Direct answer: To choose an executive coach, check their training and current credentials, then ask how they work with your particular leadership context. Discuss the purpose of coaching, confidentiality, how progress will be assessed and the terms of the agreement. The right fit should leave you feeling both understood and constructively challenged.[1] [3]
A Coach Should Fit the Decision You Are Actually Facing
An impressive biography is not the same thing as a useful coaching relationship. The coach who suits a founder working through an identity shift may not suit an executive preparing for a difficult board conversation. Before comparing coaches, name the decision, pattern or transition you want help to examine. You do not need a perfect goal. You do need enough clarity to have a meaningful first conversation.
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) describes coaching as a partnership that helps clients explore their own thinking and potential. It is different from hiring a consultant to deliver an answer. That distinction matters if you already have access to advice but need space to think clearly about what you will do with it.[1]
These seven questions are a practical way to assess any prospective executive coach, including Grace Najean. They are not a scorecard for declaring one person the best coach for everyone.
1. What Sort of Leadership Question Do You Help People Work Through?
Ask for examples of the situations a coach works with. Are they familiar with the reality of senior responsibility, founder decisions, career transitions or leadership across cultures? Then describe the situation you are actually in, rather than a polished version that sounds easier to solve.
A useful response should show how the coach listens and works, not just list the industries of past clients. You can ask, “If I came to you with this challenge, what would we explore first?” There is no single correct answer. Notice whether the coach stays curious about your context or rushes to diagnose you from a short introduction.
Grace’s published work focuses on executives, founders and high performers, including leaders working internationally from Australia. She describes the need to consider what sits beneath the presenting problem, not only the problem a leader names first.[5] [6]
2. What Training and Credentials Do You Hold, and Can I Verify Them?
A coaching credential gives you one independent way to check professional preparation. The ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential has published requirements that include coach-specific education, coaching experience, mentor coaching, a performance evaluation and an exam. The ICF currently lists at least 125 hours of coaching education and 500 hours of coaching experience among its PCC eligibility requirements.[2]
Those are credential requirements, not a claim about any particular coach’s results. A qualification does not tell you whether the relationship will be right for you. It does give you a concrete starting point for asking about training and professional standards. The ICF provides a Verify a Coach tool so you can check current membership and credential status by name.[4]
Grace identifies herself in her published work as an ICF Professional Certified Coach and reports 5,000+ coaching hours. The 5,000+ figure is Grace’s published experience claim, separate from the ICF’s minimum PCC eligibility requirement.[5]
3. How Do You Coach, Rather Than Simply Give Advice?
If you are hiring a consultant, you may want a recommendation or a plan. If you are hiring a coach, you may want help seeing an assumption, making a decision or following through on a change. Ask a prospective coach what they do when a client says, “Just tell me what to do.”
Listen for an answer that respects your ability to decide while making room for challenge. A coach’s experience and frameworks can inform the conversation, but they should not take ownership of your life or leadership decisions. The ICF describes coaching as a collaborative process, rather than a service built around handing the client ready-made answers.[1]
4. How Will Confidentiality Work in Practice?
Confidentiality is more than a reassuring word on a sales page. Ask what information is recorded, who can access it, whether technology is used to capture sessions and what happens if an employer or other sponsor pays for the coaching. Ask what, if anything, will be shared with that sponsor.
The ICF Code of Ethics calls for a clear agreement about confidentiality and information sharing. It also recognises circumstances where disclosure may be legally required or related to imminent or likely danger. A good first conversation should explain the protections and their limits, not suggest that confidentiality is absolute.[3]
For a leader carrying a sensitive decision or a change in identity, this clarity can make it easier to judge whether they will be able to speak honestly in the coaching relationship.
5. What Would Progress Look Like Without Promising a Guaranteed Outcome?
You can ask how the coach and client would recognise useful progress. This might involve a clearer decision, a different response under pressure, a conversation that no longer gets avoided, or greater consistency between stated values and daily leadership. The measures should reflect your own context, not a universal transformation promise.
It is reasonable to ask when you will revisit the goal and discuss whether the work is still useful. The ICF Code of Ethics asks professionals to remain alert to changes in the value a client is receiving and to discuss alternatives where appropriate.[3] Good coaching has room to review the relationship, not just to extend it.
