WHAT INVEST IN A COACH FOR?
“It is easier to move from failure to success than from excuses to success!” John Maxwell
We all have 180° of blindness. That´s why God designed us to live as couples, so the other supports us by seeing and showing us what we cannot see.
What we perceive as reality is only the small fraction of it that we can grasp, and that is also distorted by our mental models. A simple phrase said in a work meeting can evoke experiences and cause very different reactions in each of the participants, depending on their history, culture, biology, emotions, and language.
The key to success, growth and prosperity is to distinguish what we are not seeing, like a person who focuses a lens without losing sight of the entire landscape. It is to identify the blind spots that limit us, the opportunities that have always been there without us noticing them. It is like standing on a field under which there is gold, diamonds, or oil. If we don’t dig it we will never find out.
Personally, I am convinced that each human being has the potential to achieve extraordinary and unique things, but the problem is that most undertake that journey looking outside, not inward, wanting to reach an external place or situation before discovering and conquer internal capabilities. Worse still, many never go on that journey because as John Maxwell tells us, “Most people spend more time planning their summer vacation than planning their lives.”
WHY INVEST IN YOURSELF THROUGH A GOOD COACH?
- A good coach works like a mirror that allows you to see your full potential along with those obstacles that are blocking it.
I remember when my dad used to call my brother Carlos and I to help him wash the water tank located over the roof of our house. How different the mango tree in the garden looked, the ravine that ran behind our house and the great avenue at the end. A landscape seen from another angle is another landscape. Or as Max Planck masterfully put it:
“When you change the way that you look at things, the things you look at change.”
But in our daily lives we get used to seeing everything in the same way. That is why an essential part of the coach’s job is to generate distinctions. If you look at the photo below, you will notice that the brave climber sees opportunities to hold on to her hands and feet, where lay people like me only see wall. Where I see an insurmountable obstacle, she sees multiple options. Where I see a small outline, she sees a support for the tip of her foot. Where I see only a protruding slab, she sees a handlebar that she can hold onto even if only her thumb fits.
The same goes for our leadership, career, or company. We do not see the opportunities or believe that they are still there despite the fact the market is changing radically. It might be even worse if we are successful because we see no need to continue transforming ourselves. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a leader is a resounding failure that makes him/her reassess priorities, exponentiate their creativity to reinvent him or herself and survive squeezing every drop of resources available (including learning).
Many successful leaders and entrepreneurs have been inspired by someone who saw more in them than they did in themselves. This is not a gift or a great discovery. It’s just about seeing it from the outside, from another point of view, from another perspective, and that’s what coaches exist for.
- A good coach is a bridge that helps you cross to your goals or purpose.
Once the leader confirms the goal or place where he/she wants to go, it is necessary to trace the route, understanding it as the continuous detection and use of new distinctions. As for the lady climber in the photo, no part of the path is the same. Each step taken changes the look and requires a new opportunity to be detected to continue climbing. The odds are sure to tilt towards whoever is watching. The key is to be guided by convictions, not circumstances.
Here the coach’s job is to help the clients transform their gaze, the perception of themselves and of reality so they can navigate over the obstacles that prevent them reaching their goals. It is not about sharing strategies that allow you to avoid obstacles on the map. It is about changing the map with new mental routes that advance over obstacles.
You have within you all the resources you need, but you may need someone to help you see them to remove them.
- A good coach is also a good mentor
The client as an expert in himself, contains all the knowledge needed to achieve the specific objective, and the job of the coach is to actively listen and ask questions that enable drilling the client’s basic beliefs, to evaluate if there are facts or simple judgments (paradigms). In many cases however, the productive argument is convenient, which is simply offering the client a different perspective. It´s only to give the customer an opinion or personal metaphor that helps him/her see things from another standpoint, from the coach’s point of view. Something like opening a window and showing you a possible scenario to see the impact it makes on you. That is why it is so important that the coach, in addition to having in-depth training as a coach, also has considerable experience in the specific area of service.
In summary, a good coach:
- Operates as a mirror where you can see yourself more deeply
- Helps you create a mental bridge that allows you to cross over the river of wrong beliefs and limiting mental models
- Shares with you his/her experience as a mentor
For questions or suggestions on topics you can write to me at contacto@eduardovillegasoficial.com You can also visit my page www.eduardovillegasoficial.com
