什么情况适合找教练,怎样选择教练与开始合作
When to Work with a Coach, How to Choose One, and What to Expect
适合谁读:考虑请教练的个人,以及准备为员工安排教练的管理者和 HR。
本文内容:ICF 列出的适合找教练的情形和准备好接受教练的表现、教练可能带来的收获、何时应转介心理专业人士、ICF 建议怎样挑选和核实教练,以及合作开始时的协议与保密。教练与咨询、心理咨询、导师的区别另见《教练、咨询、心理咨询与导师有什么不同》。
ICF 列出的适合找教练的情形
ICF《Experience Coaching》个人指南在“When to Get a Coach”一节,用一组提问描述适合找教练的状态:
- 在生活或职业上走到岔路口,感到卡住;
- 对自己的目标失去动力;
- 感到停滞不前,甚至在倒退;
- 自我怀疑拖住了脚步。
指南在“Reconnecting With a Coach”一节还提到:面对新挑战、经历变化、同时应对多项要求,或希望建立自信时,可以再次找教练。
指南也说明,曾经与教练合作后停下来是正常的,之后可以重新开始合作。
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开始前先看自己是否准备好
ICF 个人指南列出了准备好接受教练的表现:
- 愿意接受坦诚、建设性的反馈;
- 准备好采取行动、做出有意义的改变;
- 愿意为自己的成长与发展负责。
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教练可能带来的收获
ICF 个人指南在“Benefits of Having a Coach”一节列出的方面包括:职业发展、工作与生活平衡、个人发展、可衡量的目标达成、个人清晰度,以及突破限制性信念、走出困局。
指南引用的调研数据:
- 据 ICF 与普华永道(PwC)合作的《2022 ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study》,88% 与教练合作过的客户对这段经历感到满意;
- 同一调研显示,持有认证(certified)的教练的客户,满意度是非认证教练客户的两倍以上。
该调研共收集 30 个国家的 30,727 份回答。
本站说明:以上为客户自述的满意度,不代表每位客户都会获得同样结果。
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不适合教练或需要转介的情形
ICF 个人指南说明,对于根源较深的问题,教练和心理治疗师可以一起判断最合适的做法;在某些情况下,如果心理治疗更合适,教练可能会退出。
ICF 2018 年发布的研究指南《Referring a Client to Therapy: A Set of Guidelines》(作者 Alicia M. Hullinger、Joel A. DiGirolamo)供教练判断是否需要转介。要点如下:
- 核心判断标准是日常功能。指南建议教练自问:客户的问题是否在影响其日常生活功能?
- 可能的心理困扰迹象包括:情绪明显变化(如易怒、愤怒、焦虑、悲伤),工作或学业表现下滑,从社交关系和活动中退缩;
- 应关注多个迹象同时出现或长期存在的症状;问题持续数周并影响日常生活时,需要寻求专业帮助;
- 建议转介时,应私下与客户沟通,留出沉默的空间,询问客户对这一建议的感受,并保持沟通渠道畅通;
- 是否接受心理咨询,最终由客户决定。
指南也说明,日常功能正常但进展受阻的客户,可能适合教练和心理咨询同时进行,教练继续按合约约定的内容工作;也有客户需要先处理心理问题。
ICF 道德准则(2025 年 4 月 1 日生效)第 4.3 条要求教练留意教练关系带来的价值可能发生变化的迹象,并与客户讨论;适当时探讨调整教练关系,或换一位教练、其他专业人士或资源的可能。
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ICF 建议怎样选择教练
先明确目标。 ICF 个人指南说,找到合适的教练,从想达成什么开始。指南列出的教练类型包括职业、领导力、商业、健康、财务和生活教练等。
看重彼此是否投合。 指南原话:“Qualifications are important, but chemistry is what makes a coaching relationship really work.”(本站译文:资质很重要,但让教练关系真正奏效的是彼此投合。)
多见几位。 ICF 建议至少与三位教练面谈,并向每位索取两位推荐人。
面谈后自问(指南列出):
- 是否感到被倾听、被理解?
- 教练的风格是否契合自己?
- 这位教练是否值得信任、能否带来动力?
可以问教练的问题,ICF 个人指南列出:
- 有哪些教练经验?(What's your coaching experience?)
- 受过哪些教育或持有哪些认证?(What education or credentials do you have?)
- 做哪类教练?(What kind of coaching do you do?)
- 能否展示一些客户成果?(Can you show me some client results?)
