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Why Do I Need A Behavior Coach?

Mar 6th, 2015 | paul.sylvester@teamsylvester.com

I’m a behavioral coach. I help people understand their own behaviors and how best to adjust those behaviors to have more satisfying and productive interactions with others in their personal and professional circles. A lot of what I teach my clients might seem intuitive, and it is to a degree. There are plenty of books, tests (DiSC Behavioral Profile, for example) and seminars out there that can give you similar insight into your personality. So why do you need a coach? I’ll give you a few reasons.

#1 – A Coach Holds You Accountable

The first and most important reason to have a behavioral coach is accountability. I hold my clients accountable for doing the work that they know they need to do to affect change in their lives. It’s what they appreciate (and hate) most about working with me. Think of weight loss. The concept of losing weight is fairly simple: eat right, eat less, exercise more. So, why do so many people struggle with it? Because it takes discipline! Those who succeed are either really disciplined or are paying someone or some company (e.g., Weight Watchers) to hold them accountable for eating less, eating right and exercising. It’s always more effective to engage someone else to make sure we do what we say we need to do.

#2 – A Coach Is a Behavior Expert

The second reason you need a coach is expertise. I have been coaching individuals and teams since 2004; and before that I was an overstressed and ineffective executive-level leader, who was forced (something had to change) to go through a personal behavior transformation. I can talk the talk because I walked the walk. I’ve even got the battle scar down my sternum to prove it! And I can assure you, I wouldn’t have wanted an inexperienced heart surgeon opening my chest. Experience develops credible expertise and expertise will get you to the next level faster than you can on your own.

#3 – A Coach Keeps It Real

The third reason you need a coach is for outside perspective. Understanding one’s behavior can often be an eye opening and sometimes disconcerting process. You have to be honest with yourself, which can be difficult. And most people see themselves differently than others do. A coach is an unbiased, third party who’s job it is to “keep it real.”

#4 – A Coach Makes It Personal

The last reason you need a coach is personalization. There’s nothing like one-on-one coaching to get you where you need to be as quickly as possible. Any professional athlete, musician, or high-level executive more than likely employed a personal coach or mentor at some point in their career. In the one-on-one relationship, your exercises can be customized to get the absolute best result in the shortest timeframe. I’ll use the weight loss example again. You can take 100 spin classes and probably lose some pounds, build some leg muscle… or you can hire a personal trainer. The trainer is going to design a series of exercises tailored to your specific goals, and he or she will probably also ask about what you are eating and advise against that cheeseburger.

I Believe In My Work

I love what I do. Coaching people to understand why they behave the way they do and how to make measurable a life change without a life altering experience (hello, heart surgery!) is hugely satisfying for me and, based on the positive feedback, equally valuable to my clients.