Can You Benefit from A Coach?
By Larry Goddard and Laurence Franklin
As the world’s best athletes, golfers, and even chess players know, a good coach is a must in creating long term success. For a business leader, the need, and the benefits, are the same. You can be a better executive if you have a resource that you trust and respect, who helps you achieve your true potential.
The expression "it’s lonely at the top" applies to business owners and leaders. While you can and should be collegial and collaborative with your team, when it comes to tough decisions, "the buck truly does stop with you". The belief that as an owner, founder, or executive, you should be able to manage and lead without any outside help can create stress and result in sub-optimal outcomes. A coach or a mentor can provide both advice and a support system that gives you and your business a competitive advantage.
A good executive coach can help you:
Develop and fine-tune your strategic vision and growth plan
Set priorities
Improve communications and leadership skills
Analyze and understand opportunities, challenges, risks, and threats
Optimize your time management
Evaluate and optimize your team
Develop alignment
Build your strengths and shore up weaknesses
Make decisions
Act as a sounding board
Think out of the box
Discover your potential
Work smarter
Provide alternative viewpoints
Point out blind spots and possible pitfalls
Challenge your thinking
Boost your spirits when needed
Executive coaches generally do not – and should not:
Make decisions
Tell leaders what to do
Get involved in day-to-day management
Many of the best executive coaches are former “C” suite members who have extensive business and life experiences. If you’re looking for a coach, you should take your time and ensure that there is a cultural fit and a business fit. Is the candidate is someone who has the relevant experience and a style and set of values you can trust, engage with, and feel comfortable opening up about your business and leadership issues?
You might consult with your coach only periodically or have regular working sessions. Often the relationship builds over time and becomes long-term. The key is that having a “go to” person who has only your and the business’s best interests at heart, and who provides actionable advice, your performance and results are enhanced.
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