What criteria would you use to decide if a coach/advisor was a good fit for you?

<p>It is hard to find a good coach or advisor. I’m in the industry and I have seen and hired some really awful ones.</p> <p> </p> <p>I know what I do to allow my clients to feel comfortable with me and know that I’m the real deal. But I wondered how other people vetted professional help.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before we could really have this conversation, Dr Mohan Ananda pointed out that we had to define the difference between a coach and an advisor.</p> <p> </p> <p>He says that an advisor is someone you hire to help you with a short-term, right now, give me advice type of problem.</p> <p> </p> <p>Conversely, a coach is someone who you work with for long-term growth type goals. Someone who can help you develop into a better leader or even a better person.</p> <p> </p> <p>(Do you agree with that breakdown?)</p> <p> </p> <p>Rick Alcantara was able to provide us with a starting list of questions he uses:</p> <ul><li>Do they have some real-world experience in what you are interested in pursuing?</li> <li>How many clients do they work with?</li> <li>Will they have time to meet with you if you need help?</li> <li>Are they looking out for your best interest or just trying to sell you into their seminar, books or workshops?</li> <li>Does their approach and temperament match mine?</li> <li>Are they a thought leader?</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>Lisa McDonald added the important point that you can’t hire someone if they don’t understand what you want, can’t communicate with you and aren’t emotionally intelligent.</p> <p> </p> <p>I didn’t bring it up during the conversation but I do want to add here to be careful about a coach who sounds like they know EXACTLY what you need and how to “fix” you. First – you aren’t broken. And second – they could just be pushing your buttons to take your money.</p> <p> </p> <p>As a CEO friend of mine puts it, “Most of the coaching industry is crap.”</p> <p> </p> <p>If you are a coach, how do you stand out as not being crap?</p> <p> </p> <p>If you want/need to hire a coach/advisor, how do you make sure y