“Something between very little and a lot” is the truthful answer.

But it kind of depends on who’s asking the question and why.

To my mind, there’s a sliding scale of reasons that someone might have a slot in their diary to see an executive or leadership coach. I’m not saying a coach can’t help in all of them, but the more negative the reason, the lower your motivation will be and the more difficult for a coach to make a positive contribution.

I’ll start at the bottom of the scale!

Reason #1: The Prescription

Unfortunately, many people’s only experience of coaching is of something that was ‘prescribed’ for them by someone else – maybe their boss or someone from HR.

It may be a remedial intervention imposed to ‘stop things getting worse,’ often as a last resort before more drastic measures are taken. If that’s your experience, then sadly you're not alone, by a long, long way.

Even if your motivation to make the coaching work for you is high in this scenario, it’s probably driven by negative factors, which are less than ideal.

Coaching can make a big difference here, but there are better reasons, so read on!

Reason #2: The Package

From our very youngest days, we learn best by practising what we’ve learnt until we get it right. However, for many of us, the reality is that unless we proactively apply any new learning, the nature of our day-to-day life means we slip back into old habits, leaving our course notes to gather dust and our good intentions to fade.

To address this, more enlightened organisations and training providers recognise that ongoing support is a great way of helping to embed new learning into someone’s daily life, especially for leadership and management roles.

But another aspect of human nature can come into play here – fierce independence – a characteristic that tends not to diminish with age or seniority!

So, while coaching is an excellent means of providing the right support and encouragement, it’s ultimately up to you whether you’re willing to make the time and allow a coach to be involved.

Maybe you’ve heard yourself saying something like this: “It’s a nice idea, but not for me.” Or “I really don’t need it and I’m simply too busy to fit it in.” 

What a shame that you're choosing to miss out on something that’s free to you and that can really make a positive difference!

Reason #3: Purpose

Finally, at its best, coaching is a positive, proactive process that supports personal and professional growth, built on an open, honest and trusting relationship between you and your coach.

In essence, when you have a purpose that you want to achieve and a willingness for others to support you in achieving it, that is when coaching comes into its element.

It may sound obvious, but for coaching to work like this, you need to be motivated, such as to grow into a new role, apply new learning or to make changes. But for many, the motivation to try coaching comes only after they’ve tried several other things that haven’t worked.

Conclusion

Whatever your reason for exploring coaching, one of the key factors in its success is your motivation and belief that coaching can bring an extra dimension to support your growth and development.

If you’ve had a bad experience of coaching, then don’t let it put you off trying a different coach for a different situation. Talk to people that have had a positive coaching experience, too, or check out my testimonials page to see what my clients have said.

Don’t let coaching be your last resort!

In my next blog, I’ll be writing some more about how coaching works and what it can achieve for you.