---
title: "How do I tell whether a founder adviser will challenge me instead of agreeing?"
slug: "direct-questions/how-do-i-tell-whether-a-founder-adviser-will-challenge-me-in"
section: "Direct questions"
description: "Ask the person for evidence of a time they disagreed with a client, what disconfirmed their first impression and how the eventual decision was documented. "
internal_only: false
---

# How do I tell whether a founder adviser will challenge me instead of agreeing?

Ask the person for evidence of a time they disagreed with a client, what disconfirmed their first impression and how the eventual decision was documented. Seniority, exits and a warm referral are context, not substitutes for those tests.

At interview, put forward a deliberately incomplete decision and ask them to identify *three competing explanations*, the missing facts and a small test. A strong answer starts by changing the question; a weak one repeats the founder's preferred option with confident adjectives. Request an anonymised decision memo, a reference who can describe uncomfortable feedback, and a written conflict statement. Where a coach holds an ICF credential, its published ethics standards address agreements, confidentiality and conflicts, although they do not certify strategic expertise. [ICF Code of Ethics, effective 1 April 2025](https://coachingfederation.org/credentialing/coaching-ethics/icf-code-of-ethics/)