Why Hire a Coach?

Why would you hire a coach? You don't play competitive sports or run marathons. What could a coach do for you?

Just as amateur and professional athletes who want to further their game work with a coach, business owners, managers and entrepreneurs can also further their game, or business and life, by working with of a professional coach. You can be good, very good at what you do, but there is always better. And to get to better, you need to make changes.

Change doesn't just happen on its own. Change occurs when you take charge and actively work to make these changes. The three key ingredients to change are vision, plan, and the motivation to make it happen.

Some people go through work and life just existing. They're not unhappy, but they're not really happy either. They aren't very clear about what success, or a great life looks like, much less how to actually achieve it. They lack clear vision, the ability to conceptualize a goal or ambition. And without a vision, a dream, a goal, a target, they aren't going anywhere.

A good coach asks the right questions to find out your values and deepest motivators, to peel back the layers to reveal your vision and dreams for an ideal life and work. Even someone who doesn't have a clear-cut vision of where he is headed still has dreams, hidden though they may be. A coach works with you to uncover those hidden dreams and goals and make them a reality, to put a face on them.

Once you have a vision, you need a plan to get there. You now know where you're going, but you aren't quite sure how to get there. A coach works with you to develop a map for your journey: identifying the milestones along the way, clarifying the steps and priorities to reach those milestones, keeping you focused and on track toward each goal, and celebrating all the wins as they are achieved. You find that you are not alone on this journey; a coach partners with you every step of the way to help you realize your vision. Your success is your coach's goal.

Often, people have a vision and a plan, but it's always "tomorrow." Tomorrow they will start. They're too tired tonight. The economy is lousy. It will take too long to achieve that dream. It's too expensive. There's no time.

There are a million excuses, but no reasons NOT to pursue your vision for an ideal life. If you have a vision and a plan, but lack the motivation to get there, a coach can help. A coach helps to troubleshoot the barriers that stop you in your tracks so that those impassable mountains become molehills. A coach finds out what drives you and what keeps you on track, as well as recognizing when you are slacking off. A coach keeps you accountable and will ask you regularly if you're doing what you say you really want.

Where are you in your life? Do you have a vision of where you want to be, what you want to do, how you want to live? Maybe you have a vision, but you don’t have a plan. Any maybe you have both the vision and the plan but need help motivating yourself to follow the plan. A coach can help you at any stage of this process so that you can see that vision, design that plan, or be inspired to motivate yourself toward your goals.

Many people can and do achieve their dreams alone. And many more people benefit from the guidance, focus, and accountability a coach offers.

So, why would you need a coach? Simply, to help you reach your dreams so that the life you live is the life you want to live. Your life is beckoning - do you have the vision, plan, and motivation to get there?

About the Author

Jacqueline ("JP") Meyers, a principal at PSG, coaches clients to find their best potential: as entrepreneurs, business leaders, individuals and in life. After earning her MBA JP has spent the past sixteen years working as both an internal and external consultant and coach, implementing HR systems and facilitating change locally and internationally. Her background involves consulting in the health care, retail and manufacturing industries.