Professionals Need Coaches Too

When Fortune Magazine asked Eric Schmidt, Chairman and former CEO of Google, what’s the best piece of advice he ever got his answer was, “Everybody needs a coach!”

Schmidt is not alone in his assessment of the importance of coaching. John Russell, managing director of Harley-Davidson Europe, puts it this way. “I never cease to be amazed at the power of the coaching process to draw out the skills or talent that was previously hidden within an individual, and which invariably finds a way to solve the problem previously thought unsolvable.”

Once viewed as a way of addressing problems, the 2014 Executive Coaching Survey found that executives and HR professionals now see coaching as an essential part of leadership development and managing transitions.

Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman and former CEO talks to Fortune Magazine about the best advice he ever received.

Executives Get It, But What About Professionals?

When a space physicist I went to graduate school with heard that I am coaching these days his reaction was, “Has Jeff gone New Age???”  Nothing could be further from the truth! But the reaction makes a point.

Mention coaching to a professional and you are likely to get a slightly quizzical, bemused look. That is their way of hiding the fact that they don’t have the foggiest notion of what you are talking about. Professionals also have the sort of self-reliance that, while admirable, can lead them to be skeptical of what coaching has to offer.

Most professionals choose their field because they love what they do. But it can be a real challenge to deal with the diverse demands and stresses that we face. How often do you take a time out to evaluate, prioritize, and think about how best to accomplish your goals? If the answer is, “not often enough,” a coach can help.

That’s unfortunate, because if ever there were someone in need of what coaching has to offer, it is today’s professional!

Trained as Racehorses then Shackled to Plows

Doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, scientists, educators, IT professionals… the list goes on.  Becoming a professional is not an easy road to travel. After what can be a decade or more of post-secondary education we emerge into the world armed with powerful knowledge and skills in our chosen fields. We are motivated and passionate and look forward to productive and fulfilling careers engaged in important and impactful work.

Unfortunately our training often does little to prepare us for handling the demands involved in turning a profession into a career. When reality sets in today’s professional is faced with challenges ranging from budgets and administrative duties, to personnel management, to compliance issues, to you name it. All of that happens in uncertain, rapidly changing and politically charged environments. And then there is the tension between the pressures of work and the pressures of life.

When did they cover that in graduate school?

Once upon a time a professional degree and some experience were enough to guarantee security, but no more. Is it any wonder that in recent years levels of stress, anxiety, divorce, chronic illness, depression and other symptoms of burnout have skyrocketed among professionals across the board? It is often those with the most promise who are most susceptable.

A doctor friend of mine put it this way. “They train us as racehorses, then they shackle us to plows!”

Coaching is an action-oriented conversation built around your goals, your values, and your challenges. It is about discovering ways for you to get the most out of your life and your career, then turning those into real plans with tangible results.

The thing is, more often than not “they” refers to the face that looks back at us every morning in the bathroom mirror.

If Executives Deserve Coaches, Professionals Deserve Them Too

By our nature professionals relish a challenge. We care about what we do, and we do what it takes to get the job done. Imagine what we might be able to accomplish for ourselves if we turned that same attitude and focus on our own lives. Who knows? It just might be possible to have the life that we want after all!

Professionals could learn a lot from our colleagues in the boardroom and the C-suite. You don’t have to do it alone. A professional coach can help. As Bob Nardelli, former CEO of Home Depot put it, “I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities.”

Executives around the world are benefitting from the truth of that statement. Professionals owe themselves a seat on that bus as well.

Professionals Need Coaches Too  © Dr. Jeff Hester
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