Ken’s 3 Quick Tips to Find the Right Business Coach

The right coach is the one you trust, believe in, click with, and have the skill set you need to achieve your goals. That sounds like a statement of the obvious, yet many may not pause, take a step back, and become intentional about what they would like to achieve. Short-cutting your process in choosing the right business coach is akin to hiring a personal trainer that works with competitors when you are looking to rehabilitate after an injury. They know how to coach personal training, they just aren’t a match for what you’re doing. Here are a few tips to align yourself with a professional business coach that will be a partner, advocate, and counsel on your journey through executive coaching services.

Would you share a beer?: Finding a coach that fits your style. 

In politics, pollsters often enjoy asking questions like, ‘would you share a beer with Candidate X?’ as a proxy for ‘likeability’. When casting a net for ‘business coaches near me’, make a point of having a short conversation to see if you click. Was the Coach easy for you to speak with? Did you find yourself sharing details without the need to filter, protect, or hesitate in responding? Was there a natural flow to the conversation absent awkwardness, misunderstanding, or over-talking? Those first 15-minutes or so will tell you, at a gut level, whether this person ‘gets you’ and if you find them easy to speak with. Over the course of the average business and executive coaching engagement, you will spend scores of hours working with your coach on behalf of your strategic, tactical, and personal goals as they relate to the organization you either founded, currently lead, or both. 

What are your goals?: A coach that treats what ails you.

At Leader’s Cut, we commit to investing the time in what we call our Breakthrough Strategy Session, without an exchange of money. This is the stage past our meet-and-greet phase, knowing that we have a degree of chemistry, and are now ready to kick tires and see if 1) you want to be coached and if 2) Ken is the coach for you. Are you looking to clarify your organization’s mission, vision, and purpose? Perhaps you’d like to quantify what’s made you a success so that you can grow AND step back from some of the business operations? Over the years, we’ve identified 6 Simple Keys to building independent, accountable teams: Communicate, Delegate, Motivate, Recruit, Collaborate, and Develop. In fact, business leaders report that these items appear in frequency and magnitude in the order listed. That’s why the framework can work regardless of industry and irrespective of size. What is absolute is this: we must accurately diagnose BEFORE applying a treatment so that you get the result you’re looking for. 

The Four F’s to Success: Follow-through, Follow-up, Focus, and Flexibility 

Getting along with your coach and accurately assessing what you would like to achieve is the beginning of a strong relationship. The key to getting a return on investment, in terms of both time and treasure, is committing to the coaching process. More than once I’ve analogized coaching accountability to that of using a fitness trainer. Your coach can provide the workout program, the eating plan, a referral to a chef, and tools to support good sleep hygiene. Only you can lift the barbell, hire the chef, eat the meals without adding to them, and make sure you sleep well. Whether or not you get results is dependent on your follow-through, follow-up, focus, and flexibility, especially when it comes to self-awareness and course correction. In executive business coaching, the industry reports average ROI to be about 5-8 times the coaching fee. My longer-term clients report that they are seeing 10x or more, which I attribute to their hard work, self-reflection, and willingness to get out on the skinny branches. 

Conclusion

The first step, following the tips above, is to have a conversation with Ken Kilday by scheduling a no-strings meet-and-greet. If our vibe is what you’re looking for, then the next step is a Breakthrough Strategy Session, where we will get to know one another, discuss your Leadership Genius Profile Type and sync up on what you’d like to accomplish. Of course, you are absolutely welcome to proceed to the Breakthrough Strategy Session if you have reason to believe we will get along just fine. No money will be exchanging hands at this point. Why the investment of time upfront? Think of it like this: whatever your favorite sport, there is someone that wins championships, frequently more than one. That person also has a coach – giving them objective feedback and guidance from a perspective they cannot see (i.e., the way they hold their club, throw the ball, or move their feet). That’s what we do at Leader’s Cut. We guide you through the practice of leadership, organizational excellence, and confidential conversations so you can win the game of business you’re playing. You need to have someone by your side that is a perfect fit.