Business Coaches Craft Winning Game Plans

Part Boss, Part Consultant, Part Therapist.
Can Coaches Help You Build Your Dream?
by Ron Ameln

As owner of a technology company, Two Techs, Roger Clark sometimes feels overwhelmed. When he's not tackling the latest computer viruses, he's making payroll, networking for new business and focusing on his firm's growth. He's also juggling his life at home, attempting to gain a balance between work and family.

He realized he needed help improving his life and business.

His secret weapon: a business coach.

"I felt overwhelmed and didn't trust myself enough to make solid decisions," Clark said. "I knew there was a lot of room for improvement. I felt a coach could really help me become more aware of myself."

Clark enlisted the help of business coach Tony Gartner, owner of Gartner & Associates. Gartner helped Clark reexamine his goals and values. "He helped me sort through some things," Clark said. "He helped me validate the things I was doing right, and helped me take a different view of the things that weren't working out. He never told me what to do, but he provided me with the tools and suggestions that really helped me."

When it comes to coaching, Clark isn't alone. Ten years ago, the only coach you could find was on the athletic field. Now, coaches are impacting all industries. Part consultant, part motivational speaker, part therapist and part rent-a-friend, coaches work with managers, entrepreneurs and just plain folks, helping them define and achieve their goals—career and personal, but most often, both.

Entrepreneurs are enlisting coaches for guidance on how to improve their performance, boost their profits and make better decisions about everything from personnel to strategy. For fees ranging from $200-$500 a month for weekly phone sessions or one-on-one meetings, a coach might advise on everything from selling a business to buying a new computer.

More and more coaches are sprouting up throughout the world. The International Coach Federation, the largest professional association for personal and business coaches, increased its membership from 2,400 members five years ago to more than 7,000 today. The organization now has 132 chapters in 34 countries.

Although many of today's coaches have done counseling or training before donning their figurative whistles and caps, they essentially help a person determine what he or she wants from life, and holds him or her accountable for making that vision come true.

That was the case for Judy Malpiedi, a sales representative for The Jerome Group. Thanks to her coach, Malpiedi is now more focused on her job and is setting measurable goals for her improvements.

"My coach helped me get organized and find out what I really wanted out of life," said Malpiedi of her coach, Beverly Berner, owner of The Resource Development Group. "If you don't really know what you want in life, it is hard to go out and give it your all. She helped me figure out my goals and aspirations. Once I discovered these things, I had a reason to do the tough things I needed to do to be a success."

According to Gartner, coaches "help entrepreneurs clarify what they really want." "A coach will help you get your mind straight about certain issues," Gartner said. "Deep down, people usually have the answers. Our job is to get those answers out. We never impose on them or tell them what to do. We simply make suggestions."

Sharon Wingron, coach and owner of Wings of Success, said coaches help individuals become more effective. "Sometimes it is a matter of helping people access knowledge or skills. Sometimes it is simply a matter of helping them gain a different perspective on an issue."

"Coaches are outside, objective observers," Berner said. "We can help individuals realize their strengths. A good coach asks good questions that are not judgmental. A good coach is also a great listener."

According to an International Coach Federation survey, the outcomes that clients most often attribute to their coaching are: a higher level of self-awareness (67.6%), smarter goal-setting (62.4%), more balanced life (60.5%), lower stress levels (57.1%), self-discovery (52.9%) and more self-confidence (52.4.%).

Coaches distinguish themselves from traditional consultants, mentors or therapists. Unlike consultants, they aren't hired just to come in for a quick fix on a single problem. They don't specialize in one particular area like a mentor would. And while a therapist may dig into past issues to explore the cause of current angst, coaches help clients shape game plans for moving ahead.

"Therapy is about healing, and going back and finding out what happened a long time ago that is causing problems now," Berner said. "It's a wonderful field, but it's not coaching. Coaching is taking you from the 'here and now' and moving you forward."

Wingron said coaching is no passing fad. She believes it's here to stay. "The more people are exposed to coaching, the more they want it," she said. "People are coming up with their own career paths these days, and the workplace is changing. People are changing careers, jobs, working longer and living longer. People need an objective perspective to help make these transitions."

Questions To Ask A Prospective Coach

	What can you tell me about your coaching practice?
	What is your specialty or niche?
	How long have you been coaching?
	How many clients have you coached?
	What is your professional background and experience?
	What is your coaching format (meeting options, how often and how long)?
	What value-added services do you provide for clients?
	What is your fee structure?
	Do you have a referral or two that I can contact?

Source: Coach U Inc.

Are You A Coaching Candidate?
You may need a coach and not know it. Professional coach Nancy M. Powers, of Bayville, N.Y.-based Powers Research and Training Institute, offers the test below. If you answer "yes" to more than three of these questions, you can benefit from a coach.

	Do you spend your day putting out fires?
	Do the same problems continually resurface?
	Are you concerned about your business operating at maximum profitability?
	Do you run your business on the edge?
	Is your business running you?
	Do you work "in" your business instead of "on" it?
	Does your business have severe highs and lows?
	Are you a workaholic?
	Do you have trouble finding someone you trust who has an objective viewpoint?
	Do you have a lack of balance in your life and business?
	Are you a "lone ranger"?
	Are you unable to make the most of opportunities in your life?
	Do you allow your goals and purpose to get sidetracked?
	Do you lack a clear, measurable action plan to fulfill your goals?
	Do you lack a clear financial plan for your future?
	Do you lack structure?
	Do you lack inner fulfillment?
	Do you want to grow yourself and your company?
	Are you willing to hear and act on another person's viewpoint?
	Are you willing to be truthful?