Why not a Christian Business Coach?

WHY NOT A CHRISTIAN BUSINESS COACH?

Submitted by

Dr. Millard N. MacAdam, Managing Partner

Pro Active Leadership Consulting & Training

Distance Coaching:

A Resource for Strengthening Personal, Professional and Business Development Skills

If you are like most Christian business owners, executives and managers who earn a living operating in a secular business or professional environment, you may often find your character under fire. There’s no doubt that when you’re working in a secular environment you are vulnerable to the competitive nature, unethical practices, and corner cutting temptations of the marketplace. In trying to retain your competitive career and business edge, you may also at times find yourself short on a few critical leadership and managerial competencies. Leadership, managerial, organizational, financial, marketing, sales or other skill competencies required by your position may need sharpening if you are to maintain your own and your organization’s excellence and competitive edge.

Convenience, confidentiality, heart-felt caring, career enhancement and cost and time efficiency are some of the benefits you’ll enjoy as a participant in a distance coaching relationship with a Christian who’s a practiced personal and professional coach. Engaging in a coaching relationship with a good personal and professional coach will help you more easily preserve your integrity, sanity and equilibrium. It will help you build and maintain critical competencies, stimulate your confidence, and encourage you to think, say and do the right things to make your "salt saltier" and your "light brighter" in your leadership arena. The coaching process will help you gain and maintain the high integrity, competitive edge you desire in your specific sphere of leadership. It will also help you more effectively serve your staff, colleagues, and customers as God would have you serve them.

What are the benefits of having a coach who is a Christian to help you grow personally and professionally? An effective coach who is a Christian will...

Help you set biblically congruent career and business goals and diligently reach those goals.
Help you to do more than you would have done on your own.
Help you focus better so you can more quickly and easily produce desired results.
Provide you with the tools, new skills, strategies, support and structure to accomplish more.
Be a caring, forthright confidant, encourager and accountability partner.

Why do you need a coach who will be a strong accountability partner? Because most every marriage, family, career and business problem can trace its roots to stresses, cracks and then breakdowns in personal integrity from one or more of three perspectives ... character, competence and commitment to thinking, saying and doing the righteous thing!

Leaders who engage themselves in a personal and professional coaching process gain critical perspectives most leaders never gain. Why? Studies have shown that the average business owner, CEO, executive, or manager sees him or herself with only 50% accuracy. This means you are most likely somewhere on a 10% to 90% scale of perceptual accuracy!

A high integrity personal, professional and business development coach, with whom you have a trusted relationship outside of your organization, will help you get the feedback you need to: (1) gain the perspective you need to surface "blind spots"; and (2) grow more quickly in your areas of need. Such a coach will be a friend by giving you honest feedback, encouragement and insights that will help you fend off feelings of being alone and isolated as you grow and become more and more excellent in carrying out your leadership responsibilities in ways pleasing to God.

Here is an assessment to help you determine your present coachability before you seriously explore the possibility of engaging in a coaching relationship. Try it for food for thought and gaining perspective.

Being honest with yourself when completing this assessment is essential. Imagine your most trusted colleague is answering these questions based on how he experiences you. It will help you keep your objectivity. Your intent to grow in excellence, make increasingly worthwhile contributions by providing valued-added work through your position, and ensure that your salt is salty and your light is bright is the main key to a results-producing coaching experience.

To what degree, 1 being low to 10 being high, can I answer the following questions in the affirmative? Mark your score in front of each item.

Do I believe that the best investment I can make is in my own growth and development?
Do I have clarity about my life vision of a preferred future that can and should be?
Am I willing to try new ways of learning things, tell the whole truth, keep my word and tell my coach immediately when things are not working for me?
Am I willing to listen and let my coach help me learn how to do things more easily, quickly and simply?
Am I willing to stop or change the wrong, and self-defeating thoughts, talk and actions that lead to wrong results?
Do I know what I would I like to be, do, have, accomplish and work towards?
Do I recognize the business or professional opportunities I'm not capitalizing on?
Do I sense what is presently consuming my physical, emotional, time and financial reserves that I would like to eliminate?
Do I understand that my coach will be focused on me and my best interests, not just my goals?
Do I understand that my coach will educate, support and encourage me while I do the work, feel the satisfaction and reap the benefits of my efforts?
Do I have adequate funds to invest in coaching without regreting or suffering hardship regarding the fee?

____Total Score (Add up your scores for all of the items.)

Scoring Key

20 - 40...Not coachable right now. Do what it takes to prepare yourself.

41 - 60...Coachable. Make sure your intent and desire is solid.

61 - 80...Coachable. Be ready to work and receive feedback.

81 - 100... Very Coachable! Ask to be held highly accountable for excellent growth.

Think of a coaching partnership as a serious and worthwhile investment in being your best as God’s ambassador and to those you serve! It is an investment that will keep paying back dividends over your life-time at home and in your work place.

End

First Rights Reserved

Dr. Millard MacAdam

Dr. Millard MacAdam is managing partner of ProActive Leadership Consulting & Training in Newport Beach California. He is a Certified Professional Consultant, personal coach, author and speaker. His latest book is Intentional Integrity, Aligning Your Life With God’s Values, Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Note: Visitors to our site may order a FREE subscription to Mac’s monthly e-mail newsletter, INTENTIONAL Leadership INTEGRITY Tips, using the order form on his Internet Home Page, http://www.PALConsulting.net , or by e-mail, MacAdam@PALConsulting.net

The current version of the Scruples Web site is at www.scruples.net.