Up to this point, you have probably been successful. And, like most successful people, you will continue to do the things that have made you successful. But, continuing to use the same methods and behaviors that brought you this far might be blocking your path to greatness.
Hiring a coach will help you evaluate your current situation, identify where you want to go and who you want to be, and then help you get there. A coach partners with you to reach your full potential, to achieve results while upholding your values and strengths.
Your coach will keep you on task while exploring the fine points of what needs to be done, primarily by asking questions. At times, your coach may challenge you, make requests or help brainstorm. Since coaching is a client-driven format, the solutions, and the success, are always your own.
Since obtaining help may not be the first thing on a successful person’s mind, here are four indicators that you should consider hiring a coach.
#1: A New Opportunity Requires a Different Approach.
You have just taken on a complicated project, or been assigned the difficult customer, or become the leader of a new team, or decided to go out on your own… the list of opportunities goes on and on. One thing is certain: you need to perform at a new level in order to continue to succeed. The person you have been is different from the person you need to become.
A coach will help you define who you are now and who you need to become to fit into your new role. She will help you identify new behaviors, attitudes and skills that will be required, and then help you achieve and attain them. With your coach, you will set a new course for results and then follow it.
#2: You Have Imaginary Conversations With Colleagues.
You lay awake at night rehearsing a conversation that will not happen tomorrow. Or, in the car on your way home from work you repeat an encounter the way it should have happened. The conversations you have with others in your head but not out loud are indicators that your relationships may need some work.
Being viewed as a leader relies on the relationships you have with your colleagues. After all, a leader does not exist without followers. As an objective observer, a coach will help you build strong relationships by helping you see the world from different points of view. She will build up your courage to have the conversations that need to happen, and reduce the amount of time spent thinking about what might have been.
#3: You Avoid Making A Decision.
You are stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Any path you choose will be a difficult one. Alternatively, you have so many opportunities available to you that you worry you won’t make the right decision. Either way, you are paralyzed and avoiding making a decision.
A coach will help you analyze the situation objectively and put things in perspective. She works through the doubts that keep you from moving forward without letting you become stuck in analysis paralysis. A coach will ensure you make tough decisions in a timely manner with confidence.
#4: You Don’t Keep Promises to Yourself.
You put things on your to-do list that you know you need to finish, but everything else seems to get in the way. Or, you told yourself a year ago that if you didn’t get promoted in six months you would leave – but you still work there. You may be good at keeping your deadlines and following through for others, but when you make yourself a promise to act, you fall short. You may even be aware that you procrastinate in this fashion but feel unable or unmotivated to change.
Accountability to yourself can be difficult because it is easy to believe your own excuses. The promise you make to a coach is a promise to yourself that your coach will help you keep. A coach will expose your excuses and help you move beyond obstacles, so you can take action in the direction you desire.
The benefits of becoming a coaching client are many. You will be thoughtful and deliberate in the choices you make on your path to success. You will improve relationships and make timely decisions with confidence. And, you will learn to keep the promises you make to yourself. Your coach is an objective partner who is always in your corner, looking out for your own best interests.