Business Coaching is the relationship and process that takes a business from where it is now to where it can go. Whether it is a start-up, a small business, or a mid-sized company that has been going through some challenges, a business coach will train and support the business owner and its managers in growing their business by helping them:
Why working with a Business Coach is important?
Did you know that only two of five entrepreneurs become successful? What is the secret ingredient behind their success? Why do only a minority make it but many others don’t? Their secret ingredient is working with a good business coach and mentor. Those that don't succeed don't build a strong support system around themselves and their business. A strong support system involves surrounding yourself with people that are willing to partner with you in your journey to success.
The role of a Business Coach is to become a success partner for your clients. Today a success partner does not only work with business goals but they also help the entrepreneur or business owner learn and unlearn habits that will bring them closer to accomplishing their dreams. This allows the owner to move towards adopting functional habits that bring success and leave behind dysfunctional ones that prevent them from achieving what is truly important to them.
Professional Coaching is First and Foremost a Development Model!
The most fundamental outcome of the coaching process is the client's establishment of short-term and long-term vision and goals. In order for the person to accomplish this vision, the coach aids the person in setting efficient and meaningful goals. Another important outcome of the coaching process is the person's increased commitment to the setting and attainment of their goals. With the help of the coach, the person can better focus on accomplishing their vision and achieving the goals they have set out for themselves.
The basic elements of the FLOW Coaching process:
Coaching is a unique opportunity to focus and progress on your personal, professional or organizational goals through the exploration of ideas and authentic dialogue with a confidential and objective though provoking partner.The goal is generating results that can be monitored and measured.
With the support and encouragement of the coach, the individual finds answers within themselves. Coaching is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.
The Benefits of Coaching
Source: ICF Website (2012)
Professional coaching has many associated benefits. Individuals that experience the coaching relationship may gain fresh perspectives on personal challenges and opportunities, their reasoning skills in the decision-making process may become enhanced, they may achieve greater interpersonal effectiveness, and an increased self-confidence while fulfilling responsibilities. Consistent to the degree of decisiveness and commitment to the will of increasing personal efficiency, they attain appreciable results in regards to increased productivity, satisfaction with life, and the attainment of personal goals.
According to the 2009 IFC Global Coaching Study, companies that made use of professional coaching services for business purposes increased their average initial investments, ROI (Return of Investment), seven-fold. Those who received personal coaching stated that this return was 3.44 fold.
ICF Definition of Coaching
The ICF defines coaching as the thought-provoking, creative partnership process that inspires clients to maximize their personal and professional potential.
FLOW Coaching Supports Individuals In These Areas:
Online certified coach training programs can provide a very similar experience to traditional in-person classroom training, in a more flexible style and at a much more affordable cost.
The majority of entrepreneurs start their business because they enjoy being independent. Reporting to someone equates to pressure for most entrepreneurs. They like to think and act according to their book, not by the book. Therefore, they start their own business with the motivation of being free. However, the road to freedom can be a full of rocks and boulders, especially considering the challenges that come in the first three to five years. The business then gains some momentum and eventually stability arrives. Satisfaction and fulfillment are immense once stability is in place. This milestone can’t be compared to any other job satisfaction. Imagine creating a business that turned the rocks into a gem, giving you the freedom and purpose you have always longed for.
As most entrepreneurs are fond of their freedom, a lot of times they forget to ask for some help. They believe that they are capable of taking care of everything and guess what? They are not! We are not! As human beings, we are designed to be collaborative with others, not solo players...and frankly, the road to freedom doesn’t have to be so bumpy. If you ask for help, especially from a Certified Business Coach whose profession it is to support you and your business, soon you will discover that your ride will become a smoother one. Plus, you will find out that as you get more support, you and your business will get faster and more positive results.
So, here are the five signs that tell you if you can benefit from working with a Certified Business Coach. If you have one or more of these indicators then it is time for you to start thinking about finding a good business coach that is relatable to you and your business.
