Your Client’s Industry (Kristin Vesa)

Longer summary episode summary: 

As both a business coach and consultant, Kristin Vesa, founder of Vesa Enterprises, understands better than most how intertwined these two roles can sometimes become. However, Kristen reminds us that coaching is helping to develop the inner resources of the client as an individual, so in most cases, no industry expertise should be necessary. 

     In this episode, Melinda and Kristin help coaches to understand when it might be helpful to have industry-specific knowledge, when it is not and how to be clear with clients about expectations from the beginning. These two seasoned coaches share their professional experience and insight into what really may be going on with a hesitant client and how it just might unmask a great coaching opportunity.

In this episode we discuss:

Do you need expertise in your client’s industry to coach business leaders?What about culture? Do you need to share your client’s culture?Do life coaches need to share the major life experience of their clients?  What is the difference between a coach and a consultant?Can you combine the two?How can you find hidden coaching opportunities with hesitant potential clients?How can not knowing a client’s industry actually be a benefit to the coaching relationship?

“I think typically, ‘you need to know everything about my industry when you're coaching me’, is a mask for not wanting to do the deep work that is needed. ”

– Kristin Vesa

Kristin Vesa is a business consultant and coach, helping conscious entrepreneurs and B2Bs increase revenue, streamline processes, and prosper in alignment with their values. She has degrees in industrial engineering, an International MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and 10 years’ experience honing her consulting, engineering, and business growth skills at corporations including Volvo, Ernst & Young, and Apple. Kristin founded Vesa Enterprises and for 20+ years has nurtured her clients’ skills and talents so they can build thriving companies, live the lifestyle of their dreams, and create winning outcomes for their customers.

Resources or websites for this episode:

Mirasee Coaches ConsoleKristin Vesa’s websiteKristin Vesa’s LinkedIn

Credits:

Guest - Kristin VesaHost - Melinda CohanProducer - Cynthia Lamb Executive producer - Danny InyWriter - Michi Lantz and Melinda CohanAssembled by - Michi LantzAudio Post Supervisor: Evan Miles, Christopher MartinAudio Post Production by Post Office SoundMusic soundscape: Chad Michael Snavely

     If you don't want to miss future episodes of Just Between Coaches, please subscribe to Apple podcasts or Spotify or wherever you're listening right now. And if you liked the show, please leave us a starred review. It's the best way to help us get these ideas to more people.

     If you have a question for Just Between Coaches, put the show title in the subject line and send it to [email protected]

Music and SFX credits: 

Track Title: Clouds

Artist Name(s): Acreage

Writer Name: Marshall Usinger

Publisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONS

Track Title: Coastline Dream

Artist Name(s): Wild Sky

Writer Name: Adam Simons

Publisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONS

Track Title: Coo Coos

Artist Name(s): Dresden, The Flamingo

Writer Name: Matthew Wigton

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Track Title: Stars & Trees

Artist Name(s): Outside The Sky

Writer Name: Dustin Ransom

Publisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTION

Episode transcript: Your Client’s Industry (Kristin Vesa)

 •[00:00:05] Kristin:  I think typically you need to know everything about my industry when you're coaching me is a mask for not wanting to do the deep work that is needed. That the coach is there to do with the person in front of them. 

•[00:00:23] Melinda: Hello and welcome to just between coaches the podcast that tackles difficult coaching conversations head on. My name is Melinda Cohen and I run a business called the coaches console. The coaches council has supported more than 50,000 entrepreneurs in creating their own profitable coaching businesses. In this episode I'm going to have a conversation with a woman who has worked globally with teams and individual leaders. She's also an aces coach at Mercy and joined after running her own consulting company for over two decades and she even speaks Swedish. I've invited Krysten Vesa to this show, Kristin and I are going to discuss if you need expertise in your client's business. I received the listeners email that will be the backdrop for today's conversation and as I always say, unless you tell me otherwise, any email that I read on the show will be anonymous. Here's what anonymous wrote, Hey, Melinda, I'm in a situation I'd like to have your opinion on. I had a prospect who was referred to me, I'm a business coach and the client was transferring to another company but to a higher position than she had before in the intake sessions. She questioned if I could work with her because I don't know anything about her industry. I told her that I didn't think it was a necessity since we're gonna be working with pure coaching tools to develop the leadership style that would be suitable for the new position. But she persisted and moved on. Still. Her statement got me thinking is it important that I know anything about my client's business or area of work? Dear anonymous. Thank you for sending in your question whether a coach needs foundational knowledge of a client's industry is an ongoing discussion among coaches and consultants. I am a firm believer that you need to be very clear about what type of coach you are and what type of service you bring to your clients. Y...