1. Connection

Coaching is about trust between the coach and coachee (client).

Your coach is a thinking partner, someone you can trust to ask questions and give you feedback. If you can’t get along with your coach personally the partnership won’t work. Having a coach you can trust will increase your ability to reach your goals and vision of success.

Plan to contact a few coaches before you decide who to partner with. Ask each about their:

• experience,
• qualifications, and
• skills.

2. Questions for the coach

WHAT IS THEIR COACHING METHOD?

Directive Coach Like a sports coach. Tends to guide the conversation based on what they think you need. You might hear a directive coach say “I have a hunch you want to speak about A more than B...or based on what I am hearing A is where we should spend our time”.

Non-Directive Coach Leaves the agenda up to the coachee to determine where their time is spent. You might hear a non-directive coach say “You said making an income and relaxation are priorities, if we placed both on a scale, which priority would have more weight?” Non-directive coaches will focus on asking high value questions during the majority of the coaching session. An experience based coach may provide more direct advice. The decision to choose one type of coach over the other depends on your needs.

WHAT CODE OF CONDUCT OR STANDARD OF COACHING DO THEY ADHERE TO?

An accredited coach should be promoting excellence in coaching. Finding a coach that adheres to coaching standards and principles of ethical conduct is important. They should also be certified, or actively working to be certified, by a recognized association such as the International Coaching Federation.

WHAT ARE THEIR RATES?

3. Questions for yourself

What amount of effort am I willing to put into building trust with this coach?

What aspects of their brand fit with my values?