All of these signs, and more, give you reasons to start thinking about hiring a business coach, or even pursuing the path of business coaching certification for yourself. At FLOW Coaching Institute’s Online Business Coaching Certification program we not only teach about Professional coaching skills, but we also support you to work on your business by improving your results and accelerating your business momentum. Completing our online Business Coaching Certification program not only means that you will become a Certified Business Coach yourself, but you will learn business development and strategic planning tools that you can directly apply to your own business with the help of your mentors.
The story of FLOW Coaching Institute goes hand in hand with my own story as I am the creative person behind the idea of FLOW. When I set out to build this company, I could not even imagine what would evolve from my dreams.
My name is Talyaa Vardar and I am one of the founders of the FLOW Coaching Institute, which started in Vancouver in 2009. I am also an executive coach working with C suite managers and business owners of multibillion-dollar multinational companies. I am very grateful for where I am today with our business and also with my life in general.
However, where I am today has not happened overnight or even in a short time frame – it has been a lengthy process. One thing evolved into another, and with the determination of who I am, the clarity of what I wanted to do, and the resiliency of where I wanted to be is why I am where I am today, and as a result, so is FLOW.
My story goes back to 1993, the year when I graduated from university with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration. I loved my university years, especially the elective courses where I had the freedom to choose what I wanted to learn. When graduation arrived, I did not have the financial resources to pursue further education, so I had to find a job to survive as my father had done his best to support me during my studies. It was now time for me to take control of my life – was I ready? My first job was in a large public bank as a management trainee, and I struggled with being in a routine and doing the same things day in and day out. I felt like I wasn’t the best version of me in this position, so I decided to move into marketing, where I thrived. Year after year I got promoted as creativity and strategy were my top two strengths. I managed large teams, big budgets, and international firms. I enjoyed being in these leadership roles as I have always loved people.
During my corporate years I noticed that most people were trying to fit themselves into something that they were not. As a result, I witnessed so much insecurity, fear, conflict, and avoidance. Back then I didn’t know much about human psychology, but one did not need to be an expert to see that today’s work life is not designed around engaging people at their best. I decided to do something about it and I started to study Jungian psychology and then followed it with developmental psychology. This became my passion so I made the decision to become a Psychotherapist at the age of 32. I started my Master’s degree and before I graduated, I became a mother to my daughter! One thing followed another, and I received a job offer from an institute in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and as a family we made a significant move. There I worked as a therapist and my profile included children from separated families, the First Nations community, and women with cancer who were transitioning to recovery. During this time, I also gained clarity regarding who I wanted to work with and what I wanted to do.
I wanted to help people dare to be the person that they were meant to be.
I wanted to encourage people to pursue a career path that built on their strengths and not their fear of survival.
I wanted to work with corporate managers to build an authentic leadership style of balancing productivity with a strength-based leadership approach.
I wanted to help people design their own flow at work and life, and remember the sense of being whole again. Most people sacrifice their true self with a split personality of being one person at work and another in their personal life.
I wanted to work with young people and inspire them to build an authentic social identity centered around their core values and strengths by going beyond peer pressure and social anxiety.
As a therapist I was concerned that my title would be intimidating. What I wanted most was to help people, but as a therapist I felt my goals had a limit. With such clarity of direction in my mind, I became a certified coach and have never stopped coaching.
What I love about coaching people is that you witness their progress during your time together, starting after just the first session. In the beginning it almost felt like magic as I could not believe the shifts that could happen in someone in such a short timeframe. It took me 32 years to find my life purpose and if I had known about coaching, it could have been a much easier and shorter journey. As I grew as a coach, I regained the sense of flow in my own life. I started to feel like I was the same person in my job, with my friends, at home, and with my clients. I didn’t feel the need to divide myself into “the worker”, “the parent”, “the friend”, “the wife” – I was myself wherever I was, in whatever I was doing. Instead of my roles being split, they were connected and I was whole.
