How Do I Know If Coaching Is Right for Me?

I get one question more than any other in my DMs.

It goes some version of: “I’ve been reading your posts for months. I’m thinking about reaching out about coaching. But I don’t know if I’m the right person, or if my situation is the right situation. How do I know?”

Here’s my honest answer.

The senior leaders who get the most out of coaching with me share three things. I’d want you to read them as criteria, not gatekeeping.

First — they’re at a real inflection point. Not a vague restlessness. An actual decision they’re navigating, a transition they’re moving through, a specific situation that’s complicated enough that thinking it through alone isn’t getting them somewhere clearer.

Second — they’re willing to do the work. Coaching isn’t something I do to you. It’s something we do together. The clients who get the most out of this are the ones who show up to the sessions having thought about the questions I sent in advance, and who try things between sessions instead of waiting for the next one.

Third — they’re at a level where the work matters. I work with managers through C-suite, with a sweet spot at director and senior director. 

If you read those three and recognized yourself that’s probably your answer. If you didn’t, that’s also useful.

Either way, you don’t have to be sure to reach out. You just have to be honest in the message about what you’re navigating. I’ll tell you the rest.