As the landscape of doing business across industries grows more complex, more leaders are turning to executive coaching as a way to develop and refine the skills they need to thrive in today’s globalized and digital world. A survey out of the United Kingdom shows that the use of coaches by small businesses quintupled between 2018 and 2019, from 4% to 20%, while an international study showed that nearly 4 out of 5 (79%) medium and large businesses used coaching in some capacity.
Integrating coaching into your business can be a cost-effective way to improve the productivity, customer service, and profitability across your organization. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best choice for every business or leader, however. Let’s take a closer look at what business coaching can do for a company and how to decide whether it would be a beneficial addition to your business.
What does a business coach do?
In short, a business coach helps teams and individuals to improve their workplace performance, further their professional growth, and achieve their goals. They provide advice and strategies that are tailored to your specific career or business to help you navigate whatever challenges you’re facing and unlock your full potential.
Some of the specific areas where a business coach often provides guidance include:
- Goal setting and strategic planning – Coaches help their clients set both short-term and long-term goals, as well as to develop actionable plans to achieve these objectives.
- Skill development – Coaches can help individuals identify their weak areas and skills that they’re lacking, along with providing guidance on whot improve in areas like communication, leadership, decision-making, or time management.
- Accountability – Setting goals is only valuable if you’re held accountable for achieving them. Coaches can provide that accountability, working with clients to track milestones and review their progress.
- Overcoming obstacles and solving problems – When professionals or businesses are facing financial challenges, market shifts, team issues, or other complex challenges, coaches can help them work through the problem and identify the best solution.
- Personal development – In a similar vein to skill development, coaches can help individuals become better, more effective professionals in a broader sense, helping them build qualities like resilience, confidence, or a growth mindset that will support further growth and development.
Benefits of a business coach
Understanding what a business coach does probably gives you a basic idea of how working with one can benefit your career or organization. Here are some of the more specific advantages that these valuable professionals can provide.
Clarified vision.
Many people have vague goals for their future as a business leader or entrepreneur—things like “grow my company” or “become an executive.” That kind of objective can serve as a guidepost, but it’s not specific enough to turn easily into an actionable strategy. Business coaches help individuals bring more specificity to their professional goals, as well as working with them to break those large objectives down into smaller, more manageable steps so that they can start moving forward.
Fresh perspectives.
Everyone has blind spots in their perception. These can be difficult to spot from within that viewpoint, which can leave you struggling without knowing why. The input of a coach can identify and address these gaps in your perception, while providing both constructive feedback and an outside viewpoint that can help you see problems and challenges from another angle. This, in turn, can lead to more innovative, out-of-the-box solutions.
More effective decision-making.
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s more important than ever for business decisions to be strategic and based on objective data. Coaches can provide their clients with frameworks to evaluate the risks and opportunities that can result from any given decision, helping them to choose the absolute best strategy to support their ultimate goals.
Focus and prioritization.
One of the challenges with running or leading a business is that there are often multiple projects, concerns, or opportunities demanding your attention at any given time. The informed, outside perspective of a business coach can help provide a strategy for prioritizing initiatives and deciding which to focus on first to keep you moving forward, preventing you from getting distracted or sidetracked by less critical tasks.
Better leadership.
Soft skills can be very challenging to learn and teach, more so than the technical aspects of a role. This can be especially true for leaders, particularly those at the top of their organizational hierarchies, who may lack sources of guidance and feedback within their organization that can help them to spot weaknesses and make meaningful improvements. Coaches offer this kind of input and can provide strategies or advice on how to develop in areas like delegation, conflict resolution, motivation, and similar must-have skills for today’s business leaders.
Improved work-life balance.
There is often a lot on an entrepreneur or business leader’s plate, and it can quickly become overwhelming if you don’t have a strategy to prioritize tasks and allocate your time effectively. This is likely why 82% of executives struggle with feelings of burnout, according to a survey by Harvard Business Review. A coach can offer guidance on ways to sustainably manage your energy, focus, and time, helping you to set boundaries that safeguard your personal time while allowing you to thrive professionally.
Signs you need a business coach
For some people, reading through what a business coach does, and the benefits they often bring to organizations, may be enough to decide that you need to add a coach to your team. For those who still aren’t sure whether hiring a coach is a smart move for their business or professional development, there are some other signs you can look out for, such as:
- You feel stuck or unsure about the next steps for your business or career. A lack of direction can be paralyzing for a business leader. If you’re having difficulty picturing the future and struggling to set meaningful goals to move forward, a coach can provide the guidance you need.
