Having a great coach will help you see yourself clearly and reach your full potential. Not having one could limit your career success.
A great coach will:
- Clarify what’s important to you—what you genuinely care about and from there, establish goals
- Identify gaps between where you are now and where you want to be
- Inoculate you from regressing into your old beliefs and behaviors by challenging those ways
- Guide the building of the structures and supports you need to ensure sustained commitment
- Help you reach your full potential by showing up in more powerful and embodied ways
Progressive companies understand that coaching helps increase and accelerate individual and team performance. They’re often willing to invest in coaching for senior leaders and high potentials because it makes good business sense. According to an ICF and HCI study, 60% of respondents from organizations with strong coaching cultures report their revenue to be above average, compared to their peer group. According to the same study, coaching also correlates with increased employee engagement—65% of employees from companies with strong coaching cultures rated themselves as highly engaged compared to a Gallup study, which revealed that just 13% of employees worldwide are engaged at work..
When it comes to accelerating your leadership growth, a coach can be a powerful resource to help you clear your own path and take action to achieve the things that are truly important to you.
A coach can help you:
- Increase satisfaction. A coach will help you identify and align your values, create a focus, cut through clutter, and clear what’s holding you back. All of that just means that a coach can help you increase career fulfillment.
- Clarify goals. Your company may be pulling you in one direction, while your manager is giving you different advice based on other criteria. Your coach will help you determine what’s really important to you and help you stay focused.
- Identify blind spots. A coach will help you figure out what you don’t know, and they clue you in to things you may not see. They will be honest with you because they are not vested in any specific outcome.
- Hold you accountable. A coach will keep you on track and moving toward new levels of achievement. Often times we benefit greatly from having someone we answer to—it motivates us to take action.
- Accelerate growth & maintain your integrity. A coach can help you advance faster while remaining true to yourself. A leader with integrity is priceless.
In the end, a great coach will help fuel your success. How much is that worth to you?
Companies are often willing to invest in coaching if you make a good case for it. In fact, some leadership development programs come with coaching components. Sign up for those if you can’t get individual coaching sessions. It’s a great way to experience coaching.
If your company chooses not to pay for your coaching, consider making the investment yourself. It will pay off in clarity, happiness and increased success. Think of coaching as an investment in yourself, not an expense.
Rebecca A. Ward, LMFT, SEP, PCC
Founder, the Iris Institute
Psychotherapy, Executive Coaching & Consulting