GUEST BLOG POST by Michael Van Osch – Founder & CEO www.thinktankmen.com
Why The Hell Would You Use A Business Coach? December 7, 2010
Why the hell would you use a coach? Someone asked that question once.
Actually that person was me. It was quite a while ago and when I said it I did so with a lot of sarcasm and ridicule in my voice. I thought it was the stupidest idea in the world. That someone needed a coach for business or personal life? Ha! Losers! And funny thing, looking back at the man I was then, I thought I had it figured out. And I’d tell you that too. The reality was different though and although I may have looked successful to some, if I really get honest, I wasn’t. I was just another ego-driven, meathead biz guy with a title, a nice car and lots of bills.
I had my head in the sand. Even when I’d see a top CEO talk about having a coach, somehow I’d justify that it didn’t apply to me, that I could do whatever I wanted, alone. Thing was, I wasn’t doing anything. It seems to work that way you know, the more successful men are open to more things and they keep rising up and up. The posers, like I was, secretly make excuses, are negative and stay stuck. I’ve found the number one benefit of working with a coach has been Perspective.
Working with an experienced person who is in your corner and can give you another and different perspective on yourself and your business or career is worth its weight in gold. It helps you get out of your head, out of the thinking ruts we all get into and it can spark new ideas and motivations.
Now, years later, of course a lot has changed not the least of which is I became a coach myself working with men who are entrepreneurs and executives. The change in attitude came for me when I got desperate enough and got my ego out of the way and asked for some help on some things.
Suddenly it felt as is I’d had 1,000 pounds lifted off my shoulders. Ideas started to flow, and I got energized. That led me to hiring a high level coach. And from that, with a lot of hard work, I found myself in a position where I was more successful than ever, doing my own thing, and jumping out of bed in the morning to get at it. And the byproduct that I didn’t expect…happiness. Go figure. Just when I thought I knew everything.
PS – to hear what the CEO of Google said on this topic, click here http://bit.ly/aSPSyK
Michael Van Osch – Founder & CEO www.thinktankmen.com
