How to Choose the Right Coach for You and Your Dental Practice

 

Choosing a coach can be one of the most important professional decisions you make.

The right coach can help you think more clearly, lead more confidently, make better decisions, and create a practice that feels more aligned with your values. The wrong coach can become an expensive distraction, or worse, leave you feeling more confused, dependent or inadequate than when you started.

You are probably already aware of the fact that coaching is not regulated in the same way as dentistry. Anyone can call themselves a coach. Some coaches are highly trained, experienced, accredited and supervised. Others have completed a short course, read a few books, relied solely on their own personal experience, others simply started calling themselves a coach with no formal coaching training at all.

So how do you choose wisely?

Here are the key steps to take before you appoint a coach.

1. Check their coaching qualifications

Do not accept the word “coach” at face value.

It is important to know where someone trained, how thoroughly they were assessed, and whether their competence was observed in practice, is it not?

Ask:

• Where did you train as a coach?
• How long was the training?
• Was your coaching observed and assessed?
• Did you complete practical coaching hours as part of the qualification?
• Was there a written or practical examination?
• Who awarded the qualification?

A weekend course is not the same as rigorous professional training. In dentistry, we would never expect someone to become clinically competent after a few days of theory. Coaching is no different. It involves skill, ethics, presence, listening, challenge, boundaries and judgement.

Examples of different levels of accreditation and training. Some awarding bodies are far mor rigorous than others

The International Coaching federation has three levels of accreditation

1.Associate Certified coach

ACC Eligibility Requirements

• 60 hours of coaching education.
• 100 hours of coaching experience (including at least 75 paid hours).
• 10 hours of mentor coaching over three months.
• Successful completion of a performance evaluation.
• Passing score on the ICF ACC Exam.

2.Professional Certified coach

PCC Eligibility Requirements

• 125 hours of coaching education.
• 500 hours of coaching experience (including at least 450 paid hours).
• 10 hours of mentor coaching.
• Successful completion of a performance evaluation.
• Passing score on the ICF Credentialing Exam.

 

2.Master Certified coach

MCC Eligibility Requirements

• Hold or have held a PCC credential.
• 200 hours of coaching education.
• 2,500 coaching experience hours (including at least 2,250 paid hours).
• 10 hours of mentor coaching.
• Successful completion of a performance evaluation.
• Passing score on the ICF Credentialing Exam

Institute of Leadership and management

Level 5 certificate

• 42 hours training
• 18 hours of coaching
• Three clients
• 1 hour of supervision
• Reflective journal

Level 5 Diploma

• 42 hours training
• 54 hours of coaching
• 4-9 clients,
• 3 hours of supervision
• Reflective journal

 

Level 7 certificate

• 52 hours training
• 20 hours of coaching
• 3 clients
• 4 hours of supervision
• Reflective journal
• 5,000 – 7,000 word assignment

Level 7 Diploma

• 60 hours training
• 60 hours of coaching
• 4-9 clients,
• 8 hours of supervision
• Reflective journal
• 5,000 – 7,000 word assignment

 

 

2. Check their professional accreditation

A qualification shows that someone has trained. Accreditation shows that their training, experience and competence have been reviewed against a professional standard.

You might want to ask not only whether they are a member of a professional coaching body, but what level of accreditation or credential they hold, and what they had to demonstrate to achieve it.

Look for membership or credentialing with recognised coaching bodies such as the International Coaching Federation or the Association for Coaching. Do not simply ask, “Are you a member?” Ask what level of accreditation they hold.

Professional coaching bodies usually require evidence of training, coaching hours, ethical commitment and ongoing development. The International Coaching Federation Code of Ethics sets standards of conduct, ethical reflection and decision-making for those within its professional ecosystem.

Professional accreditation does not make someone the right coach for you on its own, but it does mean they have chosen to be measured against a recognised professional standard.

