6 Lessons to Learn from Business Coaches

A business coach is a professional advisor who uses their entrepreneurial, training and management experience to help you identify your company’s challenges, set specific targets, and hold you accountable for achieving these goals. It’s important to note that business coaches deal with companies of all sizes, as there is a misconception that only start-ups consult business coaches. At Kaizen, the average age of clients is over 5 years, and several clients have been in business for close to two decades. Kaizen’s business coaches work closely with the Management and Executives of small, medium and large businesses, at whichever stage of their business journey they are in.

In tumultuous and volatile times like these, where there is so much uncertainty, having a business coach becomes particularly beneficial. Your Kaizen Business Coach will support you in identifying the greatest opportunities and challenges, keep you aware of what is happening outside your industry, focus on immediate and future actions you can take to maximise impact, and ultimately accelerate your business success.

So what might clients take away when working with their Kaizen Business Coach? Whether you’re a large business or a young, scrappy start-up, the following six lessons can be taken on board to start boosting your success.

6 Vital Insights from Your Business Coach

Kaizen’s Business Coaches work very closely with company owners, managers and entrepreneurs, always tailoring solutions to fit their needs. While this level of specialisation can only be garnered through an understanding of your individual company, we have outlined below some of the broader techniques that can be applied to benefit a wide range of companies.

1. Define - and execute! - S-M-A-R-T Goals

You may have a long list of to-do’s or even aspirations, but the key to achieving these is to clarify these goals and their impact on your organisation. So how is this done? Your SMART goals are generated through questions such as these:

• Specific

When writing your goals, it’s important to clearly detail what you want, but also what the measurement of success will be, and what metrics will be used to track progress.

• Measureable

The goal needs to be objective, not subjective. How will you measure your success? Analytics, sales figures, scores. It’s important to take ongoing snapshots of these so that you can effectively measure your progress.

• Achievable and Action-oriented

Is your goal realistic? Can it be simplified into smaller, more actionable steps? At the same time, is it something you can work towards? Or will it involve waiting on elements that you may not be able to control?

• Revelant

Should this goal take priority over others? And if not, is it still necessary to start at this time? Prioritising between a never-ending list is a skill, and - done well - is a game-changer for busy executives. Not all goals should happen immediately, but it’s still worth writing them down so they are not forgotten at a later date.

• Time-bound

Defining a deadline helps minimise procrastination. Knowing how long something will take will help with prioritisation. Some goals take a long time, and breaking it down into time-bound milestones helps accelerate achieving them.

By the end of this process, you will have made yourself an actionable roadmap that is easily transferred onto a calendar. You should be clearer on your priorities and aware of what is -- and isn’t -- important right now.

2. Identify Loopholes

Take a close look at your business processes, including sales, operations, and financial management. If one or several are not operating as you would like, now is the time to go in and identify why. Once you know what the problem is, you can decide how to address it.

3. Spot and Plug Gaps

Gaps exist in process and in people. Assuming you identify the loopholes in the process, work proactively on closing them one by one. Additionally, having the right people in the right place often results in problems being taken care of quickly, so tactical hiring could be worth considering where operational or performance issues are arising.

In order to find the best fit for your company, Coach Murtaza Manji recommends hiring based upon their cultural fit within your organization, rather than their level of skill. Skill, after all, can be gained, but the integral values and motivations of an employee cannot be changed. Ali Moledina, Managing Partner (Kaizen Consulting Group USA), works extensively with his clients on building a winning team, which has positioned them as leaders in their industries.

4. Hyper-Focus on Productive Tasks

Time management is improved through focusing on tasks that produce results, and reducing or delegating the tasks that waste your time. It is particularly important as a business leader that you remain focused on steering the company, yet many become caught up in the day-to-day and lose sight of the bigger picture. Your Business Coach will always challenge you when you start putting time towards tasks that won’t move you a step forward!

5. Improve Communication Across the Board

It can be difficult to get a team to talk openly and honestly to each other, and mistakes are often made when team members feel pressured. No one can know everything, but establishing a supportive and communicative environment will encourage problem-solving to occur amongst your employees. This also reduces the number of problems that need your attention.

Encouraging collaboration and proactive problem-solving not only boosts productivity, it also creates a positive company culture. Through continuous performance management, team coaching, constructive criticisms, and honest but empathic feedback, your team will start to produce better quality work and enjoy improved co-working relationships.

6. Making Sound, Measured, Smart Business Decisions

As a business owner, you are bound to have a long list of tasks, questions and decisions that all seem to need your attention. On top of this, it can be challenging to keep a track of all of this while still staying on top of changes in the micro and macro environments. By far, the most impactful strategy is to bring in a culture of coaching.

Coaching maintains an overarching view of your business for each member of the team, helps identify what is important and when, and ultimately leads to more clarity in your business decisions. Coaches also act as a soundboard to bounce ideas off, helping you to make more informed and inspired decisions, with a better understanding of their consequences.

The best way to do this is to bring in an experienced, qualified Business Coach to work with the CEO/Owner of the business. The pressure of running a business can become overwhelming, so having the personal support of an experienced professional is beneficial on a personal level, as well in business. Ultimately, your Coach will always maintain an overarching view of your business, goals and obstacles, and support you in creating an achievable action plan that works for you.

In Conclusion

The techniques above are a great way to get started on clarifying your goals, more effective time management and making better decisions, however it requires a great deal of dedication and persistence on your part. As a shortcut - and to exponentially increase the benefits - those who wish to upgrade their business skills, be held accountable to their goals and consistently make better business decisions should seek the assistance of a qualified Business Coach.

However, it is also important to ensure your prospective business coach is the right fit for you. Your Coach should be easy to talk to, with a good understanding of your vision, industry and company culture. When you find the correct fit, hiring a Business Coach is the easiest way to unburden yourself from unnecessary stress and set yourself up for success.

If you’re looking for the kind of Business Coach who will get you big results fast, click here to get in touch, or give us a ring on 800 - COACH (26224).