How do you know who to hire when trying to solve an organization problem or take your leadership career to the next level? One way to think of executive coaching is that it’s a mix of business consulting and therapy principles. Executive coaches help business leaders discover their own path, advise on organizational people issues, and tackle difficult, intertwined questions about work and life.

Engaging the right coach is really important! A hiring mis-step can lead to significant loss of time, money and resources. However, the opportunity costs are usually far more substantial.

Marketing savvy consultants have long claimed to be experts in one practice area or another. The advent of social media has just made the field even more cluttered. The process to find a great fit is often daunting. However, you can learn from those who have hired executive coaches in the past .

Here is a list of six of the most important considerations when searching for an executive coach:

1. At first, be your own coach. Online articles by leading coaches, business books, peer networking groups, and your trusted coworkers are all valuable, but underutilized resources when it comes to problem solving. If you have issues that are more complex or if the existing resources are inadequate, then look for an executive coach. Even if you don’t solve the problem at first, this exercise gives you a more nuanced understanding of the problem and what’s at stake.

2. Have a clear goal in mind. If you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish with a coach, it’s not going to work. A good coach will be able to pin down the exact pain point (which may be different from what you first imagined), but they can’t define the objective for you. They will ask lots of questions and bring neutrality that you may not have. The best coaches have a clear methodology and a facilitation style which puts every stakeholder at ease.

3. Find someone who specializes in your problem. This may seem to be common sense but not every coach will be able to help your exact situation. Engage a coach who can articulate how they solved a similar problem in a more or less similar setting. Be wary of the “yes-man”, or a coach who claims to be good at everything, but is unable to talk specifics.

4. Don’t overpay. Be sure the coach is more concerned about your bottom line than theirs. One of the most painful coaching experiences is to spend a huge amount on a coach by using coaching fee as a proxy for quality of coaching. Do your diligence. Get the right coach who genuinely cares about your career and company.

5. Your coach is not your fan. There is a reason you are hiring an outside expert and not settling for advice from friends or family. A coach should not tiptoe around difficult conversations that will be beneficial to you and the success of your company. Avoidance of a critical conversation is a red flag.

6. Understand the cost of hiring the wrong coach. What happens when you spend 6-12 months with an executive coach, only to be worse off than when you started and unmotivated to do great work? Those are 7-12 months you can’t get back or replaced with the right coach. You’ll also be less likely to attempt another hire of an executive coach, in fear that same thing might happen again. Please walk into the hiring process with both eyes open and realize what can be gained…  and lost.