Effective business coaching supports improved on the job performance, results attainment and a renewed perspective allowing for problem resolution or opportunity identification in methods that were previously unavailable.
Bottom line: Coaching as a business tool has earned its place in business. We are rapidly progressing to a place and time whereby only non-professionals will not have a coach. However, what is not as clear is what is included in the realm of management or executive coaching when it comes to mental health issues. A business coach typically is not someone skilled to counsel someone who has clinical depression for example or some other mental health illness. Only a seasoned business coach can spot when mental health issues get in the way of a person being able to take proper perspective, to constructively think and to have the ability to take proper action. A referral to a mental health expert is sometimes a required ingredient to move forward with business coaching. In other words, not everyone is in a state ready to receive business coaching.
An effective business coach will help your thinking become clearer, specifically they will:
- Reframe perspectives
- Align thoughts
- Validate ideas
- Build trust
- Demonstrate empathy
- Develop goals with you
- Change/shape behaviour
- Create positive energy
- Commit you to action
- Create structure
- Achieve desired outcomes
Your thoughts are what will take you where you want to be. An experienced coach will help you think the right thoughts and ensure that your thinking becomes visible through your own actions. “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts” – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor
My business and HR experience working at several companies and also in the consulting world has benefited me significantly when it comes to the coaching I do. A lot of coaching is about understanding people and their motives and how they think and why they behave in certain ways. Getting executives to purposefully see things differently and act in ways they have previously not done is key. A coach must be able to get a person to a place where they realize change is needed and just as importantly to implement change in a manner which will result in lasting behavior change and business results. When the inconvenience/pain of not acting starts to be more than the inconvenience/pain of acting, is when change usually happens.
Picking a coach is important and often successful coaches are referred by trusted business colleagues. This is how my coaching clients have come to me. An excellent/effective coach will be an outstanding listener, they will not judge, nor will they rush to any conclusions, nor will they profess to have all the answers.
The qualities I offer to my clients that ensure a supportive and empowering coaching relationship are safety/unconditional confidentiality, presence/availability, curiosity, and non-judgment. My coaching experience has taught me these are crucial for anyone seeking coaching support.
Coach-client “fit” is key to successful coaching. The relationship with your coach needs to be one that allows you to reflect upon experiences, examine deeply held feelings, thoughts, and beliefs, and receive feedback and observations that, at times will be uncomfortable. This means that you need to choose a coach (who comes highly recommended) or whom you think you will have strong rapport, and a coach that clearly articulates a commitment to creating a safe place where thoughts and feelings can be expressed without judgement.
Concurrently, the coach also needs to assess whether the client is ready for coaching, if the issue they articulate is appropriate for coaching, and whether they are equipped in the proper mental capacity to deal with the issues at hand.
When you are on the receiving end of effective professional coaching you should leave each session feeling motivated, supported, inspired and encouraged. (this is what I hear from my clients) Seeing things in a very different perspective is one way of tackling issues in a manner not previously available.
In my view, professional business coaching will over time become the accepted norm to shape required behaviors and drive business performance. There is literally no downside to effective professional business coaching. When the research points to improved financial performance as it has proven with higher levels of employee engagement, many more will jump onboard the coaching bandwagon, but why wait, the evidence is already there, we seem to be waiting to scientifically prove it, but in the meantime you could be hitting the ground running by starting now.
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