Coaching: Not Just for Athletes

It’s an awesome time of the year to watch sports. The NBA and NHL recently wrapped up their seasons, baseball is in full swing, there are golf tournaments, EURO or Copa are there for soccer fans, and that magical Olympic USA team trials/qualifying period with the actual Olympics coming up later this month! There have been so many outstanding athletic performances, it’s hard to pick a favorite.

For me, getting to spend a week with my family watching the US Swimming trials has been the standout so far. We saw multiple rockstar performances, with athletes giving their all to make the Olympic team.

As I watched Katie Ledecky win the 1500-meter Freestyle (swimming for over 15 minutes continuously), I remembered that her coach won a gold medal in the 100-meter Butterfly in 53 seconds! If you don’t know a lot about swimming, well, Freestyle and Butterfly are VERY different, and a 100-meter race has a completely different strategy and training approach from one that’s a metric mile. How did Katie’s coach know what to do to make her the best in the world?

Great coaches are students of their sport. They know the ins and outs. They look at different training programs and options. They look at their athletes’ strengths and weaknesses. And they use their knowledge to develop training that improves their weaknesses and builds their strengths.

Most importantly, a coach holds an athlete accountable, provides a different perspective, studies patterns, and recognizes habits. They are a partner for the athlete in building their strategy and give them the tools to execute that strategy in competition. The structure, feedback and advice help the athlete succeed more than they would on their own.

So why does a business professional need a coach?

For the same reasons that athletes do: a coach can hold you accountable, provide a different perspective, study your patterns, recognize habits, identify strengths, and provide tools to help you execute your skills in the workplace.

Most coaching engagements last six to twelve months, and include meeting every two weeks. The coach will analyze your strengths and help you identify goals. Over each coaching session, the coach helps talk through your goals and challenges until YOU identify the solution that works best for you. Then, a coach holds you accountable to trying this solution and adjusting it as you analyze the results.

Here are quotes from former executive and leadership coaching clients:

“It was great to have someone to talk to and process through my challenges.”

“My coach was a great listener who helped me organize my thoughts.”

“The tools my coach provided helped me elevate my game and overcome a barrier in my career.”

“My spouse and my friends are tired of listening, and I don’t feel comfortable talking to anyone at work, so my coach was a great partner in helping me think through decisions.”

If you think you need a coach, first identify what particularly you want to work on. Then ask your boss if you can have their support in hiring a coach. You might be surprised; many companies have programs and budgets already established for this request.