Business Coaching: Why no-one wants a business coach and why every business owner should have one
“I’ve met a business coach before…”.
In the 15 years that I’ve had the privilege of working with business owners as their coach, I’ve heard that sentence more times than I care to remember. The tonality with which it’s delivered has a clear intent: not interested, conversation over.
And I get it. Because, as a (relatively) embryonic market sector, it’s not well understood, it’s certainly not regulated, and absolutely anyone can call themselves a coach. I’m not saying that with any judgement by the way. It’s just a fact. Couple lack of understanding (and therefore trust) with less than positive experiences and it’s no wonder that the level of scepticism around business coaching is so high.
In response to the comment to end our conversation, I’d always ask “Have you ever eaten in a bad restaurant?” To which the answer would invariably be “Yes”. “Do you still eat in restaurants?” Again, “Yes”. My question “How come?”
The challenge is not with the industry per se. The real challenge lies in the fact that most people (and this again is not a judgement, just a fact) don’t have the right level of understanding to determine good from not so good. And as a result, the lowest common denominator (it’s all bad) applies.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not sitting here as a “woe-is-me” business coach. Far from it. I am the proud owner of a business coaching practice with multiple coaches, loyal long-term clients who are achieving results in their businesses and lives beyond what they ever thought possible, and a work-life balance (by design) that most business owners only ever dream of.
I’m sitting here because I see it as my responsibility to change the level of knowledge and understanding about what my fantastic industry is, in order that people can make a more informed decision and understand what best-in-class looks like.
Because there is one thing I know as an absolute truth: any business is better with a great coach in it than without. It’s not based on any subjectivity, just measured progress of those who’ve allowed us to be a part of their journey. Let me explain, but first I do need to state this fact: business coaching can help everyone, but it doesn’t mean that it’s right for everyone. I’d hate you to be thinking that I’m writing this as some over-zealous evangelist for business coaching! I’m not. I understand it’s place, and I understand the kind of people it works for.
Let’s talk then about the 4 Cs: Coaching, Challenge, Change and Courage.
Coaching
What can I teach my clients about their businesses that they don’t already know? Nothing! And I’d never profess to be able to.
What can I teach them about how to build a business? Everything. Because a business is “A commercial, profitable enterprise that can work without you”. And where most of the people we work with have experience of building 1 business, a great coach has built hundreds. A great coach is armed with a toolkit to address both the transactional (i.e.the business building strategies), and the transformational (the understanding of psychology to help coachees align their thoughts and behaviours with the results they want to achieve). And a great coach unpacks that toolkit in the right order for the client to help them become independent of the coach.
Challenge
A great coach will challenge (and support) their coachee to achieve the results they want. They’ll ask questions that no-one inside the business will ask. They’ll have your back, because being in business can be a lonely place. And they’ll have an encyclopaedic knowledge of business, from marketing to sales, from leadership and management to systems and finance, and be capable of quickly establishing the knowledge that the coachee needs to acquire to move them forward. They’ll have an in-depth understanding of human behaviour and communication and behavioural styles, to effectively shift the thinking of their coachee to take new action. And they’ll ask forward-moving questions in order that you can utilise that new knowledge with confidence to go and take different actions.
Change
Anyone who sits at a coaching table must be open to challenge. But to create a different result, they must also be prepared to change. And if they are, the consistency of focus, new action, accountability and objective evalution of those actions can create seismic shifts in any business’ results, sometimes in relatively short periods of time.
Courage
I admire any business owners that allow coaches into their lives and businesses. It’s a hugely courageous decision. Why? Because their current paradigm will come under scrutiny. When they crystallise their goals (which by definition are a different reality from their current position), they (though they may not have consciously realised it), choose to change. And to have someone, with best intention, question your way of doing things with the sole purpose of moving you towards a new reality, and indeed new comfort zone (eventually), takes a whole heap of courage.
If you sit down with a great coach, you’ll experience these things before you choose to engage with them. They’ll want to show you the possibilities, not sell you coaching, so that you can make the right decision in the most informed way. Because a great coach understands that a person who understands coaching before they choose to buy it makes a great client.
If you’re courageous enough to sit down with a coach and as a result you feel challenged, supported, gain new knowledge and see the benefit of change, then you’ve probably found a great coach.
Then it’s up to you. How important is change to you?
