Business coaching has become a necessary and essential practice for CEOs and business owners who want to improve themselves and their companies. While for those who understand the power of business coaching and how it has become an important piece of the success puzzle, many Business Owners and/or CEOs don’t truly understand what coaching is or does. More importantly, many still don’t understand how business coaching can help them be successful.
What is Business Coaching?
Business coaching is a collaborative relationship between a Business Owner/CEO or executive and the coach, aimed at strategically developing both the Owner/CEO and his/her people to help develop and support the goals of the company.
When looking to hire a Business Coach, it is critical to realize that you are not hiring a low-touch advisor to come in and fix your business. You are hiring someone that can be a confidant, a sounding board, a listener, a thoughtful responder, a guide, and a mentor. Someone with a different perspective can be your ally in your business's success. A good Business Coach isn’t afraid to ask questions or stop you when you are heading for the wall at 120 mph, provide guidance during difficult situations, and, together, develop an acceptable solution that the Owner/CEO can support and live with.
There are a lot of people calling themselves Business Coaches who don't have experience, professional accreditations, or associations. Experiential coaching is not something you learn in a book or online. Yes, I understand there are books, classes and certifications that will teach you processes, provide outlines, step-by-step instructions and even situational responses. But, you cannot discount or teach experience. A Business Coach has been down your road a time or two and has lived through building, growing, adjusting, and leading a business. Because of this, it can be hard to know who to trust—not simply when it comes to their methodology or the quality of their training, but also in terms of their approach to business and life in general. Working with a coach is a deeply personal engagement. And on some level, you’re buying who they are and why they do what they do.
What Does A Business Coach Do And Why Do You Need Them?
Create A Partnership - Business Coaching is not consulting or therapy. One common misconception is that Business Coaches will act more like consultants, doing the work of developing your business for you—they won’t. Coaches help set direction, and provide feedback, tools, guidance and perspective. They also hold clients accountable, which is what we find to be the thing most business owners need—someone to help them stay focused on their goals.
Provides Feedback - A good Business Coach is someone you can trust—someone who has the ability to diagnose specific and systemic issues in your business and knows that you have to implement the solutions yourself in order to get real results.
Listening and Knowing - They can’t help you unless they understand what makes a good business good and/or a great business great. To truly be a partner, a coach must care about people and understand why you went into business in the first place.
Patience - Their job is to help you identify what needs to happen next, but be patient enough to wait for you to take those actions. And, of course, they hold you accountable for your goals. A great coach lives by the rule that you, as the owner/CEO, have the fundamental ingredients to transform your business and the ability to adjust how you relate to it.
Curiosity and Courage - They use their curiosity to look at every corner of your business to identify the root cause for why things have stagnated or stalled. A great coach asks the right questions in the right moments—something they can only do if they have the experience. And a great Business Coach has the courage, to be honest with you. They understand that it’s important that you hear the truth (even if it stings a bit) or have you ‘Pull the Chute’ and reflect before you jump into action.
If your business coach can help you bring these fundamentals of your work together, you'll become a better leader, and your people will grow as well. You'll begin to see the impact on your business as it begins to build a solid foundation and grow. You’ll see the impact in how your employees do their job, supporting your vision. Which will impact your bottom line and the growth of your company.
Building A Strategic Roadmap - Your Business Coach will help you achieve your objective of building a successful business with purpose. To do that, you need a clear plan to follow.
Note: If your coach doesn’t offer a plan for how to help you build each of the strategies, systems, and processes that your business needs, you’re likely to have critical system gaps. A good coach will help you develop a plan and help you stay responsible for implementing the plan.
Empowering Independence - A great Business Coach knows that over time, you'll need them less and less. Their goal is to give you the right tools to put theory into practice and to show you how to soon do for yourself what you need their help with today—the skills to discern and diagnose what your business requires next. Like any good supportive relationship, it’s a bit of a paradox: The more they help you, the less you need them. A great coach knows this and doesn't pretend otherwise to keep their financial relationship with you intact.
Finding a Business Coach is a highly subjective process that depends on several factors and how much each aligns with your priorities. If you're looking at a Business Coach’s professional characteristics, here are the most important four to consider:
Experience, skill level, and training
Approach and Philosophy
Program, curriculum or methodology they use
Certifications (If you are questioning their abilities, this can be a decision maker.)
All of these points are important when choosing a business coach, but the personal fit is really the decision maker. Are they authentic? Do you think you can be yourself? Do you believe in them as a coach? Do you think they can help you improve your business and yourself?
If you’re ready to work with a Business Coach, Pull the Chute is here to help. Or, if you already have a Business Coach and wonder if they’re the right fit for you, ask yourself these questions:
Are they willing to work with who you are to get you to where you want to go? Do they take the time to celebrate the wins with you, but also be there for you to help you through the difficult times?
Do they know where you want to go? Are they asking the right questions for your business based on the stage it’s in?
Do they help you maintain the long-term vision while they support you in fixing the problems that exist in your business today? Do they notice patterns and trends, or are they just reacting to your daily frustrations? You need wise counsel, not just quick fixes.
Do they make you more curious? Their way of thinking about things should be infectious— do you find yourself asking other people the kinds of questions your coach asks you.
Do they hold you accountable? They should be willing to call you out if you don't show up and do the work to make real change.
A great coach is a lot of things. But most importantly, they're a trusted mentor, advisor, and confidant who truly cares about your success and the success of your business. They know that the two are inextricably linked, and that’s a partnership where everybody wins.
If you are looking for Business or Executive coaching, we hope you will reach out to us. The first consultation is free. We will get to know each other, identify a challenge or two, and even begin coaching you right during that call. To contact us, email us at info@pullthechute.net or call us at 615-572-9500.