I’m likely preaching to the choir when I say business coaching has proven to be highly beneficial for leaders and chief executives. Over my 30+ years as a CEO, founder and a CEO coach, I’ve experienced the power of coaching firsthand and seen its positive impacts on others.
And chances are, you’ve either worked with a coach or at least considered it at some point during your career. However, as other industries continue to innovate, I’ve felt that the world of business coaching has been relatively stagnant, particularly during the current COVID-19 environment with its many challenges for business owners.
Traditionally, the coaching experience is as follows: A high-level person within an organization is assigned a coach. The coaching engagement is for a set period and very narrowly focused with respect to subject matter. Indeed, this model has proven to be successful in certain circumstances, but it is not without limitations.
Enter the concept of broad spectrum coaching
Unlike traditional coaching, Broad Spectrum Coaching considers all aspects of an individual’s life, including relationships, health, career, finances, stress and more. And instead of one expert, coachees can leverage the insight and advice from their own handpicked, personalized team of experts. It’s the idea that:
- A coachee can be a person other than a C-suite level or senior person. This includes younger high potentials, key mid-level people, and those being groomed for the next generation of leadership.
- A coachee can select who they want as their coach. Coachees are encouraged to work with multiple coaches in parallel with a different subject matter expert for different aspects of life.
This concept is something I think can be tremendously valuable to companies and organizations. Reflecting on my time as a CEO, I can name countless examples of situations where having some sort of support would have been extremely helpful. Particularly when it comes to reducing turnover, improving performance and creativity, and truly investing in the well-being of my most important and valued employees.
Why a third-party solution makes sense
We as leaders want to encourage our people to talk to us or reach out to human resources for help. But the reality is, employees most often won’t and don’t discuss anything personal. It’s taboo. They’re never sure what can or cannot be said, and what might come back to hinder them later. Plus, let’s be honest, as leaders we’re busy and probably not very well equipped to handle all our team’s challenges.
Instead, from my perspective, a confidential third-party solution makes sense. When employees feel that they can confide in a trusted expert who won’t report back to management, then real conversations can start to take place. And with real conversations come real improvements and results.
Earlier this year I began mentoring a young entrepreneur who started a company, Hundred Life Design, an online platform for coaching done exclusively via one-on-one video, with seasoned global leaders. The business focused on offering broad spectrum coaching to businesses, organizations and government entities.
I was very intrigued to see someone shaking things up in the world of coaching. But I’ve become even more fascinated by the impact this coaching platform has had on its clients. The organizations that have engaged in coaching reported significant positive improvements to their employees in as little as six months.
In short, happier, healthier and more focused employees contributed to greater profitability, a greater sense of purpose, and a stronger desire to grow with the company. Keep in mind this all occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. And the average cost per employee is relatively low considering the ROI for your organization.
— Harry Clark, Serial Entrepreneur & CEO Coach share
Let your employees know you care about them
As leaders, we recognize the importance of investing in our people and creating a great company culture. We know that when our employees are in a good place, our business flourishes. True, things like flexible working hours, welcoming work environments, and great benefits all contribute to this. But I think to really address the personalized needs, concerns, goals and desires of our employees, offering passive incentives or “one size fits all” solutions are not enough.
Think of it this way. Your customers want to feel as though they’re being cared for. You’ll go out of your way to offer your best customers a personalized, custom-tailored product or service. Why not do the same thing for your employees?
I have no doubt that broad spectrum coaching is just scratching the surface when it comes to the future of employee well-being and organizational health. I know something like broad spectrum coaching would have done wonders for my business, and certainly saved me a lot of headaches. Even if coaching isn’t the right fit for you, I would encourage any leader think about the benefits a shift in employee well-being might bring.
