It should change how you spend your time!
The short answer is I don’t know. I can only tell you what it’s like to work with me. There are coaches that range from quasi-therapists to straight up consulting. My definitions are:
A therapist helps you deal with the emotional issues that might be getting in your way.
A consultant brings in expertise from the outside that you don’t possess.
A coach helps you translate the expertise you already have into actions that get results.
I wrote more about these differences in this post.
A personal trainer is an example of a combination consultant & coach. Without knowledge of kinesthetics & proper form, motivational coaching and heavy kettlebells could be a dangerous combination. But without the coaching it’s merely an anatomy lecture.
I’ve been called a business shrink and a business rabbi but what I really do is consulting about how to run a company better with coaching undertones for business owners who are frustrated and want to grow their company faster. I work best with people who are ready to move their company from depending on people to depending on process so it can scale faster and they aren’t tied to the day-to-day responsibilities. I help with suggestions and best practices (that’s the consulting part) and tailor it to your personality, your goals, and what drives you (that’s the coaching part).
I’ve noticed people hire me in one of two situations. Either their frustration has reached a point where they’re ready to make changes or they want to get ahead of the curve. An example of the former is an attorney whose entire staff had walked out (twice). As you can imagine, the root of the problem was his performance as a manager. So that’s what we worked on. An example of the latter was a 32 year old CEO of a company that had been purchased and he wanted to make sure he got his earn out. As the oldest person in his company of about 50 people, he didn’t know what he didn’t know.
Below are some random thoughts about working with a coach like me. Your mileage may vary based on the reason you’re working with a coach and the approach they take. There should be a good match between those two things.
The Coaching Curve
Often there are two phases to my work. The first is changing some of the things that have been causing problems. Only after things have stabilized is it possible to set the company on a path to growth. That’s not to say there isn’t progress from the start – it’s just a different kind of progress.
One client who was running a company with over $10M in revenue with a very small team was overwhelmed. He had a PA and was trying to recruit a new hire. Plus he was doing a lot of the selling and day to day account management with his customers. He had visions of disrupting his industry using technology and off-shore labor. But before he could work on that vision we had to deal with getting him out of the day to day work with customers so he had time to be more strategic.
What’s Your Coach’s Rubric?
When hiring a coach it’s good idea to understand how they measure progress. I liken this to a doctor giving you a blood test. She’s looking for specific markers that indicate problems, or health. Coaches have something like that too and it should be relevant to your situation. My rubric is a company that is giving the owners what they want, providing value to the customers, and doing so by producing outputs through systems not heroic individual effort.
Expect Accountability
Often we take the entrepreneurship route so we don’t have to have a boss. But it can lead to putting off the things we should do when they feel uncomfortable. That’s the wrong kind of laziness. That’s where being accountable to a coach can help. A coach holds you accountable to your better self. They will ask you to take actions you may know you should have been doing all along. Or try new things you’ve never considered. But they shouldn’t let you get away with being lazy.
How demanding your coach is can vary. There are times when “Just Do It” is what you need to hear. And other times (especially when working through something that’s emotionally sensitive) you need to be treated more gently. Don’t be afraid to ask for the level of accountability you need – and it can change from situation to situation. Just like you’d ask a massage therapist to be more or less forceful.
Beliefs Change Behavior and Vice Versa
Coaches have different approaches to this. I’m more in the action first camp. Like when you’re supposed to go to the gym but you don’t feel like it. Get up and put on your gym clothes anyway. Pretty soon you’ll feel glad you did. Or you can lay in bed waiting to get motivated. The choice is yours.
And Speaking of Choice
You should not do something just because your coach said to. Don’t abdicate responsibility for your actions to your coach (or anybody). Sure, there may be things you’d never have done without a coach suggesting it but only after you’ve decided it’s a good idea and you’re willing to take the responsibility should you act.
My Dentist has a Dentist
Not because she’d not capable but because she doesn’t have the right perspective to work on her own teeth. That’s where the coach as a sounding board becomes useful. You can bounce ideas off them and they’ll give you a perspective you didn’t have. They should be telling you how to think about something – but not what to think. It’s a powerful difference.
How long do you work with a coach?
It depends. I’ve had clients get what they need in a couple months. But most of my clients work with me for years. There’s no long term commitment and I’d recommend you not enter into any agreements you can’t get out of quickly and easily. My clients engage me for 3 months, and we continue that arrangement as long as both of us want to work together. (Things are different when I’m hired for facilitation or project work).
How to Find the Right Coach
Ask around. Follow some on social media. Check out the website of the International Coaching Federation (where I got my start). Call around and take the leap.
If you found this useful, here’s where you can find more like this.
My book Output Thinking where I talk about how thinking in outputs makes you a better business owner.
1-1 Coaching – I only work with a few clients at a time but anyone can sign up for a free session. A coach can help you develop and apply your abilities as a manager and/or a leader.
I tweet a lot @BetterCEO
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