‘Business coach’ seems to have suddenly become a go-to moniker for former corporate executives looking for a new gig. For someone who recognises that a coach might be a valuable performance enhancing addition, how do you pick the right person?

I had a conversation on this topic recently in the pub with some colleagues, a beer with a few people who run SME’s, that used ‘networking’ as an excuse for said beer.

(Aside, Christ beer in a popular pub is expensive!)

The conversation was initiated by a ‘techo’ who was just folding his 5 year side gig up, after very considerable investment of time, money, and emotional commitment.

He needed, he said, to learn how to be a ‘businessman’ rather than a ‘techo’, and needed a coach, or mentor, but did not know how to pick the right one.

The response I gave him was

• Been there, walked in your shoes
• Able to relate at a really human level to the coached
• Part psychologist, part headmaster, part collaborator, to drive accountability
• Able to bring together the confusing and fluid interaction of financial management, revenue generation, operations, and all the necessary support and regulatory stuff. They cannot be an expert in all these, nobody can, but they acknowledge their limitations, and have a group of trusted specialists available as needed.
• Ask good questions and happy to be proven wrong.
• Prepared to tell those being coached the ugly truth.
• Leaves you better off after every session, although from time to time, that is hard to see at the time. Bit like going to the gym, the impact is cumulative over time.
• Widely knowledgeable beyond the domain the ‘coached’ is operating in to bring in different perspectives
• Holds themselves and those they coach accountable.
• The coach ensures they dedicate the time to discover ideas and observations from other domains that may be useful, then package them up for those they coach.
• They will always be a great listener and have a keen understanding and appreciation of your point of view.
• They can personalise their own experiences in a way that the coached can relate to
• They make the agreed goals of those being coached their own for that relationship.
• They demonstrate patience and perseverance, while being assertive.

However, there are two problems in all of this. It is highly unlikely you will find all 14 in one person, and there is a further huge catch for you:

A real ‘kicker’

Even if the coach you choose has all these characteristics in spades, it will not be enough.

There is a further absolute requirement for a successful coaching relationship.

You, the one being coached, must be open to change.

Coaching is all about changing behaviour, modifying responses, being more open, and understanding. In short, able to be coached. In the absence of that ‘coachability’, nobody can help you get better, you have to do it yourself and suffer the consequences.

Header credit: Yoda from Star Wars series.