Worth the Investment of Time?

Is coaching worth of the investment of time?  That is a critical question to consider.  After I had been coached for six months, I asked myself that question.  The actual coaching appointments weren’t taking that much each month, only two half hour appointments.  But there was time in preparing for the appointments and also following through on the action plans that took effort and energy.  I came to the conclusion that the investment of time and energy was worth it.  Why?  Because I was achieving my goals and was becoming more effective as a leader.

A clear example of this is that I set a goal to become healthier this past September.  With my coach, we set clear markers of what that would look like and put together an action plan.  Today I am exercising 4 times a week at the gym, I’ve lost 20 pounds, and I am eating a healthy diet that I can maintain for life.  I just read a statistic that came from a study which investaged people who make New Year resolutions.  They found that less than 1 out of 10 people kept even one resolution.  That didn’t suprise me because that has been my own experience.  I had made many commitments to the goals I have listed above, but I kept going the other way!  However, with a coach, I am achieving my goals.  I found that to be true in each of my life accounts.  If having a coach doesn’t help you achieve your goals, than I say, “Don’t waste your time.”  But my experience both as a leader being coached, and as a coach, that having someone work with you personally on issues that you feel are most worthy of your effort makes all the difference in the world.  Another big difference for me in having a coach is that I am setting different goals than I might have if I didn’t have a coach.  My coach helps me to look at things differently than I do alone.  Therefore, I find myself addressing issues in my leadership and personal life that otherwise would have continued to limit my effectiveness.