Part
01
of one
Part
01
How do people or businesses choose a business coach?
Overview
Hello, and thank you for your request regarding how people or businesses choose a business coach.
In short, the most popular reason to seek a business coach is to improve an organization's leadership capabilities, and the most common ways to select a business coach are through personal networks and word-of-mouth. Business coaches (who tend to be experienced business owners themselves) keep managers accountable to company goals and help them drive profitability and growth. Several factors enter into the decision to engage a coach professional--and the selection of that individual--but the most important consideration is to first define what you expect to gain from such a partnership. This will direct the selection process toward a coach that has the experience, approach and philosophy that resonate with the organization seeking the coaching relationship, and will provide the level of trust needed to make such an agreement successful.
METHODOLOGY:
I searched a variety of business and management sources, polls and surveys, and trusted media sites for insights on the steps that individuals or businesses typically take when choosing (and deciding to use) a business coach. I also included background information on the benefits of business coaching--i.e., the factors that often lead a person or business to enlist the services of a coach. Please see a summary of my findings, below.
WHAT IS A BUSINESS COACH?
A business coach is generally an individual who leverages skills as an experienced business owner or entrepreneur to help other companies--typically small business owners--by being a sounding board and source of advice and support.
A business coach is similar to a business consultant, but differs in two important ways: 1) Business coaches help business owners find their own solutions; whereas consultants tend to provide the solutions; and 2) Business coaches help guide and instruct leaders; whereas consultants focus on fixing problems. The business coach tends to bring a level of advice and encouragement to the table that supports empowerment so that the new business or entrepreneur can lead and perform more effectively.
Many business coaches today are deciding to specialize as demand for these coaches has exploded over the past few years. With no real qualifications or certifications necessary, only a website required, and very little overhead, setting up shop as a business coach is easy--and it can, therefore, be difficult for customers to separate the qualified services from the less-qualified. An example of a successful specialization strategy is AcceleratingCFO (New York, NY), which positioned itself as a group of CFO consultants rather than as business coaches; and Big Heads Network, which teaches companies to solve problems creatively using a merging of unrelated concepts--never once mentioning the word "coaching". The business coaching world can be a lucrative market for business-savvy entrepreneurs who want to provide guidance for other entrepreneurs, but sometimes the coaching they provide can come under any number of designations and descriptions.
There is no definitive way to choose the best approach for any given business. The best strategy is to identify needs and challenges to determine whether a coach or a consultant will be most effective.
BUSINESS COACHING IS VIEWED POSITIVELY:
According to The Alternative Board's Business Pulse Survey, business coaching is viewed as an overwhelmingly positive form of support for entrepreneurs and small businesses--with 81% of survey respondents reporting that business coaches have been a big help. Business owners even say that business coaches are always useful--even in healthy business climates--and the only caveat is to know what you need the coach for.
The Alternative Board's survey of business coaching found that 71% of survey respondents rated the positive impact of using a business coach as between 7 and 10 (on a scale of 1-10), with 10% rating it 10. This speaks to the value of retaining a business coach to support a variety of business goals. And surprisingly, looking back, if companies could do anything differently, most said they wish they had invested more in strategic planning and leadership skills--even more importantly than trying to raise money for their venture. Many--as much as 86%--also wish they had been more aggressive when starting their business, too--something that a business coach would gladly have encouraged. These statistics are consistent with an earlier Stanford Study that showed that virtually all CEOs hunger for outside leadership advice--but only a third actually get it. Again, the value of business coaching is well-understood.
BUSINESSES ENGAGE BUSINESS COACHES TO IMPROVE LEADERSHIP SKILLS:
Improving leadership capabilities is the most common reason for seeking a business coach. This can transcend many areas of the company--e.g., in supporting revenue growth, hiring, accountability to stakeholders, and a variety of other disciplines. The more complex an organization becomes, the more important it is to engage a business coach so that managers stay accountable to the company's goals and so that important functions do not inadvertently fall through the cracks.
STRATEGIC PLANNING BENEFITS FROM BUSINESS COACHING, AND ACCOUNTABILITY IS A KEY OUTCOME:
The Alternative Board's Pulse Survey on The Value of Business Coaching found that almost a third of survey respondents deemed strategic planning to be an important beneficiary of business coaching. Other business areas that could benefit include PR and marketing (14% of survey respondents); leadership (11%); succession planning (9%); managing change (8%); profitability (8%); and other business disciplines.
In terms of positive outcomes from business coaching, accountability was named the most important advantage (31% of respondents); followed by growth and profitability (30%); and discussing concerns (26%). It is clear that the primary benefit of business coaches is to provide leadership guidance that keeps the entrepreneur or new business on track for success.
EXPERIENCE IS IMPORTANT WHEN SELECTING A BUSINESS COACH, AND WORD-OF-MOUTH DOMINATES SELECTION:
Most business owners (85%) report that they find their business coaches through personal referrals or personal networks. By far the less-popular methods of finding business coaches are through networking events (6% of survey respondents); trade associations (5%); LinkedIn (2%); web searches (1%); and recruiters (1%).
