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This story could be titled “Charlatans and impostors” or simply “Reckoning with our industry”. We could also give it a wonderful guidebook title along the lines of “How to find the right coach and trainer”.
Whatever the headline, it’s hard to find the right words without being accused of envy, resentment or narcissism by your own species. Settling accounts with your own industry is always a delicate issue. Among doctors it’s even considered a no-go.
But who is this really about? It’s about patients, clients and customers trying to choose the right doctor or coach. As Erich Dippold always says: “Hope is often disappointment deferred.”
We clearly don’t like to disappoint people. That’s why we never create false hopes.
However, we find that this is exactly what many coaches do. They rely on the principle of hope when selling their services. They put up an impressive facade, hiding their weakness. In reality, they need the appreciation of their clients and other people to feel powerful. In psychotherapy this is called a co-dependent relationship between the counselor and the client. Many people think that clients are dependent on their therapists, but it is often the other way around. Therapists depend on their clients, be it out of economic need or out of a selfish, narcissistic nature.
The same increasingly applies to self-appointed coaches, consultants, gurus or whatever they call themselves to increase their value and flatter their ego. I recently encountered a title called “signature coach”. Surely, there are lots of new job titles: influencer, blogger, YouTube star. But are these inflated images healthy? Is it what customers and clients really need? We don't think so. Let’s keep our feet on the ground. Let’s be realistic. We want people with professional expertise, job experience and the highest degree of empathy. People who can put themselves in others’ shoes, who can quickly understand complex structures and be a mirror for other people. Good coaches encourage reflection. They nudge their clients to produce new solutions. They bring examples from similar fields and situations to illustrate possible solutions and to encourage and inspire action. Experienced coaches can be assessed in terms of results. Coaching means developing people, performance and organizations. This development can be measured in hard facts, metrics and KPIs. Making the success of a coach measurable is a great art. It’s what challenges and drives us every day. It’s like playing in the Champions League. There are wonderful examples of outstanding coaches who are also great personalities.
Good coaches are at peace with themselves. They are clear. The identify their clients’ “limit factor”, the limits of a person, an organization or a system the person is in.
They are diplomatic and captivating. They have a keen sense of what is good or bad for a client. They are unafraid to address unpleasant truths because they know it will make their clients stronger. They provide orientation and clarity without much ado.
Most importantly, experienced coaches meet their clients at eye level with common sense and maturity. One of Austria’s largest retailers has this wonderful slogan: “Sagt der Hausverstand”, which translates into “Says common sense”. So, what does our common sense really tell us? This is an important question in the coaching process. It helps us remain authentic and effective. It’s an excellent tool to successfully react to our circumstances.
At Springer Dippold, we don’t like to call ourselves coaches anymore. We have renamed ourselves to business coaches and consultants because it’s not easy when you’re lumped together with the many bad coaches out there. But is this the right answer?
I am Stefanie Springer. My job is my vocation. As a coach, I’m becoming better, more experienced and mature every year thanks to numerous projects and personal coaching sessions. I feel like a really good bottle of wine that becomes more delicious and expensive every year. A wonderful analogy. Maybe that’s why I don’t mind aging. Aging is good for my job and my success. And I like to travel. I’m on the road for about 180 days a year. That keeps me young and alive. It makes me learn every day.
If you are looking for a really good coach, it’s best to listen to the “grapevine”. Speak to your colleagues and friends and clearly outline your demands in a briefing. Look for coaches with many years of experience and expertise in their industry. Coaches with practical experience that have worked in companies you know. Coaches that don’t coach leaders although they’ve never led. Coaches that have worked in management. That have facilitated or experienced transformation processes at first hand. If you are starting a business, you’re best off with a coach that is a startup. If you are a corporate, work with a coach that has served in a “shareholder value” driven company for a few years. There are just a few handpicked excellent coaches. Most of them are also brilliant consultants with business expertise and a good network. This is helpful, enriching and inspiring.
Since it’s all about storytelling these days, here’s a short anecdote:
I don't like to attend parties anymore. Every time I do, I’m introduced to total strangers that are either very self-contained or totally extroverted: “Stefanie, have you met my friend Silvia/Silvio (fictional name), who is also a coach?” Silvia/Silvio will give me a meaningful and almost conspiratorial smile, telling me that she/he loves people and how wonderful this profession is. That she/he has actually done and learned something completely different and has found the right thing for herself/himself and whether we shouldn’t cooperate? Well, this is one thing coaches don’t learn in their numerous coaching trainings: sales. Selling their services. Instead, they quickly enter into a cooperation with other successful coaches to be safeguarded by a network of coaches. When the expected steady inflow of projects doesn’t materialize, they start speaking badly about their cooperation partner. Many coaches tend to love themselves more than others, more than the people keeping them “above water”.
By the way, our creed has always been: Excel, get referrals and become a “grapevine” brand.
As a sidenote: The coaching market has become a lucrative business model. Unsuccessful coaches cash in by coaching other coaches on how to coach. It’s a thriving market.