Donny Walford, Director and Founder of Behind Closed Doors, and a Career Money Life certified supplier, shares with us the qualities to look for in a business coach.
A business coach is someone who can take you from where you are now to where you want to be in the future with your business goals. They will help you to set your intentions for growth and offer guidance on how to achieve those aims.
This working relationship is incredibly valuable. The right business coach can help you become more successful and give you new insights and strategies you can use to work towards your business goals. They have probably more experience than you and they have learned a lot over the years, so you can absorb that wisdom from them. They can also help you become more driven, determined and confident in what you do.
However, not all business coaches are created equal. There are certain traits that a coach may have that will allow you to gain the most value from the experience.
What should you look for when choosing a business coach? We’ve compiled below a list of important attributes an effective business coach should have.
1. Experience
Has he or she actually built a business? Have they accomplished what you want to accomplish? You should look for someone who has been successful and can share what they have learned from their real life business experiences. One example of such a popular business coach is Marie Forleo. She has gained an incredible amount of knowledge from her experience, a fact that makes her knowledgeable and her words and advice both reliable and trustworthy.
2. Willingness to Share
A good coach should be open to walking you through their own process. If they are evasive about how they achieved their success, or they only give you vague tips rather than concrete and specific advice, their coaching will only get you so far. You will get the most out of the coaching relationship when you team up with someone who is transparent. Trust is important. Knowing that your coach trusts you will serve as encouragement and motivation for you to listen and act more and focus on the program. Otherwise, you’ll feel confused and less motivated—even suspicious—negatively affecting your working relationship which could lead to wasted effort, money and sub-par results.
3. Connections
Another sign of a good business coach is having a broad range of relationships with people in relevant or related industries and can navigate you through government. A coach with a strong network of connections will really benefit you—connections that can result to more business introductions and open doors for you. As we know it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
4. Ability and Willingness to Teach
It’s crucial that your business coach isn’t just effective at what he or she does; he or she should also be adept at explaining it to another person, especially to a new business owner. If they are not able to break down the steps towards their success and teach those steps to you, it will be difficult for you to gain traction.
Is your business coach able to explain complex concepts to you in a way that you can grasp them? Or do they confuse you with jargons and overcomplicate things? Some of the most highly knowledgeable people might know a lot, but they are not good at passing on their knowledge to others.
A business coach should also be willing to share knowledge and experiences, not just for the sake of coaching but also because he or she really wants you to achieve business success through his or her advice. Do you feel that your business coach is holding back or is reluctant in teaching and coaching you? If you’re in this situation, it may be time to look for another option or another coach.
5. Passion
Last but not the least, look for a business coach who is passionate about what they do. A small difference in attitude makes a big difference in the relationship. You want your business coach to inspire and encourage you, not to discourage or make you feel worse about your business skills. A business coach with the right kind of passion will enjoy helping you achieve success and will be a cheerleader for you as well as a mentor and coach. That same passion might also affect you, getting you more motivated to listen and apply your coach’s teachings to your business.
These are just five of the important attributes that you should look for when you are choosing a business coach, so that you can get the most out of this professional relationship, hone your skills, and improve your business. Behind Closed Doors can help guide you in your quest to look for the right business coach as well as provide you with useful insights, networking, and mentorship to help bring your business to the next level.
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