How do you choose a Coach?
So, you’re looking for a Coach to work with your business or with Executives in your organisation. How do you choose someone? Where do you start?
When I’ve asked my clients and friends this question, the lucky ones have said that they start with someone who has been referred to them, others have searched a coach directory through a member organisation like EMCC or AC, others said they’ve done a Google search!
So – where do you start in choosing a coach? What is important to look for?
Training, Qualifications, Accreditations
You might look at what training, qualifications, or accreditations they have undertaken. There are so many of these out in the market, it is hard to know what courses are most credible and which support the development of practical skills and knowledge but also of their overall approach, their professionalism and adherence with quality standards in coaching ideally combined with quality supervision and methods of assessment.
Experience
You might look at their experience, how many years they have been working as a professional coach or mentor, and what types of clients they work with or have worked with. This is a tricky one – for example, someone that may have coached for 10 years but only a few hours a month may not have as much practical client experience as a coach who has been coaching for 10 hours every week for 5 years – which is better?! The number of coaching hours may be a greater indicator here, but volume does not necessarily indicate improvement, reflection on practice or a commitment to ongoing professional and personal development.
Commitment to ongoing professional development
What courses are they attending – what are they doing to build upon their own learning and development as a professional in their field? Are they committed to being supervised or coached themselves so they too understand what it feels like to be challenged; and are supported through difficult client engagements? Are they reflecting upon their client work and continually improving their work practices?
Client feedback
What are their clients saying about them? Are they raving advocates? Are they talking about being challenged in their leadership journey and building new skills and awareness about their leadership?! How do you know that the feedback is “real” and not fabricated? Would a client really write a testimonial that wasn’t positive – and if so, would the coach use their feedback for marketing?
Adherence to Professional Standards
What is their commitment to quality in their professional practice? What professional standards do they adhere to – how do you know that they are going to maintain confidentiality, establish a professional contract with your organisation, behave ethically with your staff? How can you trust that they will contribute positively and provide trusted, value for money services and not cause harm as they work closely with your people?
If all of this is sounding a bit overwhelming or requiring a bit more time and effort than you were expecting, here’s an easier option to consider. If you are looking for a coach with all of these things (and more!) the EMCC Global EIA (European Mentoring and Coaching Council’s European Individual Accreditation is an internationally recognised award that demonstrates that an individual practising as a professional mentor/coach has the appropriate level of knowledge and the ability to apply it effectively in their practice. In fact, they assess all of the above areas of practice as part of the coach or mentor accreditation process, so you don’t have to!
The EIA sets very high standards and is recognised as a quality mentor/ coach accreditation in the marketplace. It raises standards and professionalism in mentoring/coaching by:
- Setting high standards in assessment criteria
- Measuring ability against our evidence-based competence framework
- Using reliable and rigorous assessment processes
- Demanding a professional, reflective approach
- Ensuring a commitment to continuing development.
There are 4 levels of EMCC accreditation for coaches and mentors and within these levels you can ascertain the amount of coaching hours, years of practice and how many clients they have worked with. You can read more about EMCC’s EIA here and even view a list of accredited EIA holders globally! https://www.emccglobal.org/accreditation/eia/
You can also read the accreditation comparisons across multiple global accreditation providers such as ICF, AC, etc and understand what the differences are between these different bodies and accreditation types.
So, why consider an EMCC accredited coach? Put simply, it is the emphasis and expectation of quality and best practice in coaching standards that is assessed and expected of accredited EMCC coaches that you can be absolutely sure of and confident with.
Of course, once you’ve found an accredited coach, you’ll want to read up on their LinkedIn profile and website to ensure a good fit for you, and ideally meet with them for a coffee (a “Matching” meeting) to ensure you share a good connection before you engage, and talk about how they will approach working with you and your objectives for the engagement.
Want to understand more about finding an accredited coach?