Regardless of whether a business is hoping to achieve better sales results, increase the bottom line or just function more efficiently, coaching involves similar stages and processes to create improvement. These include gathering knowledge, establishing a plan, charting progress and finding efficiencies.
Here is the breakdown of how that occurs…
Initial intake
The initial intake period is one of building trust, of ascertaining whether and how a coach can assist a business to reach its goals. It involves getting to know each other. The business owner is gauging a coach’s skills and expertise, while the coach ascertaining what needs to be done.
Business vision
This period of discovery involves getting to know a business and where they want to go. It can include devising a business plan, but most importantly is about understanding what the business owner hopes to achieve personally and professionally.
Business review
Ascertaining the current state of play is imperative to finding a plan to reach goals. It includes the analysis of current systems, procedures and operating methods along with analysing a business’ strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT).
Goal setting
Listing goals is an important element to both business planning and coaching. It allows the business owner to foresee where they want to go and enact the course of action to get there with the assistance of a coach.
Assessing progress
Once goals are set, plans have been devised and techniques have been implemented to move forward, it’s about assessing the progress being made through key indicators and milestones.
This allows the business and the coach to chart progress and adjust any plans accordingly.
Leadership skills
Often it’s not just the business but the leadership team which require assistance to meet the future vision of a business.
This involves taking a look at the leadership skills utilised within a company including staff management, policies and procedures. Refining and honing leadership skills allows a business owner to use their team to its best ability and meet their goals sooner.
Time management
In any business, time management of both the staff and the owner can shortcut the path to success. Entrepreneurs are often so busy working in their business they fail to work on it, while staff need to be clearly directed through written systems and procedures to work to their best ability.
Honing the skills of time management, by prioritising tasks and delegating activities to trained staff, provides the business owner a better opportunity to see the big picture, without a business consuming their lives.
It also quickly enables an owner to achieve that work-life balance that so often comprises part of their vision and goals.
The final word
While each business and owner is unique, the proven systems of coaching help deliver results across the board. These methods allow coaches to discover the potential of a business and drive it forward, while enabling the owner to see past day-to-day operations to the future they deserve.
