How To Work Effectively With A Coach

Have you ever worked with a coach and wondered why you didn’t get the results you expected? Having worked for many years as an Executive coach, a Leadership Coach, a Life coach and now a Business coach, I have heard every story (translation: excuse) under the sun when it comes to this mindset.

I recognize that many entrepreneurs ‘don’t know what they don’t know’ and that can apply when it is your first experience working with a coach. However, I am also a strong believe
in the philosophy ‘if it’s to be, it’s up to me’!!!! I didn’t know what I didn’t know when it came time to learn how to drive a car too – but, by asking a lot of questions, I got the job done.

In this article, I want to share some basic success tips with you so that when you do hire a coach (and every entrepreneur should be working with one!), you’ll have some ideas on how to get the results that you want.Here are some of my ideas as well as a few shared by my own fellow master mind members. Take these to heart.

1. Be coachable. This is a very important part of the whole coaching relationship. Often, entrepreneurs come to the experience with the mindset “I know that”, ‘I’ve tried that before”, ‘that will never work in my business” and so on. I’ve heard it all. Well, quite frankly, if that is the case then why hasn’t your business succeeded to the point you want? Why? I’ll tell you why – because you’ve been getting in your own way. So, choose a coach who has experienced a level of success to which you aspire – keep an open mind – and get in the game.

2. Do your homework. Your coach is not going to do the work for you. Many entrepreneurs seem to have that expectation. NOT! It is up to you to do the work. The coach will guide you, teach you, support you – but it is not the responsibility of the coach to do the work. That’s your job.

3. Be honest with yourself and with your coach. There’s a lot of mindset ‘stuff’ going on here. This is not the time to hold back because of embarrassment, fear, comfort zones, etc. This IS the time to be honest, open, vulnerable and take risks. That is how you will learn.

4. Investing your money is just the first step. Then you need to invest your attention, your energy, your intelligence and your heart. Otherwise you are wasting your money. Many entrepreneurs hold back because of the fees that are charged by high level coaches. Have you ever stopped to consider, and to calculate, the amount of money you have spent making expensive mistakes? The amount of money you have spent on re-work? The amount of money/revenue you have lost trying to ‘do it all yourself’? Give it up – and give it over. Why? Because your coach has ‘been there, done that’ – benefit from the experience, the knowledge, the wisdom, the resources.

Last year, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of new master mind members who had signed up to work with my own coach. I had a few words of wisdom for them, based on my own coaching experience – and, to sum up this topic, here’s what I told them:

Step Up! – Take the risk. (‘If you want to go fast, go it alone. If you want to go far, do it together.”)

Shut Up! – Stop with the excuses, the blaming, the whining,

Listen Up! – You’ll learn something.

Do the work! – You’ll get to where you want to go.