What Does a Business Coach Do?
A business coach acts as a guide who can give their clients honest opinions and insights into their business. They are accountability partners that assist business owners in making lasting changes in their lifestyle and business.
A business coach knows exactly the techniques and methods needed to create change in a person’s life, and ensure that they have actionable systems in place that can help them reach their short term and long term goals.
Taking business owners out of their comfort zone, and really challenging them is what business coaches do best. They are there to see what business owners’ strong points are and really develop them and to find their weaknesses and help overcome them.
To be a good business coach you need to have the following set of skills and characteristics.
A Good Business Coach Presents Challenges
A good business coach will make sure that they push their client out of their comfort zone. Changing a client’s self-identity and improving their lifestyle is not easy, and it’s up to the coach to make sure the client is constantly pushed to do better and be better. The coach needs to constantly be pushing the client, but they must do it in a way that the client doesn’t feel overwhelmed or out of their depth.
A Good Business Coach Has a Proven System
No one wants to hire a coach who has no idea what they are doing. A coach should have a structured system in place and a framework that has had proven results.
A Good Business Coach is a Good Listener
A coach needs to be able to really listen and understand their client. A coach is not there to just lecture the client during a coaching session. If they do, that’s not coaching!
They need to make sure that their client feels comfortable talking to them and telling them their fears and doubts. They are there as the authority, but they also need to really understand the issues of the person they are working with and make it about their agenda.
A Good Business Coach is Flexible
A coach should help their clients set strict deadlines and do everything they can to ensure their client achieves them. However, sometimes things do not always go according to plan and a coach needs to be adaptable.
Coaches should not make the client feel bad if they go over the deadline. Rather help them come up with a new action plan that will motivate and help them achieve what they set out to do.
A Good Business Coach Holds People Accountable
Holding your clients accountable for their actions is the responsibility of a business coach. Part of helping businesses be as successful as they can, is letting people know when they aren’t following the plan.
One of the key parts of the job will be challenging clients. They need to make the space to do the things that are going to move them forward long-term. Clients will make excuses from time to time, and while the coach needs to remain empathetic they also can’t be a pushover and must stand firm when it comes to progress.
Conclusion
The above are all important traits to ensure that a coach is giving their client the best possible coaching service. While each coach will bring their own style and personality to their coaching sessions it is important to always include these basic fundamentals into their coaching.
At the end of the day, making sure your client is actually progressing will rely on these skills.
