How to Pick the Right Coach (Read This Before Hiring One)
Hiring a coach is a high-stakes decision. Whether you’re a first-time client or an experienced leader ready for your next breakthrough, choosing the right coach can mean the difference between powerful growth with a partner or continued stagnation or worse, regret.
But what exactly should you look for?
Too often, people choose coaches based on a gut feeling or impressive marketing rather than on what truly drives transformation. This guide outlines six proven criteria to evaluate when selecting a coach — based on ethical standards, practical structure, and client outcomes.
1. Trained, Certified, Credentialed
Coaching is a professional discipline — not just a good conversation. Just like you wouldn’t hire a self-taught surgeon, you shouldn’t entrust your career growth to someone untrained in coaching methodology.
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Training provides foundational knowledge
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Certification validates competency
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Credentialing (like ICF’s ACC, PCC, MCC) ensures commitment to ethical practice and continuous development
📚 According to the International Coaching Federation (ICF), credentialed coaches are more likely to retain clients, command higher fees, and demonstrate client ROI.
2. Chemistry and Trust
Coaching is personal. Chemistry is often overlooked, but it’s foundational to making progress. The right coach:
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Makes you feel safe and seen, not judged
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Challenges you with powerful questions (not just advice)
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Creates a confidential space for honest reflection
🧠 A meta-analysis published in the “Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice” found that the coach-client relationship quality is one of the strongest predictors of successful outcomes.
3. Process, Structure, and Agreements
Coaching may be a creative process, but that doesn’t mean it should be vague.
Look for a coach who outlines:
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What sessions will include
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How learning, reflection, and action are balanced
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Engagement terms (scheduling, communication, reporting, etc.)
✅ Clarity about structure increases client retention and engagement — and reduces mid-process confusion.
4. An Approach That Fits Your Goals
Does the coach focus on mindset, behavior, systems, or all three? Are they trained in specific tools (e.g., Positive Intelligence, Hogan, DiSC)? Do they offer 1:1, group, or team coaching?
Make sure their approach aligns with:
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How you prefer to grow
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The kind of accountability you want
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Your goals and circumstances
🎯 Clients who resonate with their coach’s approach are more likely to sustain coaching results over time (Source: EMCC Global Client Impact Report, 2022).
5. Commitment to Confidentiality
Coaching doesn’t work without safety. Ethical coaches:
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Follow strict confidentiality standards (e.g., ICF Code of Ethics)
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Clarify how session data and notes are stored
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Address what your company sponsor (if applicable) will and won’t receive
💡 Ask: Will your conversations be private? What systems are in place to ensure that?
6. Results and References
Coaches don’t need to “fix” you — but they do need to help you generate results.
Look for:
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Testimonials or success stories
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References willing to share the coaching impact
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Social proof relevant to your context (industry, level, goals)
📢 A Harvard Business Review study showed that executive coaching clients who had access to social proof and references prior to selection were 2x more likely to report high satisfaction after their engagement.
We recently talked about selecting a coach at Leadership COGS. Watch the full episode here.
Download our infographic summary for additional reference.
Contact The Lenserf Group to learn more or get matched with a coach who understands where you’re going.
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