Now that you’ve identified your need for executive coaching and realized the benefits that you or your business could reap from the process, it’s time to hire the right coach.
Since you’re making the investment in executive coaching and expecting a high return on it, it’s crucial to hire the right coach. There are many factors that go into choosing an executive coach who’s qualified and, most importantly, someone you like.
Read on for four important questions you should ask when hiring an executive coach.
1. What’s your background and experience?
You want to hire a seasoned executive coach with a track record of success helping other companies, so find out about each coach’s background and experience. Do some research on the coaches you’re considering and learn about how long they’ve been working in the field as well as how many executives or companies they’ve worked with.
In addition to getting an idea of their experience, find out about the results of their coaching. Have they helped others gain a lot of success over the years? If so, you can probably count on them to do the same for your business. But if not, you may want to continue looking.
It can also be helpful to find out what type of business executives the coach has worked with before. You may want to choose a coach who has helped a company that’s similar to yours in some way, but may not be the same industry. Ask for case studies to find out more about the coach’s results.
2. How many hours have you logged?
While there’s no specific licensing involved with executive coaching, the International Coach Federation offers certifications based on hours spent coaching. International Coach Federation certification means the coach has a certain number of hours working one on one with executives and coaching them toward success. Coaches can earn different levels of certification depending on how many hours they’ve spent coaching over the years.
3. Do you operate alone or is there a team of coaches within a large coaching company/group?
Executive coaching businesses vary in the way they operate. In some cases, there’s just one coach working with an executive or a business, while with other companies, there’s a team of coaches working together to get to know you and your situation.
4. What’s your process? What ideas do you have for when we start working together?
It’s good to understand just how the coaching process will proceed when you start working with an executive coach. Each coach operates differently, so you may find that you prefer one coaching approach vs. another. Find out information such as how often you’ll meet with the coach and what will happen during these sessions.
When learning about the coach’s process, tell them a little about yourself or your company and the struggles you’re facing. From there, ask the coach whether they have any ideas of what to do when you start working together.
Keep these questions in mind when looking for your executive coach so you can choose the best one for your business. Click here to visit Arden Coaching and find out how they can help you.