How to Choose the Right Coach
‘A good coach can change the game, a great coach can change your life.’
Since the beginning of organised team sports, the most successful enterprises have been masterminded by coaching teams. You can spend obscene fortunes on assembling a team of all stars whose sporting ability is unparalleled, but, with an incompetent coach at the helm, you could easily find yourself in hot water against an opposition that are well organised, disciplined and tactically aware, yet bereft of the embarrassment of riches at your disposal. Your squad might be superior, but the opposition are coached by an astute leader with ideas, ambition, awareness, experience and nous. In other words, you’ve been out-coached.
The importance of not only having a coach and mentor, but choosing the right one who is aligned with your vision and goals, is unrivalled in both the worlds of sport and entrepreneurship.
Having played the roles of both mentor and mentee, I can tell you first hand that employing the right business coach is one of the major factors that helped me reach the title 7-Figure Entrepreneur by the time I was 19.
Employing a mentor/coach is a non-negotiable if you’re looking to take your business to the next level.
If you are thinking of investing in a mentor, I reveal all below about what to look out for in a prospective candidate.
What is a Coach and Why Are They Important?
A coach or mentor is ‘someone whose job it is to teach and help you improve at something,’ and indeed, almost every successful person in life, whether they be involved with sports, politics, business or entertainment, has a coach.
The great Michael Jordan perhaps sums it up best, when he says:
“A coach is someone that sees beyond your limits and guides you to greatness.”
Believe it or not, even world renowned life coaches such as Tony Robbins seek guidance and advice from their own mentors to help them navigate through life.
I like to think of it this way.
Would you climb Mount Everest without the help of someone who had been there and done it before?
Of course not.
It would most likely lengthen your journey 10 fold, and your chosen path would probably be a treacherous one.
You must look at your business in the same way. Every time you reach a summit (a goal), there will always be a bigger one on the horizon for you to set your sights on.
Finding a coach is all about selecting the right person that will help you get there. Who has the tools and the map and, most importantly, who knows the shortcuts to get to the top?
Choosing the Right Coach
The importance of having the right coach cannot be underestimated. It always baffles me when people work with a coach who has not been successful in the field that they want to become a Thought Leader in.
When the time comes to choose the right coach for you, always consider what your prospective coach has achieved and how that matches up to your ambitions.
For example, if you want to become a 7-figure entrepreneur, you shouldn’t work with a coach who has only hit the 6-figure mark. Only those who have been there can provide you with the map on how to join them at the top. You should only invest in mentors who are living examples of what you want to achieve. Make educated decisions.
I firmly believe we all need a mentor/coach to stay the most respected people in our industry, but they need to impart useable strategies.
I see too many coaches play the role of cheerleader, psyching people up for a week before then failing to equip their mentees with the specific techniques that they need to achieve success.
When a client is looking to work with me as their coach, I take a very realistic view of where they are now, and what I think is possible.
I’ve been promised as a mentee in the past that I will have tripled my income in one month. The coach obviously thinks that’s what I want to hear, but it’s totally unrealistic. Entering into a coaching relationship with unrealistic expectations creates an unhappy client.
We need more than cheerleaders or strategists, we need someone who’s been there and done it and not so long ago that they can’t remember what it’s like to be where you are.
Coaching is a sacred relationship and, of course, the responsibility is on you, the mentee, to take action and get results.
However, your coach should only be working with you if they truly believe they can empower you to grow. I worked with one coach, who should never have taken me on as a client and, on reflection, they didn’t have the expertise to guide me on the subject I was looking to be coached in. I had to terminate our coaching package as it was draining my energy and finances in exchange for a poor service. Be careful.
What Traits Should You Look For in a Coach?
Good mentors tend to have certain things in common.
First of all, they are Thought Leaders. They demonstrate innovative thinking that inspires others and they are outstanding communicators.
Top coaches are recognised for their writing, speaking, and communication skills. Most importantly, they are experienced.
They have founded successful businesses and they are credible because they have remained true to their message and principles. They also have methods or frameworks and people who apply them get results. Savvy coaches understand how to leverage media, which is an essential skill for successful enterprise in the 21st century.
What are the top 3 traits in my experience of the best business mentors/coaches?
They have experience.
You want to learn from someone who has also made the journey to success.
You can see evidence of this by researching them, and their success should be well documented or evident from their profile, press coverage or awards.
They will be one of the go to people in your space. The best coaches are seasoned Thought Leaders.
They do their own work.
They are usually still working in their field and they are well known within their industry.
They are Thought Leaders and demonstrate this through speaking at events, training others, writing books and are featured in the media.
The best coaches are members of professional groups, round-tables, or have their own coaches who keep them on a growth trajectory. You will benefit hugely from this as they often spend tens of thousands of their hard earned cash on this and, if they are good at what they do, they will pass on their learning to you at a fraction of the cost.
They have high standards.
They will hold you accountable for exercising ‘the plan’ moving forward. They will hold you to the values and standards that have made them successful and will further you in your development, even if it means they lose you as a client. They are firm in their beliefs.
Understanding how you learn best is vital to building a successful relationship with your coach and choosing the right person. Before choosing a coach, consider what your ROI will be and how quickly you will be able to see your investment back.
Most importantly, check in with the most powerful tool we have as entrepreneurs; your gut feeling.
Always remember:
‘A good coach can change the game, a great coach can change your life.’
