Do you need some assistance getting the results you desire on a personal and professional basis? Could you benefit from an objective point of view when you're having difficulty seeing what's most important? Would you like some personalized attention? Are you energized when challenged to stretch beyond your comfort zone? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you could be a prime candidate for executive coaching.
What is Executive Coaching?
Executive coaching is a highly individualized one-on-one confidential process designed to help you achieve the results you desire. As a small business owner, you know the value of coaching. You engage in coaching every day in the workplace when you give input or constructive feedback to another. You've been a coach in your leisure time, and you've been coached from the cradle.
Why is Coaching Important?
Engaging in coaching can be an important process for the small business owner. Here are some reasons to consider. On a daily basis, it's likely that you have no peers to consult with or seek advice from. Your people expect that you have all the answers and need no help. You may have the same expectations. You may feel that you have many things to do and not enough time to address them. You may often engage in tunnel vision—being so focused on one aspect of the business that others are neglected. You may have unresolved personal and emotional issues, such as low self-confidence or a marriage in jeopardy, that interfere with clear decision-making.
Being involved in coaching gives you an opportunity to achieve specific results. It enables you to receive feedback on your plans and ideas. It allows you to express your self in a neutral environment and helps you hear how your plans sound when you say them aloud. Being involved in coaching is a sign of strength. It's a sign of dedication. It's a sign of forward thinking.
How Would I Benefit?
Benefits are always in the eye of the beholder. The frequently cited benefits of coaching include achieving desired results more quickly, addressing areas needing development, capitalizing on strengths and skill-sets, and building self-confidence. You also receive benefit because your individual needs and desires create the agenda and the methods and techniques used during the process are specific to you. The coach offers you an objective perspective and different point of view. And, perhaps the most important benefit, the coaching process obligates you to be fully involved and responsible for the outcomes.
How Do I Select a Coach?
Coaching is becoming a popular profession. It's estimated that there are more than 10,000 professional coaches worldwide. Selecting the right coach for you is critical to the success of the process. To locate a coach, ask your business peers and friends for referrals. You can also contact the International Coaching Federation (ICF) at www.coachfederation.org or at 888-236-9262 to access their free referral service.
Once you've identified potential coaches, use the following guidelines to make your selection:
Feel comfortable and connected. Did you feel positively about the coach in your first contact? Was he or she listening to what you wanted to accomplish? Did he or she ask questions? Did you feel you connected? Do you feel you can trust this person? Are you willing to share your desires, dreams, thoughts, and feelings with this person?
Ask about the process and techniques that are used. Is the process standard for all clients? Is the process customized to your way of learning and responding to issues? What specific techniques might be used? (These will vary from coach to coach. Go with the one that seems to resonate with you.) How long does the process take? How much time is needed? (The responses will vary depending on the specificity of your desired results and how much effort, time, and resources you're willing to commit to the project.)
Ask about their credentials. What training have they had in the coaching process? (Coach University is one of the organizations that offers training.) What's their educational background? How many people have they coached? How many years have they been coaching? What types of people have they coached? What certifications do they hold? (The ICF is in the process of credentialing coaches so you may not find any 'certified' coaches yet.) In other words, what gives them the right to call themselves a coach? What gives them the right to work with you?
Assure confidentiality. Verify that the coach will keep your relationship as well as whatever you discuss confidential unless you give explicit permission for the nature of your relationship to be revealed.
Ask for at least five references. Call each reference. Ask them how the process worked out for them. Ask how the coach helped them accomplish their results. Ask any question that will help you understand how this coach works. Refrain from asking personal questions of the reference. Be sure to thank each reference for their time and information.
Ask about the logistics. Is the coach available to work with you? When will the sessions be scheduled? Where will the sessions take place? Will the coaching take place in person or by telephone? How much flexibility does the coach have? What's the cancellation policy? Is the time and place convenient for you? Is short telephone or electronic mail contact available?
Consider your investment. What's the cost in time and money? Are there special discount packages available? Is a retainer relationship available? What are the payment arrangements? Are you willing to make the investment? Are you willing to make the commitment?
Coaching can be an important tool in your personal and professional development. By engaging in coaching, you're in a better position to make the best decisions for your company and for your self.
A Practical Guide for Taking Gentle Control of Life
Living InSync is a way of life, a way of living, a lifelong process that
exemplifies the mind-body-spirit interconnectedness in life. The essence of
being InSync is found in the five dimensions of life--physical, emotional,
mental, social and spiritual.Living InSync® means assessing and optimizing
your personal power, understanding yourself and others, envisioning what
you want from life, making conscious choices and pursuing goals to be the
person you want to be. By assessing your personal power, you become
creative, decisive and productive and can take gentle control of your life.
Living InSync® offers a personalized, proactive, step-by-step approach to
help you assess where you are in life, who you want to be, and where you
want to go. Maintaining a balance between and within the dimensions offers
you a perpetual challenge because the evolving nature of your being is
dynamic and ever-changing. By responding to life's challenges in new ways
and by recognizing that perfection is a static, nonexistent state, you'll
experience insights about yourself and the unlimited opportunities for
success and peace. You'll find that when you live InSync with yourself,
you're more InSync with others and the Spirit.
Dr. Susan Pilgrim, author of Living InSync® -- Creating Your Life with
Balance and Purpose (Health Communications Inc.) and Moving InSync® with the Spirit (in
press), and president of Life Investments, is an Atlanta-based international speaker, business
consultant, and coach. She specializes in engaging the spirit of individuals, teams, and
organizations. Her work represents a unique blend of experience and education in the areas of business management, education, and psychology.
She customizes programs to meet the needs of
the client and designs them to increase personal, professional, and organizational productivity.
Susan's committed to positively influencing the lives of those in her audiences. She encourages all
who experience her work to invest in themselves so they can get what they want in life. She earned
her B.S. at Presbyterian College, her M.Ed. at the University of South Carolina, and her Ph.D. at
Georgia State University. Her memberships include the National Speakers Association, American
Society for Training and Development, and the Georgia Society of Association Executives. Her
columns appear in a number of business, health,
and personal development publications.
Susan Pilgrim, PhD
877.467.9627
209.825.9459/fax
spilgrim@transbay.net
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