- 是否持有 ICF 认证?(Are you ICF credentialed?)
组织选教练。 ICF 组织指南介绍了外部教练与内部教练:外部教练带来不偏不倚的视角,内部教练熟悉公司文化、目标与流程。组织可在 Credentialed Coach Finder 按认证级别、教练主题和方式筛选,用“Compare Rates”功能比较费率,并匿名发送需求建议书(RFP)。
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如何核实教练的 ICF 认证
ICF“Verify a Coach”页面提醒:“Anyone can call themselves a coach.”(本站译文:任何人都可以自称教练。)
ICF 提供两个查询工具,用途不同。
Credentialed Coach Finder(CCF):用于找教练。
- 只收录同时是 ICF 会员的认证持有人;
- 可按认证级别、服务、教练主题与方式、标准费率、经验、客户类型、行业、语言、地点等筛选;
- ICF“Find a Coach”页面称其为免费、可搜索的目录;
- 筛选结果在 75 位或以下时,可发送需求建议书(RFP),ICF 组织指南说明可匿名发送;
- CCF 声明:所列教练的资质和信息未经 ICF 以任何方式核实,使用者应在聘用前自行核实。
Verify a Coach:用于核实身份。
- 可核实教练的 ICF 会员状态和认证状态;CCF 页面说明,不论教练是否为 ICF 会员,都可通过 Verify a Coach 核实其认证;
- 页面说明,只有状态良好(in good standing)的认证持有人才能使用 ACC、PCC、MCC 称号。
ICF 三级认证的要求见《ICF 三级认证 ACC、PCC、MCC 要求对比》。
ICF 道德准则第 5.1 条要求教练如实说明自己的教练资质,并在自己的能力、专长、经验、培训、证书和 ICF 认证范围内工作;第 5.2 条要求教练对所提供服务及教练潜在价值的陈述真实准确。
ICF“Find a Coach”页面说明,如果认为教练的行为超出 ICF 道德准则,可以通过 ICF 道德审查程序(Ethical Review Process)提出关切。
来源:
- ICF:Credentialed Coach Finder
- ICF:Verify a Coach
- ICF:Find a Coach
- ICF:Experience Coaching 组织指南
- ICF:道德审查与投诉 Ethics Complaints
- ICF:道德准则 ICF Code of Ethics
合作通常怎样进行
先订协议。 ICF 道德准则第 1.1 条要求教练在教练开始前,与客户、出资方(sponsor)及其他相关方沟通,说明教练的性质,并共同订立教练协议,内容涉及角色、责任、保密、费用安排等。准则附录把教练协议定义为教练与客户或出资方之间订立、列明条款的正式文件。
ICF 个人指南说明,协议涵盖角色与责任、会面安排和沟通方式,并从协作、量身定制和共同承诺三方面描述合作关系。
随时可以终止。 道德准则第 1.2 条要求尊重各方在教练合作期间、在协议条款约束下,随时以任何理由终止教练关系的权利。
时长。 ICF 个人指南在“How Much Time Will I Invest in a Coaching Relationship?”一节写到,根据 ICF 数据,每次会谈 1 至 2 小时。整段合作持续多久,本文不列具体月数;道德准则附录把会谈的期限与频率列为教练协议通常包括的内容。会谈频率 ICF 未给出数字,以 ICF 官网为准。详见《教练合作与教练对话怎样进行》。
费用。 指南说明,费用因教练的经验、认证和专长差异很大;有的按次收费,有的按长期合作打包收费。具体价格区间 ICF 未说明。
雇主付费。 指南提到,部分雇主提供教练作为福利;没有的话,可以向雇主说明教练如何提升技能和领导力。
第一次会谈前,指南建议:
- 列出目标,大小、个人或职业均可;
- 列出追求这些目标时遇到的阻碍;
- 写下对教练过程或具体目标的疑问;
- 保持开放的心态。
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保密及其例外
ICF 个人指南说明,保密是教练关系的基本组成部分;即使雇主付费,ICF 道德准则也确保客户与教练的对话保持私密。
道德准则相关条款:
- 第 2.1 条:无论担任何种角色,都对所有相关方保持最严格的保密;
- 第 2.2 条:与各方就交换哪些信息、如何交换订立明确约定;
- 第 2.3 条:与客户、出资方等事先明确约定,哪些保密信息可能需要向有关当局披露,例如违法活动、法律要求、有效法院命令或传票,或对自己或他人存在即将发生或可能发生的危险。
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When to Work with a Coach, How to Choose One, and What to Expect
什么情况适合找教练,怎样选择教练与开始合作
Who this is for: individuals considering a coach, and managers or HR professionals arranging coaching for staff.
