5 Reasons Great Leaders Work with A Coach

November 21, 2020

Rumi is quoted as saying, “Whoever travels without a guide needs two hundred years for a two-day journey.” His wisdom is wonderfully prescient, particularly for leaders in the modern business world who are seeking to be the best in their industry. If you are one of these leaders, read below to learn more about how a coach can guide you on a journey of self-development–and save you money–in just a mere matter of months…

  1. A coach saves you time (which saves you money). As a leader in the modern business world, you know that time is your number one most valuable asset. You know that every minute wasted can equal a dollar (or several hundred) spent. When I worked under the top leadership at Facebook, I noted how Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and other executives dissected their schedules down to the instant, ensuring that every moment of each day was maximized to its fullest potential. If you try to “go it alone,” on achieving your top leadership potential, it may take you two hundred years for a journey that could take two days, if you choose the right guide. Like these leaders, working with a coach can ultimately save you time AND money.
  2. A coach helps you be proactive about potential challenges. As you focus on your mission and vision, you can sometimes experience “unconscious bias” that causes you to miss the signs of impending crises or upcoming obstacles. A coach has the ability to see you and your team from an outside perspective, while also keeping your best interests at heart. By partnering with a coach, you are able to spot potential threats that you may have otherwise missed and be proactive about solving problems before they even arise. This, once again, saves you and your team time and possibly, very expensive mistakes.
  3. A coach uplevels your leadership style. If you are like many other modern business leaders, you may have studied management styles in required college or MBA courses. But, what about leadership? There are many books out there that can help you gain a deeper understanding of how to lead a team, but nothing compares to working 1:1 with a coach. A leadership coach provides personalized, tailored guidance to give you deep insights into how to best motivate your team in ways that feel most authentic to you, so you aren’t trying to copy leadership styles that don’t fit.
  4. A coach gives you the tools to make thoughtful, strategic decisions. One of the most challenging aspects of being a leader is balancing the many priorities that come from dozens of directions–your team, your Board of Directors, your co-founder or partner, and even your friends and family. The constant bombardment of opinions when you’re trying to make decisions can seem exhausting, especially if you don’t have a solid grasp on your own purpose and values. Partnering with a coach helps you to set aside time to figure out what really matters to you and your business, giving you a clear head to make the most solid decisions that align with your authentic self.
  5. A coach helps you show up as your best self everyday. As a modern leader, your life is nonstop–you’re traveling, answering emails, meeting new people and cultivating the members of your team constantly. If you have a family, you’re doing all of this and caring for their well-being also. So, when do you have time for you? With a coach, you have an advocate who helps you advocate for YOU-time, which helps you to recover from the 24/7 nature of the modern business world and set boundaries that help you be your best self for everyone who needs you so much.

As a leader, you likely have goals to rise above the rest, while caring for your team. Take a page out of the book of many great leaders before you and consider partnering with a coach who can take your leadership, life and business to the next level.

Susannah Stokes is the President and CEO of DOUNTO, Inc., a leadership development organization that provides 1:1 Leadership Coaching, Team Workshops, Corporate Diversity & Anti-Discrimination Training. She is a former Marine Corps Captain, a graduate of the US Naval Academy and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. She is dedicated to helping leaders Be the Change they wish to see in the world, by living and leading by The Golden Rule.