How do you elevate your career even if you’ve made it? How do you take it to the next level when you are already at the top?
I’ve been coaching for over thirty years. My practice predated ICF, the leading coach certification program. When you’ve been around enough, you’ve seen a lot.
Over the years, I’ve witnessed coaching grow into a multi-billion dollar industry embraced by half of Fortune 500 companies yielding average returns of 7x and ROI between 10%-50%. Coach driven organizations outperform S&P companies between 17%-35%.
I like that.
Being committed to CIOs and technology leaders, I’ve also observed that more CEOs have executive coaches than CIOs.
I don’t like that.
I can imagine some reasons. Coaching can be confused with mentoring, and technology is still growing as a field in which mentors can be found. There are more seasoned CEOs to draw from than CIOs if you are looking for mentors.
But coaching isn’t mentoring. It involves mentoring but is not limited to mentoring. Mentors pour in from their experience; coaches draw out from your experience. It’s a vital distinction for customizing your development.
Hopefully Not This Or That
My larger concern is that CIOs haven’t had the coaching they need because either the company didn’t see the worth in the investment, or the CIO didn’t see the worth, giving into, narrow vision, insecurity, or a host of reasons why we don’t seek growth with help from another.
My life changed when I brought a coach alongside me. I had critics who saw the bad and champions who saw the good; my coach saw my possibilities and helps me bring it to be.
A coach will change your life too.
Perhaps some of the resistance is perception, as if a coach will tell you what to do or try to lay a formula on you. I’m the first to preach that formula coaching sours.
Or perhaps CIOs feel that if people know that you have a coach, they will view you as less than adequate.
None of those perceptions has stopped CEOs and Fortune companies from investing in coaches. They will take profit over perception any day.
The Real Question
What do you need to make you a better professional, leader, executive or expert? What has held you back? What will move you forward?
If you can name some areas, why do you think that going it alone is a better growth option than having a coach alongside you, especially given the proven ROI individually and to the company?
I’m tired of seeing my CIO friends wrestle with skill development or struggle with team leadership or miscommunicate with the C-Suite or stall in their influence as an expert.
There are a lot of coaches out there. Not all will provide value to you. CIO Mastermind has some brilliant coaches, and we may or may not be the best fit for you.
That’s why we are offering an easy way to find out - a one-hour assessment of your needs coupled with an explanation of how our coaching stands out (preview - you don’t just get a coach alongside you, you get a network behind you).
If nothing else, the assessment will leave you with a clearer idea of real areas to work on for you or your team.
Schedule a call here to see if an assessment makes sense for you:
https://www.ciomastermind.com/contact-us
