Are You Ready to Be Coached? Why Coaching Readiness Matters
Not everyone who signs up for coaching is ready to be coached.
I've learned that lesson firsthand.
Recently, I began working with individuals who had formally signed up for a coaching engagement. It quickly became apparent that expectations were misaligned. They didn't fully understand what coaching was—or what it wasn't—and were looking for something different from what coaching is designed to provide. After attempting to clarify the process and establish a productive coaching relationship, I ultimately made the decision to end the engagement.
It wasn't an easy decision.
But it reinforced something I now consider fundamental to effective leadership coaching: Coaching readiness is essential.
Wanting Coaching Isn't the Same as Being Ready for Coaching
People enter coaching for many reasons. An organization may recommend it. A supervisor may encourage it. A leader may want professional development. Or someone may genuinely want to become a better leader.Those motivations are not necessarily the same thing.
Effective coaching requires the client to actively participate in the process. Coaching isn't about the coach providing all the answers. It creates a structured environment where leaders can examine their thinking, increase self-awareness, challenge assumptions, and take intentional action. Research supports this distinction. MacKie's study of executives and senior managers found that change readiness was a significant predictor of enhanced leadership effectiveness following coaching. In other words, readiness matters.
What Coaching Is—and Isn't
One of the most important conversations I have with prospective clients is about expectations.
Coaching is:
A partnership focused on growth and development
A confidential space for reflection
An opportunity to challenge assumptions
A process for increasing self-awareness
A catalyst for intentional action
Coaching isn't:
Consulting
Therapy
Mentoring
A place to receive predetermined answers
Someone telling you how to do your job
Knowing the difference matters.
For leaders in college athletics, this distinction is especially important. Coaches are often experts in their sport, but leadership challenges can extend far beyond strategy and competition. I explored that distinction in Why Leadership Coaching Is Becoming Essential in College Athletics.
Research by Kretzschmar found that coaching readiness is complex and includes factors such as knowledge about coaching, feeling safe, and commitment to change.That aligns closely with what I have experienced in practice.
What Does Coaching Readiness Look Like?
A leader doesn't need to arrive at the first session with everything figured out. Some of the strongest coaching clients I've worked with have been highly successful leaders who recognized that they didn't have all the answers. They were curious. They were willing to reflect. They could consider perspectives that challenged their assumptions. They were willing to examine their own contribution to a problem. And they were prepared to act.
In my coaching practice, I look for five things:
Curiosity. Are you genuinely interested in learning something about yourself or your leadership?
Self-reflection. Are you willing to examine your own behavior, not just everyone else's?
Openness. Can you consider perspectives that challenge your assumptions?
Ownership. Are you willing to take responsibility for what you can control?
Action. Are you prepared to do something differently?
These qualities don't have to be perfect. But there needs to be a genuine willingness to engage.
Readiness Is Part of the Coach's Responsibility, Too
My training through the Center for Executive Coaching and Andrew Neitlich reinforced an important principle for me: coaches need to establish whether there is a meaningful reason and appropriate foundation for a coaching engagement before simply moving forward. That has changed how I approach prospective clients. I don't believe every person who wants a coach is necessarily ready for coaching. Sometimes the most professional answer a coach can give is:
"I don't think coaching is the right intervention for you right now."
That isn't failure. It's professional judgment. My responsibility isn't to complete a coaching engagement. My responsibility is to create the conditions for meaningful growth.
That same principle applies to the leaders I discuss in What Athletic Directors Really Look for in Coaches Beyond Wins and Losses. The strongest leaders aren't simply technically capable; they are willing to examine themselves, build trusted relationships, and continue developing.
Final Thoughts
Leadership coaching can be extraordinarily powerful. But coaching isn't magic. The best coaching relationships are partnerships. The coach brings expertise in the coaching process. The client brings the willingness to examine, learn, decide, and act. When those conditions come together, meaningful growth can occur. When they don't, neither the coach nor the client is likely to get the outcome they hoped for. That's why I believe coaching readiness should be discussed before a coaching engagement begins—not after problems emerge.
For leaders considering coaching, the question isn't simply: "Do I want a coach?"
The better question is: "Am I ready to be coached?"
The answer matters.
About the Author
Doug Knuth is a certified executive leadership coach, NCAA Division I athletics leader, higher education fundraising executive, and doctoral student in Strategic Leadership. Drawing on experience as a student-athlete, coach, athletics director, fundraiser, and leadership coach, he works with coaches, athletic directors, and organizational leaders to strengthen self-awareness, leadership effectiveness, communication, and organizational culture.
Learn more about Doug Knuth and his leadership coaching practice.
References
Kretzschmar, I. (2010). Exploring clients' readiness for coaching. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 8(4), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/174183051000804S02
MacKie, D. (2015). The effects of coachee readiness and core self-evaluations on leadership coaching outcomes: A controlled trial. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 8(2), 120–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/17521882.2015.1019532
Neitlich, A. (n.d.). Center for Executive Coaching resources on executive coaching practice and engagement. Center for Executive Coaching.
