If you’re new to executive coaching, business coaching, or high performance coaching, I would highly recommend starting with the following steps even before you begin your first session:
Learning about coaching
The coaching you’re seeking is probably not going to look exactly like what you may see on TV…
…but it can still be life changing.
I’d recommend several ways to get informed and motivated for coaching:
- Talk to friends who have used coaches before. Now nearly ubiquitous for Silicon Valley leaders, business coaches, executive coaches and the like are still nearly unknown in many arenas. Hearing success stories from people you know and trust will go a long way.
- Read up on multiple potential coaches’ backgrounds before hiring one. On the other hand, if you just “click” great with a coach who comes highly recommended, trust your gut and start your personal development journey right away.
- Reflect on positive coaches in your life from outside work. Have you had a good experience with a baseball or basketball coach from your youth? A mentor in your community? That life-changing relationship can be echoed in professional coaching as well.
Ready to take the plunge? After finding a great coach, think about what you want.
Tips for before your coaching begins
Think about your answers to the following questions even before your first session to help queue up your conversation–which generally you will be leading!
- How would you define the problem you want solved or what a successful solution would look like?
- How can you communicate your expectations from your coach? Also review the coaching contract or speak with your coach in your first conversations about their expectations as well.
- Be ready to make an extraordinary investment in your own personal growth. Extra. Ordinary. I mean specifically doing something unusual for yourself, be it spending time, money, or using new levels of courage or openness to tackle old problems in a new way. If you keep doing what you’ve already done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten!
Tips for during your coaching sessions
Get the most impact from your investment in coaching by keeping the following tips in mind for your coaching sessions once you are officially in the program:
- Prioritize talking through your objective(s) every time you meet. After catching up socially and sharing a high level update on your general context, prioritize working with your coach early in each meeting to define what a successful hour together would look like.
- Stay focused by removing the phone, being still for a minute before each meeting, and setting expectations not to be disturbed. I highly recommend taking notes on paper, not electronically during coaching sessions.
- Reflect and take action after every coaching session. Journal at least one insight, decision, or homework action that comes out of every single coaching session. Coaching sessions are not (purely) venting sessions. They are catalysts to you taking unusually impactful steps forward in life. Reflect on what you’re learning, processing, and planning, and use the coach as a motivational accountability partner to impress with your progress each time. Progress doesn’t look like a straight line either–but trying new things and coming back with new experiences each time is meaningful and a great start.
Going deeper
Successful coaching depends on a relationship and mutual communication. If you want to get the absolute most out of that coaching relationship, I cannot recommend The Coaching Companion too much. This book provides an in-depth approach to clients for maximizing the value and minimizing the friction in their coaching journey.
Check it out:
The Coaching Companion
Ready to get started?
Consider contacting me today.
Patrick Weeks 