Whilst the last few years have seen coaching as a growth industry, it remains largely unregulated. Although there are well-established professional bodies (International Coaching Federation & Coaches and Mentors of South Africa) that define codes of practice and oversee coach education, nothing stops anyone from declaring themselves a coach and delivering ‘coaching’ services.
Choosing a business coach, therefore, does require a degree of vetting. We share some tips on what to consider (and ask) when choosing your business coach.
Talk the Talk AND Walk the Walk
What is the business coach’s track record? How many years have they been in business? How many client testimonials can they able to share?
Have they coached themselves or been involved in further enrichment programmes – displaying a willingness for constant learning that is then passed onto their clients? What is their personal business success and the experience that comes with that?
A Strong Foundation
Is your business coach a stand-alone or backed by a knowledgeable team of like-minded individuals, allowing them to leverage collective insights and experience? Are there well-established coaching plans, systems and processes in place that have shown success across multiple industries and economies that can be tailored to your specific requirements and geography?
Collective knowledge
Effective business coaches are those with a wide and diverse range of experience, able to provide insight and knowledge across a range of skill sets. Yet, they do not try to be ‘all things to all people’.
Find a business coach with both generalist experience and an extensive network that enables them to call on experts in specific areas (tax, law, B-BBEE, et. al.,) if needed. Similarly, look for a business coach that involves and works with the entire team in the pursuit of clearly defined business goals.
Results focused
In the end, the bottom line and achievement of results is the proof of success. Choose a business coach that aligns strongly with this and who adopts a strong results-focused approach, actively monitoring and evaluating clients’ progress and implementing the necessary adjustments to their coaching strategies to ensure the realisation of client objectives.
Empty promises … or guarantees and assurance?
As you prepared to invest in a business coaching relationship, committed to doing the work, what (if any) guarantees do you have to build the necessary confidence and trust that the desired return on investment (ROI) will be realised?
Base your decisions on a systematic checklist and have discussions until you are comfortable that you’ve found the right individual. It’s your investment, and it has to have measurable results. The final point that we leave you with is:
Treat appointing your business coach the same as a sports trainer. Assess, check, set goals and commit.
