Ten Questions to Ask a Corporate Coach
At Awakened Executives, we believe a coach who is charging for their services should be appropriately qualified and committed to their own development. The coaching profession is currently unregulated. So technically, anyone could sell their service as a coach, even with little or no qualifications or experience.
A good coach will follow a code of ethics, via a professional body, such as their training provider, or the International Coaching Federation (ICF) or European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC).
One method of ensuring a coach is committed to their own development is through continuing professional development (CPD) and coaching supervision.
Coaching Supervision is a collaborative learning practice to continually build the capacity of the coach. This benefits the coach and their clients.
Mentor coaching is observed coaching with feedback against a set of competencies, that sharpen the coach's skills and all-round presence.
Ten Questions to Ask a Coach:
To feel you are getting a good return on your investment, you may wish to ask a potential coach the following questions before committing to working with them:
- What led them to be a coach?
- Who did they train with and why?
- What outcomes do their clients get through working with them?
- Do they undertake continuing professional development (CPD), to ensure their skills and aptitude remains current?
- Do they invest in coaching supervision and/or mentor coaching?
- What areas of coaching do they specialise in?
- What kinds of clients do they work with?
- Do they have specific expertise in the area of change you are looking to achieve?
- What is their coaching process?
- Do they have testimonials you can read, or a former or current client you could speak to understand their experience of working with the coach and results they achieved?
At Awakened Executives we always start with a discovery call, or matching meeting (sometimes called a chemistry meeting) where we can answer any questions the coachee, HR, sponsor or budget holder may have.