My love for coaching evolved into a program called “The Art of Empowerment” which I facilitated at the University of British Columbia in Canada. We then designed a coaching program for corporate managers (“The Coaching Leader”) and started to teach it internationally. In 2009 we felt ready to incorporate FLOW together with my partners in Vancouver. Since then, FLOW has trained thousands of people as certified Professional coaches and leaders as coaches and mentors. We started as four people, and now FLOW is one of the leading schools in coaching, mentoring, and leadership development. We have hundreds of corporate clients and thousands of student coaches across the world! Our motto is “focus on one person at a time”...we have been focusing on one person, one manager, one business owner, one parent, one student, one child, in order to contribute to the positive change that we want to see in the world.
I wanted to tell you my story in the hopes that it would inspire those of you who are thinking of a career transition into something that feels more meaningful than your current job, but perhaps you do not have the resources and courage to do it. I know that the future looks uncertain to you and you are afraid to take the first step, but I promise you that if you plan your transition as small steps and do one thing every day or every week, it won’t scare you as much as it does right now. Most of the time the idea of change feels more difficult and scarier than it actually is. Start small, don’t procrastinate, focus on doing one thing at a time, create slow momentum...and then suddenly the day will come and you feel ready to take the big step.
If I did it, so can you! What gives you a sense of flow? Where do you feel engaged? Where do you feel whole? What does FLOW look like to you?
Imagine Ella – a 34-year-old banker with a small child. She is supposed to provide for her family and the sustenance of the household by working and contributing to the mortgage and bill payments. She drags her feet every morning when she goes to work. Her long hours mean that she is impatient and anxious at home. She hates to admit it, but she is jealous of the babysitter who seems to have more patience and spends more time with her daughter than she can. She is unhappy with her position at work and finds the people around her toxic.
Ella has big dreams for her future, however she doesn’t know how to get there. She does know she would love to make a living by finding her passion, but her inner voice tells her that it is too late and not possible. Fear and comfort have definitely gotten in the way. She tells herself that people don’t really like their jobs anyways, and her parents have advised her not to embark on a new adventure at her age. She often feels lonely and unsupported. Her body has begun to hurt – her belly, her neck, her head. She doesn’t know what to do but she does know she doesn’t want to get old and continue living this way. She has zero clue where to start making a change.
If you can resonate with Ella then I am telling you that you are not alone. Your career does not have to be your destiny. My wish is that you start taking the right steps after you read this article in order to understand that you deserve to be in a career you love. Yes, you have one and only one life, and change can happen even with a tiny seed of hope within you. However, making a change is a process and there are certain things you need in place like patience, persistence, excitement, love, compassion, and courage. Along with these characteristics, you need to plan with a rationalist approach, embark in some personal development, hire a professional coach, ask creative and strong questions, and consistently search for answers.
This second career will take some discernment in order to achieve what you are looking for. However there will be a sense of fulfillment as you explore this new path, and the satisfaction and pleasure that will come into your life because you decided to make a change will be worth every drop of sweat along the journey.
7 Step Career Coaching Guide
I prepared a 7-step career coaching guide to take with you on this road. Of course, each of these steps can be expanded upon, but listed here they are a practical way to help you get started and broaden your mind.
This guide is a great way to begin your journey to a new career destiny – the one that you deserve.
Years ago, while trying to distinguish one day from the next, I intuitively knew that my path was no longer in the corporate world. As a child I had a creative character, and my curiosity towards understanding human and social incidents had increased. While I was looking for a way out of my career I had a dream about how I was to select a new name for myself. The new name I chose for myself was Symbol and, in the same dream dream, I told myself “Let my new name be Chemist instead of Symbol. I want to transform myself just as a Chemist transforms materials.” This dream is what we call is a guiding dream. Then, I didn’t have much knowledge about the psychology of dreams, but my intuition told me that this dream was a message from my subconscious.
On top of this dream, the fact that I studied Art Therapy later on and worked with thousands of patients increased my interest in symbols. What kind of place is the human mind? What is the thing we call our subconscious? Why was its language discursive? Was the subconscious the door that opens up to your soul?
Life takes us places from time to time, and sometimes our mind wanders no matter how strong we are. “Why am I here?” is a common question that we ask ourselves. The answer to this question doesn’t come from our mind especially during the tough times. We need to deepen the question and ask our subconscious what we are doing and what we are supposed to learn.
