Coaching for Success NOW!

by Sharon S. Golden

Published in South Texas Home/Garden & Lifestyle Magazine; Summer 2005 "A coach may be the guardian angel you need to rev up your career." - Money Magazine

There's a new kind of coach that has become a "must have" among business people. It's not an athletic coach, but a collaborator and strategic partner who helps businesses and individuals achieve their highest potential for personal and professional success. It's called an Executive Coach. Industry Week enthusiastically proclaims, "the benefits of coaching appear to win over even the most cynical clients within just a few weeks."

What is coaching?

Coaching is a professional partnership between a coach and an individual, team or group that ignites the potential within people. The individual or team chooses the focus of conversation, while the coach listens and contributes observations and questions, as well as concepts and principles. Through the coaching process, clarity from new insights and understanding allows improved decisions and relationships, peak performance and other desired professional and personal outcomes.

Coaching is a powerful way to develop key competencies and to unleash and maximize the unique potential within each person. It's an effective way to address the individual professional development needs of leaders and managers, improve critical communication and interpersonal skills, enhance ability to embrace change, align with individual and organizational goals and to achieve healthy high performance. Some coaches work only with performance goals, some with learning goals and others with personal fulfillment goals, while others work with all three areas. What is the role of the coach? A coach is a confidential partner for small and large business owners, corporate executives, teams and departments as well as for individuals. They can help all types of professionals to achieve desired results in their business and personal life. The role of the coach is to listen, support desired change, give objective feedback, and provide a sounding board for planning and decision-making. Coaches encourage new insights and a shift in thinking that results from new perspectives. They ask key questions, invite reflection, illuminate new possibilities and promote awareness of self and others.

Who can benefit from coaching?

Business owners, leaders, managers and professionals in all business sectors can benefit from coaching. Wives, mothers and students also seek coaching to improve relationships, work and life balance and to explore new career or life options. Coaches routinely work with clients from a wide range of industries, including financial services, construction, transportation, real estate, medical and health services, information technology, manufacturing, retail, engineering, hotel management, broadcast, government, entertainment, nonprofits and more.

How can a coach help if they don't know my business?

Coaching deals with human interactions and people issues that are common across business sectors and professions. Performance, morale, accountability, communication, interpersonal relationships, conflict, leadership, team dynamics and management skills are universal issues across all industries. Some coaches also have a business background and bring their understanding of business principles to the coaching process.

What are the benefits of coaching?

Coaching is an effective method for professional development as well as for resolving performance and interpersonal issues. It can improve communication, relationships and decision-making. It benefits individuals and teams by cultivating their leadership skills and developing a new level of presence that allows flexibility for change, creativity, collaboration and innovation. It can also improve business productivity and profits, improve resiliency for necessary change, build healthy collaborative teams, reduce stress and improve the balance and satisfaction with work and life. Coaching can support work and life transitions and support exploration of new options for work and life. A wide range of other goals and outcomes related to business and people issues can also be achieved through coaching.

How is coaching delivered?

Coaching typically begins with a get-acquainted process to explore the individual's background, current situation, challenges and goals. The Coach answers any questions or concerns and explains the coaching structure and agreements (time, how often, where, confidentiality, etc.). When an individual makes the decision to work with the Coach, coaching objectives are discussed. Coaching sessions are either in-person or over the telephone, with each session lasting an established length of time. The individual may complete assignments related to goals established between scheduled coaching sessions. Some coaches also offer services for teams, workgroups and departments to help them work more collaboratively, improve performance and relationships and resolve conflicts.

How is coaching different from therapy?

Coaches see clients as healthy, well and full of potential rather than diagnosing mental health problems. Coaching is for client-initiated change and outcomes that are present and future focused. Therapy is to address symptoms of dysfunction while coaching is for those who just want to make improvements, achieve greater success and express more of their personal and professional potential. Unlike therapy, coaching is for highly functional individuals and does not delve into the past or seek to resolve deep underlying issues.

What is the return on investment for coaching?

"Asked for a conservative estimate of the monetary payoff from the coaching they got, managers described an average return of about six times what the coaching had cost their companies." ("Executive Coaching - With Returns a CFO Could Love," Fortune Magazine, February 2001)

See if coaching is right for YOU!

Would you like a partner who collaborates with you to:

Improve performance, profits and outcomes for your business?
Develop your potential as a leader, manager and professional?
Experience the benefits of improved relationships?
Achieve balance in your career and personal life?
Benefit from new insights about work and life?
Increase creativity, "stress less" and enjoy work and life more?
Explore new options for your career or personal life?
Unleash healthy high performance for yourself, your team or group?
Achieve goals for business and professional success NOW?

If your answer to any of these questions is "yes!" coaching may be an excellent option for you. To experience the benefits of Coaching for Success NOW!, contact Sharon Golden for a free initial consultation. Call 956-425-7001 or email Sharon@GoldenPerfomanceSolutions.com

Sharon S. Golden has been bringing out the best in people and businesses for over 20 years. She is CEO and Managing Principal of Golden Performance Solutions, LLC, a business consulting and professional development company based in Harlingen, TX. Sharon is the creator of "Coaching for Success NOW!" a powerful approach for igniting the potential in individuals, teams and groups for achieving business and personal success. She offers leadership development and change management as well as custom business solutions for businesses of all sizes. Her unique blend of training and experience allows her to assist individuals and businesses in reaching personal and professional goals, improving the management and development of people, business operations and the bottom line. You can reach her by email at: Sharon@GoldenPerformanceSolutions.com. or call her at 956-425-7001. Visit her website at: www.GoldenPerformanceSolutions.com.