The Constructive Coaching Experience

Executive coaching is an up-and-coming field, and it can be just the kick in the pants that a professional needs to jump-start his career. To have a constructive coaching experience, there are several things of which one needs to be aware.

Here are some hints to get the most out of being coached:

Knowing When the Time is Right

'When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.' It's very important to bear this in mind when approaching executive coaching. In other words, when you can truly see yourself as a student, a student who is just waiting for knowledge to rain down on you, then you are ready for a coach. But being willing to learn isn't the only qualification; the best candidates for coaching are also introspective enough to realize that they have room for improvement, and self-aware enough to know that they can learn with a qualified person to show them the way.

If you want to make the most of your coaching experience, you need to have the capacity and thirst for growth. Without this desire, the executive coaching process is a waste of time and money for everyone involved. So take a good, hard look at yourself before deciding if you're indeed ready to be coached.

Finding 'The One'

After determining that you're at a good place in your career for coaching, the matchmaking process can begin. Like any close working relationship ' from band member to personal assistant ' choosing the right executive coach can be a little like dating. And, like dating, the search for the ideal coach can be challenging.

To get the best results during the interview process, it's important to go into it with an open mind. Look for a coach who understands your strengths, weaknesses, goals, desires, and dreams. Understand that you're unlikely to find an absolutely perfect match in a coach, so if you find someone who comes close in most of these areas, make him an offer.

Of course, it's also essential to look for a coach with the proper credentials, style, demeanor, and experience. While it may seem like it's asking a lot, it's not impossible to find someone with a breadth of experience who, because of that experience, will be able to adapt himself to your needs. It's important to look for someone who's been where you want to go.

Executive coaching is a relatively new professional field in the world of consulting. This means that it can be difficult to know which firm to go with, because an 'Ivy League' of coaching has yet to be established. However, there are many sources for finding credentialed coaches; if you don't know anyone with coaching experience, a shrewd search on Google can get you started. Some companies have even trained some of their own staff to be coaches, so you may not have to look any further than your own human resources department.

It's also worth noting that sometimes an independent coach without any official certification is just as good as a certified one'in some situations, even better. It just depends on your circumstances. The most important thing during the selection process is that you feel you can trust the person. Check references, be persistent, and listen to your intuition.

Getting the Most Out of It

Self-awareness is essential to a successful executive coaching experience. At the start of the coaching period, you need to be in touch with your strengths, your values, and your purpose. It also helps if you can play to these elements of your persona. However, this is much easier said than done. Most people aren't able to prepare for coaching in these areas, and that's actually what the coach is there for.

A good executive coach excels at assessment and is trained in useful coaching tools. Such a coach has an excellent chance of helping you gain new ground in areas that perhaps were previously unattainable, due to your unawareness, lack of skills, or, hard as it is to admit, ego. A coach's job is to bring out your best, so it's important that you let him. As your Little League coach may have said, you need to be 'teachable.'

There are all kinds of benefits waiting to be reaped via executive coaching. If you choose your coach with care and listen carefully to how he advises you, your career can take on stunning dimensions.