Coaching: What It Should Produce

Hiring a coach helps you reach your goals faster.

In the past, hiring a coach sounded like a weakness…

But now, working with a coach is a strength.

For this episode I can speak from personal experience because I hired a coach (before I became one).

A good visual for a coach is: a personal trainer for your mind.

The same reasons why you hire a personal trainer at the gym:

• someone to push you harder

• hold you accountable for showing up

• to share your goals with then give you a plan to reach them

…apply towards coaching.

I benefited as a client through:

1. goal clarity

2. moving at the optimal pace that benefits me

3. the freedom to drive the agenda during sessions

When I became a coach I personally made the mistake of explaining how I coach versus what it actually does.

Coaching is a style or means to an end.

But truly great coaches build a partnership based on results.

I promise my clients that if I don’t help them produce the results they want, they can fire me or I’ll work a period of time for free.

That’s the type of confidence you want in a coach since paying for service is an investment in your time.

A coach asks the questions to really understand what you want to accomplish.

It’s not the coach doing the work, but them giving you the tools to do it yourself.

So why would you pay someone if you end up doing the work on your own?

Great question.

First, for ownership & buy-in. There’s a greater chance for follow-up to completion if you come up with the solution versus being told what to do (just ask any teenager).

Second, coaching is different than consulting. A consultant analyzes and diagnoses the problem. A coach does the above, but stays with you until the goal is achieved.

I’ve always liked sports analogies because the goal is clear: to win.

If top athletes hire coaches to help their performance why don’t workers/companies do the same?

A coach doesn’t have to perform better than you. Their job is to help you perform better. 

I’ve found some of the best coaches aren’t experts in a particular field (although industry knowledge can be helpful), but brilliant in their ability to teach the right process.

For instance, I work mostly with small to mid-sized tech companies, but I’m not an engineer, developer or IT expert.

Where I add value is understanding the challenges or obstacles and carving a path to overcome it usually aided by soft skill training.

• Managers and leaders can use coaching to help their team (in fact, they should).

• You can hire a coach when you get “stuck” and need an outside perspective or hand to get past it.

• Ultimately a coach saves you time and money that would be wasted trying to figure out the answer.

Coaching is an advantage worth investing in and a great follow-up, post bringing in a speaker and trainer.

Do you see the value now?

God Bless,

Scott

P.S. Need a speaker to start the process of positive change at your workplace? I’m here to help!