How to choose a coach

I recently heard another coach speaking on the radio, about coaching. She was terrific: engaging and warm, smart and insightful. She did, however, mention one thing that I completely [and very respectfully] disagreed with her about. She suggested that the main thing to look for, when choosing a coach, is their affiliation and credentialing with the International Coaching Federation [the ICF].

As I said, I disagree.

Let me give you a bit of background:

Coaching is a completely unregulated industry – there are no barriers to entry and there is no legally established regulatory body, to develop and enforce consistent coaching standards.

The ICF is a self-regulating organisation that aspires to that role. It has developed its own Code of Ethics, which is designed to provide appropriate guidelines and standards for practicing as a coach. But those standards aren’t enforceable.

Anyone can become credentialed by the ICF. All you have to do is show that you have accrued a certain number of coaching hours and that you have trained with an organisation that is ICF approved. The thing is, while there are a huge number of ICF-approved training bodies, many seem to lack the rigorous evidence-base that I see as being fundamental to effective and ethical coaching.

I really believe in the need for strong industry regulation and until the ICF [or some other body] is able to offer that, I think individuals must have another way to measure a potential coach.

My suggestion?

Choose a coach based on their tertiary training and on their evidence-based methodology. Then make sure to get a sense of who they are as a human – someone might have amazing training but if you just don’t click, they’ll never be the right coach for you.

Tags: life-coaching, Melbourne