Mentor Coach Tips

Mining the ICF Global Client Study

Be sure to take a look at the latest ICF Global Coaching Client Study.  (ICF members can download the Executive Summary and some of the by-country data for free.)

The big news -- but not surprising -- is that coaching clients are looking for results.  78% said "the effectiveness of the coaching process" was very important in selecting a coach.  (And another 18% said it was somewhat important.)  Contrast this to 44% for "explanation of the coaching process" or 30% for "cost of coaching" -- points that newer coaches often worry most about in conversations with prospective clients.

In addition, client focus groups distinguished coaching as an "action plan," rather than "exploratory," process.  Clients are looking for credible pathways to success; they want a return on their investment.  Happily, 96% of the respondents were very pleased with their coaching experience -- they would repeat it.  Hard ROI numbers are more difficult to come by.  The study came up with a median ROI of, for individuals, 3.44 times their investment and, for companies, 7 times their investment.

So right from the start -- even before the client hires us -- we coaches have to take seriously ICF Competency #2 "Establishing the Coaching Agreement" ... find out what's important to the client and why, how the client defines success and how it will be measured.  Figure out the game you're going to play together before you get on the field!

Lots of info in the study ... and all good for thinking about how we talk with others about what we do and the value we bring.

Achieve Online Identity Nirvana

Expatriate Coach Anne Egros recently shared this nifty little digital identity test in her blog. 

Visit the Reach Online Identity Calculator, answer a few easy questions about how often and when your name shows up in a Google search, and find out if your web presence is digitally disasterous, dabbling or distinct.

In this era of branding, standing out in the crowd by being clear about who you are, who you serve and what you offer is important. 

New coaches often get stuck worrying over a website.  Yes, a website helps communicate your message and establish credibility.  But so does showing up in thoughtful, relevant ways around the web -- in blog posts, Amazon book reviews, social networking sites.  Start with a LinkedIn.com profile and keep building.

Here's the source article for the complete story: What's Your GQ? Build Your Google Quotient

btw, by writing this post I just added to Anne's digital identity ... see how it can grow on its own?

Coaching with the Brain in Mind

If you also find fascinating questions about who we are, why we do what we do, and how all that interacts with our mind/brain, you might be interested in David Rock’s upcoming presentation about Coaching with the Brain in Mind.

 

There are two opportunities:

 

1)      ICF Member Virtual Education Call – Wed., March 25, 2009 at 4 p.m. eastern 

2)      IT Coaches SIG – Tuesday, April 2, 2009 at 12 noon eastern

 

ICF CEU’s are available at the ICF session (code words at start and end of call).  IT Coaches SIG is a Coach U sponsored gathering.

 

Both probably have recordings available if you (and your brain!) can’t be there live.

Successful Starts: A Perspective

Although an older article (2001), "The Sky's the Limit" by Ben Dean, MCC is worth a read for both newer coaches and coaches in growth mode.

Written for therapists who might be considering expanding their practice to include coaching services, it offers a contrast on coaching vs. therapy.

And I heartily agree with his new coach success secrets: grow even faster with a mentor coach, determine and develop your target/specialty, consider alternatives to 1-1 in-person coaching, know that building a business (particularly a people-service one) is all about building relationships and trust.

And I'll add one more: be sure to get quality training in coaching skills! No matter how well-suited we are to being a coach ("it's something I've been doing all my life ... I just never had a name for it"), specialized learning about coaching skills and the coaching process can polish our natural abilities so we can be even greater blessings to our clients. Why be mediocre?

Demystifing Coach Competencies

If you are involved in the ICF credentialling or CoachU certification processes ... or thinking about it, check out the new credential distinctions recently posted by the ICF. There's a description of what's expected for each competency ... at ACC, PCC, and MCC levels.

Takes much of the mystery out of the oral exam process -- whew! More importantly, use these as guides to ramp up the effectiveness of your coaching -- work toward and critique coaching sessions against the model of the next level for you.