Who uses a business coach?
1. Managers and executives
Management or Executive Coaching is often paid for by the organisation and focuses on the individual’s role in the organisation as well as their own working context (personal issues or preferences will generally be impacting on the work role and will be discussed). An organisation will support coaching for an individual over other traditional methods of development because it:
- is results focused
- is individualised
- improves personal and team performance
- reduces stress for all involved
- shows a willingness to invest in people
- makes the employee feel valued
- is impartial
- gives the employee access to an external focus, fresh ideas, a different and wider experience
- is an ongoing relationship that continues to motivate and be productive
Ideal candidates include:
- newly appointed managers
- managers who are struggling in particular areas – turnaround coaching
- professionals who need to develop other skills
- employees who are not sure of their direction with the organisation
- employees who are identified as key talent
- opinion leaders/change agents
Areas that can be coached include:
- leadership and management development
- strategic focus
- business planning
- communication skills
- organisational development
- change management
- team dynamics
- Emotional Intelligence
2. Business people and professionals
Business or Professional Coaching is usually sought out, and paid for by the individual themselves as they want to work on particular goals of their own or for their business. This can include:
- changing career direction
- working towards promotion, growth or a new job
- starting a business or new lifestyle
- growing a business
- making a business/career less personally demanding
- making work and/or life in general more meaningful
What is coaching?
It’s having a personal trainer for your working life.
Coaching is a one-to-one interactive relationship that focuses on you and what you want in life. It helps you identify and accomplish your professional and personal goals faster than you would on your own. People come to coaching for many different reasons but the bottom line is change - you want to do things differently to before.
Your coach works with you for an hour or two every week or fortnight and of course there is homework in between! In general coaching commitments are initially for three months. This gets you through the initial highs and lows of the coaching experience. You can’t make significant change in less time, and many people stay with their coach for a lot longer.
Coaching is not therapy, psychology or counseling.
Your coach:
- Believes you can do it. The coaching process focuses on assessing the current situation, setting goals, developing action plans and keeping you moving forward. Your coach tells you the truth, where you are strong and where you need to do some work.
- Has the questions that challenge, support and keep you on track. They listen to you, your words and what’s behind them. They help you identify and overcome self-limiting beliefs, roadblocks and the gremlins that have stopped you before. They ask you to do more than you would have done on your own.
- Explores your aspirations, how you can link your goals to what is compelling for you, how to look after the ‘whole person’, how you can feel fulfilled with your life.
Once people start work with a coach they generally find:
- they take themselves more seriously
- they are more focused and effective
- they stop putting up with stuff that’s dragging them down
- they create a momentum and so it’s easier to get results
- they set better and higher goals
- they are happier with where they are going.
