Get a Coach

I admit it now, in the past I have been 'afraid' of having a coach.  Those that know me, know I am not good as a 'blind follower'.  Not good at all.  

I was worried that a coach would impose their ideas on me and somehow 'brain wash me' away from the 'true path', well according to Steve Ellwood at any rate.

Give me a 'teacher' any day.  I listen, I learn, I think about what they say, then I take the ideas and 'ellwoodize' them.  I toss what I don't agree with and adopt what I think makes sense.  But the teacher, once complete, goes away.  Oh I can write the test at the end - do I understand what was taught?  You bet I do.  

But 6 months from now what of their ideas are mine and what am I applying?  I don't want to be tested on that.

I always saw a 'coach' as a cop, a monitor, a 'nag'. Someone to whom I would have to waste time justifying my modifications.    

The thin edge of the wedge was Laser sailing. Tommy Wharton, Dan Cunningham, Rollo in Cabrete, these coaches took me from where I was and gave me tools to move to the next level, and the next. (it's easy when you start in the 3rd basement).  

Tommy and then later Dan would see me sailing in clinics and in races repeatedly.  They would always have a pointer, a tip, a little something to give me to make me better (even if that something was the something they gave me last year and I still did it wrong).

I've found that first class coaches are so good that they can adapt to me, not the other way around, and still they can add tons of value.

February 3rd 2009 I started another coaching experience.  I began the Strategic Coach  program.  A good friend, (god-like, rock-star senior litigator here in Toronto), had been in the program for 6 years and over the years we had talked about it from time to time.  

You can read the program's blurb for yourself on their web site.  

I told my friend, I am happy with the amount of money I make, what I want is more effective use of my time, I want to have 'a life'.  He talked about 12+ weeks off a year, with greater earnings. Great bags of effective delegation and the opportunity to focus on the tasks that were both the most enjoyable and the most rewarding.  

What could I say?  I plunked my money down.

June 16th is the second meeting of our group of 12 people.  

122 days have passed.  In that time roughly 40 of those days I have been 'off'.  Not working, not thinking about work, 'off'.  'Off' for the first time in years.  

Even when in the Caribbean at sailing events I would spend a few hours in the early morning working to keep the wheels turning.  The Coach has taught me that I can, in fact, really be 'off', a 'free day' they call it.

By itself just deciding not to show up for work would be a recipe for disaster.  The program helped to get the ground work laid.  Aggressive delegation techniques, getting aligned with a personal assistant drawn from my staff, methods of time organization all had be to set up and fine tuned.  

Its working.  Brilliantly.

I am more focused when I am working.  I get more leverage from my time spent at work.  I do a lot fewer 'little things'.  

Ok, so I drank the Kool-Aid.  

With only the first of four annual sessions I am getting results - can't argue with success.   My hoped for opportunity to 'have a life' seems to be upon me.  

I am actually spending time doing 'stuff' I want to do when I am not working (as opposed to my long time habit of sleeping when not working).  

I have also enjoyed the opportunity to look at the 'big picture' to plan strategies for life and for my practice.  

It turns out the 'coach' idea was a good one.  Even the 'laid out' path is working and I'm not bridling at it.  

The next session is to focus on what they call 'identifying your unique ability'.  The idea is that if you are going to focus your energies you had better figure out where those energies can give you the most bang per buck.  I am looking forward to the rest of the process.

Stay tuned and consider getting a coach.