GOAT, (Greatest of All Time). This old expression was recently revitalized because of Simone Biles’ dominance in the world of gymnastics. We hear the expression tagged to other great athletes like Tom Brady, Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods, and Michael Jordan. Hang on, we’ll get to how this relates to the business coach shortly….

Have you ever asked yourself, “How did these exceptional athletes become the GOAT in their sport?” They have extraordinary skill, focus, and dedication. However, they all share one other common trait that is often overlooked: every one of them acquired the help of a coach, to refine their skills from good to exceptional. Professional athletes accepted coaching as a logical and necessary part of becoming extraordinary and advancing in their field.

Resistance to Coaching

When we look at business leaders, especially individual entrepreneurs, we experience a very different reaction to the idea of acquiring the help of a coach. Recently we asked over a hundred small and medium-sized business owners if they had ever utilized a business coach. With very few exceptions, the response was an overwhelming NO.

When we asked why they had not utilized a business coach, we received comments such as ’Waste of time…  I’ll give up control… ‘I know more about my business than any coach I know… ‘what if I spend a lot of money and get nothing for it… ‘It would be embarrassing to hire a coach to run my business… ‘How can a coach help improve my business when they know nothing about it?

The Role of the Business Coach

Looking back over these conversations it is clear that business owners often misunderstand the role of the coach. Tiger Woods has never had a coach that could beat him in a round of golf. Tom Brady has never had a passing coach with his talent or accuracy. Simone Biles has never had a floor events coach with her skill set. Accordingly, the role of the business coach has never been to be better than the professional business owner; it’s to help sharpen the skills the business owner already possesses. The overarching goal is to help the business owner make desirable — and often difficult — change.

So if business owners want to take their businesses to the next level, they need to think like professional athletes.  Acquiring the help of a business coach is a recognition of success and not an admission of failure. Recognizing the value of a coach is a demonstration of confidence and control. True failure is allowing fear and doubt to limit one’s professional development.

Fear Barriers to Hiring a Business Coach

Overcoming the intangible fears that a business owner has about hiring a coach can be challenging. Once you get past the jargon, three mental barriers represent the bulk of the problem: fear of losing control, fear that asking for help represents failure, and fear that colleagues will think less of you.

To overcome these concerns, you cannot simply ignore them or brush them aside. If you do, they will remain as background noise in your brain and be fodder for more insecurity and anxiety.  The best approach is to observe these fears without self-judgment (mindfulness) and address them head-on.

Loss of Control

If concerns about the loss of control are an issue, then ask yourself how you would lose control. You own the company; the role of a coach is to grow your professional expertise while expanding your business control. Real coaches ask you questions and empower you; they don’t direct or control you.  The coach is your resource, not the other way around.

Self-Perception of Failure or Incompetence

If your issue is fear that acquiring a coach could represent failure, then start with the question, ‘Why? Why would acquiring the help of a business coach represent failure? The fact that you have nurtured and developed a functioning enterprise demonstrates success, not failure. Your desire to take your enterprise to the next level represents advanced business acumen.  And you are in good company with many other elite business leaders (Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and Oprah Winfrey to name a few) who attest to the power of a business coach.

Reputational Risk

If you have self-doubt that other business colleagues will think less of you for acquiring a business coach, then ask yourself two questions: 1) ‘Who would do so or care?”; 2) “Do you care if an ill-informed business associate has this opinion?”  Imagining that someone would think less of you is probably a projection of your doubt; it’s unlikely that anyone will care. Hiring a coach demonstrates foresight to help you address every business owner’s concerns.  Your reputation will probably benefit from the decision. 

Cost and Risk

When a business owner does consider acquiring the services of a coach, one quantifiable concern is cost vs. measurable results. The easy way to reconcile this balance — and to mitigate the attendant risk — is to acquire the services of a business coach who will provide a written ROI guarantee of success. The challenge is finding a coaching service that will provide such an agreement. Just a little online research confirms that written business coaching guarantees are rarely offered.

In theory and practice, the avoidance of guaranteeing success does not make sense. Many parameters of a business — be it manufacturing, retail, service, or professional practice — are easily measurable. They include business structure, product/service to be provided, method of delivery, cost of goods/service, marketplace awareness/visibility, pricing, overhead costs, revenue generation, and resulting profit or loss. Measurable outcomes like these can provide the foundation for predictions of success and failure and therefore guarantees.

A written guarantee from a business coach can mitigate your risk in hiring him/her, and increase your confidence about investment in the engagement. It concretely demonstrates the coach’s “skin in the game.”

The Written Guarantee

But when we talk to business coaches about the prospect of written guarantees for clients, we hear statements such as… ‘I cannot depend on my clients to do what I recommend… ‘Many of the improvements I help clients make are not quantifiable… ‘My clients would look for ways to avoid paying me… ‘There is no way to define the boundaries of a guarantee… ‘What if their business became obsolete or another pandemic ruined their business?

Typically, the stated reasons for not providing a coaching performance guarantee are about the behavior of the client, not the coach. In reality, unwillingness to provide a written guarantee is an issue with the coach. It is easy to establish goals and measurements. Both owner and coach can establish performance expectations for each other; financial measurements can provide the parameters for success. It’s not hard to construct a written guarantee around these parameters and the business owner’s activity to achieve them. So why are written guarantees so rare?

Why Written Guarantees are Rare
 

• Uncertainty about the effectiveness of coaching or coaching methods. Anyone can hang a shingle as a business coach, life coach, etc. But some self-declared business coaches do not have the experience and knowledge to confidently coach a business owner. Some coaches simply do not understand the key factors that drive revenue and profitability in a business.  Or how to execute on a profitability strategy. Or they might not have expertise in the science and art of coaching. It’s easy to hang a shingle, and much harder to bring true value to the coaching engagement.

• Business coaches might not be selective about who they coach. But doesn’t the client select the business coach? Sure, but it works both ways. A successful coaching engagement depends on serious commitment from both parties. Success depends mostly on the motivation of the business leader, and if he/she is not passionate about making change, a coach won’t be able to help you. Only business coaches careful about who they work with can offer written guarantees.

• Business coaches might not know how to construct a written guarantee with goals, measurements, and risk mitigation. As described above…. But that’s not a good reason. It’s not simple, but it’s not rocket science, either. Based on the current state of the business and trends, it’s possible to identify projections that are reasonable for business success, and factors which would void the guarantee.

Conclusion

If you are a business leader looking to become the “GOAT” in your marketplace, get a solid business coach to advance your growth and business. And don’t settle for a coaching engagement without a written ROI guarantee of success.

Jack Gruber, Co-founder of Summit Business Growth