Cathy Liska The majority of small to medium sized businesses in North America invest in a Business Coach. This often means success instead of failure because a Business Coach serves to explore the possibilities, strategize, create an action plan, and ensure accountability.
In the last blog the impact of business coaching for an individual centered on goal setting and planning. Now consider what happens in the day-to-day operation of a medium-sized business.
David and Maria started a new business together. David has a network of contacts that he easily parlayed in to customers. Maria has a background in finance and bookkeeping and naturally runs a tight ship. They quickly built their business and hired employees. Their approach to business is very different. If they don’t have a coach, what happens?
- They might disagree on decisions and the conflict snowballs.
- Perhaps they run their areas of the company independently and then the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.
- Sometimes they each work hard in their area of expertise and both neglect other key management areas.
What does the Business Coach do for David and Maria?
Because David and Maria already had a business plan that included their goals, when the Business Coach began working with them the need for David and Maria to manage their differences and effectively collaborate became the top priority. The Business Coach met with David and Maria separately and asked each what worked well and what they wanted to change. Next the Business Coach asked them how they wanted to make it work for everyone. As David and Maria gained insight, how they communicated changed. The Business Coach scheduled time with them together to explore goals and discuss specific processes. Through coaching, David and Maria developed communication and people skills that served them in their interactions together as well as when dealing with employees and customers. David and Maria decided how to build on what did work for them to change what didn’t work. Because of their work with a Business Coach, David and Maria continued to grow their business successfully.
