What to Look for When Hiring an Executive Coach: 7 Essential Criteria
- Mary Ellen
- Dec 5
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 6
Choosing an executive coach is one of the most strategic investments you'll make in your career. Yet with countless coaches available—each with different backgrounds, methodologies, and specialties—how do you identify the right partner for your growth? The wrong fit can mean wasted time and resources. The right partnership, however, can accelerate your trajectory, sharpen your leadership skills, and help you navigate challenges with confidence and clarity.
Here are seven essential criteria to guide your decision, along with critical questions to ask during discovery calls.
1. Relevant Industry Experience
Generic coaching advice has its place, but when you're navigating sector-specific challenges—regulatory pressures, market volatility, organizational politics—you need someone who speaks your language and understands your context.
Look for a coach who has direct experience in your industry or has worked extensively with leaders facing similar challenges. They'll recognize patterns faster, ask more insightful questions, and offer perspectives grounded in reality rather than theory.
Questions to ask:
What industries have you worked in or coached within?
Can you share examples of challenges specific to my sector that you've helped clients navigate?
How does your background inform your coaching approach?
Why this matters: Having spent over two decades in financial services and information technology sectors—progressively building responsibility and leading teams, I understand the unique pressures of this field firsthand. I've navigated compliance complexities, managed stakeholder expectations during turbulent markets, and led through organizational change. This lived experience allows me to meet clients where they are and accelerate their progress with relevant insights.
2. Professional Coaching Credentials
Coaching is an unregulated industry, which means anyone can call themselves a coach. Credentials matter—not as gatekeeping, but as assurance that your coach has invested in rigorous training, adheres to ethical standards, and commits to ongoing professional development.
The International Coach Federation (ICF) is the gold standard. An ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) has completed extensive coach-specific training, logged 500+ coaching hours, and demonstrated competency through rigorous assessment.
Questions to ask:
What coaching credentials do you hold?
How many coaching hours have you completed?
Do you pursue continuing education, and in what areas?
Why this matters: My ICF PCC credentials represent a commitment to excellence and ethical practice. I adhere to evidence-based methodologies and the highest professional standards, ensuring you receive quality coaching grounded in research and proven frameworks—not just well-meaning advice.
3. Assessment Tools and Methodologies
Effective coaching isn't just conversation—it's supported by structured tools that provide insight and measure progress. Assessments reveal blind spots, quantify growth areas, and create a baseline for development.
Emotional intelligence (EQ), in particular, has emerged as one of the most critical factors in leadership success—often more predictive than IQ. A coach who offers credentialed EQ assessments can provide you with actionable data about your interpersonal effectiveness.
Questions to ask:
What assessment tools do you use, and why?
Are you certified to administer and debrief these assessments?
How do assessments integrate into your coaching process?
Why this matters: As a credentialed facilitator of emotional intelligence assessments, I offer comprehensive EQ evaluations that identify your strengths and development opportunities across key competencies like self-awareness, empathy, and stress management. These insights inform our coaching strategy and provide measurable benchmarks for your growth.
4. Proven Track Record and Client Results
Experience means little without results. A strong coach can point to tangible outcomes their clients have achieved—promotions, improved team performance, successful transitions, enhanced work-life integration.
While confidentiality limits what coaches can share, they should be able to describe the types of transformations they've facilitated and the impact their coaching has had.
Questions to ask:
Can you share anonymized examples of client successes?
What outcomes have your clients achieved through coaching?
Do you have testimonials or case studies I can review?
Red flag: Vague promises without concrete examples. Look for specificity about how coaching led to measurable change.
5. Chemistry and Relational Fit
Coaching is deeply relational. Trust, openness, and mutual respect form the foundation of an effective partnership. You need a coach who creates psychological safety—someone with whom you can be vulnerable about fears, failures, and aspirations.
Credentials and experience matter, but if the chemistry isn't there, the coaching won't reach its full potential. This is why discovery calls are essential—they're your opportunity to gauge whether this person is someone you can work with authentically.
Questions to ask:
What's your coaching style—more directive or exploratory?
How do you handle difficult conversations or resistance?
What does a typical coaching session look like with you?
Trust your gut: If something feels off during the discovery call—if you feel judged, rushed, or not heard—keep looking. The right coach will make you feel both challenged and supported from the first conversation.
6. Clear Process and Structure
Ambiguity kills momentum. You should know exactly what to expect: session frequency, engagement length, communication between sessions, confidentiality boundaries, and how progress will be measured.
A professional coach provides a clear coaching agreement that outlines roles, responsibilities, and the framework for your work together. This transparency ensures alignment and prevents misunderstandings down the road.
Questions to ask:
What does your coaching process look like from start to finish?
How long are engagements typically, and how often do we meet?
What happens between sessions—are you available for check-ins?
How do you measure progress?
Red flag: Coaches who are vague about their process or unwilling to discuss structure may lack experience or clarity about their own methodology.
7. Built-In Accountability Mechanisms
Information without accountability is just inspiration that fades. The most valuable aspect of coaching isn't the advice—it's the accountability structure that ensures you follow through on insights and commitments.
Your coach should help you set concrete goals, identify action steps, and hold you accountable to what you say matters to you. This consistent accountability is what transforms intention into results.
Questions to ask:
How do you ensure accountability between sessions?
What happens if I don't complete agreed-upon actions?
How do you help clients overcome obstacles or resistance?
Why this matters: Coaching provides the accountability, empathy, collaboration, and presence that technology can't replicate. AI can provide information, but it can't provide the human connection that drives sustainable change. A coach doesn't just support your goals—they challenge you to honor the commitments you make to yourself.
The Bottom Line
Hiring an executive coach is an investment in your future. The right partnership can unlock potential you didn't know you had, accelerate your career trajectory, and help you lead with greater confidence and impact. Don't settle for the first coach you find. Ask tough questions, trust your instincts, and look for someone who combines relevant experience, professional credentials, proven results, and genuine chemistry. You deserve a coach who not only understands where you've been, but can help you get where you want to go.
Ready to Explore If We're the Right Fit?
If you're a growth-minded leader in financial services or a related field, I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss your goals and explore how coaching can support your success.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call—no pressure, just clarity about what coaching can do for you and whether we're aligned for this work together. Your future success is waiting. The question is: are you ready to commit to it?
Schedule Your Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/maryellendonlevy
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryellendonlevy/