The most respected coaching accrediting bodies are

The International Coaching federation https://coachingfederation.org/

The association of coaching https://www.associationforcoaching.com/

European Mentoring and Coaching Council   https://emccglobal.org/

 

Curiously the Institute of Leadership and Management favoured by the NHS is the organisation that is the least respected within the coaching community.

 

3. Ask about supervision

A professional coach should be in supervision.

Supervision gives coaches a confidential reflective space to review their work, explore ethical issues, maintain standards and continue developing. It also offers a level of protection for clients, because the coach is not working in isolation.

Ask:

• Do you have regular supervision?
• How often do you attend?
• Is your supervisor trained or accredited?
• How do you use supervision to maintain the quality of your work?

Has it occurred to you that if a coach is helping you think through complex issues involving leadership, team dynamics, stress, conflict, complaints or significant business decisions, it matters that they also have a place to think safely and professionally about their own work?

Supervision is not a weakness. It is a sign of maturity, responsibility and professional care.

 

4. Ask about continuing professional development

Good coaches keep learning.

Ask what they have studied recently. What books, courses, conferences, supervision groups or professional development activities are they involved in?

The International Coaching Federation, for example, links accreditation with continuing professional development, reflective learning and ongoing supervision. Reaccreditation is linked to CPD requirements.

This matters because dental practice is changing. Leadership, recruitment, patient expectations, regulation, communication and wellbeing are all evolving. Experience shows that professionals who keep learning are better able to adapt, reflect, challenge their own assumptions and serve their clients well.

A coach needs to keep their thinking and skill set up to date, especially if they are working with practice owners, principals and teams in a profession as complex as dentistry.

 

5. Check they have professional indemnity insurance

A professional coach should carry appropriate professional indemnity insurance. This is an important safeguard for both the coach and the client.

In dentistry, we would never practise without indemnity, and the same principle applies when someone is working with your thinking, your leadership decisions, your team dynamics, your business development or your personal wellbeing.

When speaking with a prospective coach, ask:

• Do you hold professional indemnity insurance?
• What type of work does your policy cover?
• Is the cover appropriate for the services you are offering?

It is easy to feel more confident about working with a coach when you know they have taken appropriate steps to protect both you and themselves, isn’t it?

A credible coach will not be offended by these questions. On the contrary, they will recognise them as part of sensible professional due diligence and client protection.

Professional indemnity insurance is not just an administrative detail. It is another indicator that a coach takes their responsibilities seriously and operates to recognised professional standards.

 

6. Look for relevant experience

Experience matters, but relevant experience matters more.

Ask:

• Have you worked with dentists or dental practice owners before?
• Do you understand the pressures of clinical responsibility?
• Have you supported people with leadership, team, communication or business challenges?
• What kinds of outcomes have your clients achieved?

I know that every dental practice is different. I also know that dentistry carries a particular combination of clinical responsibility, regulatory pressure, patient expectation, financial decision-making and team complexity.

A coach does not need to have lived your exact life, but they do need to understand the territory well enough to respect its complexity.

Relevant experience means they are less likely to oversimplify your challenges, minimise your responsibilities, or offer advice that sounds good in theory but does not translate into the reality of dental practice.

 

7. Check their approach and toolkit

Be cautious of anyone who uses one model for every client.

Good coaching is flexible. It should adapt to you, your goals, your thinking style, your practice, your values and your circumstances.

Ask the coach:

• How do you work?
• What models, frameworks or tools do you use?
• How do you decide what is appropriate?
• How do you balance support and challenge?
• How do you adapt your approach to different clients?

It is not important that a coach has a long list of tools and models. What is important is that they know when to use them, when not to use them, and how to keep the work centred on you.

One size does not fit all. Your practice is not a template. Your coaching should not be either.

Be cautious of coaches whose coaching approach is limited to using models such as the GROW, OSCAR, CIGAR models. The more skilled your coach is the more likely it is that they don’t use any structured models.

 

8. Notice whose agenda is being served

Coaching should be about your development, your decisions and your outcomes.

Be wary of coaching that feels like a disguised sales process. If the coach is pushing you quickly into a large programme, telling you what you “must” do, or making you feel inadequate so that you buy more, pause.

