Getting Started with a Business Coach
Up until about ten years ago, one of the remedies a company used for "non-performing" or "disruptive" employees was to get them a career coach. Today, thankfully, the view management and executives have of Executive Coaching is entirely different. Today, a coach is a sign that the company is willing to invest in a promising executive. Individual executives have come to realize that they can accelerate their careers if they work with an experienced business coach to help them up the leadership learning curve. If you think you might be ready to engage an executive coach there are three important preparations:
- Identify your coaching goals.
- Choose the right coach for you.
- Get ready to learn and grow.
Clarify Your Coaching Goals
Clearly, you'll stand to gain the most from the relationship if you are clear about what you want to get. Coaching goals commonly fall into three areas:
- improving specific skills
- dealing with a particular situation
- strategic, long-term career planning
Depending on which of these you're looking for, one coach or another may be better qualified to help you achieve your objectives. And having clarified your goals before speaking with prospective coaches will help them to understand your needs better so you can hit the ground running.
A Learning Mindset
The third area of preparation for working with a coach is to adopt a learning mindset. Working with a coach doesn't necessarily give you answers. Instead, it often gives you questions to help you look at your situation in a new way. Furthermore, working with a coach requires trying new things and taking risks. You have to be prepared to learn new behaviors and to learn from any missteps.
Businesspeople who stand to gain the most from coaching tend to have these characteristics:
- They have a strong motivation to improve.
- They have clear goals.
- They are open-minded.
- They are honest about their own strengths and weaknesses.
- They are open to feedback, even when it's not positive.
- They have good follow-through habits.
- They have a long-term orientation.
Find the Right Business Coach for You
For some guidelines to use in evaluating a prospective coach, please see our Choosing a Business Coach page. If you're ready to experience the growth and improvement that can be yours from executive coaching, contact Dave Kinnear today for a free consultation: dave@execleadercoach.com or 949-436-0222. If you'd like to learn more about Vistage please visit our Vistage International page and to learn more about Dave Kinnear's coaching process, visit our Contact page.
