As a coach myself, I see the value of coaching in my own life when I spend the time and money to have someone help me succeed in a goal that I have.
Sometimes, being accountable to yourself gets difficult, especially when you are accountable to many others!
What I see so many times in my work, is people sabotaging their own health, physical and mental performance by doing things they KNOW that is not right. Example in prime would be alcohol consumption. We all know that alcohol does not help performance, both physical and mental. However, the number of people who go home and use alcohol as a sleep medication in Central Queensland is both worrying and astounding.
So, why have a coach?
1. To have you accountable to someone who only cares about your success. They should be empathetic to your barriers to succeeding but still hold you accountable, and help you set goals that are achievable.
2. To give yourself time away from being the boss of your own life all the time. It’s nice sometimes to just let someone else drive a little. To just answer questions about what YOU are doing, rather than what everyone else is doing.
3. To provide important feedback when things that you try do not work.
So, what should you look for in a good coach?
1. A system
Like anything, if you have a system that you follow, then you are going to provide a better overall service to your customers. If you owned a shop that sold gourmet sandwiches, and you made the same sandwich different every time, it would be hard for your customers to know what was coming next. Same with coaching. If you follow a system of improving your client’s success, then you will achieve more success, more regularly and people will have more of a uniform experience with you. As a client, you need to look for that system and ask the coach about it.
2. A culture and set values
What does your coach value? Do their values line up with your personal values? If not, then the coaching relationship can be very difficult to progress sometimes.
3. Rapport
Can you develop rapport with the coach? Do they appeal to you in a physical, mental and moral sense and can you relate to them and will you work for that particular coach? If you think they are too easy going for you, then will you really put the biggest effort in possible and maximise your coaching time with them?
4. Experience and Relevant Knowledge
Does your coach need to know about what you want to get you there? They definitely do NOT need to have been where you want to go, to help you get there. But, their experience needs to be in helping people succeed when they set goals together.
Ok, I hope that helps you when you are making this really important decision. Coaching is about improving performance in whatever sense you have decided to work. Be clear about what you want, and what you need and ensure that the coach you choose can relate and work with your wants and needs.
Make sure, as a client you seek the respect of your coach. This comes through hard work, dedication, listening and respecting the program or plans that you have trusted your coach to make. Once you have decided to trust your coach, then work with their plans and trust in the process.
At Vector Health, we pride ourselves on improving our clients’ performance, no matter what their goals, or where they start from. We get just as much pride, satisfaction and enjoyment from improving someone who is unfit and out of shape to an in-shape and fit person, than we do with someone who is here to meet big athletic goals. The change that anyone makes to improve their performance is awesome to watch and be a part of. If you are interested in having a coach who takes your interests into consideration and prides themselves on the performance improvements you make then please contact Vector Health to arrange a time to talk with Glenn Hansen, Head Performance Coach and Owner of Vector Health.