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Since publishing the post 5 Reasons to engage a Business Coach last week, several readers have now asked me what to look for in a business coach to get the best results. So here we go.

First things first – understand what you are trying to achieve

Business coaches can help business owners with all aspects of running a business.  This can range from support in specific areas; i.e. improving online sales, to broader items like creating long term strategic plan.  Understand your needs and find a business coach who is qualified to help in those areas.

Independent thinking

So often a business owner’s coach is a family member or close friend, limiting the ability to provide honest independent feedback and assessment.

Having an independent view will enable a fair and reasonable outlook and most importantly, the coach will be able tell the truth, even when it may be something the owner doesn’t want to hear.

Third party perspective

A business owner is often a specialist who has become a manager as the business has grown. As such, their knowledge of the broader aspects of running a business may be limited. This is where a business coach can help.

A good business coach brings a wealth of commercial experience to call upon and apply to your business issues, providing fresh perspective and insights to support the business owner in overcoming challenges.

Compatibility

The basis for a successful coaching relationship is openness and clarity of purpose. Both client and coach must be accountable for their actions to move forward.

By doing this openly and with care, the coach can provide feedback to help the client grow and achieve what it is they have set out to.  It is crucial the coach is someone the client trusts and has confidence in. If your business coach has the perfect skills and expertise to support you but is someone you cannot be open with, keep looking.

Where to find a business coach

Once you have defined your needs and understand what you want to achieve by engaging a business coach, there are numerous solutions available for business coaching services, ranging from inexpensive phone based apps to personalised one-on-one coaching from professional business coaches.

Look for a business coach with a demonstrated record of successful coaching, supported with testimonials. This may be through a coaching specific organisation such as NZ Mentors or through qualified professionals such as your accountant.  Reach out through business networks for recommendations.

As with any business decision, a benefit cost analysis should be undertaken. Factor in not just the costs of coaching but also the time required by the business owner to attend coaching including pre-work and follow up actions.

Coaching is about enabling the client to achieve things, it is not about the coach completing actions for the client. If the client cannot meet the time requirements then the coaching may not bring the returns hoped for.

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Good luck, I hope you find a business coach that will enable you to continue to move forward and achieve.

At GECA our most successful clients use our business coaching services – call us now on 0800 758 766 for a free consultation. Alternatively, you can find out more here.

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I’m sure not many viewers were aware as they watched the opening ceremony for the Rio Olympic Games on Saturday that there are more coaches than athletes attending the games. Which makes perfect sense when you think about the ‘golden’ stakes and the often minuscule differences between first and second.

Elite athletes know they can’t do it on their own and rely on their coaches to help them achieve their goals. And as with sport, coaches have a critical part to play in helping business owners be successful.

Many businesses are started by a founder who is a subject matter expert in a particular job. However, as the business grows, the requirements placed on the owner as the business leader to achieve success require skills and experience beyond their capabilities. Which is where a business coach steps in.

A business coach helps you move from where you are now, to where you want to be. They do this by understanding and focusing on your goals, with 100% of their attention dedicated to you – you can’t say that about anyone else in your business.

So if you have wondered if a business coach can help you, here are five reasons to help you decide:

1. Accountability

Possibly the most important aspect of coaching is accountability, that is agreeing actions and time-frames and holding the person accountable to achieving them. Breaking promises made to ourselves is easy, breaking promises made to someone else is much harder.

And as an aside, couples who run a business invariably say they hold each accountable for achieving actions – unsurprisingly it tends to be completely ineffective as an accountability mechanism.

2. Support

It’s lonely at the top, especially for business owners. Maintaining positivity even when times are tough is key requirement for a business leader and being unable to share the burden can restrict the business owners ability to effectively deal with these challenges, not to mention increase stress levels.

When a business coach steps in, they are able to talk through issues that cannot be shared with the wider team, provide support and mentoring to help the business owner overcome challenges, sometimes even just being a shoulder to cry on.

The best part is the coach makes no judgement, so a business owner can be completely open and honest in their interactions with their coach and know that what they have shared remains totally confidential.

3. Fresh thinking

A business coach will align an in-depth understanding of your business with their own range of experience to provide fresh perspective on solving issues. They can counter the inward focus that can occur when business owners are ‘hands on’ in the business and they can challenge the status quo.

A good business coach will ask questions to reveal the underlying values that drive the business owner’s thinking and use this understanding to help guide the client towards their goals.

4. Education

Like any experience in life, coaching provides learning experiences for both coach and client.  A business coach acts a role model for the client to develop their own coaching techniques that they can use with their team to improve performance.

The business coach will also bring technical expertise to complement the client’ skills and experience, providing additional development and education for the client.

5. Networks

A good business coach will be part of a wider network that can ‘tapped’ by the business owner use to leverage marketing and other opportunities.

These can include more formal networks such as mentoring and support groups that may be available through the coaching programs to providing personal introductions to external decision makers to expand and positively influence opportunities to grow the business.

So if you think you have an elite business that deserves a gold medal, then maybe it is time you considered getting yourself a business coach to achieve the success you know you deserve.

At GECA our most successful clients use our business coaching services – call us now on 0800 758 766 for a free consultation. Alternatively, you can find out more here.

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