My top five suggestions for how to choose an art coach.
Chemistry Check
Chemistry is probably one of the most important aspects of how to choose a coach. You will want to click with the person you are working with. You will also want to feel confident in their skills,experience, and knowledge. Some ways to check this out are to do some research along with meeting them before you begin to work together. You can look to see if they have a blog? How they write can be a helpful way of understanding their thinking. Can you find them on line? Are there Facebook, YouTube or Instagram videos of them speaking. This will give you in insight into their personality. You can also ask for a trial or a chemistry check where you get the chance to do some work first before committing. It may only be a half hour but it can give a feel for what it might be like to work with the person.
Psychological Safety
The most effective coaching is when we feel able to talk about the things we are not doing well so that we can be helped. To do that we need to feel psychologically safe. In other words, we need to know that what we are sharing will be kept confidential. That we can reveal our vulnerabilities and be treated with respect, without judgement or criticism and be supported. We need to know that the person will help to support our self esteem.
So, feeling psychologically safe is an important part of how to choose an art coach. Do you feel comfortable, supported and safe. Because psychological safety is hugely important if we are going to be vulnerable. If we don’t feel safe enough to be vulnerable then learning will not take place. How can we tell if the coach we are thinking of working with will be the kind of person we can trust with our psychological safety? The same mechanisms I suggested for the chemistry check can be useful. Do they seem like a person with integrity. Do they meet their agreements, including the small ones? Are they clear in their communication with you? These aren’t acid tests and they will give you a sense of the person’s approach, attitude and way of working.
What Coaching Experience do they have?
A good question to ask is to find out about what experience the person has. They may not have direct experience of coaching, they might have experience in teaching or in other related areas which can be equally relevant. Some experience of working with people in a one to one coaching or teaching capacity is important because they need to know how to give feedback in a positive, clear and constructive fashion. They also will need to understand how to structure a session, set goals for the session and know how to facilitate and coach rather than advise. A good coach will rarely tell you what to do, although they might sometimes make suggestions. Mostly what they will be doing is facilitating your thinking and exploration, helping you find the answers for yourself.
Coaching Models
You will also want to work with someone who has some training in coaching or adult learning. Training will provide ways for them to think about the how to coach effectively. It will also mean that they will recognise when something is beyond them. It is important for a coach to know when they reached their limitations. Or to know when not to open up work when they do not the skills to deal with something. My model of coaching is transactional analysis which has lots of ways of thinking about personal psychology and communication.
A straightforward way to find this out is to ask what models they use. A good coach will be able to describe how they work and the principles they use.
Referrals and Recommendations
Finally another piece of information to gather in how to choose an art coach is to ask people you know and trust for a referral to someone they might have worked with or know. You can also ask people you are considering working with if they have any testimonials that you can read on previous work they have done. If other people have has a positive experience this can help you in your decision making.
I offer coaching from meeting rooms in Buxton and Stockport or online using Zoom. Click here to find out more about how I work as a coach.
Have you worked with an art coach? How did you go about making your decision?