Coaching has been proven to be more cost effective at developing senior executives than sending them away on expensive training courses. It’s now a highly respected methodology for accelerating a leader’s growth and effectiveness.
But there are important things you must be prepared to do as a coachee in order to get the most from your investment.
Know why you want coaching
Consider what specifically you’d like help with. Good questions to help are e.g.: What do you want in your career/role/work that you don’t have? What situations do you always try to avoid but have to deal with?
Ask for what you want from your coach
Contract clearly with them regarding session durations, cost, length of the programme, and explain clearly what your intended outcomes are. Feel free to give the coach feedback along the journey.
Own the responsibility for change in your life
Don’t expect some guru to perform miracles on you. The guru is you and your inner wisdom. You coach’s job is to help you connect with your own answers, not prescribe them themselves.
Be brave
Be prepared to face some realities about yourself and your situation. And allow your coach to help you delve into those areas. Make it easy for your coach by being honest and open. This will accelerate how quickly your inner guru will emerge.
Dare to dream
Your dreams reflect aspects of your essence, so share them with your coach. And trust that your dreams can in some way be fulfilled in your life, though maybe not exactly how you expect they might be.
Follow through
Take the action you promised to as a result of your session(s). And don’t worry f you don’t immediately get the results you hoped. Just be as patient and kind with yourself as you would with a child learning to walk. Then you’ll be able to keep taking those steps even if when you tumble.
Make yourself important enough to deserve your hoped-for outcomes
Because you are!