Choose Wisely

Know what to look for in a career coach

I love Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Watching Indy vanquish the Nazis and protect the Holy Grail from becoming just another Third Reich trophy is always satisfying.

The movie reaches its climax in the famed Petra treasury building, where the Holy Grail is hidden. The Nazi villain wants the Grail. Possession offers the promise of eternal life. Yet, he needs Indy’s archeological prowess to get it.

The Nazi shoots Indy’s father. Then, he commands Indy to find the grail. The only way for Indy to save his father from certain death is to navigate a series of deadly obstacles, select the correct chalice from dozens, and pour water from the Grail onto the wound.

Indy leads the Nazi to a room filled with potential Grails. The Nazi and his fraulein must choose the correct one if they want eternal life.

The Nazi and his fraulein see a beautiful chalice, one made of gold and adorned with beautiful jewels. “It must be this one!” they exclaim. The Nazi takes a sip of water from the cup. He is excited to be receiving the gift of eternal life.

Instead, he dies. Almost instantly, the Nazi ages before our eyes. He quickly becomes a skeleton. Then, he turns to dust. HE CHOSE POORLY!!!

By contrast, Indy chooses a simple cup, one befit for a carpenter. He takes a sip of water from it and lives. He pours water from the chalice onto his father’s wound, saving his life. INDY CHOSE WISELY!!!

You may wonder “What the heck does this have to do with careers?” Careers are filled with thousands of choices. The choices typically aren’t of the life and death variety. Yet, they may feel that way sometimes.

Choosing a Career Coach

Choosing a coach is one of those choices. According to the National Career Development association, only 13% of people work with career coaches. Yet, 25% want to in the future and ~85% of people who have worked with one find it valuable.

In the past year, I’ve connected with a number of people who’ve sought career coaching services. Many have not selected wisely. The coach simply wasn’t a great fit for their needs.

In one case, a coach made the client feel dumb. The person needed help selecting a path based on interests. Instead, the coach made them take a bunch of IQ type tests and do 360 assessments on their strengths. To be clear, knowing your strengths is critical in career path selection. Nonetheless, the coach didn’t help the individual explore potential paths of interest.

A Simple LinkedIn Poll

Given this experience, I decided to create a simple poll on LinkedIn. I asked a very simple question, “Pretend you need a career coach. Which career coaching certification would give you the most confidence in their ability to help?” People were then given four options to select:

• Strong Interest Inventory

• Myers Briggs Type Indicator

• Enneagram

• Clifton StrengthsFinder

I was curious about people’s awareness and thoughts on some common career development tools. This wasn’t a statistically significant survey. It did receive enough responses to make some preliminary conclusions.

5 Key Takeaways

Leading the Pack!

There were two clear “winners”: Enneagram and Clifton Strengths Finder. 42% of respondents said Enneagram is most preferable. 39% said Clifton StrengthsFinder is the top choice. Let’s call it a tie! These two certifications would be strong reasons to believe the coach is not just some “crazy” guru.

Relevancy Challenge?

There was a time when the Myers Briggs Type Indicator was the Cadillac of careers. It was ground breaking! It was the first assessment I ever took with a career counselor two decades ago. It’s days in the leadership seat may be over. 13% of respondents selected the MBTI as the top confidence fueling credential.

Awareness Opportunity?

Myers Briggs owns another assessment called the STRONG Interest Inventory. It is also called the Holland Code. 6% of respondents chose the STRONG as the top confidence fueling credential. This surprised me. I figured more people would select this. My guess is that most people just don’t know what it is. The STRONG is a psychographic assessment that helps people identify career paths and jobs that have a higher probability of finding satisfying. Look forward to a future post on what this is!

Experience Matters Most

Newsflash…simple polls aren’t perfect. They can create too little room for nuance. This poll was no exception. A number of people left comments that said a coaches experience matters most, not the certification. They acknowledged the value in each of the assessments. Yet, they would recommend coaches who have specific experiences that align with the challenges of the individual seeking help. It’s safe to say that the coach might want a legit certification but it’s table stakes and not a true differentiator.

Coaches Need Webbed Thinking

This pole combined apples and oranges, in many respects. In my opinion there is no true certification winner. Great coaches will have a number of tools and certifications in their tool kit. If you’re seeking a coach, you likely want to know their range of skills.

Enneagram is a great tool for people to understand their personal motivations. It’s great at empathetically understanding team dynamics and how you might interact with others. It could be helpful in guiding you with a job type, but I have not personally found it to be as helpful in that respect.

Strengths Finder is great at helping one identify their natural strengths and ideal work environments. It helps people engage based on their personal styles. It would be a good tool to use for career selection and professional development. It doesn’t necessarily take into account interests, though.

The STRONG Interest Inventory is amazing at identifying career fields and potential jobs based on interests. It highlights specific places an individual is likely to be most satisfied. Millions have people have taken this assessment. I’d argue it is better than Enneagram and Strengths Finder at helping someone pick a path.

Final Thoughts

Certifications are great, but they aren’t the only factor in selecting the correct coach. The key is to know what you need, to seek someone who can empathize. I talked about this subject on my most recent podcast episode with Katie O’Malley, a professional coach. Check it out!

For example, if you are looking to select a career path or make a change, you might find a coach with personal experience doing the same thing. They might recommend using The STRONG and Strengths Finder.

By contrast, if you want to develop within your current path and organization, you might find someone adept at utilizing Enneagram and Strengths Finder. In this case, choosing the path is not as important as effectively navigating the one you already like.

Last, this poll only scratches the surface. In future polls, I would be clear to clearly articulate the problem you want to solve with a career coach. This is a critical question that you should be able to state when engaging with a pro. It helps you and them.

Thanks for reading!

Paul G. Fisher

PS - If you like this post, please like it, share it, or comment on it! I want to help others get answers to the key questions they need to forge unique career paths.

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