When you choose to hire a coach, not only are they working for you, they are working with you—to radically change your life. You shouldn’t settle for anything less than that. So you need to find someone great, and you need to know some of the key differences that will set the great ones apart. So let me pull back the curtain on coaching a little bit and tell you some things you should be watching for.
When you choose to hire a coach, not only are they working for you, they are working with you—to radically change your life. You shouldn’t settle for anything less than that. So you need to find someone great, and you need to know some of the key differences that will set the great ones apart. So let me pull back the curtain on coaching a little bit and tell you some things you should be watching for.
First, watch out for those who are eager to close the sale. No good coach will try to pressure you to close the sale. If you encounter someone rushing to get you signed up, that’s a sign you’re not dealing with a great coach. The fact is, just as you don’t “need” to work with a particular coach, and great coach does not “need” to work with you—they don’t need your sale to make rent and their paycheck is not determined by any one person. So, if you get an icky vibe from a coach, run, don’t walk, to find the next candidate.
The second thing to look for is someone who reads. They should read quite a bit—hopefully even more than you do. As you go from box to box, or studio to studio, seeking out your coach, ask each potential coach you meet what their three favorite books are. The answers are likely tell you far more than anything you’ll learn in a free or sample “taster” session.
And, while we’re on the subject of “taster” sessions, a third thing you should be on the lookout for is whether they can dialogue with you as a person. No matter what business they say they are in (yoga, CrossFit, strength, or whatever) they are first and foremost in the business of making relationships. If they are incapable of having an honest dialogue with you right off the bat, things are not likely to get better as time goes on.
So, trust your gut. If you get a weird feeling, it’s probably going to be a weird relationship. Do not hire that person, and do not let them pressure you. Instead focus on the three things I’ve talked about: Great coaches don’t use pushy sales tactics, they read (a lot), and they are able to hold a dialogue with you as a human being. If you can score on all three of those, you might just have found yourself a great coach.
More things to look for in your next coach:
8 Subtle Attributes of a Great Coach
