Hiring a Coach
What is Coaching?
Coaching is a partnership that supports clients taking action toward a specific vision, goal, desire or outcome. Coaching focuses beyond the "what" or the problem and examines the "who" or person and how they make decisions and life choices.
Coaching provides a safe place for the coach and client to reflect and explore ideas, insights, strengths, and limitations. During the coaching process, clients define and achieve professional and personal goals faster; often with more ease.
Why Hire A Coach?
For many, coaching can be a life-changing experience that dramatically improves their outlook on work and life. If you or your organization are ready to stretch, grow, and discover, you're probably ready to work with a coach.
Coaching unlocks a person's potential to maximize their performance and satisfaction. As they tap into their potential, it unlocks sources of creativity, productivity and learning unlike being taught.
By creating clarity, coaching moves the client into action and accelerates their progress. It provides greater focus and awareness of all the possibilities that exist to create a fulfilling life.
When Should I Hire a Coach?
Some examples of situations where coaching has been helpful are:
- starting or expanding a new business
- making a career choice or transition
- developing leadership skills
- evaluating life choices or purpose
- improving personal effectiveness
- enhancing communication skills
- fulfilling a lifetime goal or desire
This list is merely a starting point of possibilities for coaching. A coach works their client's goal or objective.
Are There Different Kinds of Coaches?
Yes. While some coaches are generalists, most specialize in particular niches, including business, executives, organizations, entrepreneurs, spirituality or relationships.
How is coaching different from therapy, consulting and other service professions?
According to the ICF, professional coaching focuses on setting goals, creating outcomes and managing personal change. Sometimes it's helpful to understand coaching by distinguishing it from other personal or organizational support professions.
Therapy: Therapy deals with healing pain, dysfunction and conflict within an individual or in relationships. The focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past that hamper an individual's emotional functioning in the present, improving overall psychological functioning, and dealing with the present in more emotionally healthy ways. Coaching, on the other hand, supports personal and professional growth based on self-initiated change in pursuit of specific actionable outcomes. These outcomes are linked to personal or professional success. Coaching is future focused. While positive feelings/emotions may be a natural outcome of coaching, the primary focus is on creating actionable strategies for achieving specific goals in one's work or personal life. The emphases in a coaching relationship are on action, accountability, and follow through.
Consulting: Individuals or organizations retain consultants for their expertise. While consulting approaches vary widely, the assumption is the consultant will diagnose problems and prescribe and, sometimes, implement solutions. With coaching, the assumption is that individuals or teams are capable of generating their own solutions, with the coach supplying supportive, discovery-based approaches and frameworks.
Mentoring: A mentor is an expert who provides wisdom and guidance based on his or her own experience. Mentoring may include advising, counseling and coaching. The coaching process does not include advising or counseling and focuses instead on individuals or groups setting and reaching their own objectives.
Training: Training programs are based on objectives set out by the trainer or instructor. Though objectives are clarified in the coaching process, they are set by the individual or team being coached, with guidance provided by the coach. Training also assumes a linear learning path that coincides with an established curriculum. Coaching is less linear without a set curriculum.
Though sports metaphors are often used, professional coaching is different from sports coaching. The athletic coach is often seen as an expert who guides and directs the behavior of individuals or teams based on his or her greater experience and knowledge. Professional coaches possess these qualities, but their experience and knowledge of the individual or team determines the direction. Additionally, professional coaching, unlike athletic development, does not focus on behaviors that are being executed poorly or incorrectly. Instead, the focus is on identifying opportunity for development based on individual strengths and capabilities.
How Do Coaches Work With Clients?
Every coach has their own unique style and method of working with clients. There are however, some commonly used methods. Coaching often consists of 1-to-1 telephone, video conferencing or face-to-face conversations, in 30, 45 or 60-minute intervals at pre-scheduled times. In addition, some coaches provide between session support and accountability, via e-mail or short, just-in-time telephone coaching calls.
What Does Coaching Typically Cost?
Costs for individual coaching typically range from $100-$1,000 per month, whereas corporate coaching may range from $1,000 - $10,000 per month.
Do All Coaches Need to Have ICF Credentials?
No, coaches do not need to have ICF credentials to be an effective coach. A professional coach who has been
credentialed by the International Coach Federation (ICF) has received very specific coach training, has achieved a designated number of experience hours and has been coached by a mentor coach.
The three levels of ICF Credentials are: Associate Certified Coach (ACC); Professional Certified Coach (PCC); or Master Certified Coach (MCC). You can use our
Find a Coach service to identify the right coach for you and your goals.
What Should I Look For When Selecting a Coach?
The most important thing to look for when selecting a coach is someone with whom you feel you can easily relate to and create the most powerful partnership with. We recommend that you interview several coaches and ask these questions:
- What is your coaching experience?
- What is your coach specific training?
- Do you hold an ICF Credential?
- What is your coaching specialty or client areas you most often work in?
- What specialized skills or experience do you bring to your coaching?
- What is your philosophy about coaching?
- What is your specific process for coaching?
- What are some coaching success stories?
Many coaches also offer a complimentary demonstration session that allows potential clients to experience the coach's style and approach.
Visit our section on how to find and
hire a coach page to learn more.