Hello all and welcome to the Wednesday Interview! The final coach I have chosen to interview is our own Barry K. Zweibel, MCC, ICF-Certified Master Coach. Barry is newly certified MCC and I gained much from his answers, I hope you will too. Read on.
How do you define coaching?
Iteratively! Really, it all depends on where people start talking to me about it. “Is it like therapy?†Well, yes, sort of, but it’s more about moving forward from where you’re at than looking backwards … “Is it like consulting?†Why yes, but it’s not about me giving you my answers, it’s about helping you determine your own answers …
When did you decide to become a coach?
What was your aha moment? My undergraduate degree is in psychology (MBA in marketing) so the people-side-of-life has always been an interest to me. But I didn’t like how therapy was pathologically-based. Sure everyone can probably benefit from therapy, but not everyone is broken, so what about all the “normal†people who are just feeling stuck or uncomfortable or aren’t sure what to do next, etc.? But coaching wasn’t around back then. Fast forward, and a guy named Chip Bell (Managers as Mentors) turned me on to a coach-like perspective and Thomas Leonard sealed the deal. They both helped me realize I already was coaching; it was now a matter of doing it full-time rather than just as an adjunct of my other professional responsibilities.
What is your niche and how did you find it?
My sweet-spot is executive coaching/leadership work. There are a lot of really smart, capable people out there who have been thrust into management roles without proper training/experience. But I like a good life-coaching client, too. In fact, I try to have a broad portfolio of clientele at any one time – why settle for one color when you can have the whole rainbow?! Perhaps contrary to common beliefs, I actually think that it’s a bad idea for coaches to niche too soon. First, as a new coach, you’re likely to have some ineffective coaching moments – why do that in your targeted niche where word can spread around about that. Second, once a coach starts to have “seen it all†there’s a real tendency to do more consulting than coaching. The unfamiliarity and diversity keeps things fresh. Besides, you don’t need a nice to have a successful coaching practice.
What training did you take? Would you recommend it to others?
I’m a CTI brat (Coaches Training Institute) but I wouldn’t automatically recommend it for everyone. Here are some questions I would have you answer first:
a. What’s your natural learning style and which training program offers an approach best in line with that?
b. What coaching model(s) does each school teach and which makes more intuitive sense to you?
c. In interviewing 3-5 graduates of each program, what did you learn? How well did you click with them?
d. Is the program certified by the International Coach Federation as an Accredited Coach Training Program?
A great resource, too, is Rey Carr’s annotated listing: www.peer.ca/coachingschools.html.
Once you started your business, how long did it take you to go from zero to a sustainable business? What did that involve?
Year One was good enough in that it was only a half-year, really (I started GottaGettaCoach! on July 4, 2000 – Independence Day!) and Year Two was pretty good, too – but I think that was because most of my work came from people I already knew. Year Three was awful – I ran out of contacts ~ and hadn’t yet figured out how to get people I didn’t know to find and hire me. Apparently something clicked, because Years Four, Five, and Six have each been great and progressively better than the one prior. (Year Seven, 2007) is starting off quite nicely, too.
What did that involve? Patience, and persistence, of course. But I think the thing that made the most difference was creating specific business development (biz-d) and client acquisition strategies that were customized enough to me so that I truly enjoyed working them. I learned that there is no one right way to make a small business successful – there are zillions of ways. So I choose a few that worked (and that were within my comfort zone) and worked them as passionately as I could.
What mistake have you made that you would like to help others avoid?
My biggest mistake – one that me and 80% of all small business owners have made – is that I did not properly prioritize at first. I thought the idea was to first become really good at doing my work (i.e. coaching). But it really was far more important to first become a good entrepreneur. Not until you have a way to ‘restock’ your client-pond at-the-ready, do things really start popping. So that’s the big Lesson Learned as far as I’m concerned. Now did I ultimately learn to become a pretty good coach along the way? I think so – and I continue to learn and grow in that regard, but I do it with a full client-roster.
What is one thing you think all beginning coaches should know before they start out?
It’s less about coaching acumen – and more about biz-d – than they probably realize. Again, it’s not that coaching skills aren’t important; it’s just that without clients to coach, it doesn’t much matter how good a coach you happen to be. Too, a great way to quickly improve your coaching skills is to work with people who really *want* to be coached. Try it and see that it’s so!
Where do you see coaching going in the future and what do you think the next big trends will be?
I’m very optimistic. More and more people are being coached by their friends, relatives, and co-workers and are really liking the ‘it’s-all-about-me’ thing. But they increasingly don’t like how their informal coach’s vested interests keep getting in the way. As such, they’ll increasingly look to professional, objective, coaches (read: you and me) to hire.
Next big trends? Here are three: (1) The increased importance of certification (and ultimately licensure) of coaches will cause scads of casual and part-time coaches to back away from the field creating more opportunity for those remaining; (2) more coaches will opt for group-work creating even more opportunity for those continuing to focus on 1-on-1 work; (3) trends won’t matter because how many clients do you really need to have a successful practice, anyway?!
What do you love about being a coach and coaching?
No need to preach to the choir on this one – I love that I get to be a coach and that I get to coach. Is there anyone out there who doesn’t get that?!
What parts of coaching are the most work? The most difficult?
I honestly don’t look at things in terms of difficult or time-consuming – I look at them as important or not. Given that, I try to spend as much time as I possibly can on the important stuff, and as little time as I can on the unimportant.
What are the top three pieces of advice you’d leave for new coaches?
(1) focus more on your biz-d than you probably are;
(2) do it in ways that truly work for you – regardless of what anyone else has to say about what you should or should not be doing;
(3) adopt a puppy! So okay, I only had two pieces of advice, but there is something to be said for being as good a businessperson/coach as your dog already thinks you are!
Name three books/blogs/websites you would suggest for new coaches to read/look up.
Websites
a. www.google.com – the world at your fingertips
b. www.m-w.com – never underestimate the power of language
c. www.naphill.com – Napoleon Hill really *did* know what he was talking about – and you’ll be amazed at how many coaches rip off his stuff as their own!
Bonus selection: www.biz-d-basics.com – more of what I have to say about building a coaching practice.
Books
(1) Getting Business to Come to You, by Edwards, Edwards, and Douglas – almost 100 cubic inches of ideas, ideas, ideas
(2) How to Become a Rainmaker, by Jeffrey J. Fox – subtitle: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients
(3) Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing, by Harry Beckwith
Barry K. Zweibel, MCC
ICF-Certified Master Coach
GottaGettaCoach!® Incorporated
847.291.9735
bz@ggci.com (email)
Gotta Getta Blog
GottaGettaCoach!, Inc.
“Helping clients root out uncertainty WHEREVER it festers!â€
Your February Mentor Coach Host is:
Linda Boos of Meet Life Head On Coaching.
