How Great Coaching Can Accelerate Your Success – Episode 45
Let’s be honest: Advisors are often very successful people who have figured out a lot of things on their own. But even top advisors can potentially build on and accelerate their success if they enlist the help of a coach. And certainly if you’re struggling, coaching can be vital.
In our experience, coaching is the ignition switch for greatness in wealth management. Advisors who are coached, guided and challenged unlock deeper client trust, uncover transformative strategies and leap ahead of the pack.
That said, not every advisor is an ideal candidate for coaching—and not every type of coach is well-suited to help advisors thrive. With that in mind, consider these perspectives and insights from Val Chaney, managing principal of coaching at CEG Worldwide.
- Ideal coaching clients embrace discomfort. Change involves discomfort. As we’re trying to learn something new—whether it’s a skill, a process or a system—we’ve got to move out of what we already know and what has allowed us to be successful up to the point where we are. That willingness is what helps us break through to a place where transformation and change happen. Advisors who are willing to push beyond what has worked for them in the past are most likely to thrive in a coaching relationships.
- Great coaching is a collaborative partnership. Advisors often view coaching as simply having someone to hold your feet to the fire. But in fact, accountability is just one small piece of the coaching experience. The real power of coaching is rooted in the partnership that occurs between coach and learner—the collaboration that occurs to generate stronger results. Coaches also support and inspire, providing motivation in those moments when pushing into transformative change can feel overwhelming.
- Coaching helps achieve success faster. Even the smartest, most driven advisors tend to find coaching valuable because it gets them to their goals faster. That’s because when we try to figure something out on our own, we usually run into stumbling blocks. With the help of an experienced coach who knows what works, however, common pitfalls that are part of the growth process can be avoided entirely—empowering advisors to fast-track their progress.
- Intentionality is crucial. To really get the most from coaching, advisors need to make an intention decision to change—to think and act differently than before. They’ve got to be open to new ideas, willing to try novel strategies and be receptive to feedback.
- Don’t expect instant breakthroughs. One big misconception is that coaching will lead to instantaneous results. There’s no silver bullet, however. The coaching process is exactly that—a process that requires time and effort to bear fruit. That said, small victories that are like stepping stones to larger goals can occur quickly.
- Seek out industry-specific coaches with the right roadmap. A coach working with advisors should understand the advisory business on a deep level rather than be a generalist. Additionally, the best coaches offer a roadmap that puts advisors on the right path—delivering strategies that have been proven to work both empirically and “on the ground’ in the real-world wealth management marketplace. Coaches also should personalize the experience by working with advisors to implement the specific strategies that are likely to have the biggest impact on advisors’ goals.
Ultimately, we believe every advisor should explore the possibility of getting coached. If you find you’re on track and don’t need it, great. But if you discover that you may realize significant benefits from coaching, that knowledge may be the first step to propelling yourself and your practice to a much higher level of success.
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE PLAY TO WIN CONSULTATION NOW