Can I ask you to notice whether you feel helped to think, or whether you feel subtly pushed towards a decision that serves the coach more than it serves you?

Ask yourself:

• Do I feel listened to?
• Do I feel respected?
• Am I being helped to think, or being told what to think?
• Does this feel like my agenda or theirs?
• Do I feel clearer, or more pressured?

Don’t worry if you don’t know what to bring to a caching session, a good coach will help you clarify what you want, what is getting in the way, what matters most, and what the next wise step might be. It may be that you and your coach may spend 90% of the conversation clarifying your outcome, the coaching work is in the process.

 

9. Ask whether they have their own coach or reflective support

A coach who values coaching should also value their own development.

This does not mean they need to be in weekly coaching forever. It does mean they should understand the importance of being supported, challenged and held accountable themselves.

Ask what they do for their own development. Do they have a coach, mentor, supervisor, peer group or reflective practice process? Do they “walk the talk”?

Wouldn’t you agree that someone who supports other people’s growth should also be committed to their own?

A coach who is willing to reflect on their own thinking, blind spots, values and development is far more likely to create a safe and meaningful reflective space for you.

 

10. Know what you want, even if it is not fully clear yet

Before you meet a coach, take a little time to reflect.

You may know exactly what you want: better leadership, improved profitability, more confidence, a stronger team, clearer communication, or a better work-life balance.

You may only know what you no longer want. You may no longer want to feel overwhelmed, isolated, reactive, exhausted or constantly responsible for everything.

That is enough to begin.

As you consider the benefits of having regular coaching space, you might like to think about what would change if you had somewhere to pause, reflect, make sense of complexity and make decisions with greater clarity.

A good coach will help you refine the outcome, but it helps to arrive with some honesty about what is working, what is not working, and what needs to change.

 

11. Book an initial conversation before committing

Before you commit to a coaching relationship, speak to the coach. Book a chemistry session or an initial conversation.

Use that conversation to explore fit. Coaching is a professional relationship, and the quality of that relationship matters.

Notice:

• Do you feel safe enough to be honest?
• Does the coach ask thoughtful questions?
• Are they curious rather than judgemental?
• Do they explain how confidentiality works?
• Do they make clear what coaching is and is not?
• Do you feel appropriately challenged?
• Do you leave the conversation clearer than when you arrived?

I wouldn’t advise you to commit to a coaching relationship until you feel confident that the coach is professionally trained, ethically grounded, appropriately experienced and personally right for you.

You do not need a coach who simply agrees with you. You do need one who can challenge you with respect, kindness and skill.

Final thoughts

Choosing a coach is not just about finding someone you like. It is about finding someone who is trained, ethical, experienced, supervised, flexible and able to support you in the real complexity of dental practice.

Take your time. Ask better questions. Check the evidence.

The right coaching relationship can become one of the most valuable thinking spaces you have: a place to pause, reflect, make sense of complexity and take purposeful action.

Imagine yourself six months from now, leading with more clarity, making decisions with more confidence, communicating more effectively with your team, and feeling less alone with the complexity of practice ownership.

For dentists and practice owners carrying clinical responsibility, team pressures, business decisions and personal aspirations, a regular coaching space can make all the difference.

The sooner you choose the right coach with care, the sooner you create the thinking space that helps you lead, grow and practise with greater confidence.

 

Jane Lelean

ICF MCC accredited coach since 2021

Jane’s coaches David Jones, and Ruchi Shah

Janes Supervisors Jenny Bird and Clare Pedrick

Jane’s Indemnity Towergate

Accrediting bodies ICF and AC

Jane’s experience in Dentistry Qualified 1990, former practice owner

Current CPD project – Training as a supervisor

CPD in the last 12 months 80 hours

Supervision in last 12 months 15 hours

If you would like to ask any questions about coaching and the benefits it offers to you personally or professionally, and why so many clinicians experience it as an essential professional relationship, e mail Jane@IODB.co.uk