Business Coaching and Management Development

Small business coaching is a method of personal development that guides individuals to improve their individual performance and thereby achieve their personal and business goals. Business owners are increasingly recognising the value of business coaching to both their business and to the individuals receiving the coaching. 

Benefits for the business

Benefits to the business include:

• increased ability to recognise how to improve the business
• increased ability to recognise potential market opportunities
• increased ability to recognise business weaknesses
• increased productivity
• improved financial performance
• better staff morale
• improved workplace communications.

Benefits for the individual

Benefits for the individual include:

• improved problem solving
• increased confidence
• better adaptability to change
• increased effectiveness and assertiveness.

Who uses business coaching

We are finding that large organisations are using CEO coaching and management coaching to help their staff become better leaders. Leadership development for CEOs is often about learning how to impart vision; for managers it is often about learning how to use processes.

Small businesses tend to be choosing to use business development coaching, or business growth coaching, to gain insight into how to take their business in new directions or how to identify business weaknesses before they affect the profitability of the business.

These types of coaching are in essence very similar – they involve the coach guiding the individual to recognise their goals and helping them determine what is needed to achieve those goals.

Coaching is different to mentoring

The strength of the business coach is their objectivity – by definition business coaches have business acumen and are committed to helping you improve your business, but will rarely be an expert in your field. Your coach won't tell you what to do; instead, they will guide you through a process that will help you recognise what needs to be done and the steps needed to do it. Business coaching is goal-driven, providing the opportunity to brainstorm ideas and a structure on which to build a plan and remain accountable.

Business coaching is different to mentoring. The strength of the mentor is in the fact that they have already achieved the goal being pursued. A mentor can tell you about how they achieved their own goal, and give advice about how you could achieve yours. Mentoring is not necessarily goal-driven and is more a method of sharing ideas and experiences.

An example

A typical business coaching interaction might involve the coach asking what changes you have seen in your industry or business in the last five years. The coach might then ask what would happen if you didn't respond to those changes. She might go on to ask how you could better respond to those changes, and then help you plan some actions.

By asking these questions, to which you know all the answers but possibly have not acted upon, the coach will have brought you clarity, confidence and purpose about decisions you need to make for the success of your business.

How Gateway can help

Gateway's professional accounting team can provide your business with analysis that works as an excellent foundation for improving your business, with suggestions for how to sell more, charge more and cut costs. Our business coaches can take this further and provide you with the energy, structure and accountability required to actually make the changes.

For more information about business coaching call us now on 07 3226 1800 or complete our contact form.