Buyer Beware: Choose A Business Coach Carefully To Get The Results You Want

Written by admin on Saturday, August 1st, 2009

This article talks about how you should choose your business coach. Don’t always get the one your friend uses, or a business associate, especially if you have different things you need to develop, or different problems you have to solve. Read on for more on some of the things you need to take care of when you are looking for your next business coach

Consider this scenario. A colleague suggests you get a business coach. Via the Internet, you find one close-by. The woman says she’d love to help. She charges $300 a month for two 30-minute calls. It seems like a good deal, so you eagerly sign on the dotted line.

Next, you are sent to a website to learn your Enneagram type. This personality quiz doesn’t seem to connect with marketing your business. You call the coach. She says that you rank a “two” and that you’re trying to please everybody. She says that you should take better care of yourself. She says you need to take nature hikes, yoga lessons, and long bubble baths.

You have yet to get real business coaching. Sadly, this scenario plays out often, usually resulting from a lack of understanding on how to choose the best coach for your business.

In the past several years, coaching has become one of the most effective ways to cultivate the professional and personal skill-sets of teams and individuals. Coaching has proven results. Fast Company magazine reports that up to 40% of Fortune 500 companies hire coaches to improve their businesses. There’s a proven, significant return on investment. A 2001 study by the Manchester Review said that the output of executives involved in coaching programs averaged nearly 5.7 times higher than the initial investment.

But you must do your homework before choosing a coach. For coaching to work, it’s vital to have a basic understanding of a coaching relationship.

What is coaching?

Coaching is a conversation, a dialogue between a coach and a coachee. Through coaching, you will learn how to:

Communicate better;
Balance priorities;
Make effective presentations;
Better understand strengths;
Identify new competencies needed.

There are several types of coaching to choose from:

Life coaching – Focuses on inspiring life-transforming experiences. These include: creating personal joy and freedom, developing a better sense of self, building stronger romantic relationships, or learning to let go of old fears and doubts.

Business coaching – Focuses on issues of running a business. It ranges from individual and executive team coaching, to coaching owners of small- to medium-sized businesses. Coaches help executives, staffs, and businesses develop, promote, and grow.

Executive coaching – Builds highly collaborative, individualized relationships. The aim is to bring sustained behavioral change and transform the quality of the executive’s life.

Pick the best type of coaching for you. Then find the coach with the experience, education, and skills for supporting others that you’re looking for. But beware: There are some people without formal training or background who call themselves coaches.

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