You’re feeling settled in your career. You have a team reporting to you and you’re making solid decisions about where you want your career to go. You’re confident in your choices. Should you hire an executive career coach when you’re doing so well?
The answer is Yes! Your career choices may feel solid and right to you, but are you being perceived in the manner you deserve to be perceived with your peers? With your subordinates? Can you go from “I’m doing well in my career” to “My career is a very rewarding aspect of my life?” Yes, you can. And with guidance from a professional coach, the “doing well” to “very rewarding” may not be that far from reach.
Moving Forward
If you’re ready to move forward — and you’re ready to think differently, to hold yourself accountable and to be disciplined enough to stick to goals put forth by a coach, then what are you waiting for?
Seven Characteristics to Consider
According to the Harvard Business Review, there are “seven core characteristics that differentiate leaders who evolve through coaching from those who don’t.” If you’re ready to tackle any of these characteristics head-on, then you’re ready to see if an executive career coach is right for you.
1. You can accept discomfort.
Being willing to accept a new way of thinking may open you up to the discomfort that change can sometimes bring, along with the rewards that you may encounter as well.
2. You are open to risk.
Change inevitably brings risks. However, being open to risk and experimenting with what may or may not work is helpful. Learning to crawl before you walk means being open to stumbling a few times before finding the stride that works for you and your goals.
3. You can look beyond what’s reasonable.
Being able to know what to do in a specific situation and actually doing the task takes courage. Understanding your behavior may allow you to take the actions needed more easily.
4. You are able to take responsibility.
You and you alone are responsible for achieving your desired outcome with an executive coach. Therefore, taking responsibility for your actions (or lack thereof) is something you have to do to hold yourself accountable for your growth and progress.
5. You are able to show dispensation.
Being able to “let things go” may be necessary to move on from past actions that are potentially holding you back. Holding on to anger from past career-related actions will not allow you to grow into a stronger executive.
6. You are self-disciplined.
Being able to focus on the new tasks that will allow you to grow may mean saying no to other career-related tasks that you may have once said yes to doing. Being self-disciplined in this way will help you to remain focused on your new executive career journey.
7. You are open to support and/or assistance.
At the end of the day, you are responsible for your own growth. No one is able to do that for you. Finding other executive support or asking for help and assistance is a key component in your growth and, ultimately, your success.
Still unsure? Reach out to other executives for their opinions and really listen to what they have to say. Formulate questions or concerns you may have and then contact Executive Coach Deborah O’Donnell at Rodas Coaching for more information.
