There are two kinds of executive coaches in this world:
- Business people.
- Complete and total wussballs.
Which kind is yours? Find out:
- Does your coach have the scar tissue that comes with running an operation? Has your coach had to forgo reflection and deliberation because the pace of action was simply too fast to allow for it? Has your coach had to fire people, renegotiate a contract gone bad, defend a lawsuit, rob Peter to pay Paul, turn down business for ethical reasons, take business despite ethical reservations, or figure out how to recoup a bad investment? If yes, your coach fits into category one.
- Everyone else, near as I can tell—and I might be off a bit here with this calibration—fits into category two.
If you’re not sure about where your coach fits, here are some questions you can use to determine automatic wussiness:
- Does your executive coach know what a P&L is?
If no, wussball. Businesses live and die by the P&L. How can a coach help you achieve results if s/he doesn’t understand the fundamental yardstick by which you are measured? - Does your executive coach have gray hair (or missing hair, or hair in strange places, or skin that doesn’t quite fit anymore, or some other sign of aging)?
If no, wussball. All due respect to the genius that comes from being unencumbered by tradition and habit—which is significant and not to be discounted—old age and treachery still beats youth and skill. Repeatedly. - Does your executive coach relate everything back to “core competencies” and your “personality profile?”
If yes, wussball. Life is strange. Grids and boxes can make excellent starting points for a discussion, but if you’re not off that page quickly, you’re working from too simplistic a view of the world to be effective. - Did your executive coach become a coach to “help people?”
If yes, wussball. Personal coaches, shrinks, doctors, tutors, teachers, friends, and sympathetic bartenders help people; nurses, scientists, construction workers, pilots, garbage collectors, soldiers, technicians help people; executive coaches help businesses. A better person is a happy byproduct of effective coaching, not the goal. - Does your coach always refer back to his or her credentials as evidence of his or her excellence?
If yes, wussball. Earning a certificate does not an effective coach make, any more than passing a driving test a good driver makes. - Does your coach always make you feel good?
If yes, wussball. Someone who has never ever said something that made you feel a little hurt has never ever told you the truth.
So? How does your coach stack up? If you are a coach, how do you stack up? Do you have what it takes to bust out of being a complete and total wussball?
Today’s post is inspired by my friend and colleague, Carol Roth, who’s sharp with can make mine seem downright fluffy by comparison. Feeling entrepreneurial? Don’t quit your day job until you read what she has to say on the subject.
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I'm Jason. I make people shine. My mission is to help 1 million people tell their stories better. 
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Jason,
You are so spot-on, and I’m cheering from the sidelines. When I’m asked what organizations and executives should be looking for in terms of qualifications for an executive coach, why is it a surprise that I say, “business experience”, or more importantly, experience as an executive. A track record of successes is also pretty darned important.
It’s pretty scary what’s going on in the world of executive coaching. Somewhere, at sometime someone figured out that there is money in it. So anyone can call themselves an executive coach and it’s taken at face value, “okay, you are hired” to the tune of several thousand dollars and zero results. I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent a fair amount of time trying to overcome this with execs and HR in organizations that are interested in bringing me in, but distrusting due to bad experiences with coaches that don’t have the appropriate background for this work. Having an ICF credential isn’t enough to coach executives.
The number of times somebody has tried to sell to me executive coaching when the individual has never walked with any of my shoes, or been trained in some discipline of psychology that could break down barriers within, is a BIG number. Too many executive coaches are wanna be’s.
I am sure many are fabulous, but many coaches are also pretenders. They give the industry a bad name. I guess I have met a LOT of wussballs!
@Lois—At the risk of be crucified by my professional cohorts, I’d say that a great coach has two traits that are simply not that common: (1) the ability to build a story and (2) intuition. The ability to build a story, to me, is important because it ensures that the coach asks the right questions and build a realistic mental model to reflect what’s happening in reality. Competency models will narrow the range of likely behavior, but the profile that emerges is like a character study: unless woven into a complete narrative, it’s not that useful.
And intuition? There’s something the coach needs that’s more than empathy. A coach needs to “know” how far to push a subject, when to pull back, which issue to focus on (and which others will fall into place after that key issue is addressed), when resistance is real and when it is just part of the learning process… I have yet to see a coaching model that would turn “the average man on the street” into a great coach. Which makes sense to me: the thing coaches build—leaders—itself is not fully understood, so how could there be a clear model for building it that will work in every case? Sometimes I feel like being a coach in 2010 is like being a doctor in 1790: our Pasteur is in the future, we’re working on symptoms rather than causes, so even with the best models, there are a lot of blanks to fill in.
At a former company, the owner brought in an executive coach who spent weekly sessions trying to make us feel good and offering various diagrams and charts. Wussball alert! The real problem was the owner, who bottlenecked every decision and couldn’t delegate. And he wasn’t even in those useless meetings! But they dragged on for over a year. I left the company, needless to say.
@Mary Jo—There is so much noise in the market… no one’s unemployed anymore, they’re just temporary coaches.
When I analyzed my financials from the past few years, I discovered my business development costs have gone off the charts because of the time I have to spend reassuring HR that I’m actually for real. How many times have I met a prospect who’s been soured on development because of a previous bad experience? Rather than fight against the tide, I’m rolling with it. I no longer actively “sell” coaching services; I let that work come to me. I sell training, books, and “expertainment,” aka speaking engagements. (I’m a brilliant after-dinner keynote… especially if wine has been served.) It’s ridiculous, but I’ve got to fight the battles I can win.
@Heath—I’ve fired more than one client who’s tried to use me as a long-term mitigation strategy for poor leadership. Use me to support managers, use me to support leadership, but don’t use me to cover up your bad habits. Those engagements don’t end well.
Jason,
Great post and thanks for the shout out on the inspiration. Although you know I think you are a pussy for calling the coaches just a “wussball”!