When do you need a coach?
It is wonderful to have people to talk to, and if you are fortunate, you have friends, family, coworkers, mentors, and bosses who are more than willing to lend an ear and maybe offer advice and suggestions when you are in a bind.
Sometimes just talking things through with a trusted friend is all you need to solve a problem or make a decision.
Sometimes, though, you want more. Instead of advice, or sympathy, you want to tap into your own inner resources to take action. In these situations, a coach is a great resource.
Recently, a client came to me saying she needed to make a decision about whether to stay in the large city where her current job was located or move back home to a small rural community near her family for a new job.
As I paraphrased back to her what she was grappling with, she realized that she already knew what she wanted to do. She just needed a way to communicate that to the people she loved.
She had been getting advice from everyone-- her city friends and coworkers, her small-town family and friends, and everyone had an opinion. She loved them all and did not want to let anyone down, so much so that she wasn’t even sure what she wanted.
As her coach, I had no opinion, no agenda other than her agenda, and in speaking with me, she was able to recognize the path she wanted to follow.
This is a simple example, but it illustrates one benefit of working with a coach. If you find yourself struggling to do any of the following, consider reaching out to a confidential, impartial professional coach who has only your benefit in mind.
Get a coach when:
- You want to improve the leadership of others.
- You want to be energized and refreshed by your career.
- You are thinking about making a career change, starting a business, or retiring.
- You want to set a challenging, yet attainable professional goal.
- You need an action plan to achieve your goal.
- You want to create habits to support your plan.
- You want to analyze an event that has happened to determine what to do better next time (this can be a positive or negative event.
- You have a decision to make and the answer seems unclear.
- You have a problem and are not sure how to solve it.
Sometimes, your goal is straightforward and you may only want one session with a coach. However, as you advance in your career, and you begin to encounter challenging situations on a daily basis, a regular appointment with a coach, perhaps monthly, can be the professional development you need to stay relevant and successful.
Sometimes, you may be in a transition and decide to see a coach for 6-10 times as you navigate it.
There are situations where you might need another type of support, such as a therapist, counselor, or spiritual guide. Most coaches are comfortable working with clients who see more than one type of professional to support them in their goals. Unlike counselors or therapists, coaches only focus on forward movement, and look to the past only as a source of inspiration and ideas for the future.
For more information on finding a coach, review the International Coaching Federation website at https://coachingfederation.org.
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