Survey Responses

Do you know what it is you don’t know? I’ve reached a point in my career where I sense that there are things I don’t know. And should.   

A coach provides guidance in attaining the necessary skills and knowledge. There are four phases of leadership growth:

            1.  “I don’t know what I don’t know.”

            2.  “I know what I don’t know.”

            3.  “I grow and know and it starts to show.”

            4.  “I simply go because of what I know.”

Is there a gap between where you are and where you’d like to be? I can picture where I want to be. I just don’t know how to get there.

A coach can help you formulate an action plan and motivate you to stick with it.

Do you have clear professional goals?  I’m unhappy in my profession and I don’t have the slightest clue what to do next.

A career counselor might be more effective than a coach.  But this isn’t something to beat yourself up over. It might seem unbearable for the moment, but it won’t last.

Are you willing to focus on the present, or do you still have lingering issues to clear up from the past?  I’ve endured something traumatic in my life.

Those struggling through past trauma, or a loss, are better served seeking therapist’s services to clear up those issues before hiring a coach.  By the time you sit down with a coach, you’ll be ready to leave the past behind and work toward the future. 

Are you interested in developing yourself?  Not really. My company has suggested it would benefit my work.

There is no point coaching someone who doesn’t see reasons for it, or its benefits.  The coach’s role, in part, is to help people see how their thinking, and behavior patterns, creates obstacles.  If you don’t see any room for improvement in these areas, getting a coach is probably not worth either your time, or your money. Likewise, if you’re a self-blamer, willing to accept fault for everything, then it is also difficult for coaching to succeed.

Are you about to make a critical decision pertaining to your life or your career?  I feel like I’m at a crossroads, unsure which way to turn.

A coach can help you prioritize and unearth your motivations and desires.  Nobody works well in isolation or achieves what we’re capable of achieving, personally or professionally, without help from others.

Are you too ambitious?  Yes, but won’t hiring a job coach seem like an act of desperation?

There’s no stigma attached to hiring the services of a coach.  If anything, it signals to those around you that you’re a “player”.  At certain blue-chip companies, being asked by the organization to work with a coach is “an absolute sign that the company is targeting for them to go to the top.”  People who do best with coaching are those with a genuine desire to be as good as they can be. And aren’t too proud to admit that they could do even better.

Are you getting the message from those around you that you need to make changes, but aren’t sure how to implement them? Yes, it only adds to my frustration.

It can be discouraging to hear a lot of negative feedback at the office.  A coach can help you put it into some perspective so that you begin to grow from your mistakes.  A coach will help you look at the situation in a more balanced way, and help answer the question:  “What can I learn from this?”

Are you willing to work extremely hard?  Not really. My workload is already too much.

Don’t expect a coach to sit there and do all the work.  Good coaches hold their clients’ feet to the fire, constantly challenging them.  People need to develop a sense of integrity by keeping promises they make to themselves.  A good coach will always ask the client what they plan to have achieved by the next meeting.   And push for great accomplishment.