A Buyers Guide To Coaching
- 2. © PB Coaching 2
Coaching: a buyer’s guide
Coaching has come into prominence in the past two decades. It is appropriate
when a person is seeking to achieve a desired goal, make a change in their life, or
enhance performance in an activity or role. The expression 'life coach' is used when
an individual seeks coaching to make changes in their own personal life. The
expression ‘business and executive coach’ is used for coaches working in
organisations. The latter charge significantly higher fees, something to bear in mind if
you are seeking ‘life coaching’.
Coaches come from a variety of backgrounds particularly sport, counselling/
psychotherapy, and organisations/business (e.g. a former senior executive or
consultant). It is likely that background will significantly influence how the coach
understands their role and approach to coaching. For example, a coach with a
therapy background may tend to focus on the psychological aspects of a coaching
agenda (e.g. self-confidence) whilst a coach with a business background is more
likely to have a strategic/problem solving focus. Coaches also identify with particular
methodologies, such as Solution Focused, NLP, or Cognitive Behavioural. There is no
evidence that one type of coach or one methodology is more effective than
another. Indeed there is considerable agreement that it is the quality of the
relationship between coach and client that is the most important factor for a
successful outcome. You could check out what is involved in a particular
methodology to see if it appeals to you but perhaps more important when deciding
whether to work with a coach is the ‘chemistry’ between you.
Coaching is an emerging profession, with professional bodies such as the European
Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and Association for Coaching accrediting
courses and individual coaches. It is important to check with a prospective coach
their training, experience and accreditation. Supervision has now become a
professional requirement for coaches, so a good check on quality is to ask whether
the coach has a supervisor, and the name of the supervisor. It is also crucial to
contract properly with your coach: around confidentiality; fees, time, place and
length of sessions; payment for missed sessions; contact, or not, between sessions.
The quality and professionalism of a coach is indicated by how they manage this
contracting.
Dr Geoff Pelham
Head of Professional Development & Quality
PB Coaching
