{"id":6831,"date":"2019-12-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/?p=6831"},"modified":"2022-06-15T17:45:05","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T17:45:05","slug":"realize-your-potential-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/realize-your-potential-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Realize your potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do Bianca Andreescu, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Daniil Medvedev have in common?\u00a0That\u2019s right, all four are elite tennis players and were finalists in the 2019 U.S. Open.<\/p>\n

What you might not realize is that all four athletes \u2014 despite being ranked among the best in their sport worldwide \u2014 rely on professional coaches so that they continue to learn, develop their capabilities and perform at their best. The coaches partner with the athletes to facilitate self-discovery about how to get better, and they serve as an objective outside source of developmental feedback.<\/p>\n

Partnering with a coach is widely accepted in top-level sports but is less commonly used by business leaders. In the veterinary profession, only a small percentage of leaders have realized the benefits of working with a professional coach. That needs to change.<\/p>\n

Seeking the services of a professional coach is a great way to meet the challenges of leadership in today\u2019s complex, rapidly changing workplace. Veterinary leaders have come to realize that their success and the success of their practice or business depends on their ability to redefine leadership itself.<\/p>\n

A Different Kind of Leader<\/h3>\n

The concept of leadership as we know it is changing. There is a shift away from embodying leadership in a single person, \u201cthe leader,\u201d and toward viewing leadership as a more distributed capability shared by many.<\/p>\n

True leaders today need far more than strategies and smarts, or in other words, the IQ of leadership. Today\u2019s leaders need to know themselves \u2014 their blind spots, values, possibilities, patterns and old stories. They need to know how to be team players and how to engage the collective leadership of those around them.<\/p>\n

This is new territory for most of us, and it means changing our traditional top-down beliefs and assumptions about how leadership works. That\u2019s where coaching comes in.<\/p>\n

Coaching is fundamentally about facilitating growth and change. If you\u2019re a practice owner, hospital manager or team lead, or if you hold some other positional leadership title, a coach can help examine your beliefs and modify your behaviors so that you can effectively rise to the challenge of leading in the 21st century.<\/p>\n

Enter the Business Coach<\/h3>\n

The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as \u201ca thought-provoking and creative partnership that inspires clients to maximize their personal and professional potential, often unlocking previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaching is not something that is done to you, it is something your coach co-creates with you. Metaphorically, it\u2019s like a dance that you are leading. A coaching experience will help you focus on where you are now (your current reality) and what needs to happen to get to a desired future state.<\/p>\n

Coaching<\/a> doesn\u2019t focus on what\u2019s wrong or what\u2019s broken. Instead, coaching takes an appreciative, strengths-based approach to generating positive change. It honors you as the expert in your own life and work, equips you to craft self-generated solutions and strategies, and allows you to more fully use your natural gifts and talents. It is built on the belief that real growth must come from within. It cannot be grafted onto you from the outside as the traditional instructional-consulting model suggests.<\/p>\n

Effective coaching relies on a relationship between coach and client that is built on respect, safety, challenge and accountability.<\/p>\n

A coach is a confidante, sounding board and trusted thinking partner who listens, asks questions and talks in a way that:<\/p>\n