This question seeks to get past the fancy website and the sales pitch. An effective executive leadership coach will have dozens of recommendations from previous clients that are happy with the work that was completed, and even happier to tell others about it. Look to the person’s website for testimonials and see what they have said about the process, where they started and what they learned. Look up some of the testimonial names on LinkedIn – are they real people in leadership roles? Do they work for the person ? (I know, yet several coaches I sought for myself had a small number of reviews, and those were from peers, not clients). Look up the reviews of the business as well as the leadership coach on Facebook, Google reviews and alike – can you find recommendations?
Skilled Coaches Have Recommendations
If the person doesn’t have 20 or 30 clear and identifiable recommendations or reviews, they haven’t yet proven themselves as an effective leadership coach. It is also important to separate the leadership coach from the leadership business – while the business may have many reviews for their stable of coaches, the one in front of you may not. Also ask if you could speak to a previous client about what they got from the coaching process. An effective leadership coach will not only be able to provide you with names, they will have at least 5 clients they could willingly provide you the phone / contact details of to discuss their coaching.
Executive Leadership Coach Review
- Check their website or LinkedIn profile for 20 to 30 recommendations and reviews
- Check reviews and people giving them are real and not from their own business
- Separate the reviews of the business from the specific coach
Ask:
‘Can I speak to one or two of your previous clients to discuss what they learnt?’
The 9 Questions To Ask When Choosing An Executive Leadership Coach
These 9 simple questions will help you identify the good from the bad, the amateur from the professional, the executive leadership coach worth paying for compared to the one that is an expensive waste of time.
- Question 1 – Do you have a coach yourself?
- Question 2 – Are you an accredited coach?
- Question 3 – What is your experience as a leader?
- Question 4 – What is your own coaching style?
- Question 5 – Who else would you recommend?
- Question 6 – What recommendations and success stories do you have?
- Question 7 – What resources and tools do you have at your disposal?
- Question 8 – What leadership assessment tool do you use?
- Question 9 – How will you challenge me (and yourself)?
If you are talking or engaging a coach that can’t answer these 9 questions effectively – walk away! There are plenty of highly effective executive leadership coaches who can – and you deserve to work with someone that can back up what they say with action.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP COACHING
Focussed, personal, confidential, honest and practical – all words that have been used in testimonials to describe the Institute of Management & Leadership Development’s Executive Leadership Coaching. If this sounds like something that could be useful for you or a member of your team, get in touch with us today for a confidential chat about your needs. If you would like to read what other clients experienced and gained through the Executive Leadership Coaching process, check out our LinkedIn recommendations, reviews and testimonials.
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