This is a tough question to answer, but the best way to think about when to hire a coach is this: if you know you want to make a change, and you know you have the capacity to do so, but you’re not sure how – that is when you hire a coach. There are countless situations where coaching is beneficial, but here are three scenarios (that I’ve personally experienced) where coaching can be helpful (and how):
- Career shift/break – You feel stuck in your job and you want something new, but you’re not sure what that is. You probably feel overwhelmed by the amount of options available and are stuck in “analysis paralysis (like I was – read about my journey here).” In this situation, a coach will ask you prodding questions about what you enjoy doing, what you’re passionate about, what your values are, and what kind of lifestyle your job needs to support. By focusing on your priorities and the things that drive who you are as a person, a coach can help you narrow down your choices so that you feel confident in pursuing something that is aligned with what you really want and need.
- Communicating within a company – You are an entry or mid-level employee and you feel as though expectations aren’t clearly set within your team, and this causes inefficiency within the organization, which leads to an imbalance in workloads, which then leads to burnout. To get you out of this cycle, a coach will ask you questions surrounding your own communication expectations as well as your company’s culture – both what they say it is, and what it’s actually like. By getting a “big picture” view of your organization, you’ll be in a better position to understand why things function the way they do, and thus, come up with ways to communicate effectively in order to have your needs addressed.
- Managing a small or family business – You are struggling with motivating or delegating to employees, setting clear boundaries and expectations with family members (this was a huge issue for me), or handling operations and processes. Being an entrepreneur means that you are constantly wearing multiple hats, and it’s difficult to address these issues when you’re just trying to stay afloat. A coach helps to pull you out of the weeds and be present with the main issue at hand – they’ll ask you questions to get to the root of each of these problems so that you can devise the best plan forward.
These are just a handful of countless other situations where coaches can come in and help shift your perspective to open up a new world of possible actions that lead to desired results. If you or anyone you know feels stuck in a situation like those outlined above, please contact me to chat about how coaching can help.
Hi, I’m Anais – a Business & Leadership coach for service-based small business owners and leaders. I help business owners like you develop effective communication skills, dependable systems & processes, and a transparent team culture so you can reclaim the freedom and time you need to drive your business’ success. If you’re looking to go from merely surviving to THRIVING in your business, then let’s talk. Learn more about how we can work together here.