Executive Coach Selection Guide

Once you’ve determined that you could benefit from executive coaching, finding the right fit is critical to the success of the engagement.

While you want to be comfortable with your coach, be aware that an effective coach must have the ability to make you uncomfortable enough with the status quo for you to commit to changing and stepping outside of your comfort zone.

Before looking for a coach, ask yourself...

If my coaching engagement resulted in spectacular success, what would I need to see, hear or experience to know that this has occurred?
What changes will I need to make to assure this happens?
What has prevented this success from happening in the past?
Are my desired outcomes measurable? If so, how?
Am I looking to delegate responsibility for my success or am I willing to do my own pushups?
Am I expecting a quick-fix?

Insight to gain in the evaluation process...

Can the coach provide references who can speak in terms of measurable results?
How much of their ability comes from book knowledge/theory and how much from practical experience?
Do I sense that the coach understands me, my situation and my agenda or am I just another sale?
What is my level of connection with the coach?
Am I getting a canned program, or will my unique individual needs be addressed?
What is my sense about this person’s integrity and commitment to the profession?
Has the coach encountered similar scenarios to mine and how did he/she handle it?
How would you characterize your coaching style?
How does their approach fit my situation?

From the Author

In my personal transformation from entrepreneurial executive to executive coach, I have experienced both sides of the relationship. I have both hired coaches and have served as a coach and facilitator. The purpose of this page is to share my insight and expertise to enhance your coach selection decision.

I’ve attempted to make these guidelines as useful and unbiased as possible while, at the same time, promoting our coaching practice. Is this a conflict of interest? If this information helps you determine that someone else is a better fit for your needs, I’m OK with that. Helping people make more effective decisions is part of what we do.

Our Clients

Coaching Client Success Stories

My experience rates a 10 out of 10. Tom is really talented and clearly loves what he does to bring the enthusiasm. He combines his experiences and professionally developed coaching skills with his intellect and intuition to utilize them all well. The delivery was skilled and compassionate. The content was amazing. He also shows a good command of the content, its origins and its ultimate purpose. He knows where he is going with it and is able to change up approaches and/or frameworks to get there on the fly.

Most valuable was the overall philosophy of operating from my strengths, which was very different than the coaching I was hearing in the office, which addressed shoring up my weaknesses. I enjoyed the weekly face to face meetings immensely since that held me accountable to getting the work done.

"Tremendously valuable! I went into this process feeling deflated and demotivated. I have emerged from this process with greater self awareness and feel confident in my ability to direct my department, demonstrate greater value to my supervisors and others in the organization, and lead my team to do new, creative work that we are genuinely proud of. I will always be extremely grateful for your professional guidance!"

“I liked your style, which is why I chose to work with you. I know of a few other management coaches that are too forceful and opinionated – telling you how to “fix” your business in the first 10 minutes with little or no historic knowledge. I appreciated that you got to know me first and my issues before spouting advice. I also like the little follow-up emails – some good items come across once you reflect upon our discussions. And I liked how I could divert the conversation to current issues if need be.”

Tom did a great job in connecting with me as a person, helping to guide me in understanding of my approach and interaction with people and providing me with a road map for life. I’ve discovered the importance of qualify of life balance, prioritization of work flow, and family interaction improvementMost valuable was the gap awareness process of who I am, who I want to become and how to get there.

I learned valuable lessons on leadership and its true essence. I understand more now than ever how to engage people to get them to perform to a high level and to an aligned vision. Most importantly, I learned that all the answers lie within myself. It’s all up to me.

Leadership Breakthroughs

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Leadership Breakthroughs

Executive Coach Selection Guide

Before looking for a coach, ask yourself...

Insight to gain in the evaluation process...

From the Author

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