The Zero-Defect CEO

Hoping "to create a brand name, like an M.B.A.," Leonard says, Coach University will launch its own certification program this year, requiring 150 hours of training, 1,000 hours of billable coaching, and a 500-question exam, among other "virtual components." Contact Coach University at 2484 Bering Dr., Houston, TX 77057; 800-48COACH.

Finding the right coach may be harder than actually becoming one. But the industry's two largest professional groups do offer help. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) offers an on-line referral service at its Web site (www.coachfederation.org), as well as a free biweekly newsletter, Coaching News. Membership in the ICF is also free, although president Jeff Raim expects membership to shrink some when he levies dues of $50, starting this fall. The nonprofit Professional & Personal Coaches Association also offers a referral list, which can be obtained by E-mail, by phone (415-522-8789), or by mail (P.O. Box 2838, San Francisco, CA 94126).

Cheryl Richardson, a coach based in Newburyport, Mass., recommends that anyone hiring a coach follow these guidelines: (1) Interview at least three coaches and check their credentials. (How long have they been coaching? What training have they received?) (2) Make sure a coach either has achieved the goal you're after or has coached others who have. (3) Get names of referrals and talk to them. Dan Kennedy, a Seattle-based coach, contends that the best coaches actually have coaches themselves. "They realize there's always more to learn about coaching," he says.

Coaching at its best employs a combination of talents too delicate for most books, which typically bring a towel-snapping sensibility to the topic. One exception: Coaching for Performance, by John Whitmore (Nicholas Brealey Publishing, distributed by the LPC Group, 800-533-0301, $15.95), originally published in 1992 but brought out in a second edition last year. Whitmore captures and dissects the skill that sets the most effective coaches apart: using effective questioning to bring on increased awareness. Chapter 5, "Effective Questions," explains what good questioning can elicit (hint: it's not answers), though it does begin with one of Whitmore's ploddingly breezy sports analogies, which are at least genteel (he sticks to golf and tennis). The first eight pages of the ambitiously titled chapter 8 ("What Is Reality?") do a helpful job of explaining the point of view a coach should strive for, while chapter 14 ("Feedback and Assessment") offers such gems as why most managers get so little return from the feedback they give. (See, in particular, the first paragraph of "Hard to Change," page 110.) Despite his penchant for not-very-helpful Stephen Covey­like charts and disturbingly cutesy acronyms (GROW, SMART, PURE), Whitmore dispenses an abundance of straightforward wisdom, such as this passage from page 131: "There is no mystique about coaching. It is not difficult to learn. However, it cannot be learned from a book..."

COACH UNIVERSITY, Sandy Vilas, 2484 Bering Dr., Houston, TX 77057; 800-48COACH; www.coachu.com 46

ISABELLA CONTI, Lisardco, 1318 Brewster Dr., El Cerrito, CA 94530; 510-215-2707 46

EPITOPE, Adolph J. Ferro, 8505 SW Creekside Pl., Beaverton, OR 97008; 503-641-6115 46

EXECUTIVE SOLUTIONS, Kay Stepp, 25-6 NW 23rd Pl., #185, Portland, OR 97210; 503-220-2163 46

FRANKLIN COVEY CO., Stephen M. R. Covey, Covey Leadership Center, 3507 North, University Ave., Suite 100, Provo, UT 84604; 888-332-3013 46

INTERNATIONAL COACHING FEDERATION, 76 Cranbrook Rd., Suite 192, Cockeysville, MD 21030; 888-423-3131; www.coachfederation.org 46

THOMAS J. LEONARD, 1971 W. Lumsden Rd., Suite 331, Brandon, FL 33511; thomas@coachu.com 46

MERIX, Deborah A. Coleman, P.O. Box 3000, Forest Grove, OR 97116; 503-359-9300 46

PLANAR SYSTEMS, James M. Hurd, 1400 NW Compton Dr., Beaverton, OR 97006; 503-690-1100; www.planar.com 46

PROFESSIONAL & PERSONAL COACHES ASSOCIATION, P.O. Box 2838, San Francisco, CA 94126; 415-522-8789; ppca@aol.com 46

JEFF RAIM, Empowered Management, P.O. Box 1393, Angel Fire, NM 87710; 800-437-0764; www.spiritcoach.com; jeff@spiritcoach.com 46

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