Many athletes, including the most accomplished, have experienced a career setback and benefited from the input of expert coaching. It is similar for executives facing transition.
Often, the very best athletes consider this a natural step because their drive and competitiveness have led them to a place of self-scrutiny and openness to input which will help them to improve or get back into the game.
Depending on their sport, this could involve learning new techniques in place of those which came naturally, seeking out coaching on specific aspects of their performance, or developing a greater understanding of the strategies of their sports.
Athletes can improve their performances and extend their careers by connecting with an accomplished coach who they are willing to allow in, to understand what drives them, what they fear, what they dream and what they believe needs to be fixed. The athlete’s choice of a coach depends on two things: the coach’s history of helping people to realize their potential, and level of trust they feel with the coach who will be guiding them.
At the top levels of sports there are accomplished coaches and trainers with years of experience gleaned from having worked with hundreds of athletes.
This is also true for executives in transition. Executives want to work with a career transition expert who has a history of helping people successfully realize their goals.
At this critical juncture, the person wants to find someone to work with who has the time to listen, the experience to guide and the commitment to partnering. So, how does one go about the process?
A personal referral is always a great start. Even with this in hand, the executive will want to ask some questions to help to determine who can best help them with successfully moving forward. Some key questions to ask include: Why do you do this work? Describe your experience working with executives. Do you work exclusively with executives? What amount of interaction will we have? Is the service one-on-one or group-based?
My answers include: It is a privilege to work with accomplished executives at such an important point in their careers. I am in my 16th year: 10 years with Miller Dallas and 5+ years with Clements United and I have worked one-on-one with more than 600 executives. Executives do not want to work in group settings so my clients work directly with me. Finally, in surveys of clients when asked: “Did the transition result in a better overall personal perspective?” 93% said “yes”!