WSJ zings Business Coaching

An article by Jared Sandberg called, "Some Office Coaches Whitewash Miseries with Sunny Platitudes" was published recently by the Wall Street Journal. In it were numerous examples of coaching-gone-bad, or more accurately, coaching-never-gone-good.

The thrust of the article seemed to be that many coaches - certainly the ones featured in it - don't seem to realize how ineffective they really are. Based on my read of the piece, Sandberg's conclusion is accurate. But I think there's a bigger point to be made. After all, EVERY profession has its share of dogs, losers, and train-wrecks. Coaching certainly has no lock on that.

I think that the bigger point is: Do your due diligence before hiring a coach.

To that end, I offer a sequel to the WSJ article and others like it - a primer called, How to Choose a Coach. In it, you'll find a simple, logical, step-by-step process. But for those of you who like to read the highlights first, here are the five steps:

• Step 1 - Get clear about your 'What' and 'How'
• Step 2 - What to look for in a Coach
• Step 3 - The Interview or Sample Session
• Step 4 - Look for that 'C-L-I-C-K' between you and your potential Coach.
• Step 5 - Dollars and 'Sense'

While the primer was originally written for those interested in working with a life coach, the process works equally for choosing an executive coach, a career coach, a success coach, a business coach, and probably any other type of coach - even those that weren't bashed by the WSJ.

And if you're not yet ready to hire a coach, that's fine. Simply bookmark the primer so you can come back to it when you are.