Faced with the loneliness of the entrepreneur, many entrepreneurs are now calling on a coach.
Long reserved for senior executives of large companies, executive support has largely expanded in recent years in the world of small and medium enterprises. The business coach has become a major player in SME / VSE development.
What is business coaching?
Business coaching is about supporting business leaders if you want business coaching visit Unlocking Your Future to develop their entrepreneurial potential in the different phases of business growth, from creation to transmission.
The main areas of intervention of the coach are the development of profitability, time management and team management. These themes are very general but require specific answers.
The leaders concerned
CEOs using a coach are typically demanding business leaders who want to achieve their goals quickly by developing their potential. The comparison with the top-level athlete is regularly used in the Australian countries where business coaching is widely developed: being “good” is not enough to be on the podium, you have to be “excellent”, recover involved to progress.
Frequently expert in his job, but more rarely prepared for the job of an entrepreneur, he often lacks training, experience or confidence in his leadership role.
The contributions of business coaching
The coach allows you to have an outside look, to focus on the objectives while developing your competence in the management of a company. This is a real “Form ‘Action” since knowledge is provided and assimilated into the action, in the “real life of the company” depending on the situation: the arrival of a competitor, recruitment problem,…
Business coaching is not just training to develop skills. It requires a thorough work on the objectives of the leader, his vision, his project.
The definition of a vision: the priority
Defining a vision is not a “salesman” and deserves to be explained at the beginning of the program because this work may seem theoretical and too far from the priorities in the short term. However, it is a question of defining the final image which will make it possible to align all the pieces of the puzzle, to take all the operational decisions according to the goal to be reached. For this, the “coachee” must be fully involved in developing both the attitude and the necessary skills. The role of the coach is to find the right balance between the know-how and the know-how
How does the coach intervene?
The coach works on the motivation by focusing all the attention on a clarified vision, precise objectives. He intervenes in the commitment to obtain the results, allowing him to “get out of his comfort zone”, to release his potential to fulfill his “contract”. And finally, he develops the skills by assimilating new knowledge especially in areas on which the entrepreneur does not feel “at ease”: management, commercial development for example.
What is the specificity of business coaching?
The business coach intervenes at the level of the company director and measures its effectiveness with the company indicators such as profitability, turnover, customer satisfaction … The aim is to make the company manager autonomous so that he can then act alone. The business coach may also work with key employees or management teams in more structured companies.
How does it work?
The personalized coaching formula provides the fastest results.
These coaching programs last on average twelve months in the form of weekly sessions. One of the qualities required of the business coach is to know how to apply a structured methodology while keeping the necessary flexibility to be in phase with the life of the company.
Special attention is given to time management and the organization of the leader. It is at this stage that we will allow saving the time which will then be reinvested to work on his company. It is estimated that it takes between 3 and 5 hours per week to ensure real progress.
Experience also shows that alternating with group sessions can further enhance the effectiveness of programs. For this reason, it is advisable to participate in workshops focused on specific themes. These moments of exchange and openness make it possible to strengthen confidence, to integrate new ways of thinking and also to develop one’s network.
Collective coaching allows you to start a coaching program with a smaller budget. Several formulas exist on the market, but the keys to the success of these programs are still the same. Those interested are advised to be vigilant about the limited number of participants (12 people maximum), the minimum number of sessions (minimum 5 sessions), the realization of “practical work”, in their company, between two sessions and the personalized follow-up with a coach at start-up and during the program.
In summary, business coaching can make real progress by working on both the mind of the leader and the performance of the company: two good reasons to test coaching!
