Coaching
I have been coaching people myself,
and choosing coaches for others for over 10 years. If you are looking for a coach, or looking to develop the coaching skills
within your organisation then my advice is to look for someone with the following.
Credibility
You need to select someone who
has instant credibility, with the latest age discrimination laws, it would be wrong to put an age on a good coach
but credibility usually comes with experience, not just qualifications, so check this out .
Integrity
What
happens in a coaching session stays in a coaching session, trust is a vital component to any coaching intervention so feel
free to challenge a coach on how they would react in different situations and make your judgement accordingly.
Flexibility
A good coach will be flexible with
their approach to coaching. Be wary of coaches who feel you can only coach face to face. Although a vital ingredient a good
coach should be able to coach over the phone and by email as required.
Courage
This
is a tough one to measure but you may want a coach to provide objective input and this involves confronting issues that people
may not want to hear or deal with.
Empathy
Over the years I have had been subjected to everything from tears and despair
to anger in coaching session, you need someone who can empathise with people and suspend their judgement.
