What a Coach Can Do For You
Some of you may remember the comic strip B.C. by Johnny Hart, and those iconic scenes when B.C. climbed to the top of a mountain to ask advice of the wise guru.
In one strip, B.C. reaches the top and asks, “O great guru, what is success?” and hears, “Success is obtaining happiness without sacrificing accepted personal morals.” He then asks, “Have you attained this?” to which the guru replied, “I’ll let you know after I see the size of your tip.”
Today, top business leaders call these gurus “executive coaches,” with some making up to $3500 an hour—all to help top performers perform even better.
But with Covid-19 still impacting daily life, many of these top performers are now navigating working and schooling kids at home. Employees everywhere are frantically learning new skills to stay marketable. And people are feeling the pressure as employers leverage technology to squeeze more and more productivity from workers.
But many of us want to be more than “moist robots.” We’re hungry for connection and purpose—but don’t want to go back to our frantic pre-Covid lives. As leaders, partners and parents, we’re stepping back and asking What Really Matters.
And this is where a good leadership and personal coach comes in.
David Rock, in his book, Your Brain at Work, notes that our higher-level brain functioning takes a great deal of energy, and that our brain’s prefrontal cortex—where our best thinking and functioning takes place—is more like an easily-drained battery that needs recharging than a plugged-in appliance that can go at full tilt 24/7.
And while I’ve seen many high-functioning leaders this past fall and winter still trying to “have it all”—staying successful at work, parenting and partnering well, keeping fit, and even starting new ventures—a good brain-based and faith-based coach understands we have limits and that our brains and hearts need re-charging and rest.
Most importantly, a good coach will remind you that you are loved more than you ever thought possible, and that your value is far greater than you ever dared to dream.
Many people hire coaches to help them do their best work or reach personal goals. And that’s appropriate and great. But in our interconnected and tech-infused world, people are realizing that it’s the art of integrating work, relationships, family, friends, and our need for meaning and purpose that’s essential for our surviving and thriving.
So this might be the best time ever to take on a coach (at far less than $3500 an hour) to help you set goals in each of these areas—who will value you for who you are, and will stretch you, bring out your best, keep you motivated, and help you achieve more than you ever thought possible.