Why Hire or Become a Coach
Pastoring a church for ten years I came to realize two key things about people:
1. Most People want to change. True. They want to be more successful in their work. They want to be happier. They want to be in better shape. They want to lose the spare tire growing around their waist. They want to be better spouses, parents and friends. They want to be more loving and to have more love in their lives. They want to quit tolerating the mess and become organized. They want less stress and more peace. They want to find and fulfill the central purpose of their life. They want to be more faithful to God and to live with integrity.
However…
2. Most people can’t (and won’t) change. They feel stuck and unable to change. They repeat the same dumb, debilitating and often self-defeating patterns. Their past becomes the best predictor of their future as they do the same thing in one work situation that didn’t work in the other. They take on the same jobs they did in the past even though they hated them and felt stuck the first time around. They treat their kids the way their dad or mom treated them. They treat their second spouse the way they treated their first. They tolerate what they hate and do what they wish they didn’t do!
Some wise person once called the definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.” But as those of us over five years of age now know, wishing is not a “strategy for change.” (Even if it’s ”on a star.” Sorry Walt!) Neither is “hoping.” And the truth is that many manager, pastors, workers, spouses and friends still seem hopeless and their promise to change feels like a farce. “They’ll never change!” “I’ll never change!” The result: Frustration. Discouragement. Despair. Dwindling returns on investment. Divorce.
Yes, hearing inspirational messages and truth-filled talks,or sermons, reading great books (and blogs!) or videos or CD’s (MP3′s) can be of some help. (though I still speak them, write them and subscribe to them) But truth be told, rarely do those things radically transform someone or empower lasting change. Most of us cannot and will not change alone. Most of our employees won’t and can’t. Our spouses won’t and can’t.
The best predictor of the future… is still the past…. which feels Hopeless, right? UNLESS…UNLESS..
You add what Henry Cloud (in his new book Necessary Endings) calls “Verifiable Involvement in a Proven Change Process.” (Think AA) Or you add a mentoring system that includes the mentee’s honest desire of reaching “there” from “here.” Or you add a grace-filled (not forced) accountability. Someone else asks, “How are you doing?” Or you add the presence of support that believes in who you can be and will not enable you to settle for the status quo.
These are the kinds of things a great coach can facilitate. They help you develop YOUR plan and take steps to get to the place you know you could be and should be… but aren’t on your own. The late Cowboy Coach Tom Landry once said, “A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear and has you see what you don’t want to see, so that you can be who you’ve always known you could be.”
A coach helps you
- Clearly asess or define your present reality. (what’s not working, not optimal)
- See a clear picture of your desirable vision or goal.
- Address your snags, roadblocks or “stinkin thinkin” getting in your way.
- Create accountability so that you will no longer falls short day-to-day.
Coaching combines elements of counseling, consulting, mentoring and teaching along the way – but all for a bigger purpose: To empower you to become the best you! To empower a team to reach its potential! To come alongside those who want to change, but can’t… yet! To make the world a better place because people are better people, leaders are better leaders, workers are better workers, creators are better creators, spouses are better spouses and God followers are better God followers. (For an example of great coaching, check out Jesus in Matthew 16:13-20… questioning, challenging, envisioning greatness…)
So why hire or become a coach?
Hire one if you want to change something about you that’s not changing on its own. Hire one to get a clearer vision of a desirable future. Hire one because you’d rather pay a bit of money now to gain a whole lot of life now and far into the future.
Become a coach if you deeply desire to facilitate people transformation… to develop people, to release people to change the world one dream at a time. Become a coach because you’re passionate and even gifted to help maximize people, teams and dreams.
And if you’d like more information to get coaching for you and/or your team or want to learn how to become what we call an “Endeavor Coach,” visit ConvergencePoint.Biz and look under Coaching and the Endeavor Process.
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