- You’re falling short of your goals despite your best efforts. It’s frustrating to miss deadlines or find your progress is slower than you expected. When you’re struggling to achieve goals on your own, working with a coach can help you to uncover the problem.
- You feel overwhelmed by stress and responsibilities. If you’re constantly running just to keep up with a multitude of responsibilities, that doesn’t leave you time to relax and recharge—much less to develop strategic plans for your future. A coach can help you develop strategies to prioritize tasks and use your time more efficiently.
- You struggle to make confident decisions. Uncertainty and fear of failure can be paralyzing, preventing you from taking the right actions to support continued growth. A coach can help you work through that uncertainty and stop second-guessing your decision making.
- You’ve reached a growth plateau and don’t know how to reach the next level. The strategies that work to get to one level of business aren’t always the same ones that will move you beyond it. When you’ve reached a standstill and don’t know how to make meaningful progress, a coach can get you back to making forward progress.
Steps to choose the right coach for your needs
One of the advantages of a business coach is their ability to provide targeted, personalized advice. Of course, the flip side of this is that their advice won’t necessarily be applicable to everyone. So how do you choose a coach who has the right expertise for you? Here are some steps you can follow to choose, not just any business coach, but one with whom you’ll have a productive and beneficial relationship.
1. Identify your needs and goals.
I know what you’re thinking: isn’t a coach supposed to be the one who helps me set goals? While that is true, you can do some of this legwork in advance to help you find the right coach. Primarily, you want to think about what you want to achieve with a coach’s help. Be specific about the areas where you need guidance, whether that’s personal development as a professional or objectives related to the business like scaling or revenue growth. Different coaches have different specialties and areas of focus, so clarifying your goals can help you to partner with one who excels in that area.
2. Research coaches that work in your industry.
There are a few different ways you can go about this. One of the best places to start is with your network. As your colleagues or other professionals in your niche if they work with a coach and, if so, whether they’d recommend them. You can also check on platforms like LinkedIn, or in directories like Noomii, the International Coaching Federation, or the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches.
Start by gathering a short list of potential coaches from those sources. You can then refine it by reading testimonials or reviews on their website, assessing their certifications and experience, or checking out content they’ve posted online to assess if they’d be a good match for your personality, industry, and the specific challenges you’re facing. You want to see a track record of success demonstrated through case studies, past client testimonials, or measurable results they’ve posted on their website. If they lack credentials, or have no established history of client success, this can be a red flag, especially if they over-promise when it comes to the expected results.
3. Schedule a consultation.
An introductory call is an opportunity to talk to the coach directly and assess their personality and communication style. It’s important to remember that, just because someone is an effective coach, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be the best coach for you. You want to feel comfortable conversing with your coach and being vulnerable with them, so it’s imperative to find someone you’re compatible with to get the most out of the relationship.
In this initial conversation, discuss your long-term goals for coaching and why you feel you need the services of a business coach. Along with their answers to your questions, pay attention to how they answer, gauging their listening skills and communication style. Some great questions to ask include:
- What is your coaching process? Do you follow a specific framework or methodology?
- What experience do you have working with professionals in my industry?
- Do you have any certifications or formal training in coaching?
- How have you helped clients facing similar challenges?
- How do you measure success in your coaching relationships?
- How do you ensure your clients stay on track with their goals?
- How do you think coaching can help me achieve my specific goals?
There are also some red flags you can look out for during this initial consultation. For instance, if their answers are vague or evasive, especially as it concerns their results or methodology, that’s a sign you should seek a different coach. Similarly, if their approach is “one-size-fits-all” and lacks customization to your specific needs, that is likely a sign they’re not a good fit.
4. Discuss logistics, costs, and terms.
The cost of business coaching can vary widely depending on the format, number of sessions, and level of guidance or insight they provide. Make sure you understand their cost structure before you enter into a relationship. You should also clarify terms, like what their policies are for cancellation or how you would arrange support between your scheduled meetings. Finally, confirm the format of the coaching (in-person, virtual, or hybrid) as well as the length and frequency of their coaching sessions to make sure they fit in your schedule.
5. Start with a trial period or sample coaching session.
This is particularly important if the coach signs long-term agreements or contracts with their clients. Before you enter into this arrangement, you should make sure that you and the coach are truly compatible. A trial session is the best way to make this determination and assess whether their coaching style aligns to your needs.
During this trial session, be open to both giving and receiving feedback that can ensure your mutual alignment. Trust your intuition during this process. If you have an instant rapport and feel positive about their ability to help you achieve your goals, that’s a sign you can have a productive relationship. If you find the first session awkward, consider scheduling trial sessions with a few other coaches to assess whether they’ll be a better fit for your needs.