Experience is king when selecting a business coach. In fact, in a recent survey, 73% of respondents said that other business owners make the best business coaches--and experienced business owners are deemed the most trusted advisors to most entrepreneurs. The reason new businesses and entrepreneurs are so confident in other business owners as coaches is that 70% of businesses tend to see similar types of challenges, so experience is likely to be a helpful advantage in meeting the needs of most enterprises.
When choosing a business coach, reviews and testimonials hold great weight, with over half of survey respondents saying that feedback from other business coach customers would give them the most confidence in validating their own choice of business coach.
Another consideration when choosing a business coach is to ensure that the business coach's coaching philosophy is consistent with the core values of your business.
THERE ARE SUBTLE INDICATORS TO SUGGEST WHEN BUSINESS COACHING MAY BE USEFUL:
The decision to use a business coach is a relatively easy one for those who seek to develop the skills necessary to start, grow or develop a business. Forbes' Coaches Council summarizes the eight key indicators that suggest when it may be a good time to engage a business coach:
1) Feeling overwhelmed: Feeling the need to have better control over your company's activities, vendors or employees;
2) Needing a trusted sounding board: Discussing issues with a trusted coach, without judgment or bias; and gaining feedback or advice;
3) Lack of implementation: Leveraging an outside person to challenge your assumptions, offer step-by-step guidance toward goals, and encourage (sometimes forcefully) necessary paradigm shifts;
4) Bringing about needed results: A business coach can be an objective force in helping a business owner remove barriers to success--financial obstacles as well as procedural or performance barriers;
5) Saving time and money: With an experienced business coach, entrepreneurs waste far less time and money;
6) Providing checks and balances: Upper-level managers--as well as entrepreneurs--often find that they are not consulting with others as often as they should, so business coaches can provide the checks-and-balances to ensure well-reasoned decision-making and business strategies;
7) Feeling stuck and frustrated: A business coach can help solve problems associated with unhealthy workplace environments or with managers feeling frustrated by those in the workplace; and
8) Helping your company grow: The return on investment for using a business coach is significant--and any company focused on growth can benefit from one.
HIRING A BUSINESS COACH IS LIKE HIRING ANY OTHER CONSULTANT:
According to Lexington, KY's International Coach Federation (ICF), a good practice in hiring a coach is to interview at least three candidates before signing a contract, and have a good understanding of what you hope to gain from engaging a coach. Since the business coaching relationship is built on trust, be sure that you have a good rapport with the individual and that the coach has the experience that will provide the level of support you need.
Important interview questions center on coaching experience (number of individuals coached, years of experience, coaching situations); training (e.g., coach-specific or ICF-accredited training); specialty areas; types of businesses or levels of management the coach is most familiar with; coaching philosophy; coaching success stories; and other related details pertinent to the business goals of the firm or individual enlisting the coach's services. It is important to ascertain that the individual has specific coaching credentials in the form of education or expertise.
The ICF offers a free Credentialed Coach Finder (CCF) database to identify potential coach candidates and to even send a Request for Proposal to any of them. However, please keep in mind that most business owners find their business coaches through personal referrals or networks, so databases like the CCF Finder tend to be most useful as a way to brainstorm or compare alternatives rather than as an ideal way to find the perfect coach.
THE INTERNATIONAL COACH FEDERATION PROMOTES CONTRACTS AND CODE OF ETHICS:
The International Coach Federation serves to support the quality of professional coaching and to promote coaching as a legitimate service that maximizes business and personal potential. The organization has a set of core competencies, values and code of ethics to support the profession.
The ICF recommends that an agreement be in place to define the responsibilities of the coach and the person or corporation receiving the services. About half of ICF issues that are under ethical review are because of inappropriate contracting, so having a clear agreement up front is imperative. If the coaching sponsor is different from the coaching recipient (e.g., if the sponsor arranges or pays for the coaching on behalf of someone else), the responsibilities of the sponsor should also be defined. The contract would also include issues of confidentiality so that there is a clear understanding of each party's duties, responsibilities and boundaries.
The coaching contract would also define what coaches commits to, how they offer their services, the fees, and other relevant factors--a "record of facts" that both sides accept. This sets a tone of trust and predictability as a first step in forming an effective and beneficial partnership. The agreement should also dictate how a coaching engagement can be cancelled and how specific progress is to be measured.
CONCLUSIONS:
In conclusion, the business coach is a far more personal and nuanced role than that of a business consultant because the coach's objective is to help companies and individuals develop the skills needed to meet their business goals--rather than to solve specific problems. It is about empowering the company (or individual, or entrepreneur) to find their own solutions. Selecting a suitable business coach requires a clear definition of the goals and expectations for that type of partnership, and input from personal referrals provide the best candidates. Based on research and available commentary, it seems that virtually every CEO, manager, company and entrepreneur could benefit from a business coach, and those who have not used one often wish they had.
Thank you for using Wonder's research services. I hope you found this information helpful. Please keep us in mind for your future research needs!