Executive coaching is here to stay… Engaging the services of an executive coach or mentor represents what I believe to be the ultimate business advantage available to professionals. With the many studies that have been conducted providing ample information affirming the extraordinary results that can be achieved through the use of an executive coach, I am always amazed at the number of professionals who still do not have a coach hired. In today’s blog post, I’ll examine the reasons why I think all (yes, I said all) executives and entrepreneurs should have a coach or mentor.
Executives promoted to C-suite do so largely based on their ability to consistently make sound decisions. Yet while it can take years to make solid decisions to make it to the boardroom, it often only takes one bad decision to fall from the ivory tower. The reality is that in today’s competitive business world, an executive is only as good as his last decision, or his ability to stay ahead of his contemporaries and competitors.
For all the things Thomas Jefferson was known and revered for, the belief he was most passionate about was the principle that led him to found the University of Virginia… He believed that learning is a lifelong endeavor whose flame is not must be turned off. extinguished until a person’s last breath has been exhaled.
Unfortunately, as strong as the Jeffersonian principle of continuing education is, it too often runs counter to the way most executives conduct their careers. Most successful executives make huge investments in developing their skill sets, knowledge base, and subject matter expertise early in their careers, only to make minimal investments in their professional development when they reach the C-suite. However, it is at the C-suite level that an executive must be at the top of their game as they have the widest sphere of influence, the greatest ability to impact a business and now also have the greatest risk… this is when they should make the biggest investment in refining their game because it is at the executive level that higher performance will pay the biggest dividends.
The only thing that top executives and entrepreneurs can count on is that their performance is constantly being evaluated by virtually everyone in the value chain. Combine that with the fact that performance standards and expectations are constantly being raised and it’s no wonder executives are looking to harness productivity by using outside experts in the form of professional coaches and mentors.
In addition to my other duties at N2growth, I also maintain an active personal training practice. My coaching clients are some of today’s top executives and entrepreneurs. For most of these professionals, the decision to retain my services was driven by one of two distinct motivations. Some of my clients had a defensive motive in that they wanted to protect what they had worked so hard to achieve, while others had an offensive motive in that they wanted to take their business or career to the next level… Regardless of which camp they fell into, these were already very successful people who recognized that it’s lonely at the top and they can’t afford to continue operating in a vacuum. In fact, I have some clients where I am just one member of a team of coaches who are on call to provide real-time advice and support when the need arises.
Think of any goal you can set for yourself, or any standard you can compare yourself to and you will find an intrinsic flaw… the problem is that you only know what you know and you don’t know what you don’t know. I don’t know. No world-class athlete reaches the top of their game without a coach, so why should you or your executives try to hone your game in the vacuum of isolation? Who do you turn to for advice and direction? Are you operating in a bubble and making decisions in a relative vacuum? Do you know what you don’t know?
The following questions represent some things to consider when evaluating a potential trainer:
Who pays the coach? It is my recommendation that you personally hire the trainer. You want someone you can implicitly trust and whose loyalty is pledged to you and you alone. If the company or its investors pay for the coach, then while you may still receive good advice, the coach’s loyalty will lie with someone other than you.
Is your trainer qualified? Remember that the coaching industry is full of professionals who paid a few hundred dollars for a professional appointment, but still have little or no real experience. Make sure your trainer not only has a track record, but that their skills and competencies are relevant to your needs.
Does your coach have references? The best indicator of a coach’s ability to help you will be based on how he or she has helped others… No successful client equals a coach to be avoided.
How much does the coach charge for his services? Remember, you get what you pay for… If your coach only charges a few hundred dollars a month, that’s probably representative of the caliber of advice you’ll receive. If your total annual compensation is well into the six figures, then you can (actually can’t) afford to retain the services of a top-tier trainer.
If you’d like to discuss how coaching can benefit you or your executives, please don’t hesitate to contact me.