Michael Phelps, an American swimmer, is the most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. He has a coach. Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast with a total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals. She has a coach.
As an athlete, I had coaches for every sport. As a student, I had teachers. As a scientist, I had advisors and collaborators. However, as I progressed in my career, I had fewer experienced and trusted advisors to give me unbiased and constructive feedback. Afterall, the combination of accomplished scientist and excellent leader can be a rare find. Several years ago, I was paired with an executive coach. I thought to myself, “What am I going to do with a coach?” I’d never really thought about having a coach as a professional nor did I really know the value that coaching could provide.
There’s a myth that coaching is only for poor performers or struggling leaders. The truth is that coaching can be an asset for professionals at all levels across an organization, independent of performance. For many people, there’s some underlying fear and self-doubt that’s preventing them from meeting their full potential. They need someone to help them see the world differently. They need someone to tell them what no one else will and hold them accountable. Coaching has been a powerful force in my career because I learned that a trusted advisor that’s honest and keeps me accountable is priceless. In fact, I believe in coaching so much that I still have a coach and several mentors. As a coach, I’ve helped plenty of clients see the world differently and transform their lives.
At EverRise, there are 3 specific ways we help our coaching clients grow:
- Unbiased feedback – As professionals, we want honest feedback, however, those that we’re close to in our personal and professional lives always have some bias. Even if we ask for honest feedback, it’s probably somewhat guarded. And, even if we ask for honest feedback, we’re not always willing to actually listen. With a coach, there’s no bias. The coach’s job is to make you better even if you don’t like what they have to say.
- Trusted sounding board – Every day professionals are faced with complex scenarios and decisions. We want to appear that we have it all figured out but inside our head is spinning with questions and doubt. We don’t feel comfortable discussing the conundrum with a colleague or boss because they have their own opinions. With a coach, you have an experienced professional that’s faced similar complexities. The coach can walk with you through the complexities (with complete confidentiality) and help you see all of the options, pros and cons.
- No excuses accountability – We all make excuses and many times, those excuses are the biggest barriers to our own success. There’s nothing more motivating than knowing you have a coach that sees straight through your excuses and refuses to let you use them as a crutch.
Whether you’re part of a merry team of misfits like the Bad News Bears or a decorated Olympian, you have a coach. Whether you’re a scientist managing a team or a seasoned executive in a tech company, you NEED a coach. At EverRise, we focus specifically on building human-centered leaders in technical organizations and helping professionals with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) backgrounds advance their careers.
Contact EverRise today at info@everrisellc.com or call 412-282-3630 to learn more about our 1-on-1 coaching programs and peer group coaching programs for emerging leaders and experienced leaders.
