Coach's Corner
Don’t Just Hire a Coach, Hire a MentorCoach
Don’t just hire a coach, hire a MentorCoach
The proliferation of coaching programs for financial advisors has become as common as the advisory business itself. Yet many advisors go through their daily routine without the guidance of a good coach or mentor. In effect, they are their own CEO, planner and coach… and that’s too much for any one person to handle. If professional sports teams offer any comparison, pro teams did away with the player-coach role decades ago, as only one such team has ever won a world championship.
Many advisors had the benefit of a mentor when they started in the business. That mentor was a wise, seasoned professional offering sage advice on what to do and what not to do as you struggled for positive cash flow. On the other hand, a coach is charged with teaching what needs to be done to achieve a particular goal, combined with holding you accountable for results. The coach does not necessarily need to have that “been there, done that” experience of a mentor, but it surely helps.
Over the years, I have been enrolled or am currently enrolled in the following coaching programs: Peak, The Strategic Coach, The Kinder Institute of Life Planning, Bill Bachrach, Mark Sheer, The Goal Cultivator, The True Wealth Institute and Million Dollar Producer. I went to so many programs that I wondered if I was missing something. After all, the content from one program often overlaps with another, and any one of these great programs is a guaranteed boost to your productivity.
But then I had my “ah ha” moment, and I got it. It’s not only about the fantastic content found in these programs, it is about your ability to implement the ideas and get things done. Most of our industry’s coaching programs are seriously lacking in the area of accountability. They teach good content that you take away but may or may not use in your day to day practice. Even fewer combine accountability with the “been there, done that” wisdom offered by a mentor.
To get the most from your coaching program, you need good content, mentoring from someone who has walked in your shoes and accountability. Perhaps you begin with a discussion with some of your coaching colleagues. Ask them how they feel about the content, mentoring and accountability aspects of the program. Chances are that you’ll find them in the same exact boat that you’re in, feeling like something is denying them a complete manifestation of their learning.
To improve the situation, ask one of your colleagues to become your accountability partner, and vice versa. These are valuable relationships that are commonly underutilized. Your coaching colleagues are already like-minded people interested in maximizing the benefit from your common knowledge, and they may also be able to provide the mentoring part of the equation.
To eradicate this problem in our firm, we created the Paragon Advisor MentorCoaching program, the intention of which is to elegantly provide the mentoring and accountability portions of some of our industry’s great coaching programs mentioned above. Paragon is not a substitute for any of the above, but that necessary piece to get lasting value, and ultimately, greater rewards because of the program of your choice.
Finally, after years of paying huge bills for the great content that I have learned, our firm is benefiting in a material way. As I pack my bags for Omaha, Chicago or California, I go confidently and without fear of information overload. I am eager to digest even more great content from the best teachers in the world, knowing that my Paragon Advisor MentorCoach is ready to make sure that I implement the ideas and reap the rewards available to those who get it done.
Our All-Star
Contributors
Kinder Institute
George Kinder
PEAK
Steve Sanduski
Ron Carson
Referral Coach
International
Bill Cates
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