by Carrie Le Grice

Originally posted on May 1, 2006

Everyone seems to have a coach these days, no matter the
level of accomplishment. Even the greatest of the greats
have one. Just look at Tiger Woods, who, despite his
record-breaking number of championships, still considers
swing coach Hank Haney a crucial element of his game.
Luciano Pavarotti entrusts his voice to the discerning ear
of opera coach Joan Dornemann every time he performs at the
Met. Even heavy metal rock band Metallica sought out
performance enhancement coach Phil Towle when its last
couple of albums failed to impress even its biggest fans.
The point is: No matter how good you are at what you do, you
can always get better. So whether your practice has gone
big-time or you're just starting to work your way up the
ladder, read on.

What's a coach?
The coaching industry has expanded globally. The
International Coaching Federation - the largest global,
nonprofit, professional association of personal and business
coaches - has nearly 10,000 members in 70 different
countries. With a universally accepted accreditation process
and a code of professional standards, ICF attempts to uphold
the integrity of the coaching profession - a profession that
works with other business people to help them realize their
goals and improve both personally and professionally. In
essence, a coach can help you recognize untapped potential
and opportunities and provide guidance and support as you
realize those opportunities.

Who needs a coach?
Coaches can be an essential part of any advisor's practice -
industry newbies and seasoned veterans alike. Susan Battley,
Psy.D., Ph.D., chief executive and leadership psychologist
of Stony Brook, N.Y.-based Battley Performance Consulting,
agrees. A coach, she says, can help newcomers "identify a
clear career strategy, create a project or business action
plan, and monitor progress against the plan."

But Battley says one of the great advantages to having a
coach is that a coach can conduct a comprehensive individual
behavioral assessment. This identifies how a person thinks,
communicates and works. The results, Battley says, "can be
profitable in determining how to optimize key relationships
with business partners, colleagues and clients."

There are endless advantages for industry newcomers who have
a coach. But what about the guys who have been around for
years and think they have seen it all? Believe it or not,
even the most seasoned veterans can benefit from a coach's
help. Sometimes it's just a matter of finding a new, fresh
approach to business; other times, it could be about
breaking old bad habits. Look at Dick Vermeil. As head coach
of the St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs, even he used a
coach - the same Phil Towle Metallica used. He swears Towle
helped him re-hone his leadership skills and deal with his
own personal hang-ups. For these reasons and more, he
considers Towle a vital part of his staff. This, Vermeil
says, is why Towle wears a Super Bowl ring.

Chances are you won't be giving your coach a Super Bowl
ring, but you might just find that given the chance, you
would.

J. David Lewis is one industry veteran who uses a coach, and
if he had the chance to give her a Super Bowl ring, he
would. Fourteen years after starting his company, Resource
Advisory Services in Knoxville, Tenn., Lewis found himself
frustrated with the way he and his three-person staff worked
together. At the time, he described his staff as a team but
realized they were anything but. It was that realization
that led Lewis to find a coach - a psychologist, in fact.
His coach helped him realize he had not clearly communicated
his mission and vision to his staff, nor had they
communicated theirs. Everything was out of whack. The goals
and visions of the individual team members weren't
consistent with his.

"As a result," Lewis says, "we were all working in different
directions." Lewis countered this problem by creating a
solid mission for his business and drew up management
documents to serve as a guide. The results of his work were
surprising, yet much needed. His staff didn't share his
vision and realized it wouldn't work out. All three left
voluntarily and he has since formed a new team, one that is
in sync with the company's overall vision and personifies
the word team.

Industry insider or outsider?
Vermeil chose to work with a coach who had a background in
psychotherapy - rather than sports - and it seemed to work
for him. The same goes for Lewis, who chose to work with a
psychologist rather than a financial advisor. This raises a
valid question: Should a coach be an industry insider or an
outsider? The debate behind this question goes on and on.
But one thing is for sure: Each has its benefits.

When Jim Tyrpak, secretary of the Society of Financial
Service Professionals, was looking for a coach, he wanted
someone who would help him improve not only his business but
his overall life.

"One of the reasons that I was looking for a coach was to
increase my confidence and results in all the aspects of my
life," Tyrpak says, adding that a coach had less to do with
"achieving high levels of production" and more to do with
attaining "a sense of life direction and a sense of overall
fulfillment."

Tyrpak, president of Desmon, Kohnstamm and Tyrpak, a wealth
preservation and business continuity firm in Buffalo, N.Y.,
brings up an important lesson. There is so much more to
having a coach than simply improving one's business. It is
about a holistic improvement in some or all aspects of one's
life. This is why he chose to work with a coach from outside
the financial industry.

"If part of your goal for hiring a coach is total
self-improvement, not just business improvement," Tyrpak
says, "then an outsider can often provide a broader
perspective on areas to be improved."

Jason Papier prefers to use a coach from outside the
industry, too. As managing partner at PWJohnson Wealth
Management, a wealth and financial planning firm in
Sunnyvale, Calif., Papier thinks it's important to learn
from people in other industries who are more knowledgeable
in certain subjects than he is. By working with coaches from
outside the industry, Papier says he gets "fantastic
insights" into areas such as marketing, HR and
organizational modeling. He credits this approach as the
reason his business functions at a much higher level than
his peers' businesses.

What is Battley's answer to the question of whether a coach
should be an industry insider or outsider? "It depends on
your coaching goals," she says. On the side of using an
industry insider, Battley argues that, often, the best coach
to help you achieve your goals when it comes to managing,
negotiating and sales is someone with complementary
expertise. But she cautions two things. First, don't assume
a successful advisor equates to a good coach. There are
different skills required for each. Second, when choosing a
coach inside the financial services industry, choose someone
with an open mind.

"An insider coach who closely mirrors your own background
may also share your same attitudes and biases," Battley
says. Someone outside the industry is less likely to create
these blind spots, as she calls them.

On the side of the industry outsider, remember to be
practical when choosing a coach. Battley says it is crucial
for the coach to understand the financial services industry
and how success can be achieved.

"He or she should be familiar with trends, norms and key
drivers in your field or be able to acquire a working
knowledge of these quickly," she says.

How do you pick a coach?
Before delving into the quest to find the perfect coach,
make sure this is something you really want to do. Battley
urges you to think about why you want a coach and whether
you are ready for such a commitment. (See sidebar, page 52.)
You must have clear and compelling goals, she says. You must
be motivated to change and open to constructive criticism
and feedback.

"If you think you're already perfect, or if you're very set
in your ways, coaching is probably not for you," Battley
says.

Papier suggests searching for a coach the same way you
approach hiring a new employee. He urges you to consider the
coach's credentials, how much experience he has, what
results he has produced with other clients and whether or
not he has good referrals.

As far as drawing up an official contract between the two of
you, Papier thinks it is vital. "You are entering a
relationship that is much the same as the relationship your
own clients are entering into with you. It's collaborative;
it requires full disclosure and quite a bit of trust."

In order to gain the most from the relationship, he says,
"there should be an agreement protecting this trust and
outlining the requirements of each party." In the end,
choosing a coach should come down to experience and, simply,
whether you can work well together. Papier sums it up well.

"I tell prospects ... there are many good planners
available. It is important that they find someone they are
comfortable with, they feel a good rapport with and who
communicates in a manner that is effective for them. We only
act on items if we are comfortable that it is a good
decision. The greatest advice is no good if it goes
unheeded. Working with a coach is the same. A planner should
only work with a person they feel comfortable with - someone
they feel they can trust. Otherwise, they won't have a
productive relationship regardless of how good the coach
 is."