Have you ever wanted to hire a business coach? But, your main concern was you had no idea what a business coach did or how they could help you? This isn't too uncommon. A lot of people understand the benefit of a coach, but since a coach works on your mental state and perhaps in helping you grow your business offline -- it might be hard to truly see and understand the benefits of your coaching sessions. So, how do you put a number to your coaching sessions? Or how do you choose a business or executive coach for a positive coaching return on investment (ROI) -- well, read on to find out!
How To Choose A Business/Executive Coach For a Positive Coaching ROI
Businesses are giving extra attention to Executive Coaching with the increased globalization and economic pressure. It’s a preferred tool for CEOs, CFOs, and executives looking to improve their leadership standing in a company.
Finding the business/executive coach with the right skills can be a daunting task. In this article, we discuss ways on how this can be made easier.
Coach’s Approach to Coaching Makes a Difference.
The most effective executive coaches are those who pay attention to the coaching interaction by:
- Creating in-depth understanding and consideration for client’s positive results
- Stimulating clients mind beyond the usual perception
- Helping the client to implement newly learned behaviors
- Standing alongside the client rather than telling them what to do
It may seem obvious, but successful coaches care about their client’s achievements.
Also, they should use many types of information gained from different channels to provide feedback to the client. It’s the coach’s job to understand the complexities of the environment and the challenges existing for the client.
Effective coaches do not fear pushing the boundaries of the client to stretch their performance. Great coaches find different ways to challenge an executive in unconventional ways.
The feedback provided by the client should be direct, business-specific, and professional. Good business coaches know when to push the client and when to provide support.
Coaches make themselves available to clients at the right time. It is to help them get ready for specific situations like before an important meeting, for a specific business alliance, or team-related tasks. Business Coaches support clients with real-life situations to help them identify and apply the behaviors needed for success.
Things to Consider Before Choosing Business Coaches:
Coaches should:
- Be an effective communicator
- Ask the right questions to the client to stimulate their mind
- Understand the business environment enough to understand the challenges and opportunities.
Effective coaches are seeking data from different sources and apply it in a way that sets the client for success. A great coach wants to deeply understand the business context and strategy, leadership style preferences and motivations, emotional intelligence, problem-solving ability, and the perspectives of people surrounding their client. Coaches gain information to determine what factors play an important role in clients reaching their results.
The remaining process is the application. Some coaches make the mistake of using the same approach to all when creating plans. It is more useful and creates a lasting change if the development plans are unique to the person and tailored specifically to suit their challenges and environment.
The development plans are specific actionable goals not more than 3-5 unique to the person that will directly benefit the client or the organization. These goals then can be reached with small behavioral changes over time.
Positive Return on Coaching Investment:
Just make sure to gauge the coach’s experience and approach before entering a coaching agreement. The best coach is who can guide you with the best communication and strategy, who is willing to stretch your performance and stimulate your mind for various alternatives never considered before. Coaches should use a combination of behavioral changes and mental mindset shifts to create higher performance and reduce derailing behaviors.
Successful executive coaches keep in mind the success of the company as well as the executive. An effective coaching process includes regular check-ins to make sure the executive is moving in a direction fruitful for his individual self and the company.
The return on the coaching investment can be measured both by the executive’s change and the organization’s change over a period of 6-12 months. Useful questions to ask during these times are “is the executive moving in a direction positive to the company?” and “Has the company benefited from executives change?” Choosing the right executive coach with the right approach will yield a positive return on coaching investment.
If you are looking to become an executive coach or a business coach, check out our latest schedule to see when's the next intake. Or send us an email at info@flowcoachinginstitute.com. We can't wait to see you!