Here’s a helpful list of questions to guide you when you interview potential ADD / ADHD coaches:

• What training have you had to be a coach? And, specifically, to be an ADD coach?

• How long have you been a coach?

• What did you do before becoming a coach?

• How do you decide what to work on with your clients?

• What do you expect from your clients?

• What kinds of clients do you work really well with?

• What type of client situations do you NOT like to work with?

• What would you do if I had a situation you didn’t know how to handle?
• Does the coaching ever NOT work? What happens?

• How would you approach coaching a client in my situation?

Here are Dana’s answers to the questions…

• What training have you had to be a coach? And, specifically, to be an ADD coach?
  I’m a graduate of two well-respected, comprehensive training programs. Coach U, a two-year program for general life coach training. The Optimal Functioning Institute (OFI) for my ADD Coach training. OFI took nearly three years – it ran on ADD time.

• How long have you been a coach?
  Though I used coaching techniques when I was a professional organizer, I officially started working with ADD telephone coaching clients in 1998.

• What did you do before becoming a coach?
  I was self-employed as a professional organizer for eight years. I’d go homes and offices and help my clients clear clutter and create systems so they could stay better organized. We’d work on time management, too. I also taught a cool workshop called Organizing the Stuff of Life and Home. Before that I worked in the corporate world as a workflow analyst, a strategic planner, a systems analyst and a labor relations representative. I really liked being a workflow analyst. That’s where I learned about simplifying and creating easy-to-use systems; skills I still use today with my coaching clients.

• How do you decide what to work on with your clients?
  When someone starts coaching we typically clarify and work on the client’s goals. I also throw in things I find important for people to understand about ADD and how to manage it. Plus, I like to weave in some personal awareness work that I find important to living a fulfilling life, ADD or not.

• What do you expect from your clients?
  I know firsthand how hard it is to live with ADD / ADHD (I’ve got the Inattentive Type), so I’m very empathetic. Still, I expect my clients to do the absolute best they can, and to be honest with themselves and me. I expect them to be responsible for their actions and open to new ways of doing things.

• What kinds of clients do you work really well with?
  I really click with people who are straightforward and excited about life’s possibilities. Who, despite their ADD / ADHD, are able to get things done. People who are in tune with themselves and ready to change.

• What type of client’s do you NOT like to work with?
  I’m not the best coach for people who are really struggling to function with their ADD / ADHD. I won’t work with people who complain a lot and blame others for their situation. Who won’t do any work yet expect the coaching to work wonders. Also people who are resentful of my fees.

• What would you do if I had a situation you didn’t know how to handle?
  I have a wide network of coaches and ADD professionals with whom I can talk things through or to refer the client if necessary.
  

• Does the coaching ever NOT work? What happens?
  Sometimes coaching doesn’t work. Usually because I’ve taken on a client that I think is a good match but who isn’t. Or there’s a client who I just can’t find a way to help. As soon as I realize coaching isn’t working I talk it over with the client. I’m happy to refer them to another coach or professional.

• How would you approach coaching a client with my situation?
  Oops, my crystal ball is in the shop. I need to talk with you first before I can answer that one.
  

Does Dana sound like the right ADD / ADHD coach for you?

Contact Dana for a free, get-acquainted interview. No sales pitch; just a chance for both of you to get to know each other and clarify what you want from coaching.