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A Coach may be hired for a variety of reasons. Here are some situations
in which coaching services could be beneficial:
- A sales team wants to increase revenues.
- An individual wants to make a career transition.
- A person is having difficulty balancing work and personal demands.
- Asmall business needs to strategize, reorganize, or revitalize.
- A leader has difficulty communicating effectively with his/her team.
Coaching is not about telling someone what to do. It's about asking
the right questions, listening, guiding self-assessment, helping with
options and goal-setting, providing candid feedback, and measuring results.
Sometimes, a coach may need to constructively confront behaviors that
are unproductive. Coaching involves a number of steps, starting with
an assessment and ending with measured results.
Why is coaching useful?
Think of some famous athletes-more than likely, they have a coach! It
can be beneficial to have an objective person guide an individual (or
team) in achieving a goal. The concept of coaching is not something
new. For several years, however, business and career coaching has rapidly
expanded as a profession and is utilized by individuals who want to
improve personally and/or professionally.
Some examples of benefits from working with a coach are:
- Enhancing an organization's ability to increase profits
- Helping a manager become a more effective leader
- Aiding a person in making a successful career transition
- Helping an individual maximize his/her strengths
- Assisting an individual in overcoming negative resistance and behaviors
How to begin
First, it's important to assess whether or not coaching is the right
next step for you and/or your business. It's not self-serving, to say
that a coach can help you determine whether or not it makes sense for
you to work with a coach.
It's also important to know that there are different types of coaches
and coaching opportunities. You should look for a coach who has successfully
coached in his/her area of expertise and is professionally trained.
You'll also want a coach who is "right" for you!
Remember that for coaching to be a meaningful experience, an individual
and/or team must be committed to the coaching process.
The length of coaching assignments varies; but depending on the need,
an assignment typically extends from three months to one year.
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