Top performing athletes in all sports share one thing in common. They all have coaches. No matter how good an athlete is, a coach can make him better. What applies to athletes, also applies to businesspeople. Performance improves with coaching.
Personal performance matters most in professional athletics. Professional athletes often use multiple coaches. For team sports, there are the coaches from the team, which may include specialists. On their own, many top athletes hire their own personal coaches, conditioning coaches, mental coaches, and so on.
In the business world, coaching is more common than many suspect. Usually, it occurs in a boss/subordinate relationship. The more senior person guides the junior one. Sometimes it is informal. For example, younger employees may be mentored by older employees in their companies or outside of it. For the mentors, it is often a way to give back.
Senior level people, such as business owners, typically go outside for coaching, either from peers running other, non-competitive firms or professional coaches for businesspeople. Below are seven situations where business owners might seek a business coach.
1. To Identify Blind Spots
Unfortunately, we cannot see our own blind spots. That’s why their called blind spots. A coach, talking through issues with us can often spot them and make
2. To Gain Accountability
We all perform better when we are accountable to someone. The leaders of public companies are accountable to their Boards of Directors, who represent shareholders. Few small business owners have outside, independent Boards. Unless they belong to an accountability group like the Service Nation Alliance Advisory Boards, a business coach may be an excellent option for accountability.
For example, a coach might work with a business owner to set personal and business goals. The business owner then reports progress to the coach.
3. To Benefit from Another’s Experience
Business coaches are often brought in because they have experience that the business owner lacks. Mistakes are the tuition of experience. Why pay the tuition when a coach can help you avoid it and accomplish goals faster? They have been where you are going, done what you are doing, and have all the t-shirts and skins on the wall.
4. To Gain Perspective
Sometimes business owners are too close to a situation to correctly analyze the options. It’s hard to see the forest when surrounded by trees. For example, every business owner has unlimited opportunities, but not unlimited resources. The trick is prioritizing the opportunities based on the best return for the least effort. Contractors often get excited about the latest new thing and fall victim to bright shiny object syndrome. A business coach can offer an objective view and give perspective that an owner may lack
5. To Receive Honest Feedback from the Team
Many business owners have strong personalities and can intimidate subordinates. This makes it difficult to get honest feedback. An owner’s team will often open up
to an outsider who promises confidentiality. A coach can help the owner better understand the company’s interpersonal dynamics and identify issues that are restraining performance.
6. To Provide Distance for Touchy Subjects
Small businesses are often family businesses. Just because someone is related to you does not mean the person is a good fit for your business. It can be difficult to fire someone in the best of circumstances. It is far more difficult when the individual is related by blood or marriage. A business coach can provide a buffer and reduce the damage to personal relationships resulting from necessary business decisions. Moreover, the coach can reassure the owner about the wisdom of taking uncomfortable actions.
7. To Benefit from Special Expertise
Coaches are often brought on board for their expertise in a specific area. For example, a coach can help a business owner assemble and understand good financial statements so that the business can be run by the numbers, not by the guess. When it’s time to exit, coaches with expertise in mergers and acquisitions can help avoid mistakes while maximizing a business’ sale price.
Business owners use coaches for the same reason professional athletes use coaches. They use them to improve their performance.
Top into more than two dozen business coaches who have built and sold businesses with the Service Nation Alliance Premier program. Call Tom Peregrino at 877.262.3341 for more information.