There are many reasons for you to work with an external executive coach and we can see from some of the most successful entrepreneurs that coaching can really accelerate your progression and development.
Friends and family may not be able to give you the type of advice that you need and discussing your future with people in your organisation may also not be straight forward.
Do you really want to talk with colleagues about how you intend to work your way up the ladder, or discuss with your direct reports that you want to improve your leadership skills?
This is where an executive coach can help. An effective one will speak your language and have real-world experience that can help coach you to help get you where you want to be.
Goals that an executive coach can assist with include:
Designing a career path: This may be within your existing industry or a total career transition. How do you get there from here? What do you need to do and by when? Talking with an executive coach can help you really think about what you want from your future career and how it fits in with:
other people in your life the lifestyle you want to lead, your values your beliefImproved Focus: You may have 20 different things you want to get done. An executive coach can help you prioritise and decide whether these goals are reasonable, and which ones are the most important to you to achieve. That can better help you achieve those goals.
Becoming a better leader: You may have an impressive job title, but how good a leader do you think you are? An executive coach can help you become the type of leader that you want to be – remaining genuine to yourself whilst being respected by your managers and your staff.
If you are ready to hire a coach then you are investing time and money into something that is potentially life changing for you. It is therefore so important to choose the right coach for you. I would recommend these 3 steps to make your search successful and your coaching experience fruitful :
Summarising - What are your objectives for engaging with coaching? Clarifying your goals will enable you to find the coach best suited to helping you achieve them. Search - You wouldn’t employ the first candidate that came along without looking at who else was available so don’t do this when choosing a coach. I recommend having a call or meeting with at least three coaches before deciding. Ask about their qualifications, experience, and skills. Be sure to request references.Selection - Choose the coach that best fits your goals and with whom you believe you can build a rapport. Then go for it!