What if you could get back double the money you invested? Would that be worthwhile to you? What if it weren’t double, but five times what you put in? Very few people would oppose doubling their money. And not a single person would turn down the chance to multiply it by five. Because of this fact, executive coaching has become more popular in recent years. Today, many consider it an essential part of running a business.
Just as calling the perfect play in football takes time and work with a coach, so too does running a large company. What other benefits can coaching provide? Here are some things you might not know about the profits it yields.
What Coaching Isn’t:
In the early days of executive coaching, the word coaching wasn’t in use yet. Instead, businesses hired counseling executives for managers to have one-on-one time with.
These executives filled the role of a psychologist for the management staff. For a time, counseling had exclusive applications to business. Today, a counselor is not a coach anymore.
Other words that some people confuse with a coach include therapist, consultant, or mentor. While these all offer advice based on their knowledge, they differ from coaches in how they offer advice.
A mentor offers advice based on their experience in similar situations. They may even be grooming a person to move up the ladder. But a mentor will often expect you to follow the advice they offer.
A consultant comes at the request of the company. He or she has an area of expertise, and companies pay them to offer advice based on that knowledge.
A consultant tells you what to do, but doesn’t have a stake in you or your business. At the end of the day, he won’t care whether you do it or not. She will get paid either way.
A therapist serves any person well. However, a therapist guides a person through a healing process. You grow as a result, but that growth may not help the business.
Coaching For Perspectives On Self:
Now that there’s an understanding of what a coach isn’t, an exploration of what one is can be made. Much like a therapist, the coach has an active interest in their coachee. And like the mentor, they want to see growth.
Blind Spots:
A coach points out blind spots. Everyone has things that they don’t, can’t, or aren’t trained to see. The coach shows these to you.
He doesn’t show them with the expectation that you will do something. Nor even with the belief that something has to be done. Rather, coaches want to alert you about the existence of these blind spots.
Time Management:
No one is a stranger to feeling like their time keeps getting away from them. Time might be the most limited resource we have. Coaches see our blind spots when it comes to time management as well.
But why is this so important? Understand that others want your job, and it’s coaching to the rescue again. Learning how to manage your time better allows you to get more done than you would otherwise.
And this area serves as one of the biggest reasons to hire a coach in the first place. This might be where they make back the money invested in a coach.
Interpersonal Skills:
It is difficult to put this either under business or self-improvement because it benefits both.
But with its close relation to blind spots, it will go here. Everyone has the kind of person they like working with or for. The natural tendency is to want to work with similar people.
The problem is the abundance of similar weaknesses. Coaches help develop interpersonal skills. And they shine a light on the lack of complementary strengths and weaknesses.
Executive Coaching For The Business:
Now that you know how an executive coach can help you grow and evolve as a person, you might wonder what he can do for your career. Let’s find out!
Encourages Discussion:
You may have heard the old adage about looking at things with fresh eyes. This remains true in business as well. Coaches provide those fresh eyes to look at the business from the outside.
Have managers or lower-level employees been sitting on ideas about improvement? A fresh perspective may help open up lines of communication. And even bring those ideas to the surface.
Communicate Gooder… More Goodly:
Communication is the meaningful exchange of ideas. Roughly half of the executives say they need the most help in their communication.
Along with encouraging discussions, coaches teach executives how to communicate. Don’t confuse this with monologuing or talking to someone.
Coaches teach you how to make everyone feel heard and listened to. What’s more, you will learn how to speak with grace.
Privacy and Confidentiality:
Coaching sessions need the same rules as Vegas. What’s said here, stays here. In this way, the coach takes a similar role to the therapist.
No more than three people ever need to know about what goes on with you and your coach. You, your coach, and sometimes your supervisor. Still, the coaching space maintains privacy on anything you say.
Without this, all the rest of coaching fails since honesty and transparency disappear. Beyond the amount of money wasted, broken trust heals slowly.
Setting Goals:
A big question to ask yourself before every meeting is “What do I want to accomplish this session?”
Goals for coaching sessions mirror goals for the rest of your life. They need to include specific details and be attainable. They must also be relevant and time-bound – you only have an hour to accomplish them.
At the very least, lay the groundwork for reaching your goals. To find out what else will be discussed, read more here.
Ready, Set… Stop:
Most define the world of business with the word “GO!”
But coaching requires stopping. Everything else is tabled for one hour of your week. During that one hour, phone calls, running around, and errands all stop.
It may seem counterproductive. But moving doesn’t mean you’re being productive. Coaching teaches you to move with purpose.
Executive coaching holds the keys to keeping and growing your business. If you want to learn more about our business insights, find them here.
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