personal growth.

But how do you navigate your way past the charlatans to someone you can trust?

1.Check your coach’s credentials

It is a fact that anyone can call themselves a coach. Even if their entire training consists of a couple of days sitting in a classroom on some tropical island. 

To be sure that you are hiring a professionally trained coach, you want to find someone who has been accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF), or at least someone who has completed training at an accredited school.

The ICF is the leading international organisation for coaches, dedicated to high ethical standards for the coaching profession.  It provides independent international certification and is the only organisation to do so.  Coaches certified by the ICF have to undergo extensive training, during which they gain experience working with clients and have to demonstrate a clear understanding and commitment to the ICF Competencies and Code of Ethics. 

A formal qualification from an ICF recognized institution such as Coach U or the Coach Training Institute means that the coach has received the appropriate training. It also means that the coach has logged a significant number of hours of professional coaching.Visit www.coachfederation.org for more information.

Put simply, long term education from accredited coaching schools and experience in the field are the best indicators of the level of professionalism and commitment you can expect from your coach.

2. Before you commit to spending money on coaching, request an introductory session. 

If the coach refuses, you know that they are more interested in their fee than in helping you to find the right coach to match your needs, so give them a wide berth.

Coaching is a partnership and you need to feel that your chosen coach is someone with whom you can establish a rapport.  The more you feel you can trust and be open with your coach, the more you are likely to gain from your coaching.

Before you contact a coach, do your research.  Make sure you have read their website thoroughly as this should give you an insight into their style and personality. Then use the introductory session to test the relationship.  Try asking yourself the following questions:

a) Is the coach talking most of the time or are you given time to talk?  If the coach is doing too much talking, you are unlikely to give you the space you need to formulate your own responses and ideas.

b) Is the coach giving you solutions and opinions, particularly without your consent?  If so, beware.  Coaching is supposed to enable you to think about issues and problems in an unconstrained environment and the coach is not there to offer advice.

c) Does the coach give you clear, challenging, honest feedback?  This is an important function of any coach and if they are not doing it, they are not doing their job properly.

At the end of the introductory session, make sure you are clear about the following:

a) Payment and fees
b) Confidentiality
c) Contracts or agreements
d) Termination of coaching – how do you end the relationship?

3. Make sure you know the difference between coaching and consulting

A consultant gives answers. A coach asks questions, listens deeply, and provides feedback. Occasionally a coach will give you their opinion, or make a suggestion, but only with your permission.

What makes coaching so effective is that it empowers you. It does so by helping you to find your own answers and become aware about how you think, learn and function best. When a coach gives you the solution, they are not helping you become independent. Ideally, with coaching, you leave the relationship relying on your own resources. There is nothing more empowering than that.

4. Make sure you know the difference between coaching and therapy

Coaching is about the present and the future. Therapy is often about the past. Coaching relies on the principle that we don’t move forward by looking backwards. Sometimes, though, therapy is more appropriate and it is worth considering whether you actually need therapy before you start being coached.

How do you know if you need therapy rather than coaching?

Are you experiencing:

• Continuous depression or intense sadness?
• Frequent irritability?
• Persistent feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, or helplessness?
• Significant changes in sleeping or appetite?
• Significant decrease in motivation or interest in life?
• Frequent angry outbursts?
• Panic attacks?
• Significant difficulty leaving the house or completing everyday tasks?
• Intense fears or phobias?
• Unresolved grief?
• Nightmares or flashbacks of traumatic events?

If you ticked one or more of these, then coaching is unlikely to be the best choice for you right now and therapy may be a better option.
Once the past issues have been cleared, a coach can help you towards the future you want for yourself.

5. Be open to options other than face-to-face coaching

a) Telephone coaching

You may feel that you would like to talk face-to-face to a coach, but this may be impractical or overly time-consuming.  In fact, it is generally not necessary, as good coaches are trained to work on the telephone and to pick up subtle vocal inflections to enable them to gather information about their client’s thoughts and emotions.  They should be able to work just as effectively over the phone as face-to-face. In addition, the phone gives an anonymity which some people like and also allows you the convenience of being coached from your own home.

The decision is of course yours, but be aware that telephone coaching is not a second best option, merely a different option.

b) Group coaching

Of course, there are times when you don’t want others to hear what you tell your coach. But, if you don’t have a problem sharing with a group, group coaching can be extremely effective. With group coaching you will get the support of other participants as well as your coach, and you’ll save money. You will also learn from others, make friends, and enjoy camaraderie with your fellow participants.

6. Regard coaching as an investment

It is of course up to you to decide whether you want to pay for coaching, but if you regard coaching as an investment in your future, then the expense looks reasonable.

Ask yourself whether the benefits of having coaching will outweigh the costs of doing nothing.  Wars, natural disasters and recessions may come and go, but no one can take away what you have invested in yourself. 

In purely financial terms, many people who have coaching report that, because they are happier and more in touch with who they are, they earn more and get to do what they enjoy.  As Benjamin Franklin once said ‘If a man empties his purse into his mind, his mind will fill his Wallet’.

7. Before you commit, ask your prospective coach some questions.

Here are a few suggestions to help you on your way:

• How do you conduct your coaching? Face-to-face? Over the telephone? Online?
• Where did you do your coaching training?
• What did it involve?
• For how long have you been coaching? Was that full or part-time?
• Have you been accredited by the ICF? What’s your accreditation?
• What are your fees? When are payments due? How can I pay you?
• What’s included in the price?
• What about confidentiality?
• Do I need to sign any contracts or agreements? If so, can you send them to me in advance?
• If I’m not happy, how do I terminate the coaching?

 
If you would like to learn more about how to choose a life coach, feel free to contact me, Life and Career Coach Marien Perez. I’ll be happy to answer your questions about life coaching or career coaching, and give you a free, no obligation, introductory session.
 

Top picture by Nicola Whitaker