Frequently Asked Questions.
Find useful answers and learn more about Coaching. And about our coaching practice.
What is professional coaching?
ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential, which is particularly important in today’s uncertain and complex environment. Coaches honor the client as the expert in his or her life and work and believe every client is creative, resourceful and whole. Standing on this foundation, the coach’s responsibility is to:
- Discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve
- Encourage client self-discovery
- Elicit client-generated solutions and strategies
- Hold the client responsible and accountable
This process helps clients dramatically improve their outlook on work and life, while improving their leadership skills and unlocking their potential.
What are the benefits of Using a Coach?
Professional coaching brings many wonderful benefits: fresh perspectives on personal challenges, enhanced decision-making skills, greater interpersonal effectiveness, and increased confidence. And, the list does not end there. Those who undertake coaching also can expect appreciable improvement in productivity, satisfaction with life and work, and the attainment of relevant goals. Benefits of coaching include:
- Higher capabilities in existing leadership skills
- Leading from your strengths
- Greater awareness of opportunities
- Healthier relationships
- Advanced ability to collaborate and influence others
- Improved work-life balance
- Increased self-confidence leading to higher productivity
- Reduction in stress and conflict
- Structured time to think clearly in an objective environment
- Stronger creativity and improved ability to make great decisions under pressure
What makes BCOD different?
BCOD combines the richness of coaching, mentoring, masterminding and proven business tools to support Business Leaders with making their vision a reality. All of our coaches have been successful business owners and understand the ups and downs of starting a business from the ground up. Additionally, BCOD coaches are also certified professionals with over 20 years of business experience within various industries and different size businesses. Finally BCOD is the only Business Coaching company that is 100% committed to getting our clients the results that they are seeking and guarantee 100% satisfaction.
What are some typical reasons someone might work with a coach?
An individual or team might choose to work with a coach for many reasons, including but not limited to the following:
- Something urgent, compelling or exciting is at stake (a challenge, stretch goal or opportunity)
- A gap exists in knowledge, skills, confidence or resources
- A desire to accelerate results
- A lack of clarity with choices to be made
- Success has started to become problematic
- Work and life are out of balance, creating unwanted consequences
- Core strengths need to be identified, along with how best to leverage them
How can the success of the coaching process be measured?
Measurement may be thought of in two distinct ways: external indicators of performance and internal indicators of success. Ideally, both are incorporated. Examples of external measures include achievement of coaching goals established at the outset of the coaching relationship, increased income/revenue, obtaining a promotion, performance feedback that is obtained from a sample of the individual’s constituents (e.g., direct reports, colleagues, customers, boss, the manager him/herself), personal and/or business performance data (e.g., productivity, efficiency measures). The external measures selected should be things the individual is already measuring and has some ability to directly influence. Examples of internal measures include self-scoring/self-validating assessments that can be administered initially and at regular intervals in the coaching process, changes in the individual’s self-awareness and awareness of others, shifts in thinking that create more effective actions, and shifts in one’s emotional state that inspire confidence.
What are some typical reasons someone might work with a coach?
An individual or team might choose to work with a coach for many reasons, including but not limited to the following:
- Something urgent, compelling or exciting is at stake (a challenge, stretch goal or opportunity)
- A gap exists in knowledge, skills, confidence or resources
- A desire to accelerate results
- A lack of clarity with choices to be made
- Success has started to become problematic
- Work and life are out of balance, creating unwanted consequences
- Core strengths need to be identified, along with how best to leverage them
What is a Mastermind Group (Executive Roundtable)?
According to Napoleon Hill in his book Think and Grow Rich a mastermind group is, “The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.” Masterminding will impact all areas of your life in a positive way because you are more aware of what you want and are prepared to get it.
What Coaching is not?
There are five commonly used tools for improving human potential: Coaching, Consulting, Training, Therapy and Mentoring; and there are important differences between them. We have explained coaching, however, it is important to know when to hire a:
- Consultant- a subject expert who knows what should be done based on a series of assessments
- Trainer- someone who focuses on skill and knowledge transfer
- Therapist- someone who supports resolution of emotional, intrapersonal, and interpersonal issues and/or a
- Mentor- a developmental relationship between a more experienced “mentor” and a less experienced partner, and typically involves sharing of advice.
You have the option to design the coaching relationship that best works for you. Our coaches have ample experience as a Consultant, Mentor or Trainer so just ask for what you need. If you feel that you need a Therapist, we can help you find one.
How can I maximize my coaching experience?
Coaching is a collaborative partnership between a Leader, his/her organization, and a coach. It is not something that is “done” to you, nor does someone show you every step of the way. Coaching is a learning and discovery process to assist you in moving forward in new ways that will work for you. From a business perspective, the purpose of this partnership is twofold. First to facilitate both the leaders and the organization’s learning, and second to achieve identified results.
How do I Make the Best Use of my Coach?
- Organize your thoughts before each call.
- Be prepared to do the actions on which you and your coach agree.
- Be fully honest. Secrets will hold you back. Your coach is not your judge and will not judge you. S/he can coach you better if he knows what’s on your mind.
- If you don’t like something that is happening in your calls, say so. If you say what is bothering you, your coach will probably be able to fix it.
- Recognize that progress comes one step at a time, and be prepared to work on isolating the next steps to be taken. The big picture is a useful guide, but it is not useful if it remains just a picture. To best use your coach, be prepared to take action so that your dreams can become reality.
- Listen to what your coach says. Try to hear it without preconceptions and without overlaying it with the thought patterns that have held you back in the past.
- Remember that a coach is not a therapist. If you need a therapist, then find one, or ask your coach for help in doing so.
- Understand that as your coach works with you on your outer goals, you may need to make inner changes. The one is unlikely to occur without the other.
- Be open to success and to wonderful changes in your life. Expect them. Require them. They will come.
- You are responsible for yourself. No one – not even your coach can “fix you”. Through curiosity, exploration and learning you will find your
What do people and organization say about coaching, once experienced?
More and more organizations have recognized the value in building a culture of coaching that offers employees at all levels—not just executives and managers—the opportunity to grow their skills, enhance their value and reach their professional goals. A recent signature research, conducted in partnership between the Human Capital Institute (HCI) and the International Coach Federation (ICF), has investigates the components of a successful coaching culture, as well as the state of coaching within organizations as reported by more than 500 professionals. Key findings from this research include:
Coaching can be indicative of increased employee engagement; 65% of employees from companies with strong coaching cultures rated themselves as highly engaged. Coaching also has an impact on financial performance, with 60% of respondents from organizations with strong coaching cultures reporting their 2013 revenue to be above average, compared to their peer group.
The same researchhas shown that, within theparticipating companies:
79% of respondents agreed that coachinghas increasedengagement
72% of respondents agreed that coachinghas improved team functionality
70% of respondents agreed that coachinghas increasedproductivity 70% of respondents agreed that coachinghas increasedproductivity 66% of respondents agreed that coachinghas increasedemployee wellbeing61% of respondents agreed that coachinghas increased customer service
Why should I join a Mastermind Group (Executive Roundtable)?
Numerous studies have found that Masterminding improves productivity and increases effectiveness. It is a way to step back and learn to take an objective look at the big picture. It is easy to get caught up in one perspective, however, masterminding enables you to express your unique thoughts and gain new ideas in a non-competitive challenging and positive environment. It is a way to envision positive outcomes and plan effective ways to approach circumstances.