The Following Article was Published in Cascade Business News, February 2002

"So You Want to Hire a Coach?"

By Ann Golden Eglé, PCC , CPCC Of Golden Visions Success Coaching

Sometimes innocent lessons turn into life lessons. One of mine was in ‘’Finance 101’ in college. The teacher boldly told us wide eyed students that in order to be truly successful in the world, we would need to create a support team to back us up. With our abounding enthusiasm, it was difficult to understand just how impossible it would be to become an expert in all areas.

His suggestions included teaming up with a great attorney, CPA, tax accountant, and others. Today he would most certainly add a ‘coach’ to this list.

Since the coaching profession is relatively new, many prospective clients are at a loss as to how to find and actually begin working with a qualified coach.

It is not unlike selecting any professional that you want on your team. You do your research, use due diligence, trust your gut and select the individual who you are convinced will help you attain your goal. Specifically, here are some suggestions:

• Decide what you want to accomplish. Today there are coaches who are skilled in helping you to grow in directions such as leadership, business development, public speaking, career development, balance, spirituality….and more.
• Look for personal references. Do you have a friend, associate or family member who has successfully worked with a coach in a similar manner to what you are after? Ask them about their experiences.
• Investigate the International Coach Federation (ICF), which is the primary professional trade organization. They can be reached toll free at 1-888-423-3131 orwww.coachfederation.org.
• Do your homework. Prepare a list of interview questions of all that you would like to learn abut hiring a coach. Check out their web sites or promotional materials that may be available. Decide what is truly important to you.
• As with any professional, check out their qualifications. Are they certified to practice? If not, what makes them a coach? As there are no current government regulations for the coaching profession I urge the ‘Buyer to Beware!’ Legally anyone, irrespective of their background or education, can call themselves a ‘coach’.
• Select a number of prospective coaches to interview that you are comfortable with. Most coaches will offer an initial free 30-minute phone conversation to answer your questions and explain how they work. You are also entitled to a sample of how they would actually coach you. Be prepared with one area in which you would like to grow or expand.
• Know that you are hiring a coach, not a consultant. These individuals will not have the answers for you, but are trained to work with you to develop your own answers as to what is ultimately best and most masterful for you.
• Don’t forget personality styles. Just as there are numerous specialties in the coaching profession, there are a variety of styles. Be sure to select one that will match well with your own style.
• Regarding your commitment, most coaches are in it for the long term changes for their clients and thus require a minimum commitment of between three to six months.
• On the national level, certified coaches charge upwards of $500-$1500 per month, depending on qualifications, experience and specific services requested. Locally the fees are more in the range of $300-600 per month.

Whether you hire a coach today or at some point in the future, I do hope that you will allow yourself to experience this huge asset to your team! The old saying ‘two heads are better than one’ certainly holds true here.

To have that one individual that will hold you accountable each week for following through on what you know that you want to create in your life is masterful. What better investment can you make this year than to invest in yourself or your key employees?

Ann Golden Eglé, CPCC, PCC, owner of Golden Visions Success Coaching, LLC, can be reached at 541-385-8887 orwww.goldenvisionscoaching.com. Eglé coaches professionals, executives and entrepreneurs and also authors a free e-mail coaching "Thought of the Week".

Reprinted with permission from Cascade Business News, February 2002