Take the Leap and Change your Life!
I spent 26 years in Corporate America. Grinding away, looking for that next role or promotion, squeezing in personal and family obligations at all hours and costs, and feeling guilty that it was never enough.
It took the support of an amazing professional coach to help me realize that I can change. That I MUST change for the sake of myself and my family. That pursuing my dream of a balanced and happy life was worth the risk of not only leaving the comfort of what I had always known, but also changing my professional identity. I learned that I had enough and I am enough. That I could be happy, fulfilled, and financially independent doing what I actually LOVE to do…and that is helping OTHERS pursue their passions.
How do I know professional coaching works? Because I’ve been there.
Who Needs a Coach?
Ever met a sports team without a coach? Me neither. Life is a team sport, but we seem to be out there in some kind of “every person for themselves” type of environment. It’s madness. People need people. Each of us needs support and the dedicated time to reflect, to dream, to grow, and to change. In a world where multi-tasking is not only expected, but rewarded, it is likely that this necessary time and space will not occur naturally, it needs to be prioritized and not compromised. That is where a coach comes in.
The value of having a professional coach is similar regardless of whether you are a leader looking to advance to an executive role, an employee looking to make a career move, or an individual working toward a change of any kind. Individuals who receive coaching find greater fulfillment for themselves and are of greater value to their organizations as well.
Role of a Coach
Coaching creates an opportunity to engage in focused conversations that enable and support key development areas and change. A coach creates space for the “coachee” to be introspective and contemplative. Great coaches ask great questions and listen intently for what is being said (and how it is being said) as well as what is not being said. A coach does not provide the coachee the answer. Rather, they create an environment in which the coachee creates their own answers. That way, the answers are grounded in the values of the coachee and ultimately connect what an individual truly wants with what they are willing to risk to get it.
With the support of a coach, the coachee explores obstacles, builds a plan, is held accountable, and is enabled to make the change they wish to make. The coach is there to listen and inquire, challenge existing mental frameworks, encourage new thinking and possibilities, stimulate the coachee’s imagination, and empower and validate the coachee. Together, the coach and coachee focus on self-discovery, goal setting, and taking action. The best coach/coachee relationships are grounded in trust, accountability, and vulnerability. Two of the most impactful types of coaching are Career Coaching and Leadership Coaching.
Career and Leadership Coaching
Career coaching can provide numerous benefits to individuals at various stages of their professional journey. Career coaches can help the coachee figure out what they truly want to do, understand what is preventing them from achieving it, and help the coachee endure the ups and downs of pursuing their career goals. Career coaching is an investment in both personal and professional growth.
Leadership coaching can greatly benefit leaders and their organizations. These days, leaders need to be better equipped to address real anxieties in the workplace. Leadership is no longer just about managing and guiding the work, setting the strategy, executing, measuring, and optimizing. Leadership responsibilities are far greater in the current environment where individuals need the personal and professional support to truly grow by being empowered and given the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Therefore, the leader’s capacity and skillset must also shift to support this new way of working. As a result, companies are moving toward a coaching model where leaders are trained to facilitate problem solving through asking questions and offering support vs giving orders and making judgments. Leadership coaching can make a good leader exceptional—as long as the leader is willing to put in the effort needed.
Author: Tina Schuricht, Principal and Founder, McGinty Coaching LLC
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