There are several things to look out for in ensuring that a coach is great at what he or she does:
- Chemistry and style are both key to establish trust and feel comfortable to do your best thinking
- Look for professional coaching qualifications, membership and accreditation of a coaching body like the International Coach Federation (ICF), European Mentoring and Coaching council (EMCC) or similar
- Ensure that your coach is active and current in their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sometimes referred to as Continuing Coach Education (CCE) and has regular supervision
- Be convinced that there are no conflicts of interest or potential ethical issues for either yourself or your coach
- Familiarise yourself with their business terms and insurance and make sure you are happy with the whole coaching package before you begin your coaching journey
- Your coach is experienced at coaching in a business setting and is credible. A coach does not need to have worked in your sector, function or role to be a great coach – they bring questions rather than answers
- Your coach makes you the star of the show!
As with any due diligence, it is vital to back up this evidence by listening to what clients have to say. Here is the view of one of my clients:
How would you describe Victoria’s coaching style?
I would describe Victoria’s coaching style as very professional and impactful.
What did Victoria do which worked particularly well for you?
Victoria asked really powerful questions that made me dig deep for the answers. She was also very thorough at listening to what I said and then using the same language when reflecting back, which I found validating.
What did you learn (personally or professionally) from being coached by Victoria?
From both a personal and professional point of view, I learnt about using Gremlins to identify how we sometimes stop ourselves from achieving our goals. Victoria made this fun which encouraged me to get really into the concept and make friends with my Gremlins. Victoria was also great at coaching me on the visual images I came up with and this resulted in me developing a really useful tool to use in specific situations.
How did you or any aspect of your life/work/business change as a result of coaching with Victoria?
Through being coached by Victoria I was able to explore both personal and work related issues, finding implementable solutions/tools that I could put into practice immediately. This helped me in managing my energy levels plus my tendency to procrastinate. These tools/skills have remained with me and continue to be useful in managing my everyday challenges.
Please include below a testimonial for Victoria:
I got a lot out of my coaching sessions with Victoria as a coachee. I especially valued Victoria’s incisive questioning which made me think deeply (deeper than I had expected) and supported me to find valuable answers. Her overall approach and style enabled me to achieve the goals I set myself and I felt very much ‘seen’ and ‘heard’ by Victoria – she was very much “with me” on my coaching journey. Victoria was able to balance seriousness with light hearted fun in our sessions and I am very grateful to her for introducing me to the concept of Gremlins. I would happily recommend Victoria as a coach for both individuals and organisations.
Thank you Victoria, much appreciated.
