The ultimate guide to choosing the right performance coach.

My most favourite way of being described is as a 'secret weapon'. Why 'secret'? Because people don't often start a conversation about how or why they've been able to create so much positive change, let alone give away their coach and confidant who helped them do this. Coaching 1:1 is a very personal experience, so unless it's a group or team coaching situation, I'm relatively secret. Why 'weapon'? Well, as a coach, I'm fighting alongside my clients to raise and maintain clarity, positive energy and emotions, productivity, confidence, and influence - the essential ingredients for creating success.

Together, we're fighting the tendency of humans to slip back into self-limiting beliefs and old habits that don't just dis-empower them personally, but the relationships and organisations (teams, businesses, and families) they operate in. If there is any magic, it's in the power of a coach being compensated to ask the difficult questions, manage emotions, get the timing right, and inspiring the client to implement changes before the next coaching session. I guess that’s why great coaching has great physical results that other people notice, too.

The objective of coaching

The objective of coaching is to unlock your potential and get you the positive transformation and progress you want, personally and/or professionally, with more urgency and momentum than you have now. All coaches strive to give their clients the clarity and skills they need to make positive change in their lives. There are many types of coaching, and while all roads lead to Rome, knowing the major arenas of coaching will save you significant time, money, and energy. To compare coaching to other types of professionals - including therapists, counsellors, and mentors - check out Episode 1 of the Aligned podcast.

Executive coaching, leadership coaching, business coaching

Designed for executives, leaders, and founders operating in business environments, this type of coaching is focused on giving business leaders the awareness for how to become more inspiring and impactful by developing the skills needed to succeed at the highest levels. Executive coaching, leadership coaching, and business coaching involve professional and personal development, with benefits reaching far beyond the leaders and into the teams, industries, and families they operate in.

Depending on the forte or programme of the coach, leaders can expect to:

• Understand their leadership philosophy
• Develop or redevelop their leadership style
• Set clear goals as individuals or as a leadership team
• Establish their vision
• Better embody and more consistently demonstrate their values
• Enlist the right people and skillsets
• Create an environment that empowers people
• Set up review and feedback systems
• Consistently encourage and maintain motivation in their teams
• Scale the business

Executive coaching, leadership coaching, and business coaching keeps people accountable and is present and future focused, helping businesses take action and get the "who" and the "what" of business, right. This type of coaching can be used at any stage of business and level of success, from start-ups to established business, during times of challenge and change, or to further enhance growth and success.