101: Choosing a coach
Executive coaches were something corporate America hadn't heard of some 20 years ago. But in terms of improved leadership, better self-awareness, increased motivation and heightened self-regulation, executive coaching can be a boon to members of the C-suite. Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing an executive coach.
Take time to fully vet. Companies and executives can find a coach best serving their needs by performing due diligence in terms of references – asking for them and calling them. It's important to find out how long the coaching firm has been in operation and who their executive-level clients are. “There are coaching firms that broker their talent … in other such cases, coaches may simply sign up to be a coach with very little screening and little to no advanced training,” according to ExecutiveCoachingConnections.com's Susan Madonia.
They should be willing to disagree with you. If your executive coach is a yes man, you may want to examine the value he is providing to you in terms of helping you make effective change. There is no room for lecturers in the world of effective executive improvement, writes Dan Portes at CPIWorld.com. “While a coach needs to be a good communicator, the individual probably needs to be a better listener, capable of challenging your assumptions.”
They should tell you to solicit employees' feedback. Forbes.com's Erika Andersen says a qualified executive coach is one who advises you to gather feedback on your work performance from those who report to you. “It's important for you and the coach to get a sense of how others see you and interact with you,” she said, to truly do his or her job. “We all have blind spots,” she writes; proactively soliciting comments on your management performance from members of your team will expose unexamined areas of improvement.
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