I asked questions of my ego during my meditations and when I was in the middle of a tough period, I had another dream. In my dream I encountered a coyote, which I was afraid of. While trying to escape, I started to fly over an ocean...watching the water and fish beneath me was so pleasing. This dream announced that the thing that I feared would not happen, and the thing that I had been working on would please me while looking at it from an outside point of view.
Working as a therapist in Vancouver, I ran therapy groups with local youngsters. We included two shamans in our projects, one of whom became a close friend. To this day he is still a soul-mate and beloved one to me. What I learned from him is that our ego is our soul itself. We can ask it questions, however we must have the power and understanding to confront the answers we will receive. Some Native North American tribes believe in the guidance of animals, and they also believe in the tradition of symbols. We also believe in similar things; for instance, the evil eye talisman is a symbol. Blindly believing in symbols doesn’t mean they come from the subconscious; in this manner they are purely superstition. For them to come from the subconscious, you need to be open to messages coming from your subconscious because it conveys information to us when we are ready to carry it.
Even though the symbols of the subconscious are so extensive that they cannot be fit into one article, there are things that we can do to approach understanding it.
In these spaces, and more, you will feel the soul of silence. The more you speak, the more cleaning your soul is supposed to do and your dreams engage in the cleaning of daily events. For this reason, it is important to create silence so that there is space for your soul to speak.
To understand symbols, that person’s experience with that symbol must be analyzed. Do not refer to books and information such as dream interpretations. For instance, if you see an animal in your dream, ask yourself what that animal means to you. Your feelings during the dream matter, so analyze what you felt as this is a message to you. For instance, if you are worried in your dream, there are probably incidents or people that make you worried in your life and your dream may be trying to help you understand that. Pay attention to dreams that you have that are repetitive - if you have the same dream, that means you haven’t solved a problem that you need to handle. If you have a dream on the eve of making a decision, it is important to understand them because our subconscious sometimes tries to lead us.
This month I would like to tell you about a topic that I am obsessed with: Success and Flow! While giving the seminar “Leadership Starts at Home” at an institution last year – of which the title and content belonged to me – I was talking about the importance of supporting the strengths of our children and being able to coach them as parents. Just then, a father asked to speak and said “Why do you always touch upon the strengths? Can’t a person be successful by confronting his weaknesses?” That was a fair question and I responded “Of course he can; however, can he be happy by confronting his weaknesses all the time?”
I work with incredibly talented people who have their own businesses, who have gained ground in society and achieved a great deal of success in their field of work. For this reason, I am one of those who feel lucky. I am required to get involved in the inner worlds of successful people during my sessions. Since I have the opportunity to observe both their characteristics supporting their success as well as their habits overshadowing their happiness, I have always believed in the importance of their co-existence. Here is my obsession – we can all be successful! However, we can be successful and happy at the same time only if we can experience success and flow.
Let’s explore the secrets of people who managed to be successful and happy. If we understand the characteristics of people who embody both, including their way of thinking and habits, then we have the chance to model them.
Do you have difficulty in following your goals? Most people find no problem in setting goals and creating ways on how to achieve them but when it comes to pursue them that’s where they lag. If you need that push to take the first step you might consider consulting a life coach.
A common myth about Life Coaching says that a Life Coach tells you what to do but this is not true. A skilled Life Coach listens to you and asks questions. In fact, the world’s largest coaching organization, International Coach Federation (ICF), emphasizes that the client is the creator of the solutions, not the coach. A Professional Life Coach will help you put your best foot forward and help you narrow down your focus. Remember a good Coach does not order you around.
Four ways a Life Coach can help you get going and put you on track towards your goals are,
To learn more about coaching and to become a coach yourself, consider enrolling in our ICF certified coaching programs:
Our 3-month Fast Track Core Foundations ICF Certification program (Module 1-5) https://flowcoachinginstitute.com/fast-track-online-icf-acc-coach-certification/
Our 3-month Business Coaching ICF Certification Program https://flowcoachinginstitute.com/online-business-coach-certification-program/