Is a Business Coach in Your Future? Here’s How to Select The Right One
Photo by The Coach Space from Pexels
Business Coaches are for people who need more than a course. They are for those who want ongoing individualized help from someone who knows the ropes as they take risks in the real world.
Some people are looking to start something new, while others may need help in a general or specific area of their business. Still others may be a “C” level person or an employee and want to know how to be entrepreneurial in their work. If any of these sounds like you, please read on…
To a large extent, the services provided by business coaches are exactly what you would expect them to be. A coach helps clients set realistic goals, and then develop strategies and action items (a plan) to reach those goals.
During implementation they work with you, based on obstacles and results, to revise, set and develop new goals and plans in the light of your experience. They monitor and supervise your progress so that you are accountable for your commitments. When objectives are not being met, they help you look at what might be in the way. They ask questions designed to provoke thinking and action. They advise you and help facilitate. They strategize with you to help maneuver your way through the maze of business options, challenges, threats, and opportunities.
Good business coaches are interested in more than the bottom line. They concern themselves with all levels of their client’s needs, whether they are of the body, the mind, the spirit or emotions. They encourage clients to look at what success means in the context of their whole life. Coaches talk to their clients about self-care, about balance, about the need for work that feels meaningful and that makes a contribution, about honesty, integrity, and courage. Why? Because that is what clients are asking from them.
Photo by Canva Studio from Pexels
More people are thinking in terms of work they love instead of work they HAVE to do in order to earn a living. The search for work you love leads almost inevitably to thoughts about work that has meaning, and once you start raising issues of meaning you find yourself looking at your relationship to something bigger than yourself, which in turn leads to issues of spirituality. Clients are asking for someone who can help them look at these broader questions, not just the day to day issues of the business.
Business coaching is not regulated. There are no legal requirements to call oneself a business coach. If you decide to use a business coach, it is up to you make a judgment about whether or not this person can help you reach your goals.
How are you going to know if he or she is the right fit for your needs? A referral from a trusted friend would be ideal, but lacking that, ask for the names of clients who have used this person’s coaching services and who would be willing to talk to you about their experience.
Does the coach have written testimonials? Ask what qualifies this person to be a business coach. Are they conversant with specific areas of business such as law, tax, financing, accounting, marketing, negotiating, computer hardware and software? Is their knowledge specific or broad-based?
Is it restricted to the nuts and bolts of business, or can they help you with the personal and interpersonal side of doing business - coping with fear, working on your relationship to money and success, lack of confidence, conflict resolution?
Does the coach stay on top of current trends in business, your industry? Has the coach been successful as an entrepreneur in his or her own right? Does he or she appear confident like a successful person should? Are their ideas about success similar to yours, or different? Are they holistic in their approach? Have they done any writing that reflects their philosophy of coaching? Can they give some examples of how they've helped their clients?
Most importantly, ask yourself if you feel comfortable with this person. It is not good enough for a coach to be competent and well trained. Working with a coach calls on you to expose yourself, to disclose your uncertainty, your mistakes, your ignorance, and your struggles. If you can’t trust your coach to treat your vulnerability with sensitivity, confidentiality, and respect, you most likely will not reveal any of this. If you hide your problems, those problems aren’t going to be addressed. Trust your intuition; you are most likely correct.
Check out our PULSE survey on Business Coaching to learn more about how a trusted advisor could help you increase your business impact, and download our free ebook on the subject. If you feel your business can benefit from the power of business coaching services, contact us for an introductory consulting session. Here’s to your success!