Early in my consulting career, I didn’t think much of coaching. I didn’t know what to think because I hadn’t experienced it. That changed when I had some business challenges that lasted for months. In my bid to sort things out, I hired a coach and after our first session which lasted two hours, my business challenges got sorted in just five days. It was magic. That was my first encounter with coaching. I was hooked.
Things worked out so well in such a short time that I decided to become a coach. My experience made me want to help people with what I had discovered about coaching. So, I joined the John Maxwell Team of coaches, trainers, and speakers and became an executive coach. I first experienced the power of coaching before I became a coach.
In Africa, the coaching culture is growing and globally, many of the world’s top athletes, business and political leaders engage coaches to help them to attain and sustain high performance and excellence. So, how does coaching help your performance? Here is how.
Coaching Provides Clarity: An engagement with a good coach should make the scales fall off your eyes – you should have “Aha” moments. Often, what we need to advance is an empowering perspective from an objective party and that is what a good coach brings. Coaching opens your eyes to see the assets that you have and had been blind to. It sharpens your sight so that you’re able to clearly see your way out of a mess. Coaching ensures that you attain clear thought.
Coaching Ensures Speed: During my business challenges, my encounter with the coach brought about speedy results. Why? It is because clarity of thought positions you to act with speed. I walked out of the coach’s office with clarity of thought and my clear mind powered my actions. My mind wasn’t foggy, hence, I moved fast and achieved great results in just five days. In a world full of distractions, clarity of thought ensures speed.
Coaching Powers Change: Change is hard work and coaching is about the deep work required for change. An effective coach works with you through the messy middle that is between the conception and fulfilment of an idea. The coach gives you tools and strategies to ensure that you advance in your quest for change – and during tough times, you have an accountability system in place to help you carry on. Coaching powers change on a deep level.
