50 Qualities and Actions of Great Business Coaches

Their Attitudes, Values and Smart Behaviors Cause People to Grow

When we think of coaching, almost all of us think of the sports legends such as Vince Lombardo of the Green Bay Packers and John Wooden at UCLA, considered by most experts as the two best coaches. Then, of course there are the other famous sports performance-enhancing exemplars as Bear Bryant, Don Shula, Knute Rockne, Tom Landry, Mike Krzyzewski and many more. Female coaches such as Pia Sundhage (soccer), Fran Harris and Cheryl Miller (basketball) are showing that strong, caring and extraordinarily talented female sports champions can be excellent coaches as well (if not better) than their male counterparts.   

Coaching in business is very similar to that in sports coaching. Both types of coaches assist people to reach optimum performance over the long run. Both types of coaches also lift the spirits of “players” when they are disappointed, discouraged or downtrodden. A good coach will push people out of their comfort zone and make them work harder and smarter than they would on their own. They will encourage people, make them accountable for results and build they confidence so they can weather the tough times as well as the victories. 

Whether they call themselves “performance coaches” or “career coaches” or “business coaches” these professionals are becoming more vital in helping people to be much more effective on the job. Middlesex University in the UK actually awards a Doctorate (DProf) in Business Coaching. There is also a Master of Arts in Professional Development (Business Coaching). So the credibility of this profession is growing as organizations realize that, in reality, their greatest assets and competitive weapons are truly their creative, motivated and dedicated employees—and coaching can bring out the best in their performance on the job. 

According to various reports, it is estimated that, in addition to over 40,000 professionals in the United States who work as business or life coaches, their are coaching practices in 70 countries. The four countries that lead in the (non-sports) coaching profession are the U.S., UK, Japan and Australia and the average age of coaches range between 40-55 with about 70 percent being female. Business coaching is an estimated $3.5 billion market and is growing at about 20 percent per year. The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management in the UK reports that 51 percent of companies (survey sample of 500) consider coaching as a vital part of the organization’s learning development and crucial to their strategy with 90 percent reporting that they use coaching and facilitation.

Often mentorship is confused with coaching and many of the activities of each overlap in some ways. Mentoring is a personal relationship where a more experienced, knowledgeable or talented person helps a novice, newcomer or beginner to learn skills, knowledge or other abilities. The person being mentored is referred to as a protégé (male), a protégée (female), an apprentice or a mentee. Today, many people associate the term “mentor” with a trusted friend and advisor and a counselor or teacher. In many different arenas, people have benefited from being part of a mentoring relationship, including actors, athletes, authors, musicians, business people, film directors, politicians, television reporters/anchors and others. People learn from the knowledge, experience and wisdom of a mentor as a role model; with a coach, they learn with and within (themselves). Coaching is more about assisting people to first identify the skills, talents and capabilities that are within the person and then, through a guided process, enable them to apply them for improved effect to the best of their ability. If you want your organization to be more creative and innovative, coaching must be an integral part of your plan to accelerate those goals.

Behaviors and Characteristics of "Winning" Business Coaches

In the field of sports there are many consummately talented coaches who brilliantly led their teams to the top of their divisions with the skill, fortitude and ironclad determination to win. These supercoaches can inspire the seemingly impossible from their players to enable them to become transcenders — people who rise above and go far beyond ordinary limits of performance to reach goals of tremendous magnitude. The greatest coaches also touch the lives of their players to build their characters and guide them to be the absolute best that human nature can be proud of. Achievement and satisfaction for a winning coach is all about the development of healthy people who can use their bodies, minds and souls to build a better world. Now all these things we have attributed to successful sports coaches also apply to business coaches who get results as well. Specifically, here is a concise listing of characteristics, attitudes, traits and behaviors that describe a business coach who is able to positively impact people and bring about impressive and significant contributions (especially in development and growth) to their clients’ organizations:

Great Business Coaches...

