This article originally appeared in The Simplifier #23.

An Element of Success: Coaching

By Shawn Tuttle

What’s with all the talk about coaches lately? We have life coaches, executive coaches, business coaches, time efficiency coaches, and so on. You may have asked yourself, “Why do I need coaching? It seems like an unnecessary expense. What can coaching give me that I can’t get from my friends, colleagues or a book?”

In times of unprecedented activity addiction, overwhelm, and busy-schedule-as-status-symbol, trying to make it on your own is a recipe for failure. In my experience as a coach, clients call for simplification when they feel they are in a quagmire of sorts. However, it turns out that another set of benefits kick in when you work with someone before falling into that pit. While the people who lead prosperous lives with time for friends and family come from wildly different backgrounds, they have one dominant characteristic in common: they all have a relationship with someone who advises and encourages them to reach their full potential.

Not only is having a coach a key component of success, but business consultant Dana G. Mayer’s study of six-figure income earners (”6 Figure Success Stories”) proved a connection between the number of times a week that someone talked with their coach and the amount of money that person made. I.e. the more coaching, the more money they made. Every single one of the 100+ independent professionals interviewed had a formal or informal coach, meaning they had someone they spoke with at least once a week about their business.

So, do you need a coach?

Of course, you don’t necessarily need coaching—you will probably not die without it—so perhaps the better question may be, “Will it help more than it will cost?”

Let’s take a look at the ways coaching can help:

• Do more with less. Working with a coach helps you identify time and energy wasters and underutilized resources. Since you are deep in the middle of your situation, it can take quite a while to recognize that some belief, misperception, or situation has been holding you back—and then even more time to deal with it.
  

• Focus on pursuing what you want. Ms. Mayer’s report also discovered that successful professionals are the ones who actually do it, i.e. they follow through. In order to follow through, you must have focus. Focus is what guides the arrangement of your time, time for the things you are passionate about. Has anyone ever asked you, “Are you cramming 20 hours of work into an 8 hour period?” as if that is the ideal and natural way to be? It takes focus to integrate the demands of the Stress Generation, and not get side-tracked into a million directions. Coaches help you focus.

• Get support and accountability to make sustainable changes in your habits. The primary reason people call Project Simplify for coaching is they want to be more organized and efficient. They’ve read books, they’ve tried different methods, and then they’ve realized they want someone to bounce ideas around with who can bring in an objective perspective. They want someone to help them customize the cookie cutter to their situation, and then support them in sticking with it.

Finding a coach

So how do you find a coach? Ask around, you probably know someone who is or has worked with one. Coaches are often members of networking groups. Do ask questions–not all coaches are created equal.

Here are some pointers to help you find the right coach:

• Sit in on a workshop or teleclass.

• Read an article they’ve written.

• Ask them for the top 5 benefits their clients get from working with them, and then ask for referrals and see if those clients agree with the coach’s assertions.

• Look for certification in their area of specialty or a client list that is similar to your industry or lifestyle (i.e., specializing in coaching executives, solopreneurs, speaking, women, people with ADD, etc.).

• What is their background & working experience?

• You can also check at FindaCoach.com and the International Coach Federation (www.coachfederation.org).

Often, a coach has an intro session in which they explain how the work and what you can expect. It is also meant to get a sense as to whether you’d work well together. It is very important to work with someone you feel comfortable communicating with. If she doesn’t seem like the right fit, the coach should have some suggestions of others who may be. Keep in mind, they don’t have to be in your area. Many coaching relationships are over the phone.

And what about cost? Most coaches run from $200 - $500 per month which is typically broken up into weekly or bi-weekly sessions of 30-45 minutes with email support in between sessions.

Also consider the cost of not working with a coach. Without a coach, you are more likely to fall victim to stress, and we all know that stress is a major contributor to health-related problems. Plus lack of focus pushes your business goals further away. And every struggling business person has made mistakes that could have been avoided with the right advice beforehand.

Help can be hard to reach out for sometimes, but it sure is great to get! From our own testimonial page:

“My daily life has much more room for fun, since you helped me simplify so many areas of my life. You have a gift for personalizing the process and making it happen so swiftly. It’s empowering!” - H.A., Nevada City

And consistent with the findings in Ms. Mayer’s report, my growth has been greatly accelerated by working with a coach as well!

Perhaps coaching could be just the help you need to simplify your efforts at manifesting your dreams.

—
Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify