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I'm a keen runner. A few years ago my doctor told me I was running too much. I was becoming scrawny in the upper body and gaunt in the face. She recommended that I introduce some cross training, and mix things up to achieve a better balance in my fitness training. Change is never easy, so I engaged a personal trainer to introduce some discipline and teach me some new routines. 

 I signed up for an initial block of 10 sessions (volume discount!), and followed that with a second block of 20 sessions. They say it takes 1-2 months of repeated activity for something to become a habit, so I figured this should do the trick.

  " We become what we repeatedly do.”     Sean Covey

 Applying the same logic to the business world, I'm a big believer in coaching interventions to help with personal growth and development. We all have blind spots, we all have unconscious bias, none of us know what we don't know. How many soccer players who are naturally right footed can use their left foot equally well? The advantages of being adept with both are obvious. But it won't happen without conscious effort, without persistence, trial and error, and a lot of self - discipline. 

Improving oneself in a work context is no different. In a previous blog I talked about 3 types of people.  The 3rd type includes people who are apathetic, who are disengaged, in terms of any specific work initiative, activity or programme. From a self-improvement perspective, these people either think they know themselves well enough and don't need to change, or that they can change themselves without any external help. From my observation, this is extremely rare. I haven't met many people who have really impressed me in the workplace, who haven't had their own personal trainer of some sort in the background. 

Some people think the annual performance review with their boss is sufficient. Or maybe it’s twice a year. I'd challenge both the frequency of those conversations, as well as the quality, from a coaching perspective. For the personal fitness trainer - that's what they do for a living. Full time. In the workplace, however, how many supervisors are genuinely skilled at coaching, or actually make it a priority in amongst their already busy schedule? How many are genuinely able to flex their style to accommodate different personalities - in the same way a personal trainer does to design a tailored plan for each individual?

 In addition to your boss, you may have a mentor, inside or outside your organisation. But again, unless this is formalised whereby you are having regular conversations, and taking such discussions seriously, how much impact is this likely to have in terms of tangible self-improvement?

My advice to anyone that's serious about their own career development, who is hungry, is to consider engaging an executive coach. For the "type 1 people", this is a no brainer. They get it. For the healthy sceptics who are type 2 people, what have you got to lose? One hour a month, 12 hours in the course of a year? Invested in yourself. That seems like a pretty worthwhile investment to me. Unless of course you fall into type 3, and think you can reach your highest potential on your own. The cynics usually dismiss coaching on the basis that it’s touchy feely, not practical, and a waste of time. In my experience, with a skilled coach, and a programme tailored to your specific objectives, nothing could be further from the truth.

 I remember on a leadership development programme a few years ago, a senior partner recalling his own experience. He told a group of us how he'd progressed in the organisation in the false belief that his career had advanced because someone was looking out for him. That one day, someone was going to come and tap him on the shoulder, and offer him a fantastic promotion. It wasn't until he was 50 years old, that he realised that "no-one was coming". There was no-one in the background, pulling strings on his behalf. His message was, if you want to be the best you can possibly be, if you want to maximise your personal achievements, then take ownership of your own career.

 " How many people are trapped in their everyday habits: part numb, part frightened, part indifferent? To have a better life we must keep choosing how we are living." Albert Einstein

 Don't fall into the trap of sitting in your comfort zone, thinking you're progressing well in your career, but then getting to a point (maybe after several years) where you suddenly realise that you've hit a glass ceiling. Getting passed over for promotion. Watching your colleagues that have invested in themselves, overtaking you.   Getting assigned more challenging, more interesting, roles. Don't look back when you eventually retire, and realise that you had the choice to do things differently. Have no regrets!

 An external coach is an excellent way to help you look in the mirror, to have someone independent to challenge you hard, and to help you design a specific and tangible action plan for your own improvement, fulfilment, and ultimately career advancement.  Most importantly perhaps, like a personal fitness trainer, they will help to ingrain the discipline whereby self-improvement becomes a habit, rather than always making excuses of being "too busy" to prioritise time for yourself. 

 Tell me what you think. Have you had experience of an executive coach? Good or bad?