Leadership coaching can be a powerful way to help employees, team leaders, and even CEOs better navigate their daily challenges. It can also create room for growth that benefits both the individual receiving the coaching and the overall company.
However, it’s fair to say that not all coaches are created equal. Even after a thorough vetting process and analyzing their qualifications (which sound amazing on paper), it’s important to make sure the coach you work with is a match.
And if they are guilty of any of these bad coaching habits, you may want to rethink this relationship and keep looking:
1. Trying to Fix Things
The coach will not step into a business and start fixing everything that is not working. Their role is not disruptive; rather, they work with the client to help them change how they operate.
Leadership coaches are often tempted to give people the answer or solution to a problem. However, the good ones refrain from doing so and help the client reach that conclusion.
2. Interrupting the Process
Coaching is a lengthy process that may include many silent moments. Some may try to fill these moments and shift the process needlessly to avoid these dull moments.
But any good coach knows that silence doesn’t necessarily mean nothing is happening. If a coach doesn’t allow their client these moments of reflection, they can accidentally prevent them from saying something crucial or having an aha moment.
3. Always Going Back to the Book
Leadership coaches can each have their own style or framework. However, as a general rule, these guides need to be adapted to the specific needs and expectations of the person they are leadership coaching and the company.
If a coach doesn’t seem flexible with their framework and, worse, even disrupts the process by always going back to their set of rules, it could be an indication that the coach is not a great match.
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4. Doing the Client’s Work for Them
Leadership coaches can get very close to their clients—they get to know their wishes, expectations, and fears. Some may be tempted to help their clients here and there and do the work for them. It can be something as simple as writing an email on their behalf or even telling them exactly what to say during an important call.
In either case, this is a huge red flag. Leadership coaches should guide the process, not take charge of it.
5. Overwhelming the Client
Another red flag is a leadership coach who gives the client too much homework, especially outside office hours. Business professionals have a lot on their plates daily, and coaches should not try to take over their little free time.
Not only can that lead to burnout, but it can overwhelm the client to the point where they cannot even benefit from coaching, rendering the entire process useless.
Creator of the KASHBOX: Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, Habits
Helping You Realize Your Potential
I help people discover their potential, expand and develop the skills and attitudes necessary to achieve a higher degree of personal and professional success and create a plan that enables them to balance the profit motives of their business with the personal motives of their lives.
