Are you looking for a breakout year in 2021? 

Do you want to achieve bigger and better results? 

Do you want to grow your business or grow yourself? 

If so, you might be ready to hire a coach!

Here are some of the reasons working with a coach can be awesome.

First, a coach is going to give you an unbiased outside opinion of your business or practice. You’ll have someone you can bounce ideas off, discuss strategies with, talk through obstacles and celebrate wins. 

Second, a coach can help challenge you, so you grow in the direction of your goals while also supporting you to maintain inspiration and motivation. A great coach truly feels like a partner in your business. You want to celebrate wins together and you know your coach will be there with you to walk through disappointments. 

Not sure if you’re ready? Here are three questions I recommend you answer before considering working with a coach.

Number One – Why do you want to collaborate with a coach?

Sometimes, I will get into initial coaching conversations with potential clients who have been told by a leader that they should hire a coach. If you are looking to hire a coach because someone told you to or because you are looking for a quick fix, you’re in for a rude awakening. 

I believe you need to be mentally prepared to work with a coach and willing to do the work. Great coaching results don’t just come from the phone calls you have every month. Your coach might assign you homework or follow-up assignments to continue a theme from a discussion. Do the homework! A coach might encourage you to take time for reflection or keep a journal. Start the journal!

The more work you do between your coaching sessions, the more likely you are to achieve your desired results. 

You should also be prepared and committed to taking new risks. You’re not hiring a coach to get the same results you’ve always gotten. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

A coach is going to ask you questions, so you learn more about yourselves. Spend time reflecting and thinking about those questions. A coach will tell you things you might not always want to hear, but you need to hear. Embrace those difficult conversations.

If you make a commitment to your coach but choose not to follow through, you are only letting yourself down. So, understanding why you want to work with a coach and being in a position where you are prepared to do the work is fundamental to your success.

Number Two – What result are you looking to achieve by collaborating with a coach?

The clearer you are with your specific coaching objective, the more successful your coaching experience will be. When I hired my first coach, I had a very clear objective. I hired my first coach to grow my confidence. Simply put, I wanted someone that I could share with what was going on professionally, talk through all the things I was thinking about and unpack the stories I was telling myself. I wanted to walk away from those calls feeling more confident and ready to grow my career. And given the fact that I made the most courageous leap of my life by starting my own coaching practice – and am thriving – that investment was well worth it. 

Anytime you are connecting with a coach, they should ask you what you’re looking to get out of coaching. If they don’t, you might want to consider another coach. The clearer you are with your objectives and what you want to work on, the easier it will be to find the right coach for you to get those results.

Number Three – What has your past coaching experience been?

Maybe you’ve never hired a coach before, but we’ve all had experiences with coaches or leaders or mentors. If you played sports as a kid, think back to your old coaches. What did you like or dislike about those coaches? Think about former mentors – what did you like and what didn’t you like? 

Having a list of what energizes you and what has gotten you results in the past will be so helpful as you interview potential coaches to grow your business or achieve your goals. You can listen for these traits or characteristics and ask questions to ensure you are hiring the right person for you.

Here are some questions I recommend you ask any potential coach.

Who are your ideal clients? 

The best professionals can clearly articulate who they enjoy working with the most and who they are most likely to get results for. I personally thrive when I am collaborating with an ambitious individual who aspires to achieve a breakout performance and is willing to embrace discomfort in the direction of his or her goals. I know that I have the best coaching relationships when talking about goals, tracking towards those goals, discussing strategies, celebrating wins and working through disappointments. Don’t be afraid to ask a potential coach who they get a lot of energy from coaching. It will make your coaching calls so much more enjoyable if there is alignment around that energy.

What can I expect from our coaching relationship?

Specifically, you’re looking to figure out how often you’re meeting with your coach and what communication boundaries are in place between your coaching meetings. Are you able to reach out and call, text, send an email? Are there additional charges for those communications? Essentially, what can you expect from coaching, including meeting frequencies, communication channels and support structure?

Also, is this person a challenger or supporter? Knowing that will allow you to go back to your list of past coaching experiences and align with someone that is going to help you get results.

What are some of your past coaching successes and what are some of your past coaching failures?

If the person you’re interviewing isn’t willing to talk about a failure or lesson they learned, are they going to be vulnerable and transparent enough to help you get results? None of us are perfect. We’ve all done some things that we would go back and do again if we were given a chance. So, try to figure out what kind of results this coach you’re interviewing achieved in the past.

What is the specific program? 

If this wasn’t clear when you discussed expectations, figure out what the coaching program entails. How long is the engagement? Is there a contract? What are the specific types of conversations you’re going to be having? Is it a very casual, open-ended discussion where you’re showing up prepared for discussion points on each call, or does the coach have a program that you will follow? 

And if you haven’t by now gotten all of the details, find out the investment for coaching. 

Finding and hiring the right coach when you’re ready can be one of the best investments you make in yourself and your business. Don’t be afraid to honestly assess where you are and ask the hard questions when interviewing candidates. And if a goal achievement coach is what you’re looking for, visit my contact page to see if I am the right coach for you.

Until next time goal achievers, keep celebrating your weekly wins, learning from your lessons and identifying your priorities so you can consistently pursue progress in the direction of your goals.