The Goldfish Bowl Effect

You will always be the average of the five people you spend the most time with.  If you want more success, spend time with more successful people.  You’ve probably heard that or read it somewhere.  But have you actually spent a few minutes thinking about it?

I believe that phrase to be true.  For that reason I also believe that every entrepreneur needs a coach. I can tell you that any successes I’ve had in life, career and entrepreneurship are a direct result of the coaches and mentors I aligned myself with.

So why is it that so many entrepreneurs believe that it is their project and no one else understands it the way they do so how could a coach possibly help?

Goldfish bowl, that’s how.  Goldfish bascically spend their lives swimming in circles thinking  “Hey, there’s a castle”.  “Oh look. Another castle”.  “Wow, there’s another castle”.  They’re travelling a repeating path and seeing the same castle over and over again.  Somone looking from outside the fishbowl sees the entire picture.  So yes, a coach is a winning necessity.

WHAT SEPARATES THE WINNERS FROM THE LOSERS?

John Brubaker, award winning author, consultant and speaker says:  “What separates the winners from the losers? At the most elite levels it’s not talent, because everyone is supremely talented. Coaching is what makes the difference.

Coaching isn’t just important in sports, it’s the X-factor that makes a big difference in your business results as well. If you look up the words teach and coach in the dictionary, they share the same definition: “to provide instruction.”

Related: The Combination To The Lock

As entrepreneurs and leaders, you should embrace coaching instead of attempting to manage your people. You’ll see dramatic improvements. People drive your numbers. Your numbers don’t drive your people. View the organization as your team and your employees are your players. Just like in sports, every day is a performance review. Do this and watch your results soar.”

WHO NEEDS A COACH?

Brubaker goes on to say, “I believe everyone should both have a coach and be a coach. Every athletic and business success I’ve enjoyed has been the result of great coaching. I’m not alone in this belief. When asked in a CNN interview what the best advice he ever got was, Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt said it was to find a coach.

As we enter the fourth quarter, ask yourself if you are really coaching your people or just managing the numbers. Are you being coached yourself? I’ve found that great athletes and executives don’t merely have a coach. They want a coach.

Elite competitors in any field have the self-awareness to realize you can’t see the picture when you’re trapped inside the frame. Great coaches see things in us that we don’t see in ourselves. It’s what they do and this is precisely why you should invest in having an outside set of eyes objectively look at your situation from a different vantage point. It will pay big dividends.”

AND THE SURVEY SAYS

How big an impact does coaching have? A Bersin by Deloitte research study revealed that organizations that are effective at coaching are:

• 130 percent more likely to have strong business results
• 33 percent more effective at engaging employees
• 42 percent higher in employee productivity

Did you ever wonder why coaching causes a dramatic improvement in these numbers? I can tell you from experience it can be attributed to trust. When you know your coach (boss) is trying to bring out the best in you, not just for the company or its bottom line, it engenders a great deal of trust. He or she is holding you to your highest potential, which we all crave at some level.

High performing organizations realize their leaders should be coaching, not managing. As my coaching mentor liked to say, “You manage inventories. You coach people.” The best way to manage people is to invest time in them. It doesn’t even have to be a lot of time, just purposeful and consistent. If you want your team’s buy in, you’ve got to put in the time, daily. Remember, it’s the people that drive the numbers.”

And finally, something to think about. “Each person holds so much power within themselves that needs to be let out.  Sometimes they just need a little nudge, a little direction, a little support, a little coaching, and the greatest things can happen.” (Pete Carroll)