This article will take you through the concept of business coaching. You will learn how the craft enabled others to disarm ticking time bombs of uncertainty. I will explain why the process can feel frustrating and when coaching is not for you. Finally, I will cover how I decide if it’s time for me to work with a coach.
Any professional life is uncertain. Often, you surf the waves alone with little effort. But when a big storm comes around, you should face it with someone. That someone can be a board member, your boss, or a team member (if you can be transparent with them). If you still need to, you can also engage with an experienced business coach who works for you.
Think of coaching as the two of us traveling together – working towards your goal. We will explore and lock horns with Grand Canyon-sized questions. You will experience joy and frustration. You will run into dead ends, forcing you to turn around and charter a new course. What we do together is kickstart a positive chain reaction. Let me give you an example:
A director I worked with felt uncomfortable speaking with the boss about leaving the firm. He wanted to delay the talk by five months because it could impact his bonus. We found a good structure for a first meeting with the boss to open the discussion softly. This small step was all it took to work out an exit plan without jeopardizing his bonus.
Four examples where I recommend business coaching:
You want to increase your impact as a leader. It could be as preparation for your next promotion, or you see opportunities to lead your team better.
You see a need to change how you do business. It could be a new strategy or an operational issue where you want to make decisions.
You want to change your career and need to develop a plan for doing so.
You experience symptoms like headache or body tension, have problems sleeping, or endure a general lack of energy after decades of grinding work.
You will, with coaching, follow in the footsteps of some of the most successful people in business.
Jack Welsh, the former CEO of General Electric, said: “Does coaching work? Yes. Good coaches provide a truly important service. They tell you the truth when no one else will”. Mr. Welsh was greatly admired for his success at General Electric back then. Still, he chose to invest in keeping his skillset razor-sharp. I have, however, come across situations where I advise against coaching, at least for the time being.
The first situation is when someone asks you to accept coaching. It must be your decision. Another showstopper is a lack of interest in taking responsibility for your situation. Your life is how it is because of the choices you make. A different life starts with you. The final point is your willingness to work between sessions. A 90-minute session gives a solid roadmap for the next part of your journey. You must apply the learnings in your daily life to make your decisions stick.
Only you know what works for you. Therefore, start with a 30-minute introduction session with one or more coaches. I offer this option at no cost. I see that many other skilled coaches do the same. You should not be surprised if you encounter a coach who refers you to someone else. The right fit is a two-way street.
Before signing up, you should agree on two practical things with your potential coach. First, you should decide on a package that allows you to work over several sessions. Your journey is not a bullet train taking you from uncertainty to clarity in one go. Depending on your needs, anywhere between three to seven sessions are typical. I coach a start-up founder who uses ongoing coaching as a tool to run his company better.
The other important point is honesty. When you feel there is honesty, progress takes place. That’s why I immediately put everything on the table when someone coaches me.
One issue I solved with business coaching was around feelings. Overblown reactions to not feeling good enough impacted my ability to make sound decisions personally and professionally. I felt in mud up to my neck when someone challenged me. My coach first helped me make sense of what feelings were there. For example, I was unaware that shame played a role in tripping me up. Once I could understand all my feelings, I could decode each sensation and realize what I needed to do to stay balanced.
Coaching was, at times, frustrating for me. It was not a linear process, and several sessions did not feel like a breakthrough. However, what surprised me was the leaps forward between sessions when I took the time to reflect. In a session, my coach and I talked about sadness, a feeling I had carried for a while. Later the same day, as if a light went on, I saw how sadness and gratitude for my life are two sides of the same coin. Now that I know how sadness and joy are connected, it is okay for me to feel sad occasionally.
Should you go for business coaching to overcome uncertainty in your professional life? Here is how I decide: I go for it when I’m more than 50% sure that coaching will help me peel layers of uncertainty away faster than I could manage alone.
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