While it’s not essential always essential to have a co-coach, the benefits of doing so are substantial, especially if the team you are working with is more than four people. So, what should you look for in a co-coach? Here are some useful questions to consider:
- In what situations will I most value having the support of someone with a different skill set or personality?
- What would I like to learn by working alongside someone with a different portfolio of expertise?
- Who will challenge me in a positive way?
- Who will enable me to be my best, most authentic self?
- Even if one of us is more experienced than the other, will we both be equal partners?
- How will the workload be shared?
- What would the client (sponsor, team leader) want our partnership to be like?
- Will we have the time and opportunity to get to know each other sufficiently?
- Will it be fun working with this person?
It’s also helpful to consider having a panel of co-coaches to draw upon. While working together frequently allows you to hone the partnership, it’s also easy to get too cosy. A useful question here is:
- What’s unique about the character and situation of this team that would affect the ideal combination of background, perspective, personality and skills in a o-coaching partnership?
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