Why is it acceptable to have coaches in sport to improve an athlete’s performance yet individuals and some companies find it difficult to accept a little coaching support can make a big difference to their lives or their businesses?
How many of you have set New Year resolutions? How many of these have already fallen by the wayside? Were they goals you did not really want to achieve or was it that the action plans you set were not clearly laid out?
There is no real difference between sports and business coaching. It is all to do with improving performance. With what is often called life coaching, instead of ‘performance’ substitute the word ‘enjoyment’. Often we do not have time to enjoy ourselves! How many of us plough through life accepting that this is our lot until something traumatic happens putting life into perspective?
It does not have to be like that!
I have used my coach to support me in a wide range of activities including:
• How to work better with my boss
• Setting a contingency plan for future work
• How to spend more quality time with my family
• Building a career plan that works for me in my fifties
• Removing the worrying barrier of reaching age 60!
Having come from a sales background originally, I like coaching because it is action centred and results orientated. Coaching does not have to be fluffy! As long as you are open to change it is most powerful. It is no good a spouse or a parent suggesting it for somebody else. The desire for change needs to come from the person themselves.
Coaching does not have to be for extended periods of time. It is normally for three months with specific challenges to tackle. A coach will ask you the questions you would not normally ask of yourself. They will engage the 97% of your brain (the unconscious mind - where you often have good ideas from in the shower in the morning!) you often do not normally access.
Coaching is all about looking ahead and going forward. If there are historical issues holding you back, a coach who is trained in NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) or something similar can help you to remove these limiting beliefs that may have been ingrained since childhood. It is important to assess a coach and ensure that person is going to fit you and be able to help you with your specific issue.
Coaching is not therapy, counselling or even mentoring. It is a skilled person who supports you in building your goals and helps put you on the path to achieve these. The process is totally confidential and as long as you build rapport with your coach it will be most thought provoking. More importantly it will enable action planned change.
“If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got”. It is not a sign of weakness in macho-Britain to have a coach, it is a sign that you want to move your life forward.
Could you possibly need a coach?
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