Article Contributed by Kimberly Dunn
“The significant problems of today can be solved at the same level of thinking that created them.” Einstein
We have all heard the saying that “Life is a journey…enjoy the ride.” Have you ever felt like you want to stop the ride and get off? Have you set personal or professional goals for yourself and either reached them only to find yourself disappointed or not as fulfilled as you thought you would be? Have you set specific goals, written plans, identified tasks and then fail to execute on them? If this concept resonates, you are in good company with some of the best and brightest.
When we make our annual trip to our doctor’s office for our “wellness” check-up they remind us to eat right, exercise, and wear our seat belts. When we meet with our financial planner for the yearly financial Check Up we are reminded to save for retirement, pay off our credit cards and make responsible financial decisions.
But year after year at work we strive to achieve the next promotion, complete the best project, land the next big job and rarely take a step back and do a “wellness checkup” on our personal or professional health. For so many of us it difficult to decide where to start. Many times, professionals decide to go back to school and study for an additional degree which often leaves them tired and in more debt but does not return the personal or professional results they were looking for.
The best-kept secret on how to take care of ourselves is through professional coaching. The powerful process of coaching allows a person to identify their inner strengths, explore their thoughts and dreams then apply emotional and intellectual intelligence to achieve the goals, happiness, and success that they choose.
One of the most powerful lessons I learned about myself, through coaching, was that I am the only one I can truly control. I learned how to use my own strengths to persuade others to listen to my ideas, to join my team and build powerful and meaningful relationships. For me the coaching process was a discovery in how to achieve the goals I set for myself, ensure the goals I was setting were truly for me and not just to achieve what I thought others wanted for me and truly find my authentic self. Through coaching I found the peaceful fulfillment that was eluding me for a very long time.
What I discovered is that a Coach is not a friend that will agree with you because that is what they think you want from them. A coach is also not your boss, who will tell you what to do and how to do it. The right coach becomes your trusted partner who will facilitate your thinking and encourage the stretching of your ideas beyond where you could have imagined on your own. The result is that you see things differently, open up to new ideas and develop into the person that knows their strengths and capitalizes on them to achieve sustainable and repeatable results.
You will learn about yourself as well as the all-important lesson of how you are perceived by others. In a world where a leader can accomplish very little on their own the insights that you will gain working with a coach will help you to discover how you can improve and develop relationships will impact you at work and in your personal life.
When you invest in yourself, you will be rewarded with the discovery of new ways of looking at challenges, be open to ideas that you may have dismissed in the past and be able to better understand the people around you and how you can use your strengths to enhance the performance of the team you lead or the team you are part of.
If you are ready to discover your passion is and use it to achieve maximize your personal and professional potential professional coaching may be the vehicle to get you where you want to go.
“If you want to be happy put your effort into controlling the sail, not the wind.” Anonymous
Coaching is one sure-fire way to develop your employees.