How do I find a good coaching match?

I love responding to this question in emails, Facebook groups and in other forums. So I decided to make it a blog post so it’s easily findable!

One of the things about coaching is that, to me, a coach should, necessarily, be about empowering the client. And this begins at the very start!

I love working with coaching clients who will own their process from the very beginning. What that means to me is that you are willing and able to be held accountable for taking action to achieve the results you look to achieve.

Owning the process from the beginning means owning the process of finding the right coaching match for what YOU need right now. The keys to this are:

Be very clear about the goals of your work together.

This will help you find the right person who can guide you properly in the areas aligning to your goals. Coaches specialize in all sorts of areas… for instance, I can help you find the ways that your past and your beliefs limit you (one of my superpowers is finding incongruence). But if you are looking for a coach to help give you strategies for finding love, I’m not the right match for you.

Determine your needs for accountability.

Are you a natural procrastinator? Then, since this is an important enough goal for you that you want to hire a coach, you want someone who will hold your feet to the fire and help you remain accountable to taking action. Already super disciplined? This may be less of a factor for you. But knowing this about yourself is helpful going in and helps you ask the right open ended questions to see how the coach will align to what you know you need to be successful. For instance, you may ask, "What do you say to a client who comes to a session without having taken any of the actions you agreed upon in a prior session?”

Do you find it important that the coach follows a predefined process with you?

Depending upon your goals for the work together, you may want someone with a process (literally we do A and then B and then C - and we always start with A). Alternatively, you may find that you need someone more intuitive and who can meet you where you are and tailor their processes to you. What type of personality are you and what do you need? Then ask questions to see if the coach aligns to that as well.

Consult your inner guidance with regard to fit.

Lastly, and to me this is super important, assess for fit. Do you feel great when talking with the person? Do you feel a kind of pull to work together? Does the personality seem to be a match for what you need (this doesn't mean an easy match - sometimes, we NEED someone who will challenge us and push us). Does the fit feel comfortable like a friendship, or does it feel like a match that will challenge you to grow and take action, or both (or neither)? Do you believe this person will guide you in the process of achieving the goal you laid out?

It’s critical to find the right coach for the objectives you have. Coaching is an investment you are making in the future you desire for yourself. The process of self-reflection to inform your selection process, followed by finding and interviewing prospective coaches is the due diligence required to find the absolute right person to work with. The considerations mentioned above may help to inform that process.

Have a comment or question? Send me a message and I’ll be sure to get back to you!