Excellence Matters: Choosing a CEO Coach
Working with a quality CEO coach can advance not just your career, but your ambitions. Here's how to choose a coach who will empower you to take great strides in everything you do.
Align Their Experience With Your Goals
CEO coaches come from myriad backgrounds. You can expect a variety of experience, expertise, and interests. When evaluating a potential coach, make sure that their experience aligns with where you want to go. If startups are your passion, choose someone with extensive entrepreneurial experience. The same applies if your goal is career transformation, dramatically scaling a business, or shifting from one sector to another. While 1:1 alignment might not be possible, a coach who has walked in your shoes can offer valuable, highly personal insight.
See What They're All About
The internet puts everyone's thought leadership at our fingertips. Explore your prospective coach's publications, talks, LinkedIn, and social media presence to see whether their approach, perspective, and style is right for you. You can also get a good sense of someone's personality by doing this. If you come away wanting to know even more about them and excited to learn from them, chances are you're a good fit.
Confirm The Chemistry Is There
Good chemistry is essential for great results. Line up a brief call or meeting with an executive coach to see if you have a good rapport. If a prospective coach is a good fit, you should feel energized and excited after your talk. You might also feel as though you've been taken slightly out of your comfort zone. This is actually a good thing, as growth is essential to your journey as an individual and a professional.
Research Their Qualifications
A good rapport needs to be backed by solid qualifications. An executive coach should have high-level experience as well as experience coaching people at your level and above. They should have a strong coaching background, relevant credentials such as those in HR, business, or psychology, as well as certification from a well-regarded coaching program such as the CEO Tools Certified Coaches Program. You can also use reviews and testimonials as data points when considering a prospective coach.
A good coaching relationship should help you identify and strive for goals you haven't even considered. The impact should create positive momentum not just for you, but for your organization as well.