Caveat Emptor

The Hard Truth About Coaching, Competence, and the Power of Tools

The first-rate coach, Katrin Charlton, made a post earlier this year which inspired me to think about quality in coaching. As with so many things in life and business, caveat emptor—buyer beware—applies with striking force to the world of coaching. While coaching has rightly gained prominence as a method of personal and organisational development, the uncomfortable truth is that not all coaching is equal. In fact, very little of it is excellent.

The Pareto Principle offers a sobering perspective: only around 20% of coaches are genuinely good. Of those, only 4% rise to the level of excellence, and a mere 0.8% reach the status of outstanding. These figures are not claimed as mathematically precise, but they do reflect three decades of lived experience, observation, and reflection in the coaching field. And they tally with what many seasoned practitioners instinctively recognise, even if it is rarely said aloud.

This may sound fatalistic. It is not. If anything, it is a call to action.

The question is not “why so few?”—but rather “how can we increase that number?”

Tools Make the Difference

The most promising answer lies in equipping coaches with better tools. Intuition, empathy, and good listening are foundational—but not enough. Coaches need structure, methodology, and a way of measuring impact that goes beyond anecdote and charisma. Tools such as Motivational Maps provide precisely this: a reliable, repeatable framework for understanding human motivation at a granular level.

With tools like these, we can move from coaching as a personality-driven craft to a values-driven profession. We can raise the floor of competence and open the ceiling for excellence. Coaches who begin with promise but lack structure now have a way to ground their work, refine their practice, and sustain results.

Given the right framework, the 20% who are ‘good’ can grow into 30% or 40% who are good-to-excellent. Even the rare 0.8% who achieve outstanding results might double in number. No tool is magic—but the right tools, in the hands of a reflective practitioner, can be transformative.

The Wannabe Problem

However, there remains a significant challenge in the coaching landscape: the problem of the ‘wannabe’.

Coaching is, by and large, an unregulated profession. There are no mandatory qualifications, no universally enforced standards (which actually is a good thing, since it introduces bureaucracy and the false sense that certificates ‘qualify’ you). This attracts many well-intentioned individuals, but also opens the door to those with a false self-image—people who see themselves as coaches but lack the skills, discipline, or self-awareness to deliver genuine value.

In my 30-year career, I’ve watched many people enter the field full of enthusiasm and aspiration, only to fizzle out. Some lacked resilience. Others never developed the rigour required for the work. A few retreated into performative self-promotion, confusing social media metrics with real impact. And yet, because the barriers to entry are low, the illusion of being a coach can persist long after the substance has gone.

This is a problem not only for clients, but for the profession itself. It breeds scepticism, cheapens the craft, and crowds the marketplace with noise.

What Clients Should Know

For organisations or individuals looking to engage a coach, this landscape can be bewildering. The key is not cynicism, but discernment.

Ask questions. What method does the coach use? What tools support their practice? Can they explain how they measure success—not in terms of testimonials, but actual outcomes?

Look for structure. A coach who relies solely on their instincts may offer some insight, but little consistency. Tools like Motivational Maps are not gimmicks; they are signs of a reflective, systematic approach.

Most of all, consider values. The best coaches do not impose an agenda—they help clients clarify their own. If a coach cannot articulate their own values, or seems overly concerned with their own image, that should raise concern.

What Coaches Should Reflect On

Equally, for coaches themselves—especially those early in their careers or at a crossroads—this is a moment to reflect.

Are you still learning? Are you using tools that challenge and develop your practice? Are you measuring your impact over time, not just in initial enthusiasm but in sustained outcomes?

Do you have a support structure—supervision, peer reflection, feedback mechanisms—that holds you accountable?

And perhaps most importantly: are you willing to question your own self-image in service of your clients’ real growth?

Coaching is not about being seen as wise. It’s about becoming wise, slowly, humbly, and in service of others.

Towards a Better Balance

We may never shift the balance entirely. There will always be those drawn to coaching who are not suited for it, just as in any profession. But we can move the needle. We can increase the proportion of excellent coaches. We can make 70-30 the new norm. Perhaps even 60-40. Not utopia, but real progress.

That is what tools like Motivational Maps are for—not just to diagnose, but to enable development. Not to replace instinct, but to refine it.

Because coaching, at its best, is not about performance. It is also about transformation. And that transformation must begin with ourselves.

For more information about coaching with Motivational Maps try Mapping Motivation for Coaching by James Sale and Bevis Moynan

Find members of the Motivational Maps community of coaches, consultants, mentors and trainers HERE

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