Are you trying to establish influence, credibility, or expertise in your chosen field but finding it difficult to stand out? Maybe you're thinking about changing careers to something that's more suited to your goals but aren't sure where to start. Do you ever feel like you are at a standstill in your professional development and need a boost? If any of this sounds like you, finding someone who can help you navigate your next steps is key. This is where executive coaching can help.
Seeking support and guidance from someone with the knowledge and expertise to push us in the right direction is nothing new. Mentorship inside and outside of the corporate environment is an ideal way to grow when you pair with the right person, but mentorship in the traditional sense is not always a guarantee. Finding and investing in an executive coach that you've vetted and know is a good fit puts the control in your hands.
In his book, Executive Coaching and the Process of Change: A Practitioner's Guide, author Dr. Alan G. Weinstein points to four reasons for this explosive growth:
The role of CEO has become more difficult and complex, thereby requiring specialized skills. In addition, a growing segment of younger executives is starting new companies or taking leadership roles in established companies.
Executives today are subject to both increased scrutiny and a finite time frame in which to demonstrate their capabilities.
The challenges facing today's businesses are emerging quickly.
Organizations are recognizing that their leaders must become catalysts for change.
The right executive coach can offer customized, targeted tools to accelerate your path to success by cutting through all of the noise in your head and environment that can obscure your path.
Executive coaching can help you renew your focus, define the road ahead, and find clarity.
This is why knowing what an executive coach is, what they do, and how they can specifically help you is critical to getting where you want to go in your career. Anything less will be a waste of time and money.
As the old saying goes, "Knowledge is power." Before selecting an executive coach, there are three things to ask yourself:
Do I need an executive coach?
This depends. When was the last time you felt in control of your career? Is the current trajectory that you're on in alignment with your future goals? Is your current career path clear? Do you believe you can do more in your career but aren't sure of your next steps or don't have the confidence to take them? How you answer these questions will determine if an executive coach is a good fit for you at this time.
Is an executive coach really worth the investment?
If it’s a qualified executive coach, yes. I've seen firsthand how targeted coaching can change the trajectory of someone who's willing to take advice and put in the work.
How do I know if an executive coach is the right fit for me?
All executive coaches are not created equal, and unfortunately, anyone can say they are an executive coach with or without proper training and experience. When searching for an executive coach to help you navigate the twists and turns of your career development, look for someone who has a verified and proven system in place to get you from point A to point B.
When I decided to become an executive coach, I'd worked in corporate America long enough to understand the system and what's needed to thrive. This was in part from observing others, including co-workers and clients, who struggled to pave their own paths, but it was also my own journey that became the catalyst for me wanting to offer others a better path to success.
The idea behind ARC is the positive curve or arc that occurs when you are able to face obstacles from the perspective of positive change. In fiction writing, the foundation of great storytelling starts with a character arc — the journey that the main protagonist has to walk to get from the beginning to the end of the story. Whether the arc is positive (changes for the better), negative (changes for the worse), or neutral (no change), every arc starts the same way — with a lie the main character believes about herself or the world around her. And it's how that character responds to this distorted view of reality that determines how their story ends.
It's interesting how art can imitate life. Just like the character arc in storytelling, what we believe about ourselves and the world around us determines our life arc and impacts how our journey unfolds.
We’ve designed our program at ARC so that clients who are ready to take charge of their career and life can be the heroes of their own positive narratives. This means that we break through the barriers of self-doubt and insecurities that plague so many of us on our paths to greatness.
What I've found on my own journey is that it's never about eliminating the obstacles because they will always be there. It's the tools we use to navigate through them or move them out of our way that determine our success.
If you want to be solid in identifying your purpose and being empowered to meet your career goals, ARC executive coaching is ready to support you on your journey to success.