We repeat the patterns that keep us where we wish we weren’t on a daily, weekly or even hourly basis, but a business coach can see the patterns
Growing your business is not usually some simple resolution or goal you come up with at a conference. Growing your business is an endeavor and journey of incredible importance.
But who guides you in how to be courageous in freeing up a beloved member of your staff who is clearly not fit for the position in which you placed her? Who gives you advice on when and how to delegate and to whom you entrust some of your responsibilities so you’re not working 24/7?
Desired outcomes of taking on a business coach
A successful business leader maintains targets and goals and a strategic plan. Being a business leader and a doctor and a friend and good wife or husband are all certainly different roles. Yet, while performing each role, your desired outcomes can be defined, measured and broken down into bite-sized pieces that are achievable.
A good business coach can help you see what stands in the way of your not being to achieve what you wish to make happen. A good business coach can guide you slowly or at a more rapid clip on how to get out of your own way on the elements that make up your blind spots.
The business coach who coaches you needs to be a good fit with not only that which you desire to accomplish, but the manner in which you’d like to go about it. Once you’ve identified who he or she may be, spend the first meeting providing the same type of clarity on the business goals, life goals, staff goals, patient numbers, billables, claims, growth or exit strategy you’d like to see in your practice.
Repeating patterns
We repeat the patterns that keep us where we wish we weren’t on a daily, weekly or even hourly basis. A good business coach is an adept pattern interrupter. If you find yourself writing the same goals you didn’t achieve last quarter, only this quarter with a deeper mark of ink from the pressure of frustration, it’s time to get some guidance.
You may not be able to see the ways in which you are sabotaging your own success or desired outcomes. Look for goals that are continuously recorded but you can’t seem to make happen. Look for employee issues and complaints that keep coming up no matter who you hire. Look for patient concerns voiced to you or to staff that sound awfully familiar and then be prepared to discuss these with that wonderfully clear choice of coach you’re considering hiring.
You need both kinds of patients
You have patients who build your practice, and patience that allows you to build your practice. Both are important and also quite different. When you are considering the critical decision of who coaches you, both must be considered. Does your potential coach mirror or at least have a clear understanding of the makeup of your patients?
Will he or she guide you to make decisions that will appeal to the ideal patients you wish to have visit your practice? Will your coach challenge you?
Choosing a business coach is a valiant decision. It means you’re ready to learn new skills and make more progress in the areas where you may not have sufficient expertise.
Monica Wofford, CSP, is a leadership development coach and consultant. CEO of Contagious Companies Inc. and author of “Make Difficult People Disappear,” she is a popular keynote speaker at chiropractic conferences and may be reached at monica@monicawofford.com or contagiouscompanies.com, or by calling 866-382-0121.
