Criteria to evaluate an executive coach.

Evaluation quickly becomes an issue when clients seek out or engage an executive coach. For many executives, how to carry out that evaluation is not a question they will have considered before. In most organisations, business executives will defer to the HR or Talent Management team to take the lead and introduce a competent coach. But what criteria might they be considering? And what relevance have they got for the executive client.

Last week I engaged in a discussion with some colleague coaches from the UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School where this topic surfaced in the context of what large organisations examine during coach selection. The outputs are useful when I consider how professionally qualified executive coaches can differentiate our service in the corporate market.

We discussed some key selection criteria that corporates might apply, and I have captured these, but it struck me that there might be more to consider when you take on the perspective of the executive coachee.

Professional Practice:

• What is the coach’s approach to contracting, third party involvement, practice evaluation and disengagement?
• How does the coach describe their coaching approach and how do they apply it? Do they use alternative styles and how knowledgeable are they about their practice?
• Is the coach psychologically minded?
• How does the coach deal with the issue of confidentiality?
• Do the coach’s values include honesty and integrity and do they embrace diversity and equality?

Credibility

• How does the coach present in terms of confidence, presence, impact and personal style?
• Has the coach a business focus and is he/she results oriented.
• Does the coach appear both self aware and mindful of others’ emotional needs.
• Has the coach an understanding of how large complex organisations work and has he/she a good appreciation of executive agendas at this level.

Competence

• How much coaching experience does the coach have at executive level and what type of coaching has been practiced in the past?
• How effective is the coach at questioning, listening, challenging and giving feedback?
• What is the coach’s approach to assessment and profiling? Is profiling part of the service or will the coach work with assessments already completed by the client?

Qualifications

• What coaching qualification does the coach hold? Is it from a reputable educational institution, perhaps post graduate level and is the course recognised by one of the professional bodies.
• Is the coach a current member of a professional coaching body?
• The coaching profession has developed high standards of practice for professional coaches. Does the coach engage in professional supervision and CPD?  

All of these criteria are indeed relevant to coach selection but there is one last imperative for an effective coaching relationship. From the perspective of the executive, this one often comes down to personality and getting the right fit. While coach and coachee don’t have to hit it off as the best of friends, there must be a mutual respect between them. The coach should approach the coaching assignment with an unconditional positive regard for the client and the client must have respect for the professional role played by the coach. It will be hard for the HR team to assess this final point, so this final call is one for the executive client.