I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities.
Bob Nardelli, former President and CEO, Home Depot
Every top performer you can think of has a coach. Fortune 500 executives and middle managers. Actors. Sports players, obviously, have multiple coaches—even if they’re in individual sports. Famous surgeon Atul Gawande hired an operating room coach. Here’s why:
[Your coach is] a powerfully useful support system on your journey: someone who knows you very well and wants the best for you—but is a neutral third party. Unlike your family or your employees, your coach isn’t dependent on you for his or her success. He or she can be honest with you about how you’re doing, reminding you of what you’ve said you want to achieve and letting you know what you’re doing that’s supporting your intentions—or getting in your way. Finally, and most importantly, your coach can teach you new ways of thinking and operating, new skills that will allow you to better reach your goals and create the career you want.
Erika Andersen, “6 Ways an Executive Coach Can Make You More Successful.” Forbes,
People sometimes misunderstand coaching, thinking it’s remedial, or punishment. It’s not. It’s a powerful tool to level up your professional and your personal life. Coaching takes good people and makes them great; and takes great people and makes them world-class.
Athletes hire coaches when they want to improve their game quickly. An experienced coach can quickly diagnose what players are doing wrong … and identify, prescribe and prioritize improvements to increase performance.
Ever hired a PGA golf pro to help you with your swing? They’re coaches, and you’re paying them to help you get better at something that costs you money and which you’ll get to enjoy, if you’re lucky, for perhaps four hours a week.
So why would you not get business coaching, which helps you get better at something that makes you money and on which you spend 40-80 hours a week?
Coaching is extremely common in large businesses, both public and private, and less common in small- to medium-sized businesses. That’s great news for you: You now have yet another competitive advantage, because you now have a coach.
Three ways to learn more about coaching
“The Coach in the Operating Room” by Atul Gawande (New Yorker magazine article)
“Want to Get Great at Something? Get a Coach” by Atul Gawande (TED Talk, 17 minutes)
Optimize for Growth: How to Scale Up Your Business, Your Network, and You by Jonathan B. Smith (book, 71 pages)
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