Why is Coaching Important for Businesses & Innovators?

Entrepreneurs and business leaders often don’t think about business coaching or mentorship. Given that they invariably occupy positions of high influence and innovation, they’re often too preoccupied to consider whether hiring a business or executive coach would be worth the investment.

It’s important to remember that each entrepreneur’s journey is unique and, believe it or not, isolating. It’s not uncommon for business leaders to feel lost or uncertain at times as their business grows and evolves, which begs the question: who do they turn to for guidance or advice?

A business coach can be just the answer that every company owner and leader can benefit from, whether they’re a small business owner, sole proprietor, limited company director, or an executive in a corporate multinational. This guide looks at why you should consider hiring a business coach and what you can realistically expect from doing so.

What is Business Coaching?

Business coaching is a structured, bespoke process by which a third-party coach or mentor guides business owners or leaders to help them achieve their goals.

A business or executive coaching strategy will depend on what the client (i.e. you) wants to achieve out of the agreement. This could be anything from developing leadership skills or client retention strategies, to changing the direction of their business. However, one of the fundamental principles of business coaching and mentorship is personal and professional growth.

Running a business can feel like you, as a business leader or executive, are being pulled in numerous directions simultaneously. Therefore, it’s not surprising if you second-guess whether you’re on the right track to achieving your goals.

That’s where business coaches can help you overcome the current challenges you’re facing and take your business forward, so it doesn’t feel like you’re staying stagnant.

What Does a Business Coach Do?

There is no universal, one-size-fits-all approach to business or executive coaching. Coaching programs will likely be structured differently from one client to the next, which, in hindsight, is the best way to ensure you get the personal and professional support you’re looking for.

As a guide, a business coach will likely help you with the following:

• Create a solid and strategic business plan.
• Define your long-term company vision or mission statement.
• Aligning your corporate and personal values.
• Discover the gaps between your business today and where you want it to be.
• Understand any doubts and develop strategies to overcome them.
• Develop leadership skills.
• Establish your desired company culture and ethos with your team(s).
• Build confidence and interpersonal skills.
• Facilitate corporate and personal growth.

This list is not exclusive and should not be taken as gospel – your chosen business coach will structure a program that’s workable and realistic for you depending on your chosen goals and long-term objectives. S/he will consider your specific circumstances and requirements to tailor a unique program for you.

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Benefits of Hiring a Business Coach

If you still need convincing that hiring a coach for your business is the right move, perhaps consider the following long-term advantages you can gain.

1. Greater clarity on company goals

Your business coach will help you visualise your goals – whatever they may be – and put you on the right trajectory towards achieving them. They’ll help you define realistic and smart goals, along with a targeted goal-setting plan to help you reach them.

2. Increased revenue and profits

Coaches can help you take your business to the next level by creating a strategic and revenue-boosting business plan and strategy. If your business has plateaued, your leads have stagnated in quantity or quality, or your income hasn’t increased, a coach can help you tweak your business and plan to set you up for improved financial success.

3. More accountability

You have unique talents, skills and values which have collectively helped you reach your current position, but a business coach will hold you accountable. Coaches can ensure you’re less likely to be sidetracked and committed to what you’re promising, giving you someone to answer to, which can help you improve.

4. Enhanced focus

While keeping you accountable, your coach can help you dedicate more time to your highest-priority activities. It’s easy for business leaders to feel overwhelmed, conflicted or mentally distracted, and these can all cause motivation to dip. Working with a coach will help you stay focused, allowing you to achieve the best results you can.

5. Improved confidence

Your bespoke business coaching program will build on your strengths, achievements and positive attributes while improving your weaknesses. In turn, this will lead to better self-confidence, which is crucial for helping you make informed, effective decisions and take your business forward. Sometimes all you need is reassurance that you’re doing things right.

6. Better organisation

As said earlier, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed while running your business. Business coaches can help you fine-tune systems, structures and thought processes so your business can run more effectively. This will also include time management and performance enhancement tips and strategies.

7. Fresh, unbiased perspectives

Working with an objective third party can provide tremendous insight into how others see your business, giving you plenty of food for thought. It’s easy to get ingrained so much within your company it can be difficult to be truly self-aware, but a business coach can help you achieve that additional perspective.

8. Healthier work-life balance

A common obstacle for many working professionals is balancing their work and personal lives. Business owners in particular are most susceptible to devoting every waking hour to their companies, often forgetting to take time to enjoy personal activities, spend time with their families, or simply take a break. Business coaches help leaders find that healthy balance they regularly crave.

What to Expect from Business Coaching

Coaching can be just the thing that business owners and innovators need to become more successful. However, both parties need to set the right expectations from the outset.

Structured business coaching programs can set company owners and leaders up for considerable growth, both professionally and personally. Depending on what specific stage a leader is at, that growth could come in various forms.

Broadly speaking, coaches can help inexperienced or unconfident business owners build and define a business plan that actively works in the client’s favor. Through structured feedback, accountability and mentorship, company owners can effectively become better leaders and build better businesses at the same time.

The most crucial ingredient to any successful client-coach relationship is trust. Once that is established, the coach and client can work in a seamless way that benefits both parties. Successful coaches will challenge their clients to help them achieve their targets but also provide moral support during difficult times, of which there will be several.

How to Choose the Right Business Coach

Before you invest in a business coach, you need to search around and find one that you believe is right for you and your company.

Think of it like pursuing new suppliers, partners or clients; a business coach is going to become intertwined within your company to a degree, so you need to choose wisely. Adopt a similar philosophy as if you were hiring a new business partner.

Not every business coach will be the right fit for you and your business, so look out for a few key traits to narrow down your choices, along with some questions to ask yourself.

• Coaching certifications – Have they undertaken a professional, certified program to become a coach, or are they just proclaiming to be one?
• Training – How many years of accredited, relevant training do they have under their belt?
• Years of experience – Are they of a similar age as you? How long have they been in business? Does that align with what you have or what you’re trying to achieve?
• Success stories and testimonials – What have their current or past clients said about the coach and the experience they had? Any similarities to your current situation?
• Case studies – How does the coach describe the process of working with particular clients? What are the key talking points from reading any case studies?
• Free consultations or sessions – Do they offer free coaching webinars or talks? Can you get a no-obligation call with them?
• Ethos – Do you like them as a person? Can you see yourself working with them in the long run?

Business coaching can often be the crucial missing ingredient for a struggling business owner to become a thriving one. Even the most experienced and seasoned veterans in the game can benefit from having one-on-one business coaching assistance to help them take the next vital step in their careers. All leaders need support at one time or another, and the right business coach can provide all of that and more.

For details on how Activate Group can help you achieve your most audacious business goals, get in contact with our team today.