Find a partner that will tell you what you need to hear to make progress.
Business coaching 101.
When you have a business plan, your family has praised your courage and you have made a little money, why the hell would you need a business coach that plugs you into a ‘foolproof’ system?
The short answer is you don’t. The reality of business is that most don’t want to feel alone. Making all the decisions, doing all the hours, and sacrificing family and friends. You can be as clever as you want with your business strategy, but the most valuable growth area is to reduce your isolation, share your fears and be kinder to yourself.
The goal of starting or being in business is not to give up the things you love, but to do more of them. What you need is to be challenged to find your way back to what’s most important, to you.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcomings.
Business coaching starts with you.
Your business is an entity, but you are a person. Spreadsheets and P&Ls cannot inspire us, but something deeper moves us. Yes, it needs to get us out of bed in the morning, but it also has to define how we lead our business. The values we live by, our work, and the people we serve. If any of these are not aligned, your role as a leader will be consumed by challenges.
The source of your energy in business is the reason to do it in the first place. You’re why, your vision, and the journey you go on to get there. A business will always be hard, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy the process.
Will business coaching help you?
Time To Be Selfish
As a leader, you expend a lot of energy on your business and team but you also need to focus on yourself.
Fresh Perspective
There are very few new concepts in leadership, but they may be new to you, fresh eyes equal fresh thinking.
Reduce Loneliness
If you are a solo leader you are likely to experience self-doubt, isolation, and imposter syndrome – get support.
Clarity On What's Important
Juggling all the needs of a business can create fog. Coaching helps you clear the way and focus on the right things.
Shared Experiences
Speaking from experience, a coach will be able to empathize and guide you through change and opportunity.
Fear Of Failing
When you don’t have support the confidence to take calculated risks reduces. A coach will be your sounding board.
A coach is not there to be a shoulder to cry on or a punching bag. They are there to hold up a mirror to you and show you your potential.
I won’t
Tell you how to run your business.
Judge you.
Hide the truth from you.
Avoid tough conversations.
Use theory over practicality.
Assume you know all the answers.
Focus on your weaknesses.
I will
Confidentially.
Understand what you are missing.
Define what kind of leader you want to be.
Develop your growth mindset.
Increase your self-awareness.
Embrace emotional intelligence.
Challenge the imposter.
Focus on resilience.
Identify what your success looks like.
Create accountability.
Balance personal and business challenges.
Be a sounding board.
Be confident.
Speak from experience.
By developing yourself you empower your team.
Bring your team into your vision, let them be part of it and help you realize it no matter how big or small.
Create habits and processes that create open and honest communication. Listen with the goal of understanding.
If you want to be a great leader you have to learn. So be vulnerable and take on the feedback offered.
The primary focus of any leader should be growth. Not just the bottom line, but themselves and those that they lead.
My first focus is to remove the loneliness, then to build trust, and then we have honest conversations about what you really want from your life and your business. Working on 30-day, 90-day and 12-month goals, I focus on momentum, focus and purpose. Cut the bullshit, focus on what matters and execute.
Confidence to look further into the future.
Understanding what is most important.
Be heard by someone who has been there.
Ability to share your fears.
Develop capabilities to support others.
The clarity in strategic thinking.
Get unbiased feedback.
Learn how you want to lead.
Create deeper self-awareness.
Understand the needs of your team.
Reduce stress and increase fulfillment.
Why business coaching fails.
Expectation. Like anything in life when expectations are not aligned, the results follow. You must find the right coach for you. That may be a certain industry, skills, language, and, most critically, someone you like.
A high-functioning coaching relationship should be based on trust, openness, and a sense that you are on a journey together. There will be moments if you dig deep enough, that there won’t be any clear answers apart from the discovery itself.
Don’t get distracted by too much labeling and testing. All great leadership is a learned skill through your design to grow and understand yourself more deeply.
Who do you coach?
Business owners and senior leaders, including CEOs and Managing directors, are my core client base regarding one-on-one business coaching. I believe a deep relationship based on trust is required and therefore do not offer group coaching.
To support those leaders, I also work with senior leadership teams to develop their relationships, create greater connections to the company mission and create greater empathy for what is needed from those they work alongside.
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