6. Does This Approach Make Sense for the Whole Person Behind the Role?
Some coaching stays close to communication or career tactics. Other approaches also ask what pressure is doing to a leader’s energy, beliefs and sense of purpose. Neither description alone proves a better fit. Ask what the coach means by their method and how it translates into ordinary decisions, meetings and relationships.
Grace’s approach, The Soulfluence™ Method, uses the public triad Body, Mind and Consciousness. Its three connected practices are Regulate, Rewire and Align. The framework is intended to help leaders notice their state under pressure, examine patterns that shape decisions and connect outward influence to values and purpose. Ask Grace how she would apply this in your specific situation rather than assuming that a method description is the same as a personalised plan.[7]
7. What Are We Agreeing to Before We Begin?
Before committing, ask about the proposed goals, roles, responsibilities, fees, cancellation terms, scheduling, communication between meetings and what happens if either person decides the work is no longer the right fit. Do not infer these details from an old article or another client’s arrangement.
The ICF Code of Ethics calls for the nature of coaching and the financial and practical arrangements to be discussed before coaching begins. It also recognises the parties’ right to end the relationship, subject to the agreement.[3] A clear agreement protects both the client and the coach.
What a First Conversation Can Tell You
After speaking with a prospective coach, take a moment before deciding. Were you heard without being flattered? Could you describe a difficult part of your situation without the conversation turning into a rehearsed pitch? Were you able to ask about credentials, confidentiality and cost without feeling awkward?
The ICF suggests speaking with more than one coach when assessing fit. Professional preparation matters, but so does the quality of the relationship: whether you feel understood, able to be candid and willing to do the work.[1]
Grace puts the value of a private space this way:
“They need one honest space where they can stop performing long enough to hear themselves think.”
Grace Najean, reflecting on her private-coaching work.[5]
The point is not that a first call should feel effortless. It is that you can already sense whether the coach is making room for your real question, rather than fitting you into a prewritten answer.
When Coaching May Not Be the Only Support You Need
An executive coach can help you reflect on leadership, decisions and action. A consultant can provide specialist advice. A therapist or another qualified health professional may be the appropriate person to address mental health concerns or trauma. These roles can complement one another, but they should not be presented as interchangeable.[1]
If you are unsure what support is appropriate, ask directly about the coach’s scope and when they would recommend another professional. You do not need to make a medical disclosure in a sales conversation to ask that question.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I ask an executive coach before hiring them?
Ask about their relevant experience, training, current credentials, coaching approach, confidentiality, how progress is reviewed and the terms of the agreement. The answers should relate to your own leadership context rather than promise the same result to everyone.[1] [3]
How can I check whether an executive coach has an ICF credential?
Use the ICF’s Verify a Coach tool to look up a coach by name and check their current credential status. A coach may also have a profile in the ICF Credentialed Coach Finder.[4]
What does ICF PCC mean?
PCC stands for Professional Certified Coach. The ICF publishes requirements for this credential, including coach-specific education, coaching experience, mentor coaching, a performance evaluation and an exam. A credential is a professional standard, not a guarantee of a specific result for any client.[2]
Is executive coaching confidential if my employer pays for it?
The coach, client and any sponsor should agree in advance what information may be shared, with whom and under what circumstances. Confidentiality has legal and safety limits, so ask for the details before coaching begins.[3]
How is coaching different from consulting or therapy?
Coaching is a partnership focused on the client’s thinking, growth and actions. Consulting typically provides specialist advice or solutions. Therapy addresses mental health and related concerns through an appropriately qualified professional. The right choice depends on the support needed, and the roles can sometimes be complementary.[1]
Does Grace Najean offer coaching for leaders outside Australia?
Grace is based in Australia and describes working with executives, founders and high performers internationally. Enquire directly to confirm current options, time zones and fit; do not assume a fixed package or delivery format from older website copy.[5] [6]
Choose the Conversation, Not Just the Credentials
A credential can help establish professional preparation. A clear agreement can make the practical terms transparent. Neither can decide for you whether a particular coach understands the situation you are carrying. Bring your real leadership question to the conversation, and notice what becomes clearer when you discuss it.
If Grace’s approach to leadership speaks to you, read about private leadership coaching for high performers and The Soulfluence™ Method. To ask about current one-to-one options and whether they fit your circumstances, book a call with Grace.
