What Makes A Great Business Coach

Humans are insatiable animals. We are always expected to do more. Inflation and a bad economy are wreaking havoc on any person's ability to meet their financial, health and even emotional goals. This is why more and more people are turning to “coaches” for guidance.

Sociologists predict that coaching, especially business coaching, will be the substitute for mentoring this century. From start-up entrepreneurs to experienced businessmen,  everyone is flocking to coaching. It is fast gaining popularity because it's a cost-effective method for making people, companies and organizations effective, and subsequently, productive.

At this point, you may ask -  what makes a good business coach? Here are some things you need to take note of:   

Business Coaching Demystified

One of the reasons why coaching is popular today, according to a seasoned business coach JT Foxx, is that it offers a collaborative approach, and facilitates learning. Coaching is defined as a “solution-focused, results-oriented and systematic process” wherein the coach facilitates the enhancement of work performance, life experience, self-directed learning and personal growth.

What Makes A Good Business Coach?

Why are many people willing and happy to pay a business coach hundreds of dollars for one, two or more coaching sessions? It's because they're looking for a mentor whom they can confide in, and who'll provide them non-judgmental advice. They're also looking for help in clarifying their personal values, setting their goal and taking action.

But what makes a good, or sensible, business coach? Here's a list of a few of the notable qualities of professional business coaches.

Goals, Not Problems

Good business coaches see coaching as a “goal-focused conversation”, where the objective is defined as quickly as possible, and the rest of the conversation is directed towards attaining it. If ever the conversation or discussion loses sight or goes out of hand, it's the coach's responsibility to bring it back on track. 

Makes The Journey Collaborative

In essence, coaching is a collaborative process, where people have clearly-defined roles, and the life coach is responsible for keeping conversation or activity focused on a clearly-defined objective. The coach also helps facilitate the other person's thinking, keeps track of progress, delivers constructive feedback, generates ideas and opinions and reports progress.    

Never Instructs

Even if the business coach knows the answer to a question, they'll ask the client for his or her ideas rather than tell them. It's because one of the main goals of coaching is to facilitate someone's thinking and get the person to use their own creativity and initiative. If the coach tells the person what to do, they're conditioning the client to rely on them for guidance instead.

Feedback Based On Business’ Health

An experienced business coach delivers feedback in a way that's most likely to affect a change in behaviour. And though they have a low tolerance for sub-par performance, good business coaches avoid making judgments and instead give specific, observational feedback, which helps people examine their own performance and come up with better options on how to attain their goals.

Listening Instead Of Talking

Professional business coaches aren't loud mouths and do not act like noisy talk show hosts. They do most of the listening and create space and time for the other person to talk. The coach also gives the other individual their undivided attention.