Wednesday, December 12, 2012

6 Invaluable Advantages of Holistic Business Coaching


As the New Year approaches, ask yourself: What’s stopping me from hiring a business coach, either for myself or someone I care about?  Maybe you’ve heard the term ‘business coaching,’ but the advantages remain a bit unclear or undefined.   

When chatting with friends and acquaintances, I often feel uncertain where to begin when explaining just how transformative business coaching can be.  I want to use this entry to summarize the feedback I’ve received from clients on the most valuable, transformative aspects of a business coaching relationship.   

1.      Increase Your Focus and Bandwidth

Let’s face it.  Running a business is hard.  It’s time-consuming.  It can run you ragged and take a toll on your relationships with family and friends.  Time and stress management skills are something that traditional school systems never explicitly teach us, and yet these skills prove essential for almost type of professional.  The insights you extract from business coaching will enable you to boost your bandwidth in unexpected ways, making more room for personal reflection and strategic planning, but also for spending more quality time with the people you care about. 

2.      Set and Realize Values-Driven Goals

This may seem like an obvious point, but it’s one that cannot be overemphasized.  Holistic coaching looks to the client, rather than external sources of cookie-cutter common wisdom, for answers.  That is to say, your own needs, priorities and personality will shape and determine your goals, while your coach helps make them measurable and achievable.  Holistic coaching is not about imposing external values on you; it’s about using your own values as the driving force that leads you down a highly personalized path of constructive change.

3.      Boost Confidence and Awareness

The coaching process pushes you to look at your business from new angles, and opens your eyes to new possibilities and new ways of thinking, acting and reacting as a leader and manager.  Not only will you learn new skills in a way that reflects the way you naturally learn (verbal, visual, experiential, etc.), you will gain access to versatile tools and frameworks that you can carry with you throughout your career.  Working with a business coach persistently expands your comfort zone in a safe, supportive manner.  Coaching boosts your confidence and professional self-worth by helping you to capitalize on your strengths, relying on constructive feedback and affirmations rather than criticisms or judgments. 

4.      Expand Your Professional Network

One of the perks of business coaching is that coaches are natural connectors.  They have the ability to introduce their clients to a wide range of other professionals and service providers.  Whether you’re in need of a  down-to-earth attorney, trustworthy financial advisor, or affordable payment processor, your business coach can help put you in touch with allies and partners who can make your life a lot easier. 

5.      Grow Your Business and Brand

Coaching requires an investment of time, energy and, yes, money.  But holistic coaching is designed to ultimately pay for itself by enabling you to facilitate the growth of your business, through both increased revenue and greater efficiency.  While business growth serves as a central goal, it is by no means the only goal.  Holistic coaching aims to optimize –- rather than simply maximize –- business success.  In other words, greater financial success does not have to come at the expense of other important considerations like values, creativity, integrity, responsibility and social consciousness. 

6.      Extract More Satisfaction Out of What You Do

Holistic coaching operates under the premise that success is subjective, personal and multifaceted.  What is the point of growing your business if you can’t get no satisfaction from the process?  When running a business, the process must be at least as much the rewards as the outcome –- because in many cases, the ultimate results remain uncertain at best.  Business coaching helps to align your passion with your potential for meaningful outcomes.  It not only gives you permission and encouragement to succeed, it gives you the tools you need to make it happen.

What Are You Waiting For?

Business coaching is a game-changer.  No other investment you can make in your business offers these special types of returns.  The impacts it will have on your goals, bandwidth, growth, confidence, network and satisfaction represent priceless dividends that often begin to manifest very quickly, and pay out over time with a sustained, wholehearted commitment to the coaching process. 

Inclusiva offers coaching engagements for practically any type of enterprise and any level budget.  Don’t wait – start reaping the rewards today.  Email coach@inclusivastrategies.com for a free introductory consultation.