Why A Player-Coach?
“Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.” - Ziad K. Abdelnour
What happens when a business owner is feeling restless, is no longer having fun and is feeling the truism of the phrase, “It’s lonely at the top”? If you dig under the rationalizations, excuses and other superficial factors, not enjoying their business anymore is the core problem for too many business owners. I have experienced it myself, at times, throughout my career. And, unfortunately, it is what we like to talk about the least.
I know first-hand the real stress and worry that come from a bank pressuring you. Or finding out you are losing your largest client or key employees are leaving and taking business with them. Or learning that competitors who have much deeper pockets are undercutting your price. I know how these challenges damage your psyche and confidence, how you wince when the phone rings or are nervous sitting down with the client that has summoned you for a meeting. I know the strong pull to retreat to your office and your inbox. I’ve done all that before too. Collectively, they impacted me to my core.
Many turn to a business coach and then turn to another and another. Been there. Done that. And I have the frustration and disappointment in my memory bank to prove it. We business owners are a tricky bunch. We all need help seeing our business from the outside in and we often need help curating the many ideas and responsibilities spinning in our minds all day… and night. BUT, we struggle to implement the ideas because the day-to-day demands of the business today always take priority over the changes we need to make for a better tomorrow. So we jump for a coach who will let you rant for an hour every week and we get comfort and a few new ideas from each call but, without urgent implementation, we are left only with the ideas and regrets.
Like I said, been there and done that. I talked to plenty of business “geniuses” whom all knew better. People who decided their mission is to help other businesses even when they have not sat in the owner's chair themselves. So I would chat with them every week for a few months and update them on my 5-year plan. And you know what happened? Nada. Because what I really needed to run my business AND create change was another me for a short burst of time.
The traditional coaching model is built around the rules of traditional therapy. i.e. Don't give direct advice, try to sustain a client for years and practice saying "our time is up" when the session is over. But I do not know a modern business that has issues that can wait for a scheduled call. I do not know an entrepreneur who has a year (or more) to create the type of change they want and need.
Over 20 years ago, to deliver a solution of real (and accelerated) value, I created a new model based on what I so desperately needed but could never find: A Player-coach.
A player-coach, in my context, is a most trusted confidante who advises but who also goes and gets critical tasks taken care of. i.e. Gets shit done.
What I do is not coaching in the traditional business coaching sense. I sit on calls and tell clients what to do to be a success.
By contrast, I treat business owners like the unique individuals they are. I understand that you can’t separate yourself from your professional role; the two go hand in hand. It is one thing for a coach to help you realize you are hesitant to innovate or to talk about daily stresses (Or whatever the particular worry or fear each leader has — And they all have at least one). But it is quite another if the coach helps you re-imagine your sales strategy and then sits next to you on that critical sales pitch. Maybe an introduction needs to be made, financing needs to be found or a buyer for the business needs to be identified. Maybe an innovation needs to be unearthed, built and launched. This, using these most basic of examples, is the difference in the kind of service I offer my clients.
Said more simply, If I am delivering maximum value, then I am not shouting from the back of the theater, I’m on stage alongside you.
You see, many talk but too few do.
Maybe it is not traditionally the coach’s job to step in and fight alongside their clients, but every experience I have had and every honest conversation I have had with CEOs and business owners over decades is proving that it absolutely should be.
What a business owner who is stuck needs more than anything else is someone who will also jump into the battle with her or him and fight like hell when times demand it. Sometimes the weight of the business is simply too great and the business battle scars have left too many wounds.
Sometimes resilience needs a spark and a leg up. In other words, a Player-Coach.