If you think a communications coach may benefit you or your team, you’ll want to identify a few prospects and interview them to determine fit.
Here are eight suggested questions to get the conversations going.
| Question | Rationale |
| 1. Please tell me about your background and experience, including any specialized skills? | Pretty basic. You want to understand qualifications and relevant background. |
| 2. How would you describe your coaching style? Who do you work best with? | This is a key question. Having a good sense of the coach’s style is important to determining overall fit. |
| 3. Please share an example where you helped someone develop the skill or competency our leader(s) is (are) working on. | This starts to give you an understanding of depth and versatility of the coach. Are they more of a generalist or a specialist? |
| 4. Please describe the ingredients that make a coaching assignment successful, and when your assignments have had less impact. | This question helps ensure everyone involved in the assignment is set up for success. |
| 5. Please describe your process and methodology. How do you work with clients? | Use this to determine how similar or different their process will be to other coaches you’ve worked with. |
| 6. How will you communicate with key stakeholders during assignment? | This is important. You’ll want to understand upfront how the coach will work with the leader and the organization. |
| 7. How do you measure success? | This will help you understand what to expect. How well does this match with your needs? Is there anything else you or the organization requires? |
8. Please provide the names of 2-3 individuals whom we may contact for referrals. | Be sure to ask for and check references. Here are some suggested questions for reference checks:
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Asking the questions above will not only help ensure a good fit, but will set everyone up for success.
Good luck, and let ECC know if we can help.
Click here to learn more about ECC’s Leadership and Communications Suite or give us a call.
