Is Executive Coaching Worth It?
If you’re the rare person who is fully self-aware and self-expressed, achieves any goal you set, can see all your blindspots, and never suffers from self-doubt or fears, then no, executive coaching is not worth it for you.
For everyone else, executive coaching is worth it, as long as you get the right coach, show up, and do the work. Experienced and qualified professional coaches aren’t cheap, but they can be worth every penny.
Your coach will provide you with thought partnership and a judgment-free and confidential space to think out loud. They will help you explore and articulate your goals, identify the barriers in your way, develop strategies, and hold you accountable for achieving your goals. Executive coaching can lead to profound and life-changing insights, but the coach is only 50% of the equation.
The other 50% of the value is created by what you do. When you hire a coach, you are declaring that you want to make a change, achieve a new level of mastery, or maximize your potential. Unfortunately, saying what you want is rarely enough to realize your goals.
Deciding if executive coaching is worth it, is as much on you as it is on your executive coach. Here are five ways to ensure executive coaching is worth it for you:
Choose a certified coach:
Make sure the coach you hire has and maintains ICF credentials. For any aspiring coach, the credentialing process set by the International Coaching Federation is extensive. It means your coach completed 60+ hours of training with an accredited program and has at least 100 hours of coaching before they sit for an exam.
Hold out for the right fit:
A successful coaching relationship is like any other relationship. It needs equal parts trust, chemistry, and rapport. Without these ingredients, you won’t allow yourself to open up and explore your motivations, fears, stories, and relationships, keeping you from maximizing your potential. Most coaching conversations are some of the deepest and most self-reflective you may have ever had, and you want to make sure it’s with the right person for you.
Show up for each coaching session:
Your coach is going to be on time and fully present for you during your coaching session; you need to do the same. If you can’t make yourself available for the coaching sessions you scheduled and paid for, then you need to ask yourself what priority it has in your life.
The fact is, there are times when you don’t need a coach. Be sure that, if you are thinking about hiring one, you make the most of it by showing up for your sessions.
Go deep quickly:
Most of the conversations you have on a given day skim along the surface, which is why most people take a bit of time to warm up to going deep in their conversations with their coach.
Most people think to hire a coach because they want to manage their time better, increase their leadership presence, or want to make a change but don’t know where to begin. I can save you some money right now: that’s not your problem. It’s something deeper that’s holding you back, and the best way to make your coaching more valuable is to go there quickly.
Don’t worry about your coach not being able to handle emotion; they’ve ridden all the emotional rollercoasters before, that’s why you hired them.
Do the work:
Most coaching engagements last for 6-8 sessions held every two or three weeks. Just showing up as you did in college will not get you a B on the transformation you seek. You need to do the work during and in between sessions.
If you agree to notice something, journal, experiment with new behaviors, or complete a task by the next meeting, then you owe it to yourself to do the work. Attending a 60-minute coaching session every other week and not doing any work while expecting to change is unfair to your coach and is doing yourself a disservice.
If that’s your plan, then save your money and your coach’s time. If, on the other hand, you roll-up your sleeves and do the work required, then there is no way you won’t maximize your personal and professional potential.
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Join us for Coaching Circles
So you are thinking about hiring an executive coach. That means you are looking to elevate your game or make a change in your life or career. Good for you! Get that goal!
If you want to experience coaching without breaking the bank, you should check out Coaching Circles, a team-approach to achieve personal and professional goals. Experience group coaching led by certified coaches and built to fit with any budget; in other words, you only pay for the coaching support you receive. With a 30-day money-back guarantee there’s really no risk. Give Coaching Circles a try today.