Choosing your Coach

The tricky art of Choosing your Coach

So you’ve been thinking about finding a coach.?Chances are you’re feeling stuck, a bit wobbly in your confidence, have some possible life-changing or big decisions to make, or you’re looking for someone who will get you and your passionate goals.?Whatever your motive, recognising that the time is right to have that critical ally who will listen with compassion and challenge is your first step.

That’s the easy part, so now you have to find someone!?Like most services, the best ways are the tried and tested ones: word-of-mouth recommendation, social media search, looking at testimonials and four-star reviews, and so on.??Yet, there is something most other services don’t offer, and that’s a try-before-you-buy.?Most professional certified coaches will offer you a free coaching session to help you decide if they are the right coach for you.?After all, this is a very personalised service, one that has to fit not only your need, but also how it makes you feel.?Coaching is very much a feelings service, one based on trust, vulnerability, compassion, stretch and motivation.

So how do you look for a great coach:

• Check they are a qualified, certified coach – not all coaches hold a professional qualification due to the popularity of this profession. ?The majority of coaches take their CPD seriously and will often have an arm’s length list of qualifications and accreditations.
• Ask who they like to work with – again most coaches will have a niche or a typical client with issues and motivations that you can relate to.?A great coach will be able to share their coaching success stories of past clients.
• Find out what experience they have – no-one was born a coach, they’ve got a full lifetime of skills and experience to bring to the coaching relationship.?If for you it’s important they have held a particular leadership level, are a parent, or have dealt with trauma in their life – then ask them.?Finding a coach isn’t about discovering the perfect mirror match of your life, yet, if it’s important for you then seek out a coach with that niche.
• Clarify their ethics and standards – often linked to their accreditation, great coaches will have clear ethic guidelines, GDPR and privacy notices and can say how they are regulated per the profession.
• What their promise is to you – coaching is a two-way process that goes at the pace of the coachee (that’s you) with many of the outcomes achieved in-between the coaching sessions. ?Yes, great coaches can promise to keep you on track with your goals or your self-discovery, however, without your commitment to the coaching process they cannot guarantee that all your aspirations will be met.?But believe me, they will do their best to make sure they are!

So if you are tempted to give coaching a try – get in touch for your free one-hour coaching session today.