Business Coaching: How can it help?

Business coaching may put you on the fast track to the top. While business coaching is not psychotherapy (focusing on psychological dysfunction) or management consulting, where recommendations are given in order to solve business problems or create organizational change, it involves helping clients to optimize their individual opportunities and to develop and shape their business and career goals for the future.

The global business coaching firm Manchester Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, surveyed 100 business executives in 2001 (mostly from Fortune 1000 companies), who utilized their services through company-paid programs, and found the results of the average return on initial investment to be 5.7 times, or over $100,000 for each executive participant. Benefits cited most frequently by individual participants were that 77% felt they had developed better working relationships with people who directly reported to them, and 71% believed that they had improved relationships with their supervisors.

How does business coaching work?

Business coaching relies upon the rapport of a one-to-one relationship, communicating in individual sessions in-person, by telephone or e-mail, at a predefined frequency such as weekly or monthly. The goals are individually defined and usually agreed-upon before coaching even begins. Many individuals who benefit significantly from this type of experience are in some sort of career transition, such as ramping up to the next level of management. Management promotions frequently require a different set of interpersonal skills or abilities, then may have been required at lower levels of the business hierarchy. For example, in my own experience as a departmental director of a hospital, I found that excellent nurses did not always make excellent managers. Exceptional technical skills do not always translate into exceptional interpersonal skills. Also, frequently individuals need assistance with conflict resolution. Commonly individuals may not understand how to solve specific managerial problems due to their own personal and emotional involvement. They frequently “miss the forest as they focus on the trees“. Sometimes a different perspective is needed to facilitate a higher level of accurate perception.

How do you find someone good at business coaching?

In order to really benefit from this experience, you have to find an individual with experience, appropriate training and you must have exceptional rapport. It is absolutely imperative to have someone whose experience is relevant to yours. For example, international business experience may not be relevant to your needs as a business person in the United States. Cultures and business climates may be very different. The International Coach Federation states that they are the world’s largest association of personal and business coaches in the world, and it has seen its membership double in the last several years to more than 5000 members in over 36 countries. They also have an online referral service that includes a searchable directory for people seeking business coaches. Finally, my own personal bias is that the very best business coaches also have some experience and training in mental health as well as business.

By Paul Susic M.A. Licensed Psychologist Ph.D Candidate