Choosing Your Executive Coach

Choosing the right executive coach is an important decision that can significantly impact your leadership journey and organisational success.

Here are five top tips to help you select an executive coach who can best meet your needs and aspirations: 

• Credentials and Experience: Look for a coach with reputable credentials, depth, and breadth of experience you seek and a solid track record in adding value. Unless the type of coaching you need is highly technical in nature, you don’t need someone with direct experience in your field. If they’ve spent years coaching, leading and influencing people and teams being promoted to C-suite positions, this experience translates to almost any industry if you want coaching around these areas.
• Style and Approach: Choose a coach whose style will best support and challenge your own learning and growth. Ask to what extent are they likely to push you, versus focus on questioning and listening? Will they provide advice (at all) or challenge and encourage you to find your own solutions by questioning, reflection, and discussion? A great coach will flex and adapt to bring out your best, but every coach has a comfort zone. It is important to assess this against your preferences and development edges.
• Chemistry and Trust: Do you have a connection? The synergy between your needs and the coach’s way of being is crucial to evaluate. Do you feel at ease with them? Can you freely express yourself? Will they provide enough challenge or the support you want? Establishing trust early on is paramount for a powerful coaching relationship. Without it, the efficacy of coaching diminishes significantly.
• Diverse Toolkit: Check their coaching methodology aligns with your requirements. Are they structured with a predefined number and length of sessions and ways of working, or do they adopt a more adaptable, open approach? Ensure the coach flexes a variety of tools and methodologies tailored to your specific needs and the outcomes you seek.
• Results and References: What tangible outcomes and results have they facilitated? Select a coach who can articulate the achievements of their clients. You might present a current challenge you’re facing and ask about their coaching approach. Does their methodology resonate with you? Ask for references and success stories, lessons learned and how this could apply to you, to help gauge the coach’s effectiveness.

Finding the right match takes time, balancing your head, heart, and intuition. By following these tips, you will find a coach who not only meets your current needs but also empowers you to achieve your long-term leadership and organisational goals.
 
Learn more about how we can help you improve focus and results with executive coaching. We ensure you are matched with the best executive coach for you. Chemistry sessions enable you to experience different coaches and approaches, finding you the most appropriate coach for your unique needs.