Canadian Physician Coaches Network

How to Select a Coach

Hiring the right coach can have lasting value in your development and have a profound impact on your professional and personal life.

• Clarify your professional priorities
• Establish clear goals for your future aspirations
• Facilitate your growth and well-being overall
• Effectively transition into something new

Hiring a coach is an investment in your time and money. Finding the right fit for you and your needs will pay off in the end if you take some time up front to consider your reasons for wanting to work with a coach.

Six Steps to a Successful Coaching Engagement

1. Know your reasons for wanting to work with a coach.

• What is your motivation at this moment?
• Take some time to identify what you are hoping to gain from the coaching experience.
• Reflect on your goals or areas you want to develop an/or strengthen further.

2. Interview two to three coaches to ensure you feel comfortable with them. After each interview ask yourself if you think that they have understood you and your needs. Trust your instincts regarding the "fit," particularly with values such as trust, authenticity and integrity.

3. Check out their experience 

• Do they have select areas of coaching expertise?
• How many years have they been coaching?
• What types of clients do they work with - E.g. Executives, senior leaders, managers.

4. Ask about their coaching "success stories".

Ask them for specific examples (other than names or personal information) that give you a detailed description of their coaching success.

5. Check out their credentials, either through references or ask them about their professional memberships/certifications and the organizations with which these can be verified.

6. Ask them to describe their coaching process from the initial agreement through to the end of the coaching experience.

• Do they work remotely and/or face to face?
• What meeting technology platforms do they use? 
• What is the typical length of a coaching engagement?
• Can it be renewed? How long is each session?   
• How do you describe a typical coaching session? 
• How do they evaluate progress?
• Does she/he use assessment tools for identifying and measuring progress?
• What are the coaching/client relationship agreements to guide the experience such as confidentiality, availability outside of formal sessions, cancellations?