The compelling business case for coaching

by Mervin Straughan

Life's too short to hide our talents. If we are a leader, we need to lead with conviction. If we are an employee, we need to achieve our best.

It's well accepted that life coaching coaching can make a major contribution in the workplace because it focuses on human potential and encourages individuals to recognise and harness their talents.

Why is this important in the current economic climate?

The service economy focus means a brand's reputation will depend even more on its people, people who are motivated and working to their potential. Corporate coaching, business life coaching, executive coaching and employee coaching - whatever terminology we use - can provide a competitive edge for any forward-thinking organisation.

Some leaders recognise that an executive coach helps their own effectiveness getting them to look long term and to think about life. This is because, like so many of us, busy executives spend more time planning a holiday than they do their lives.

But good leaders also recognise potential. Having people operating at their optimum levels is good for morale and team performance. Equally, team members want to achieve more and a business life coach can help.

MEASURE

And, as the saying goes: If it moves, measure it. Businesses need to ensure that all expenditure translates into increased business performance.

I've coached managers and non-managers in the UK from recruitment to retail, charity to manufacturing through our business life coaching services and although each person is different, often the challenges are similar and the results have been measurable. These include increased productivity and motivation.

Little surprise then that coaching is being used to target specific development areas across organisations - specifically at senior level - and is regarded as an effective development intervention.

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins claims that people don't give as much of themselves as they could - there's a staggering 40 per cent more "discretional energy" in most workplaces that could be tapped into by better leadership and management. Just think what that could mean for organisations.

STRENGTHS

And it's been well documented by various studies that people perform their best work when they use their talents and play to their strengths.

It's a point regularly made by author, broadcaster, coach and psychologist Dr Rob Yeung. Check out his superb books including his recent best-seller Personality – How to Unleash Your Hidden Strengths. Its easy-to-understand profiling system is brilliant and helps readers identify strengths on which to build and actions to take move them forward with their lives. I've used the system and it had me down to a T.

I now know the very points on which to coach myself.

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