“Why do I need a coach?” I’m asked this question all the time. Well, if things are going along “swimmingly”… you may not need a coach. “Yeah!”, you say. “I don’t! I’m on a roll, at the harvest, pulling fish into the boat as fast as I can.” Business is great! Right. I get it. Few come to me for coaching when things are good. Only when not so good. Note my “90%” comment to follow.In my twenty years of formal coaching I’ve never solicited an engagement… once. Why? It’s got to be the candidate feeling the need for help. Not me offering it. They must approach me. I never approach them. Well, ha!.. maybe a few times when I was starting out, building my practice. So, why coaching.

What are the some issues that might trigger one to come to me for coaching?Running hard but mostly in place. Working harder. Results are the same or even in many cases declining.Conflict with a partner(s)… key associate, team, merger possibility. Sometimes even a spouse or loved one. Anyone actually. We are not achieving our potential. Not even close. No alignment.A feeling of aloneness. Isolation. Very common with CEOs, business owners. Anyone actually. “I have all the responsibility. I have to make all the decisions.” We all have “blind spots”… things we don’t know, don’t see about ourselves that others do. A need to control things might be the “blind spot” for those who feel alone. “I’d rather do it myself!!” “Only I can do this right. Martyring really.You’ve run out of answers. But you don’t know the new questions either.

What will lead to you to your next “level” for growth, success? Is there a next level?!Or very simply, you’re searching, “I think I may need a coach?” Really not even knowing what this means. Your gut is telling you that you need to do something different. Somethings missing. I just may need some help to do … get better.Almost 90% of those (individuals, organizations, even couples) who come to me for help are on a “plateau”. They’ve run their latest race, but don’t know how to move to the next one. Harvested all the current crop. Out of gas… out of new stuff.

They’re following a script… a repeating pattern that’s getting them nowhere.Some common truths here:There’s only one way to coast… that’s downhill. Grow or lay down.The mirror is a terrible accountability partner. Of course.Growth is not an option. If you’re not growing, you’re dying.The height of courage is accepting the fact that you need help. Then going to get it. Hard for the high ego driven to accept.Getting to your truth. One’s place in life will require some openness, vulnerability. You just might have to let go a bit. To get to your truth. In order to learn your truth you must join with… engage with another person.A Concern. “What’s this going to cost” Time, money, extra work. Yes.

But ask… How much of these are you willing to invest? Versus spend. Coaching is always about, attached to results, ROI, the bottom line. No ticky no washy. You’ll get your money back… many times over. If you invest in your growth.So what might a coach offer?A dose of new reality. Uncovering those blind spots. All leading an individual whether it be a CEO or an employee, or again even spouse to a fundamental discovery. This. The issues whatever they might be here are always about YOU.Coaching is a process, not an event… not transaction. Six month minimum. So much of coaching focuses on the motivation to change behavior or not. “But this is who I am! It’s my DNA. BS! No! Get this above all. Change is a choice, it’s not a matter of capacity. Takes time. But the behavior patterns, the “familiars”… those behaviors you’ve been living with must be addressed.A coach is a partner not a consultant. I only work with friends, not clients. We embark on a journey… together. I’m no oracle, soothsayer. We both grow… move forward arm in arm.

We must create new space for growth. A coach doesn’t the solve problems, provide new answers. The coach simply opens new “space”, potential for growth that you choose to move to… or not. My friends must “own” the change, not just pay for it and expect the coach to implement the changes, make the decisions for them. If I did, I would disable them.Tools? I have a coaching “tool box”. Loaded with ideas, concepts experiences gathered over 20… really 40 years of helping people grow. After deeply listening to what’s going on… I select the two or three, the five or six tools among 5-600 in my tool box that fit each unique situation. All engagements are “thumbprints”. Only a custom approach works.

Get you off “Someday Isle.” You know, “Someday I’ll do this.”… “Someday I’ll do that.” Stop the procrastination. Delay. Coaching is above all about execution, accountability. Focusing on the windshield, not the rear view mirror.Wow! A long one. So much more to answer the question,

“Why Coaching” This is a start… hopefully I’ve given you a taste.