1. How many executives has the coach coached and for how long?
- You want to be sure to ask about "paid" coaching
the coach has done vs. free "practice" coaching or "bartering."
- Ask about the level of the executive clients and how many
hours the coach has practiced.
- Most experienced coaches have a full practice of anywhere
between 12 and 30 clients a week, working with each executive
about 2 to 6 hours a month.
- Ask to speak to 3 past executive clients.
2. What's the coach's personal experience as an executive managing
people?
- If a coach is going to relate to the issues of high level
executives, they need to have been there.
- How many people did the coach manage when they were an executive;
and at what level of responsibility?
- What were the toughest challenges the coach faced as an executive?
3. What type of coach specific training has the coach completed?
- Since executive coaching is popular, lots of people want
to call themselves coaches.
- Look for specific well-known coach training programs recognized
by ICF (International Coach Federation).
- What undergraduate and graduate education has the coach had?
- ICF can be found on the Internet at www.coachfederation.org.
4. Is the coach credentialed by ICF?
- ICF started credentialing coaches in 1998.
- Basic level is PCC (Professional Certified Coach). Advanced
level is MCC (Master Certified Coach).
- MCC requires 4 years of paid coaching along with leadership
in the coaching profession and strong coaching experience and
education.
- PCC requires only 1 1/2 years and less leadership.
5. What is the coach's specialty?
- Most coaches have a niche. See if that specialty relates
to the needs of an executive.
- Ask about the 3 major issues that the coach sees most frequently
across all the executives they coach.
- What specific goals does the coach help clients with most
often?
6. Does the coach know the difference between coaching and other disciplines?
- How is coaching different than therapy, counseling, or consulting?
- Ask for a specific distinction. Well-trained coaches can
give one.
7. How does the coach decide on a coaching strategy for the executive?
- Give the coach 2 sample situations an executive would face.
- Ask the coach how they would approach creating solutions.
8. When does the coach turn down a prospective client?
- Strong coaches don't just coach anyone.
- They have an ideal client profile.
- They also have criteria for when someone is "not coachable." How
do they know?
9. What is the structure/content of a coaching session?
- Ask the coach to describe specifically what they do in a
session.
- What's the agenda? Who composes it?
10. Ask the coach to describe 3 success stories of how they coached
an executive from beginning to end.
- Experienced coaches can describe the goal of coaching, the
tools they used and the outcome for the client.
(Val Williams is a Master Certified Coach who has
coached senior executives since 1994. Val specializes in leadership,
strategy development, and performance management.)
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