1. Have become competent and certified in a structured coaching program and continuously learn.
2. Never stop coaching whether they are being direct (and evident) or subtle (not evident) about it.
3. Are impressive people with character, integrity and honor and are often “quiet professionals.”
4. Recognize inherent talent and potential for all people to learn and grow.
5. Build close, respectful and trusting relationships with people of all kinds.
6. Understand how to use psychology in an ethical way to get the best out of others.
7. Have a proven coaching methodology that gets consistent results.
8. Focus on the big picture of what needs to get done in a priority fashion.
9. Make those being coached feel good about themselves and their work.
10. Give people they coach a healthy, positive perspective of competition with others.
11. Use all forms of inspiration, encouragement and motivation to help people to excel.
12. Push and pull and sometimes be tough (when needed) to get the best out of people.
13. Make people feel needed and wanted, special and unique.
14. Let the people they coach know that, “I have your back at all times.”
15. Are perceptive, intuitive, curious and inquiring with high emotional intelligence.
16. Do not give up on those who are not making typical or steady progress to improve. 
17. Focus on making people more productive, effective, efficient and innovative. 
18. Realize that success for people is about developing their mental conditioning.
19. Are transformational leaders who help change a person, a program and a culture.
20. Adapt their coaching, communication and relationship style to suit each person.
21. Push for perfection, but congratulate and reward excellence of performance.
22. Play various roles when needed: psychologist, cheerleader, friend, teacher, mentor.
23. Are frank, candid and honest in feedback without being harsh, judgmental or insensitive.
24. Know what counts in attitude and behavior and role model and teach it by example.
25. Display a positive, optimistic and constructive communication style.
26. Focus on getting people to embrace continuous change for their accelerated growth.
27. Are hard workers who roll up their sleeves to work alongside people.
28. Sincerely give credit and accolades to those who deserve it.
29. Realize that coaching is to ultimately make people feel good about the “experience.”
30. Love coaching and let his or her passion for it show with every person being coached.
31. Take pride and satisfaction in seeing people change, grow and self-actualize.
32. Communicate feedback in an objective, specific, accurate and thorough way.
33. Build trust and let people know, “What is said with the coach stays with the coach.”
34. Show extraordinary sensitivity, understanding and empathy when called for.
35. Let people know mistakes are OK if corrective action is taken to get rid of them. 
36. Focus on understanding what the mental and emotional make-up of each person is.
37. Communicate exactly what his or her expectations are in regards to coaching that person.
38. Use lots of listening and questioning to help people self-discover what to do and how to do it.
39. Let people do the work themselves so as to help them learn best and retain the skills.
40. Care about the personal, not just professional sides of people being coached.
41. Are prepared, organized, disciplined and focused and assist their coachees.
42. Celebrate with their coachees as each “win” occurs in their performance improvement program.
43. Will not back down for doing what is right and good, regardless of opposition.
44. Look forward to the challenges of coaching “difficult-to-deal-with” people.
45. Ensure that people learn rather than being taught by using creative approaches.
46. Apply a robust evaluation system using proven corrective strategies and metrics.
47. Customize and tailor their psychological strategies for each unique person or team.
48. Deal with disagreeable people with patience and an open mind to understanding.
49. Look for situations to acknowledge and applaud the progress or effort of coachees.
50. Never show favoritism for certain people or unreasonable bias against certain behaviors.

Coaching Will Really Make a Difference in People and Their Organizations 

I have been very fortunate to have had some exceptional experiences coaching over 1,000 professionals and executives during my career. At one point, I was working full time — almost two years every day —coaching people’s performance in New England at one of the world’s largest and most respected computer companies. Surprisingly, I learned as much —i f not more from them — as they did with me. Through my own learning process, and by trial and error, I discovered how to powerfully tap into their mental models and emotional states to get them to perform in ways that amazed them. I also found that a vast majority of people love to be coached, if the right coach works with them in the right way. The best coaches I have seen working their magic are those who give plenty of time to interact with their people, deeply care about them, have incredibly high personal and professional standards of excellence and view their coaching as a calling, an art and a mission, not just a job or even career.