"The Value of Coaching In Today's Business World"

By Nina Atwood

The challenges are many, yet the opportunities for success are greater than ever! True or False? It depends on your point of view.

If we focus on the downturn in the market, the daily stories of layoffs and business downsizing, and the fear of how that might impact us, we automatically feel less energized. That is the way that our brains work! Whatever we focus on is whatever seems most real and, therefore, most powerful.

On the other hand, we all know how false it is to "put on a happy face" when there are real challenges that we must handle. To "gloss over" the issues and problems that must be solved is a form of denial that cripples our business initiatives.

What we need is focus where it counts: on a vision that inspires, motivates, and energizes. That is the beginning point of all business initiative. From there, we need a flow of strategy, steps, and specific actions, combined with the utilization of all available resources. What is our primary resource? People!

All great accomplishments begin, continue, and are completed through the energy and focused actions of people. The "human quotient" is the lifeblood of all that we dream and all that we do. Through our connection with like-minded teammates, we brainstorm, create, initiate, and accomplish. How we speak and listen to one another throughout these processes makes all the difference. When we communicate in an empowering way, we energize all of our efforts. We set the stage for creativity to flow, and from there, new possibilities emerge, leading to results that originally seemed out of reach. That is what is possible, even in today's challenging business climate!

Coaching helps individuals and organizations create a vision that is inspiring and motivating, then design the flow of energy, resources, steps, and actions to make it happen. Along the way, doubts are inevitable. The "what-if's" can sap energy and stall projects. Coaching helps dissolve the blocks to productivity that might impede progress.

A business coach looks at organizations, people, and initiatives from the outside, with no attachment to the specifics of the situation. People, politics, egos, and corporate policy are all up for examination to the coach that is dedicated to helping you achieve your objectives. A great coach refuses to "buy in" to the limiting thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that have stood in the way of reaching your highest level of success. Thus, a business coach becomes your strongest ally, a partner in achievement who continually speaks up for what is possible in the face of internal doubt.

How does coaching differ from consulting? A consultant is an expert in a particular field or business process. This person is hired to share his/her "expertise" as it specifically pertains to your business or a process  that you need to run your business (such as IT or accounting).

A coach on the other hand, is an expert in human nature; specifically in:

• What it means to be a human being

• What it takes to be self-expressed in life and in work

• What it takes to use our natural gifts & talents to the highest level of our abilities

• What it takes to be successful, however you define that

• What it takes to be inspired and motivated on a daily basis

• What it takes to inspire and motivate others

• How to turn vision into solid results

In coaching, we examine certain distinctions that give rise to new possibilities. For example:

• Setting goals vs. setting intentions

• Discussing problems vs. asking "What's possible?"

The natural drift of life is toward the easier path, the less visionary path. A coach jogs you out of that path and into the path of divine flow, the path of vision, mission, and purpose. A coach helps you connect with the part of you that is fully capable of bringing forth that which is in your highest and greatest good.

A coach does not do it for you. A coach empowers you to draw upon your own resources to get it done.

A coach does not change you. You are who you are. A coach points out the limiting thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and patterns that stand in the way of your greatest success, and then helps you chart a new course.

A coach does not tell you what to do. A coach conducts an inquiry made up of powerful questions that assist clients in finding their own most creative solutions.

Who hires a business coach?

• NOT the person who believes "I know all there is to know for my success." Rather, the person who is committed to continuous growth and recognizes the need to reach out for various resources to do that.

• NOT the person to whom life "happens." Rather, the person who understands that he or she is directing the experience of life day-to-day. We call that an "internal locus of control."

• NOT the person who has achieved all there is. Rather, the person who wants to move to the next level of success and who sees the value of coaching to empower that commitment.

What to look for in a business coach:

• Someone who is trained as a coach and as an expert in the field of human behavior.

• Someone with whom you have a positive experience.

• Someone with whom you have a good rapport.

• Someone you trust.

• Someone who comes with a good recommendation or referral.

What are the possibilities? Explore the possibilities of coaching for your self today!

Article Copyright 2002 by Nina Atwood, All Rights Reserved

Reprints only by permission of Nina Atwood