Why Have a Coach?

I was contemplating a conversation I had the other day with a person who asked, "Why would a business owner need or want a coach? After all, they're the expert in their business..." An excellent question and one that I hear frequently.

The reality is that we have all had coaches around us through most of our lives - we just used different names. For instance, teacher, personal trainer, pastor, professor, mentor. We're just used to having coaches in certain settings but not in others - like having a sports coach or guitar teacher or university professor but not a business coach.

But there's more to it than just not being used to having a business coach. Many owners we talk to question why a successful business owner would need a coach - but guess what? Successful business owners are doing well because they have a coach! The successful owners are those who realize that in order to get better they need someone outside their normal circle of influence to make them better.

The reality of this phenomena struck me yesterday. Being a recovering golf addict I had to get more insight into the U.S. Open golf tournament that starts tomorrow (Thursday) at Oakmont near Pittsburgh. So I checked out some articles on ESPN's Golf page to get my fix.

I was intrigued by an article about two golf coaches - Butch Harmon and Hank Haney - who work with the best golfers in the world and who will leave a significant imprint on this Championship. Midway through the article the author questioned why Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson would need a coach. He wrote:

"It may seem odd that the top two players in the world would need the help of someone else. Then again, their pursuit of greatness might very well be tied to their ability to seek answers and keep improving."

Isn't that interesting? Seems the author answered his own question...

For another take on coaching in a business setting, check out this article on coaching for financial planners.

I've said it before and I'm saying it again: If the best golfers, musicians and CEO's have a coach - then why don't you...?