Do you know what business coaching really is? Many entrepreneurs are confused.
Here are 5 myths about business coaching busted by an expert.
Entrepreneurs have a lot of confusion about what business coaching is. Unless the entrepreneur has personal experience with business coaching, it remains a mystery.
Do business coaches just walk in and fix the issues in the business? Are they only to motivate and support? As an entrepreneur if anything is holding you back in engaging a business coach, you are missing an opportunity to improve your business performance and scale-up.
The most common myths about business coaching and the real story are presented here.
Myth 1: I am fully aware of what is wrong in my business.
Real Story: The issues faced by the entrepreneur and their understanding is only at the symptomatic level. The real bigger issues can be diagnosed only after a detailed assessment.
The entire effort by the entrepreneur is on treating the symptoms while the illness remains. As only the effects are being focused the symptoms come back and in most of the cases stronger.
A business coach helps the entrepreneur take a 360-degree view of the business, finds the root cause of the issues faced and supports you to fix the issues.
Myth 2: I don’t have time for coaching. I am busy managing the business.
Real Story: Most of the entrepreneurs working days’ time is spent in firefighting and fixing the issues which crop up regularly. By not acting on the root cause because of paucity of time, the entrepreneur is accepting that things would never change as no effort is being made to get to the top of the issues.
A business coach helps the entrepreneur identify the remove the roots cause of the issues and helps the entrepreneur come of the never-ending cycle of issues/ problems.
Business coaches regularly support the entrepreneur to structure entrepreneur’s time to help make progress and come out the vicious cycle.
Myth 3: Business coaching is expensive.
Real Story: It is an investment which an entrepreneur makes in business and on oneself. Various studies on Return on Investment for coaching clearly shows that it would range between 6%-18%.
The success of the coaching engagement depends a lot on the entrepreneur involvement and follow through. If the entrepreneur is fully involved in the coaching engagement, the business will get better.
If not, any coaching would be waste of time, money and efforts. The investment is in results and not on coaching.
Myth 4: Coaching is for companies which are not doing good.
Real Story: Many successful business owners are known to engage a business coach. The benefit of this engagement for the business owners is that they always get an objective and unbiased outside perspective on their business.
Bill Gates of Microsoft and Eric Schmidt are known to have been working with business coaches.
Any organization would have systemic inefficiencies. A business coach helps the business owner/ leader to identify these inefficiencies and make the organization efficient and help them grow and be successful.
Myth 5: Coaching can’t change anything in my business.
Real Story: Nothing would change in any business unless the entrepreneur is convinced of the advantages of the business coaching. A business coach can support the entrepreneur help understand better the business with a different perspective.
This enables the entrepreneurs make the modifications required for the growth of the business. A business coach works with the business owners/ leaders become more confident.
The engagement with a business coach allows the entrepreneur analyzes the strengths, limitations, opportunities, and problems objectively and supports the entrepreneur work accordingly on these to make the business successful.
Business coaching is about you, the business owner/leader, not just the functions of business. Whatever your challenges as an owner/leader are, to change, you need to accept that a business coach can help. If you work with the business coach, you will see results on day one—and lasting impacts down the road that will surprise you.
Article originally published in IndiaToday