I'm not looking for train wrecks. I'm looking for people who are already good and want to be great.
That's how executive coach Chris Woods describes his ideal client. It might sound counterintuitive -shouldn't coaches work with people who need the most help?
Not necessarily.
"I'm looking for somebody who is already a talent, has the ambition, and is coachable. And it's my obligation to show them a pathway that they start seeing some results so they buy in."
The Wrong Kind of Client
Chris is clear about who he doesn't want to work with:
"Someone who's like a train wreck, and I'm gonna go in and completely change their life around -that's not who I'm looking for."
Why? Because transformation isn't about fixing broken people. It's about taking people who are already performing and unlocking the next level.
The difference between good and great is smaller in distance but massive in impact.
The Right Kind of Client
Here's what makes someone coachable:
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Confidence without ego. They feel good about what they've accomplished but know there's more.
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Ambition. They want more -not from desperation but from genuine drive.
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Openness. They're willing to hear things that challenge their identity.
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Self-motivation. The coach provides the pathway, but the client provides the engine.
"I think the most important part is somebody who's open to it and self motivated to get better."
The Football Analogy
Chris is a Patriots fan, and he uses a perfect analogy:
"Mike Vrabel has taken over as coach and already had a great quarterback in Drake May. He has all this talent, but he's also open to being coachable. You've seen an exponential increase in his performance because he already had the raw talent but he was open to saying there's things I can get better with."
The talent was already there. The coaching unlocked it.
The Virtuous Cycle
When you work with the right person, something powerful happens:
"You start seeing some wins early on and you get some buy-in. So that would be exactly who I like to work with because it's exciting for me to see them improve and then it becomes this kind of like virtuous cycle."
Small wins build confidence. Confidence enables bigger wins. Bigger wins create more trust in the process. And the cycle continues.
This doesn't happen with someone who's fighting the process. It happens with someone who's ready for it.
The Identity Challenge
Some clients dig in their heels on certain things:
"Of course some people are going to dig in their heels on some things that they feel relates to their identity and it's not going to be as easy to move them off of those things."
That's expected. Everyone has areas where they're more resistant to change. The key is finding someone who, despite those areas, is fundamentally open to growth.
Are You Coachable?
Ask yourself:
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Do you feel good about where you are? Not satisfied -that's different -but confident in your foundation?
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Are you self-motivated? Or do you need someone to force you to improve?
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Can you hear feedback without getting defensive? Especially feedback that challenges how you see yourself?
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Are you looking for the pathway, or are you looking for someone to do the work for you?
If you're already performing but know you could be exceptional, you're the right kind of client. For anyone.
The Bottom Line
The best coaching relationships aren't rescue missions. They're accelerators.
The coach brings the framework, the outside perspective, the accountability. But the client brings the raw material -the talent, the drive, the willingness to be uncomfortable.
Without that raw material, no amount of coaching matters.
Chris Woods is an executive coach who works with men from early to late career. His business comes primarily through referrals from clients who've experienced the transformation. Learn more at chriswoodscoach.com.