What it covers: when ICF suggests working with a coach and signs of readiness, what coaching may offer, when to refer to a mental health professional, how ICF suggests choosing and verifying a coach, and agreements and confidentiality. For how coaching differs from consulting, therapy and mentoring, see Coaching, Consulting, Therapy and Mentoring.
When to get a coach
ICF's individual guide describes feeling stuck at a crossroads in life or career, losing motivation, stagnating or slipping backward, and self-doubt holding one back. It also mentions facing a new challenge, navigating change, juggling multiple demands or wanting to build confidence.
Readiness
ICF's individual guide lists signs of readiness: being open to honest, constructive feedback; being ready to take action and make meaningful changes; and being willing to own one's growth and development.
What coaching may offer
The guide lists career growth, work-life balance, personal development, measurable goal achievement, personal clarity and overcoming limiting beliefs. It cites the 2022 ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study (with PwC; 30,727 responses from 30 countries): 88% of clients who worked with a coach were satisfied, and clients of certified coaches were more than twice as satisfied as those of non-certified coaches. Note from Mingwen Coaching: these are self-reported satisfaction figures.
When to refer
The guide says a coach and therapist may work together on deeply rooted issues, and a coach may step back if therapy is more appropriate. ICF's 2018 guidelines, Referring a Client to Therapy (Hullinger and DiGirolamo), centre on daily functioning, list signs such as marked mood changes, declining performance and social withdrawal, and advise looking for clusters or chronic symptoms lasting weeks. The decision to seek counselling rests with the client; coaching and counselling can sometimes run at the same time. Code of Ethics standard 4.3 asks coaches to remain alert to a possible shift in the value of the coaching relationship, discuss it with the client and, if appropriate, explore changes in the relationship or a different coach, professional or resource.
Choosing a coach
- Start with the goal the client wants to achieve.
- Chemistry matters: "Qualifications are important, but chemistry is what makes a coaching relationship really work."
- ICF recommends meeting at least three coaches and getting two references from each.
- Questions to ask: coaching experience, education or credentials, kind of coaching, client results, and whether the coach is ICF credentialed.
- Organizations can choose external coaches (an unbiased perspective) or internal coaches (who know the company culture, goals and processes), filter the Credentialed Coach Finder by credential level, coaching theme and method, compare rates, and send an RFP anonymously.
Verifying a credential
"Anyone can call themselves a coach." The Credentialed Coach Finder, described on ICF's Find a Coach page as a free, searchable directory, lists ICF credential-holders who are also ICF members; an RFP can be sent once results are filtered to 75 or fewer coaches. ICF states that listed qualifications and information are "not verified by ICF in any way", so users should take reasonable steps to verify a coach. Verify a Coach checks ICF membership and credential status, and credentials can be verified regardless of membership status. Only ICF credential-holders in good standing may market themselves as ACC, PCC or MCC. Code of Ethics standard 5.1 requires coaches to accurately identify their qualifications and work within their competency, training and credential; standard 5.2 requires true and accurate statements. Concerns that a coach has acted outside ICF's ethical guidelines can be raised through the ICF Ethical Review Process.
How an engagement works
Code of Ethics standard 1.1 (effective 1 April 2025) requires coaches, before coaching begins, to explain coaching and co-create an agreement covering roles, responsibilities, confidentiality and financial arrangements; standard 1.2 respects every party's right to end the relationship at any point for any reason, subject to the provisions of the agreement. The guide says that, according to ICF data, sessions are 1–2 hours long; this article gives no figure for the overall length of an engagement, and the Code lists the duration and frequency of sessions among the items a coaching agreement typically includes. Fees vary by experience, credentials and specialization; ICF gives no price range or session frequency figure. Some employers offer coaching as part of professional development. Before the first session, the guide suggests listing goals, roadblocks and questions, and coming with an open mind.
Confidentiality
The guide calls confidentiality a fundamental part of the coaching relationship and says ICF's Code of Ethics ensures conversations remain private even when an employer pays. Standards 2.1–2.3 require strict confidentiality, clear agreements on information exchange, and advance agreement on disclosures such as illegal activity, legal requirements, court orders, or imminent risk of danger to self or others.
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