I am a strong believer in coaching. I have been dealing with and having coaches since 1999. My first business coach was Dan Sullivan and he runs a company called "Strategic Coach". What prompted me to hire him? Well, back then I was working as a Financial Adviser and our company was purchased by a bigger firm, we were invited to attend a convention in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was quite interesting for me as I got a chance to meet other financial advisers who were making about $1 million a year while I was making $200,000-$250,000 a year. So I knew at that moment that I had a lot to learn.
At that convention, a coach came out on stage and talked about coaching and the benefits of coaching and they talked about The Strategic Coach right there. And they asked us, how many are you participating with Dan and most of the top producers raised their hands. So I talked to some of them and got some information on this coaching and when I came back home, I hired my first coach- Dan Sullivan.
Coaching gives the individual an opportunity to define their career goals in a realistic way. With the assistance of a coach, you can set these goals and then actively work towards them. This will increase the likelihood that the goals will be achieved. It is common for goals to be centered around two aspects of an individual’s career. The first is building skill sets, and the second is the individual’s professional behavior.
Coaching engages participants with its unique one-on-one feedback and lots of encouragement. When an individual becomes engaged with their workplace, they can contribute more effectively to the team and the organization. This engagement also helps to increase retention rates and productivity, benefiting their careers as well as their overall organization.
Having a coach gives the individual a safe space to go and talk through sensitive issues. The coach is a third-party participant, and their ability to remain uninvolved but give guidance allows the participants to gain perspective without feeling intimidated by someone within their own organization.
Corporate coaching isn’t just about improving an individual’s skills in the workplace; it takes learning to an even deeper level. Through coaching, an individual can learn more about themselves, find out how they are perceived by others, and improve on areas of their personalities that they are not satisfied with.
A coach can give their participants ideas for ways to improve themselves, but more importantly they can help them become aware of their blind spots. These blind spots are areas of the individual’s work or personality that they may not see, but that need improvement. Once the individual is aware of these areas, they can work with the coach to begin improving them. Through building personal awareness, the individual can turn their unknown weaknesses into marketable strengths. This personal awareness is an important confidence booster for individuals in talent development programs and can help in future roles.
The personal benefits of coaching are wide-ranging and can positively impact an individual’s career if they are engaging with their coach. This process can help develop individuals across a wide range of needs and can even benefit them on a personal level. Coaching has been known to boost confidence, improve work performance, and build effective communication skills.
To find out more about the benefits of using a coach, watch my Facebook live video here.
To learn more about my 90 Days to $5K program, visit here.
