We tend to discuss our concerns, internal battles, work problems with spouses and friends. We find our mentors in bosses sometimes and some are lucky to have a great support system in the form of peers and colleagues. While our inner circle has our best interests at heart and is easily accessible, it is their very attachment to us and the outcome that hinders objectivity. 

Let’s look at some reasons why one ‘needs’ a coach at different points in life.

Objective Feedback
Remember the emperor with no clothes?  No one wanted to be real with the emperor.  A coach is real with you.  Coaches give you honest feedback and honest evaluations. They give you feedback you need without fearing how you will take it.

Performance enhancement
A coach will give you the courage to get out of your own way. Performance coaching is about helping people to achieve their very best. It involves challenging coachees as well as supporting them, so that they can build their skills and improve their performance in a balanced way.

Accountability
Coaches hold you accountable.  They give you someone to answer to.  When you are accountable to someone, you get more done.  You complete the hard tasks that are necessary, but unpleasant.  It becomes more difficult to procrastinate.

Safe space
It is hard to run a business.  You are on your own.  You are the king of the island and expected to have all of the answers.  You do not want to show uncertainty even when you are unsure of your direction.  A coach gives you someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to offer guidance in turbulent times.

Getting ‘unstuck’
Sometimes you are frozen by the enormity and implications of a monumental change. Often self-limiting behavior shows up strongest just when you need the courage to take risks for the sake of change. A great coach can work with you to stay on track and overcome actions that sabotage your desires, plans, and dreams. They’ll support you through the fear, resistance, and panic that can arise when you are creating something exciting and new.