by Morey Stettner
May 8, 2006

Before you hire an executive coach, look in the mirror. Conduct a gut check to make sure you're ready to accept outside input.

"Ask yourself, 'Am I a good candidate for coaching?' " said Susan Battley, founder and CEO of Battley Performance Consulting, a strategic leadership firm in Stony Brook, N.Y. "You need to trust other people, be open to new ways of thinking and make time to be coached."

Author of "Coached to Lead," Battley is often asked to advise an executive who's already foundering and needs help. But she says the best candidates to receive coaching want to improve their already decent performance, rather than overcome serious on-the-job struggles.

"If you wait too long, coaching has less success," she said.

Battley suggests that when shopping for an executive coach, ask yourself three questions:

What are my high-value goals? Know what you want to accomplish under what time frame.

What are my — and my coach's — roles and responsibilities? Both parties need to hold themselves accountable. You must welcome negative feedback and commit to taking steps to improve; your coach must be accessible, keep confidentiality and design a program that's consistent with your goals.

How will we measure results and define success? You should both agree on quantifiable yardsticks to track your progress, such as sales growth, staff productivity and client retention.

While coaches can prove useful at any point in your career, they play a particularly important role when you face a challenging transition, Battley says.

Examples include taking your first managerial job after you've excelled as a technician or leading a campaign for change inside a company after years of stability.

As you rise through the ranks, your need for a coach grows, Battley adds. That's because "the higher up you go in an organization, the more likely you are not to get good, honest feedback on your performance," she said.

In assessing prospective coaches, learn about their methods and the results they've achieved with other executives. Even if they cannot name clients because of confidentiality, they should describe the general issues they've addressed and the type of advice they've provided. Choose someone with whom you share a comfortable rapport.

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