I recently had a conversation with a friend who is a very successful operations leader in the supply chain industry and takes coaching people seriously as part of his role in leadership. He was interested to learn how I had made the decision to do coaching full time. Some of the questions he asked are “how do you know you’ve been a successful coach? How are you measuring the outcomes of your clients?”
Great question and something I very much value, having come from the tech industry where metrics rule. Unlike product metrics and widgets, outcomes for people are sometimes tougher to measure. But not really. They may not always be linear, but they ARE definable.
Let me explain. As a coach, I can never guarantee an outcome for my clients. The truth is I can’t guarantee that they’ll do the work needed to get what they want. Sometimes people hold themselves back. Just like a personal trainer can’t do the reps to build muscle for you. But here is what a good coach CAN and does do:
Have Vision– a good coach will help you to define a vision for yourself. A great coach has an even bigger vision for you. One that scares the hell out of you and makes you embarrassed to even think you deserve something that huge. They help you take the blinders off and see a whole new level of what is possible. They aren’t stuck with your baggage and insecurities. They can see what is possible for you, and help you see it too.
Discover Purpose– a good coach will help you get down to your WHY, your purpose. Why are you trying to get the promotion, or the multiple six figure income, or the beach body? Sure, those things are nice for anyone and everyone, but when things get hard, you will kill your dreams. The only way to fight discomfort is to have a meaningful purpose to keep driving you. You want the executive title? Great. What will it give you? Being the top leader is a huge responsibility and comes with a lot of stress and hard work. So why go through that? Will it give you the satisfaction to show the people who didn’t believe in you? Will it give you the respect and authority that you never got early in your career? Will it finally show your father that you are in fact worthy and better than he ever gave you credit for? Now you have a purpose. It has to be personal, or else it won’t hold weight.
Bring Clarity– a good coach helps you to see where you are starting. They won’t let you paint a rosy picture but get into the details and unearth the things you don’t want to see. You can decide you don’t want to turn up every stone, but a great coach can and will help you when you are ready. In order to make progress, you have to be real and clear about where you are and what your gaps are. A great coach will be able to help you measure where you start and then more importantly, continue to measure as you go along the way. We often forget how far we’ve come, or how much we have accomplished. A coach doesn’t have to be modest for you, they are there to show you off to yourself.
Trigger Action– a good coach will help you define what steps you need to take. There is no perfect path or process map when you go after your dreams. But, “success leaves clues.” A great coach and help you figure out what major steps you need to take. They can help you get the momentum going to keep taking them. They will help you recover from missteps and teach you to dance with life. You can’t win if you are constantly afraid of failing. It’s like driving a car… where you focus, is where you drive. If you are spending your time focused on the ditch and not the road, guess where you end up?
Do you always need a coach to be successful? Of course not. You can absolutely work things out for yourself and get there if you have the vision, purpose, clarity, and are willing to continue to take actions. But way too often, we get stuck in our heads. Life gets complicated and we lose momentum, or courage, or energy and we question ourselves. We are really good at lying to ourselves and shrinking because it feels safer to stay where we are. But one thing that won’t do is bring you fulfillment.
Humans are funny, because we need to see progress to feel happy. Have you ever noticed that once you reach a goal, the happiness and celebration wear off pretty fast? Sometimes it lasts for days or weeks, but often, once you’ve achieved something BIG, the feeling of accomplishment only lasts for a few hours. Once you’ve reached a new level, you need to keep leveling up. It’s exhausting, but also so very satisfying. A great coach knows this and helps to not only keep you progressing but reminds you how far you’ve come and gives you an objective view to the next big thing.
And if you want to work with me as your coach, book a call! Let’s see what amazing thing we can envision for you!