What is coaching, and what could it possible do for me?’ This is a question that I asked myself several times when I was first approached about some ‘executive coaching’. I consider myself a ‘self-starter’; someone who thrives on stress and the ability to work well with little or no direction. What could some Coach possibly offer me? As a new employee in an executive position for a company that just underwent drastic organizational changes, I was soon to find out what coaching could offer me. Like all companies, there are challenges and opportunities to every position. Many people tend to focus on the negative because it is easier and more comfortable than the positive. I find this to be the case because lateral thinking or ‘thinking out of the box’ is difficult for most people. How can one successfully think outside of the box if they are sitting deep inside the box? Coaching allowed me to step outside of my normal mode of looking at things. It challenged me to be better, smarter, and more open-minded about how I see, and more importantly, how I should react to situations. I see coaching as the unbiased and objective support structure to lean upon. I never met my Coach in person. My coach does not judge me, and my coach does not know my strengths, weaknesses or fears, unless I decide to share them with my Coach. All my coach knows is that I am someone that wants to improve or even learn something about myself. The remarkable thing about ‘Coaching’ is that it ‘awakens’ strengths that you may have never considered before. It allows you to see things from someone else’s perspective; in fact, someone else that has no ‘hidden’ agenda. What you get is ‘raw’, unbiased’, and valuable assistance / feedback on the path to improving ones self!
John Legrand - Operations Director, Advent Software
