Law and Ethics in Coaching

Chapter 4

Competence

Getting, Growing, and Measuring Coaching Ability

Margaret Krigbaum

“When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.”

—John Ruskin

Objective

Every coach wants to be a master at coaching. Every client wants a masterful coach. The question both ask is, “How do I know?” More specifically, the coach asks, “How do I know that what I am doing is masterful?” and the client asks, “How do I know that what I am getting is masterful?” Coaches want to gauge whether their coaching is both good and valuable to the client. Clients want to know how to find a good coach and then be able to tell that the coaching is valuable to them. This chapter is meant to help the coach and the client understand and measure coaching competence. By the end of this chapter, both will know how coaches develop and grow competence. In addition, both will know how to measure the success of a coaching relationship.

Competence, as this chapter discusses it, is a scale of growth for the coach. A good coach acquires an initial level of competence and uses it well. A masterful coach sees that initial level of competence as a foundation for continual learning and development. Thus, the measure of competence is an ever-enlarging conversation where the coach continues to inquire about her level of skill and the best ways to improve that level of skill. This chapter discusses how coaches gain and assess initial competence, how coaches cultivate additional competence, and how both the coach and client ...