Bernadette BoasExecutive Leadership Coach, Trainer and Speaker, Ball of Fire Coaching · Become the Leader Everyone Wants to Follow and No One Can Overlook.

When to Hire an Executive Coach: The Truth You Need

11 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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1:24

In this monologue, executive coach Bernadette Boas explains how leaders should decide when to hire an executive coach for themselves or a team member and what criteria to use in selecting the right coach. She emphasizes that the core value of coaching is a relationship built entirely around truth and personal/professional growth, free from political agendas or performance‑review implications. Boas warns that many leaders make hiring decisions poorly by accepting referrals without vetting, and she cautions against choosing a “yes‑person” coach who avoids accountability. Instead, she advocates for coaches who challenge leaders with honest feedback and hold them accountable to their goals.

Chapters

Question I get asked a lot, obviously, as an executive coach is, when do I know I should be hiring an executive coach for myself or a team member? And what exactly should I be looking for? Core value for having a coach is that it's the one relationship in a leader's life that is structurally designed around truth. Not because they're going to be brutally honest. But because the relationship is built entirely on your personal and professional growth with no other agenda, no political risk to them, no performance review that is attached. But here's something that nobody really talks about. Most leaders, when they decide to hire a coach, make the decision badly. They take a referral, and yet they don't ask any questions. They're not doing the work that it takes to really ensure that you're getting the right coach for the right team member at the right time. Big caution is don't look for someone who's a yes person or someone who's gently walks you to the end goal and allows you to get off and get away with things and not hold you accountable and not be that honest truth that we talked about earlier.