A colleague of mine recently commented that with a string of prestigious degrees to his name he has never yet been asked to provide any proof of them. That got me to thinking that in my 15+ years as an executive coach I can count on one hand the number of times I have been asked to provide credentials/references for my work.

I work with senior managers and leaders to help them enhance their contribution or ‘value’ to their organisations. This is usually on a 1-to-1 basis over a number of months. It represents a reasonable financial investment on the company’s part for one individual. Most of my work (perhaps 80%) is repeat business or on the basis of referral or recommendation. But what about the other 20%? How are organisations selecting their executive coaches and what should they look for?

​There are a number of key points I advise organisations to check for when selecting an executive coach. Indeed these are the same points I look for in new associates applying to work as coaches for Managing Change. In no particular order, these include:

1. Psychological mindedness – a good coach will be insightful and profoundly interested in human behaviour – in what makes us tick. Along with this should be a genuine commitment to support the development of another person. They should be highly self-aware and thoughtful about why they are doing this work.
2. Qualified – it shouldn’t need to be said that a coach should have received appropriate training! I like to see coaching qualifications coupled with a credible psychology qualification too, to ensure that the coach is suitably knowledgeable about human behaviour, theories of learning and motivation, and so on.
3. Professional affiliations - a professional coach is like any other professional and ideally will subscribe to one or more professional coaching bodies (eg., Association for Coaching, International Coach Federation, European Mentoring and Coaching Council). Note, that for a fee, membership is often easy – check the level of membership they have and what it means with the body in question. Probe their involvement in this body – what do they learn from and contribute to it?
4. Code of Ethics - all coaches should adhere to a rigorous code of professional ethics and should be able to describe what these are. Again, all professional coaching bodies provide these and expect their members to adhere to them. For example, check –
   - how will the coach secure confidential notes and data? 
   - what steps will they take if they establish that a client is experiencing psychological distress or illness?
   - what they will do if they discover that the client has problems with addiction or abuse?
5. A Guide from the Side or Sage on the Stage? - A good professional coach is an expert – they have skills to contribute in the process of personal development and growth. The client however is the expert in him or herself and should at all times remain responsible for the content and goals of a coaching programme. Be wary of coaches who promote expertise which translates into them directing the client into a particular course of action or direction.
6. CPD - all good professional coaches will practice what they preach. In other words they will take their own continuing professional development (CPD) very seriously. They will be able to demonstrate their CPD log of training, events, courses, reading, etc which they regularly undertake in order to hone their skills and experience.
7. Supervision - all good professional coaches will receive regular qualified supervision – on a group and/or individual basis. This is another essential part of good coaching practice – I recommend that you rule out coaches who are not receiving regular supervision, particularly those who say they don’t need it
8. Good references - I have encountered the work of coaches who on paper have qualifications in abundance but who in practice have not been effective. A coaching qualification alone does not make for a good coach. As with all other disciplines a good effective coach will have both the theoretical and the practical knowledge and capability to do a good job. Be sure to ask for references or recommendations of previous coaching assignments and be sure to follow them up.

The professional coaching community is a thriving and dynamic environment full of excellent, committed coaches passionate about what they do. They are making a real difference to the lives of people and companies. When you choose an executive coach, be sure you choose one of these.

As coaching continues to grow within UK organisations (90% of UK organisations report now using coaches) there is a corresponding growth in the use of internal coaches within organisations. To date, there is no evidence base to indicate the relative merits and advantages of each, although this is an area beginning to be formally assessed and measured. So, given what we know now, when is it more appropriate to use an internal coach and when an external one?

Internal coaches will usually:

• Have a more extensive knowledge of the organisation, its culture, values, strengths, strategic direction, history, politics and problems
• Be better placed to work within and across organisational structures, reporting lines and teams. They may have knowledge of, or working relationships with, team members, managers, etc and be in a position to support change and break down barriers and obstacles
• Be able to provide the executive (and any sponsors) with feedback regarding performance and behaviour change in real time and from more direct observation.
• Be less expensive and sometimes considerably so

External coaches will usually:

• Have no political agenda within the company and are likely to be more objective and impartial.
  Be able to build trust and ensure confidentiality more easily. Greater openness is more likely to happen
• Not be subject to conflicts of interest or role (eg., assessing ex-coachees for promotion, holding multiple sets of confidential information).
• Have greater expertise and experience and frequently may have niche specialisms. They can usually engage in a “purer” non-directive coaching mode since they are not influenced by company knowledge or agendas
• Be more expensive although they are usually only paid for the hours used

Research does indicate that a strong indicator of successful coaching outcomes is the trust and relationship quality existing between the executive and coach. There is evidence to indicate that executives trust external coaches more than internal coaches and are more likely to reveal difficulties and capability issues with them. This consideration may help to determine whether the coach most appropriate in a particular situation is internal or external.

Current knowledge suggests that external coaches are most effective working at higher management levels within organisations, in cultures of low trust, and with more complex/sensitive difficulties. Internal coaches are likely to be more cost effective to support internal training programmes and as part of management development programmes.

Whether internal or external, the quality of the coach is of paramount importance. A subsequent article will look at that key question – coach selection.

We work with companies to help their people achieve their performance, development and career goals. We also work to support internal coaches within organisations. If you or your organisation would like to know more, get in touch to see how we can help.

I loved listening to a commentator on Radio 4’s Today programme recently describing the apparent paradox between our top sportspeople and athletes being surrounded by “psychologists and life coaches” and yet achieving their “best ever success”.

As a coach it won’t surprise you to know that I think this illustrates the power and effectiveness of coaching professionals working to enhance the performance of the whole person, not just to develop the functional bits. Translating this to the corporate world in which I spend most of my working life, there is more to high achievement and success than just being good at the functional or technical aspects of your role. To realise your potential you need to be a well-rounded, 'whole' person – self-aware, focused, motivated and confident. Our top athletes’ achievements are testament to their huge talent, hard work and good, effective support.

What more could you achieve?

​To explore whether coaching could give your performance that extra boost, contact us for a free initial consultation.