The key to leveling-up your business could lie in hiring a professional coach to help get you on track. By Jennifer Paulson
If you’ve played any sports, you’ve no doubt benefitted from the insight and motivation provided by your coach. You might’ve even developed a coaching relationship with a fellow NRHA Professional to help you when you’re stuck training a horse or putting the final polish on before a major event. In either case, your coach helps you find ways to develop your skills, find a framework to meet your goals, and cheers you on as you progress (and picks you up when you stumble).
But have you ever considered enlisting the help of a coach to level-up your business?
Katie Hollingsworth is a familiar face around NRHA, having provided her coaching services to NRHyA delegates and officers and to NRHA employees. She’s also married to a rodeo coach at Oklahoma State University, and is a barrel racer herself. Most notably (and important to you as a business owner) is Hollingsworth is a performance and leadership development coach at Krave Coaching and Consulting.
Here, Hollingsworth details how a professional coach can be the best investment you make in your business and in yourself in these articles:
Part 2: Getting Started and Finding a Coach
Part 4: Put Your Mind to It and Stay on Track
Put Your Mind to It
Mindset can be a tricky topic. We all talk about it a lot, especially when we’re in an inspiring moment. But, Hollingsworth says, we often don’t do anything about it.
“People give a lot of rhetoric to mindset,” she explains. “But how many of us do anything about it? We give credence to the importance of mindset, but we don’t act on it. After you read an inspiring book or listen to a motivating podcast, what will you actually do to enact what you learned and capitalize on what inspired you? You can do all the workshops you want, even hire a coach, but unless you’re consistently growing, you’ll revert to your former tendencies.”
So, when setting your goals and making your path, be sure to include how you’ll mentally and physically move forward. Hollingsworth calls it “inspired action.”“You can have motivation to the moon, but when you turn off the podcast or put down the book and walk away, what’s next?” she asks. Your coach can help you identify ways to harness that inspiration and keep it moving in the right direction.
Stay on Track
There will be times when things go sideways and interrupt your progress. It might be a family or health problem, or maybe two weeks at a major event causes you to get off track. Don’t become discouraged or upset with yourself. Hollingsworth advises jumping back in.
“Step back into where you were before you went off track, and evaluate what happened with curiosity,” she says. “Talk to your coach about why you got off track—was it time, resources, the weather, or something else? That’s a step of accountability. Then consider the aspects of that lapse that you can control in the future, such as how you allocate your time. Also realize that sometimes you just need a break.”
When working with a coach, periodic check-ins also help maintain motivation. Hollingsworth says most of her clients begin with weekly check-ins, then move to biweekly, and then once a month. Your process might take you 12 sessions to get where you want to be and on track, and then you move on and self-coach. Or you might be a lifetime client.“It all depends on the amount of feedback you need and want,” Hollingsworth says. “Coaches are judgement-free. Some people want to get in, get a plan, and move on. Others love the coaching space and having a sounding board. As with most aspects of coaching, it’s very individual and personal. The goal is to find what works for you to get you started, take the first steps, and stay on track.”
Read the rest of this article at the links above.
