&gt;defeat and &quot;I can&#x27;t do it&quot; are my initial response, and I shy away from programming.<p>Was it always the case? Also: how do you finish your projects then?<p>&gt;a competent coach please, vs someone who&#x27;s overconfident in their own abilities?<p>I&#x27;d say that anyone demonstrating a strong confidence either in the results (ie. guaranteeing to help you) or own skills (ie. talking a lot about self) has a giant red flag over his&#x2F;her head. Good coaches have an interesting mixture of modesty (no bragging), genuine focus on other people (more questions than statements) and assertiveness - healthy interpersonal strength when it comes to the coaching process, tools etc. Ideal coach will:<p>1. Be very clear upfront about the distribution of responsibility between him&#x2F;her and you - it should be ~50-50. That means that being a coaching client is a quite a challenge and it isn&#x27;t always an easy experience. Anyone painting a sunny, broad staircase up for you is a red flag :)<p>2. Recognize you as an individual - without jumping to conclusions too early.<p>3. Describe you the idea of coaching and how it is different from advice, counseling, therapy and other forms of help which are sometimes confused with coaching. Anything what smells new-ageish or like proven receipt for success = mega red flag :)<p>4. Describe you the process you will go through. Usually it&#x27;s something like: analysing your needs-&gt;setting development goal(s)-&gt;performing some action-&gt;discussing the action+feedback-&gt;setting next goal and this repeats until your main goal is reached (or the agreed upfront number of sessions is finished). It&#x27;s very important that coaching is like a good project: it has clear, measured goal and is meant to end at some point. If the end is lost in a distant fog - yes, it deserves red flag.<p>5. Be very precise and metrics-oriented - there&#x27;s no place for unclear mumbo-jumbo in coaching. Unless someone likes red flags of course :)<p>So, these are the essential characteristics. Also it is very important that you should feel comfortably in contact with that person - imagine openly discussing your struggles, doubts as well as receiving feedback form him&#x2F;her. Regarding formal requirements: respected certificate (ICC&#x2F;ICF&#x2F;IIC&#x2F;IAC) is a proof that someone was trained enough to know the process and toolset. But certificate isn&#x27;t necessary because the process&amp;tools are actually quite easy to learn - everything depends on mindset&#x2F;attitude and that&#x27;s something what could be shaped during the training but as usual - no guaranties.<p>Feel free to ask if something requires more info.