What’s that Coach?
Having lived in San Francisco during the successful championship wins of the San Francisco Giants and Golden State Warriors got me thinking about coaches and the practice of coaching. What is it that makes Bruce Bochy so amazing as the manager of the Giants? How did he get the best and most out of the team and its players to win three World Series titles in five years? How was Steve Kerr able to in his first year of coaching lead the warriors to its first championship win in 40 years?
It’s interesting that professional athletes have coaches to help them achieve their best performance, but it seems luxurious for the rest of us to consider such an arrangement to get the most out of our careers. Why is that?
Usually executive coaches are exclusive to the c-suite or very senior executives. Price tends to be a barrier, as most of us can’t afford career coaches. In the past, it was likely thought that managers were meant to provide such coaching, or in large companies perhaps internal training programs served this need. But in a lot of today’s work environments, managers no longer have time to manage, and many companies don’t offer training programs. Finding mentors is difficult. And with most people moving between companies often, companies aren’t managing people’s careers for them. People have to more proactively manage their own careers.
What are people to do in this environment? I think we’d all benefit from career coaching, whether you’re at a transition point or you are seeking to maximize your performance. The question is where to find that coaching. If you can, pay for it; it will have a positive ROI. If you can’t afford it, find others in and outside your network who can serve as a career sounding board. Get creative in reaching out to people for counsel and input. Perhaps start a meet-up group of others seeking counsel who are willing to support each other. Find a book about coaching techniques to teach yourselves how to be supportive and guide each other (here’s a list to start you off.) Look to your alma mater for career programs they might offer. If they don’t offer one, consider working with them to create a peer-to-peer coaching team.
The Insight: Seeking coaching is a smart thing to do. We have to get over the barrier of asking for help and be willing to expand our brain power by asking others to serve as a sounding board, counselor, and champion to help us manage our careers in partnership.