Coaching through a changing business environment

If someone had told you half a year ago that our lives would completely different in a matter of weeks, you might have laughed in disbelief or maybe even disregarded the comment as a delusional absurdity. 

Yet here we are in the summer of 2020 and as much as we steadied the ship, small businesses are still struggling to stay afloat and managers are trying to lead their teams with hope and positivity in uncertain terrain. 

Many questions are still in the air. Will entertainment locations reopen this year? How long will the government help businesses and furloughed workers? Will some businesses still be needed post COVID? 

These questions are hard to ask, they can make us feel uncomfortable. But for millions of business owners, it’s their daily reality. And this is where coaches can make a huge difference, by helping business owners deal with unimaginable challenges.

What areas can Corporate or Business Coaching help with? 

1. Coaching for Leadership

Whether you are a manager, a business owner or a one-person show, being a leader is imperative these days. Your job is not just to (help) keep the business afloat but also keep morale from plummeting in your team and your organisation.

Now add all of your personal challenges as well and soon you might start feeling like you’re carrying the whole world on your shoulders. 

A coach can help: 

• Focus on what you can do instead of what you cannot
• Refocus your energy into things that move the needle in the business
• Create a clear but flexible strategy to move forward 
• Improve your communication skills 
• Develop higher levels of empathy
• Improve leadership skills

2. Team Coaching 

For many people working from home has taken away that key benefit of coming into the office every day: being part of a community. We quickly moved online into Zoom meetings and Skype calls but not everyone is comfortable with this shift. And even if you do love working from your PJs, you might be missing the daily interaction. 

This can easily lead to frustrations and grievances that show up differently in this online environment, so it’s incredibly important to make sure that it’s not just you who shows up for the team, but that coworkers show up for each other.

A coach can help:

• Boost morale
• Help create a productive remote team
• Facilitates a conversation about how working in the office will look like in the future and helps people raise their concerns
• Inspires creative thinking and enhances problem-solving skills

3. Career Coaching

Many who have already lost their jobs are looking into using these few months to learn a new skill or improve their existing one and are working on finding new jobs. As the business environment changes and shifts, many will need guidance in the area. 

If you are a business owner, corporate leader or simply work in HR, you might consider helping people you’ve let go with a few Career Coaching sessions with a professional coach. 

A coach can help:

• Get clear on strengths and weaknesses
• Reframe possibilities and perceived obstacles 
• Shift focus on the long-term fulfilment 
• Improve your CV and prepares you for the interview 

4. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion 

These are complex topics, often challenging but it is incredibly important that we have these discussions in any business to help create a safe and welcoming working environment for people of different backgrounds and skills. 

A coach can help: 

• Explore potential biases and misconceptions 
• Facilitate a healthy conversation
• Reframe objections and address the root cause of problems 
• Inspire people to think differently about differences

If you are a business leader, manager, an HR professional, you are probably dealing with any or all of these issues at the moment. If you are a Corporate or Business Coach, your clients are probably dealing with these challenges. 

But we wish to help you in these challenging times with what we're best at - helping you develop your coaching skills.