Knowledge Base

A good rapport is essential between you and your coach or mentor. If possible, always meet your proposed mentor or coach face-to-face before confirming whether they are your choice, and preferably meet at least two alternatives. You will be working with this person for an extended period of time with the intention of gaining specific and significant benefits for yourself, so it is important that you respect and trust them, and can work with them in a collaborative, professional and open manner.  

If you are looking for a coach, then you might want to know about their coaching qualifications and experience, their style of coaching, logistics, and how they will contract with you and your sponsor. You should have some prior idea of the specific outcomes and success criteria you and your sponsor are hoping to see as a result of the coaching so you can discuss these in outline with your coach. 

If you are looking for a mentor, then you might want to know about their experience in the organisation, their wider experience in the industry or sector, logistics, and how they will contract with you and your sponsor. You should have some prior idea of what success might look like for you as a result of the mentoring so you can discuss these in outline with your mentor.       

An internal coach is someone with whom you can work on a professional basis to help you improve your performance at work, develop your skills, and work through specific issues and overcome hurdles to achieve your professional goals. Choosing the right coach for you, and for your current circumstances, can make all the difference between a mediocre coaching experience and a highly successful one, so it pays to put some thought into the selection process.

Before your short-listing for your coach starts, you should be able to assume that any internal coaches offered to you through the organisation are competent to act as your coach. This means that ideally, they are qualified in coaching to ILM Level 5 or Level 7 or have an equivalent coaching qualification. Do check the qualifications and coaching experience of your potential coaches carefully – you neither want, nor need, an enthusiastic amateur therapist as your coach. In the absence of a coaching qualification, check that the coach has, at least, plenty of coaching experience.  Remember that is not necessary or even helpful for your coach to have direct experience of your learning or development goals. They are there primarily to facilitate your thinking and action, and not to add their own.

You might then want to consider asking yourself these four questions to help you create a shortlist:

1.    Will we be able to have an open, honest and respectful mutual relationship?

The relationship you develop with your coach is the key to success. All the research shows that the relationship is the most important factor in coaching as this allows for an open, honest and challenging dialogue which is critical to coaching success. Shortlist coaches with whom you feel you can develop a harmonious, collaborative and professional coaching relationship. 

2.    Do I trust them to maintain confidentiality and to operate within agreed coaching boundaries?

Your coach should be clear with you about the boundaries of the coaching relationship and how they will manage issues which might arise and that fall outside these boundaries. They should maintain confidentiality with you at all times within these boundaries. You should feel comfortable that you can trust your coach in this regard. 

3.    Will they challenge me, give me tough feedback when it would be useful for me and hold me to account?

Coaching isn’t an opportunity for a long aimless chat, pleasant though that might be. Coaching is a focussed, performance-oriented conversation that should give you real measurable results and move you towards your desired professional goals. This will require your coach to challenge your current thinking, and occasionally give you feedback about how they or others perceive you. You should feel comfortable that, though you may occasionally feel uncomfortable during the coaching process, you know that your coach has your best interests at heart and your performance aspirations in mind. 

4.    Is their coaching style going to work for me?

All coaches are human beings and therefore have their own unique style. Ideally you should shortlist coaches who help you feel energised, confident, self-sufficient and light in spirit. They should allow you space for your own style of learning and preferences. You should enjoy being coached, and look forward to the engagement, challenge and hopefully touches of humour that each new session will bring. 

Once you have selected two or three coaches for your shortlist, then arrange to meet each one individually for a ‘chemistry’ meeting. The purpose of this is to get very clear answers to the above four questions, which until this point will only be your best guess about their fit as coach for you.Ultimately, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Hopefully, after the first session or two you will feel that you have made the right choice for your coach. If not, don’t be reluctant to raise your concerns with your coach and discuss it. They are there for you, and if it isn’t working, then your coach should be professional enough to help you move on to choose another coach who may be better suited to your needs.

Generally speaking, after two or three coaching sessions: 

Your coach is probably a good fit for you if:

Your coach is probably not a good fit for you if: