“I know about the benefits of career coaching, but what are the negatives?”
- Fees: By far, this is the largest stumbling block for most people. They love the support, encouragement and accountability that come with coaching, but they balk at the cost.
Free stuff is great — and most coaches will offer a complementary session to give you a taste of what coaching is about and whether you can work well together. 
But some things are worth paying for, and coaching is one of them.
If you look at coaching as just an expense instead of an investment, you’re looking through the wrong end of the telescope. Just as marketing and technology upgrades are an investment in a business, coaching is an investment in you. If you’re wanting to invest more into you, your business and your employees, purchasing a simple piece of software to help you with the mentoring of your workforce could be a good option, especially regarding millenial mentoring.
Some coaches charge more than others; shop around. But don’t let cost be the determining factor.
If you intend to stay at your present job, but want coaching to help you improve productivity, time management or otherwise increase your value to the company, you may want to talk to your boss about helping you with the leadership coaching fees.
Notice I said “helping with” instead of “paying the full freight.”
Here’s why: You must have some kind of investment in the process in order for it to be important to you. I have coached people who paid their own way and people whose bosses picked up the tab. Overwhelmingly, those who invest in their own coaching are far more successful than the others. Not only that, but if you are willing to pay a portion of your own coaching fees, it tells your boss that you’re serious about it.
Performance benefits of coaching
There are massive benefits to a company that invests in coaching for its employees, too, so don’t hesitate to pull out the numbers when talking to your boss about kicking in on the cost of coaching. Improvements were reported in:
- Productivity (reported by 53% of executives)
- Quality (48%)
- Organizational strength (48%)
- Customer service (39%)
- Reducing customer complaints (34%)
- Retaining executives who received coaching (32%)
- Cost reductions (23%)
- Bottom-line profitability (22%)
It sounds like hair-splitting to talk about the difference between making an investment or just spending money, but there are real differences. Here are some questions to ask yourself. If you can answer yes to any of these, you’re making an investment.
- Will I be able to measure my success?
- Can I recoup my investment or even see a financial gain as a result?
- Will it improve my performance?
- Will it help me stand out from the crowd?
Other than financial, here are some other stumbling blocks that could crop up in career coaching.
- Time: Coaching takes time — and not just the time set aside for the coaching sessions. There is work to be done between sessions, and while most clients see immediate results, most coaches will ask for a commitment of at least three months and usually six. It may take that much time to ensure that all new habits are installed.
Plus, there may be detours in coaching to deal with issues that are getting in the way of achieving stated goals. So look at your life and see whether you’ve got the time (and energy) to devote to coaching before you make the commitment.
- Bad fit. Sometimes the coach and client don’t click. If you don’t have a good feeling about your coach, don’t give up — look for another one.
- No results. One of the things your coach will ask you at the beginning of your relationship is how you expect to measure your success.
If you are not seeing results you expected within a month, tell your coach and ask for her perspective. And if you’re not happy with the answer, find another coach.
- Unwilling to do the work. You must show up. If you’re not willing to do what needs to be done to get you where you want to be, your coaching will not be successful.
- Not ready for coaching. Not everyone is coachable. There are certain levels of commitment beyond money and time that go along with coaching. One of them is being open to making changes. If you can’t make those commitments, coaching will not work for you.
The real question isn’t if you can afford to be coached — but can you afford not to?
P.S. The IRS will allow you to deduct fees you pay for job-related expenses — like coaching — if you itemize on your tax return.