Returning to work is a big step and an executive coach can certainly help you with this transition. But how do you find the right one for you?
Plenty of people claim they are a coach. The boundaries between life coaches, business coaches and executive coaches can often be blurred. As the profession itself is not protected, anyone can claim to be a helping mind – finding the right coach can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
An executive coach concentrates on you operating within a business context. A good executive coach should take a systemic approach taking all relevant factors – departments, business lines, business contexts, interacting organisations and your family background and current situation – into consideration. In the particular situation of return-to-work mums, it is also very useful to have a coach who can relate to the struggles you face with the balancing act of having children and pushing your career.
An executive coach supports you to achieve specific professional goals with the objective to enhance your corporate career. These include performance management, career transition, developing an executive presence, interpersonal and professional communication, organizational effectiveness, managing career and personal changes, dealing effectively with conflict, and building an effective team within your organization.
So what do you need to look out for when selecting an Executive Coach?
Industry Experience and Background
To help you get back into the swing of your career it will be helpful to work with a coach who has actually worked in a similar environment. The person should be able to relate to your business challenges, have an understanding of internal politics and corporate dynamics. The coach is there to help you develop a strategy for your career and navigate through the potential pitfalls. Not necessarily does a coach need to have worked in the exact same industry but certainly experience that is somewhat similar does help.
Credentials, Credibility and Professional Development
The training for becoming a coach can vary from a few days, which clearly is not enough, to a few years. Choose a coach who is fully accredited with one of the main coaching bodies. This will give you a reassurance that the person you work with has got a sound understanding of how people behave and change in a business environment. Also try to select someone who has a quality reputation in the industry, referrals or client testimonials can be helpful. If they are a good executive coach they are likely to be active and visible and belong to the right coaching bodies. For a coach it is also vital to ensure they continue their own journey of learning. You may want to check if they work with a supervisor and what training opportunities they have made use of recently.
The coaching bodies provide more information on finding a coach, and have a (searchable) directory of coaches in your area:
- European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC)
- Association for Coaching (AC)
- International Coach Federation (ICF)
Logistics and Process
Some coaches insist that you come to their office, others are happy to travel to where you are, meet you in a coffee shop or even work by phone or Skype. There are pros and cons of all of these: a change of scenery can help you open up and find a new perspective to the issues you try to grapple with, while meeting the coach at your office can help you save https://imagineear.com/pharmacy/generic-acyclovir/ travel time. You need to work out and discuss what works best for you.
The average length of a coaching assignment is between 3 and 6 months. Meetings are usually between 1 and 3 hours and it tends to be most effective to have them every 2 to 4 weeks. Most coaches offer a free introductory session with the purpose of establishing that both sides are comfortable to work with each other. Once you have agreed working together you then discuss in the next session your goals and objectives and possible length of the assignment. The exact process varies between coaches and goals you wish to achieve, so you need to discuss how you want to work with your coach.
Fees and payments
Depending on what you have agreed in terms of logistics – specifics of the assignment, where and how often you meet – fees can vary greatly. For an experienced executive coach you may get a discounted fee for a privately paid assignment starting from £150 pounds per hour, for a senior executive coach working with a CEO of a large organisation, rates per hour can be over £1000. This may sound extortionate but needs to be taken in context: one hour of coaching translates into three to four hours of work for the coach which includes preparation before and a review after each session as well as travel times. Also an experienced executive coaches who brings along a wealth of industry experience seeks to be paid in line with other activities they could undertake.
Data Protection, Confidentiality and Transparency
You are likely to discuss very private issues with your coach. Check your coach has a clear policy on how they treat and protect your information. Along with the rest of the process it should be transparent to you how your coach works and what approach and methods they apply to help you.
So there are a few things you may want to look out for when choosing the right executive coach. However, the bottom line is: you need to feel comfortable with the person who is supposed to help you in this important phase of your life. Ask yourself: do I trust the person, do I like her/him, can I see myself opening up to this coach and really sharing the way I feel? Only if you can build a sound rapport and trust with your executive coach will you both be in a position to challenge each other and provoke the necessary changes in your life which will help you move forward.
Author: Ulrike Dadachanji is an experienced executive coach. For over ten years she has been successfully coaching and mentoring senior leaders in banks and other large corporate organisations, entrepreneurs and high-potentials. Over the years working in large and small corporate organisations, Ulrike realised that the biggest obstacle to success tends to be a lack of understanding: of oneself, of one’s colleagues, or the business situation. Her mission is: help people and companies to work together better, raise their awareness and be more effective.
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