"Please, not just another psychologist who is going to talk my ear off." Have you already tried to find the right coach, who is on a similar wavelength as you and better able to understand your problem and help you find the best possible solution?
Executive coaching is a favorite activity of many specialists who have been recently oriented toward psychological problems and their solutions. That is what Doug Riddle, a professional trainer at the international coaching company CCL, believes. His domain is the focus of leadership coaching and he has published some tips on this topic on the Leading Effectively website.
If you just think again for a moment about the parallel psychologist - coach, it does not sound so strange, does it? These people have quite a good understanding of brain processes, and solving people's problems is not strange to them either. Right. In many cases, however, they lack something essential, an understanding of the business sphere.
According to Riddle, there is no other solution than to work with coaches with previous experience from the real business environment. Sometimes they have to learn something new to be able to provide effective assistance to a manager/leader who needs it. Nevertheless, the difference is that they see the business world similarly.
Once you start setting parameters for the selection of the right coach for you, remember that his strong ability to set you in the right direction does not solely depend on whether he has or has not experience in the real business world. To be a successful leader, you need more than that. Here are a few key factors that will help to create business acumen from business experience and thus make the teacher a person who is actually able to advise you:
1. The most important factor of business acumen is the ability understand very well how the company generates profit, what it produces/provides to customers and how it differs from competing strategies.
2. Another element is knowledge of the market and the environment in which your company operates. Does he know your competitors? And what about the dynamics of business relationships? This is all basic information which the right coach should have.
3. The third element is left for business itself. What are the key processes within the company and on what principle is the creation of added value based on? It is necessary to understand the basic operations of the system in the company, i.e., research, sales, marketing, supply chain, human resources, production, etc.
4. The last element is the language, meaning the language of the organization belonging to the corporate identity of the company. What are the formal and informal gestures, ethics, etc.? Many of these elements are very dynamic and others are stable for years.
The right consultant should not only provide you with just a general solution, but with tailored advice ideally based on practically verified examples.
What is your experience with choosing a coach? Why has he failed /succeeded in his ability to give you good advice?
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