• When is it best to NOT use a coach?
  • What happens when coaching is set-up badly?
  • How can you use a coach for success?

Here red10 ‘s Paul Gaskell offers his experience on when to use a coach, and when NOT to.

Three situations in which to NOT use a coach

Are you surprised by this article? That’s right – we are a business that provides coaching, saying “don’t use us for coaching”!

Yet when you know what matters to us at red10, you won’t be surprised, as you will hear how we want to be Involved when we can really give a life-changing touch.

Perhaps not a definitive list but here are some common reasons I have seen where coaching doesn’t really work:

  • You don’t accept the premise for being given a coach.
    For example, you are being told you need to be more strategic to move to a more senior leadership role but you believe others just misunderstand your capabilities.

  • You are not committed to action
    You will need time and commitment for a coaching relationship to work, and it’s unlikely to work if this simply isn’t that important to you.

  • You really need expert advice
    This does not mean that a coach won’t have some valuable insights, It’s just that this Isn’t coaching. A coach would rather ask you “What expert opinions could you benefit from?” and help you form your own plan of who and what to ask.

When we don’t set up for success

A word on why it matters…

When we don’t set-up for success, time and effort are wasted and there’s high potential for frustration both for the person being coached and the coach. If the coaching is being funded by your organization, this outcome is likely to be viewed negatively by them, too.

Now let’s flip this…

DO use a coach if….

Again, probably not exhaustive but some really good reasons to work with a coach:

  • You need someone in your corner who can help you develop –
    able to leverage your insights and the feedback from others

  • You have specific tangles that are holding you back

  • You’d benefit from support in achieving your goals in areas such as:

    1. working on your personal effectiveness
    2. developing your leadership impact
    3. navigating your career
    4. building stronger relationships.

  • You are able to apply a growth mindset to your situation –
    you see setbacks as opportunities to learn and improve, and you want help to support that development.

Coaching for success

Check out previous articles on achieving your important goals and tools for personal change. If you’d like to find out more about working with a red10 coach, please get in touch.