Are you considering hiring a business consultant, business coach, personal coach, or life coach?
The first question for you to ask yourself is. . . “How Coachable Am I?”
Are you really ready to ask this question to yourself?
Do you wonder how receptive you might be to coaching?
Sometimes people say they want to hire a coach or consultant and then they get in there and come to find out the coach didn’t help them at all. I am not going to go down the path that you didn’t do your due diligence and you went with the cheapest coach you could find or didn’t check out the history of that coach because I know you would never do that right…
So let’s say that you did your due diligence and that your coaching experience didn’t work out so well. What happened?
If ALL of these statements are true for you then it is likely you are coachable.
- You believe this is the right time to accept coaching.
- You tell the truth to yourself and are willing to challenge your self-defeating beliefs.
- You are willing and able to do the work and let the coach do the coaching.
- You keep your word without struggling or sabotaging and completed the outlined action items.
- You are able to experiment with new ideas that your coach suggests.
- You can express and articulate what you need or expect from your coach.
- You see coaching as a worthwhile investment in your business and your life.
- You are humble enough to share the credit for business success with your coach.
If you can say yes or can honestly share with your coach that you are still working on one of these then you are likely “Coachable”!
If you are willing to make some adjustments and are not afraid to make positive changes in your business and your life then you can probably take on being a coaching client for someone.
How can you improve your coach-ability muscle?
Listen to what your coach is saying to you.
Do not let yourself get distracted while working with your coach. Stay focused so you can hear what they are asking you and if they put on their training hat for a moment to give you a new skill set.
Don’t make excuses if you’re not getting things done.
Be real and honest and if you need a little push then set up some accountability with your coach so you get it done. Life happens and as a coach, I want to hear how and when you will get it done, not why you are slacking.
Be willing to learn from people who have more experience than you.
Please don’t be like many teenagers and be a “know it all”! Put your ego aside and listen as your coach may have an updated spin on what you once knew.
Keep in mind that your coach is there to help align you with success.
Most coaches do not even charge the value that they are worth. They may charge an industry-standard because their heart is in it to help you succeed. Do not get caught up in making your coach your friend. Yes, it could happen, but it is not the primary goal of getting to know a coach. You want someone to not let you get away with cheating yourself out of success. Sometimes friends let you slide, say it’s okay, and wave it off like it’s not a big deal. A professional coach holds firm to what needs to be accomplished and might make you a little mad sometimes.
Ask your coach questions.
Ask those questions that you think about during the week. Write them down or make a note of them on your phone so when you are with your coach you don’t have to try to remember. You know your business better than anyone. A great coach will help you answer the questions you have and if they cannot have resources of people they can go to for support and get back to you on your questions.
You can learn to be more coachable as you are being coached. Do not be alarmed and think you are not coachable if you do not see yourself in all of the statements above. As you allow yourself to be coached you will gain more ability to be receptive and open to coaching. Coaching is not about perfection. It is a learning process and being coachable is a skill that can be learned and a memory muscle that can be built up.
The greatest gift we can give ourselves is to allow ourselves to learn more about what challenges us and take action to be better at those challenges. Having a coach can support you with what challenges you. Allowing yourself to see through the eyes of someone who may see your challenge as a success tool for you is a wonderful way to grow and build your business confidence and increase business growth.
Find a coach who will support you, hold you accountable, and wants you to be a success. The best coach is a coach who has shown success in their life and business. Someone who walks the talk. Research and ask questions about the coach you are looking to hire. Google them, check out their website, read the testimonials, glance at their social media, and then make a decision that would serve you in reaching your goals and dreams. You are in business for yourself but you do not have to be in business by yourself. Take the time to find someone to come alongside you and guide you, encourage you and hold you accountable for your business success.
A word of caution, is not every coach is on the up and up, and not every coach will be a great coach for you. I hire coaches for myself to continue to grow in my success as well. I once hired a coach and was in her mastermind program. I did a half-day in her home getting coached on the next program that I was offering. I laid out all the groundwork, the structures, the processes, and everything to take that program to live in a month. Two weeks later when I showed up at her mastermind program she taught her whole mastermind my program with all my pieces and took all the credit for it! I left immediately and have chosen to not go that deep with another coach until I have built trust and layout a great foundation of whose intellectual property it is and the consequences moving forward if that were to happen again. It happens and we learn from it and move forward.
Wishing you the best in finding a coach and if you want to see if we would be a good fit, reach out and let’s do a discovery call to see.
I will end this with a fabulous quote by Michael Jordan, “My best skill was that I was coachable.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/joefolkman/2017/07/26/how-coachable-are-you-5-quick-ways-to-improve/?sh=45f5162926f5