Self-coaching is an essential skill for leaders who are looking to grow and develop themselves continuously in their careers. Here's how leaders can self-coach themselves during periods of change and transition.
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If you're a leader, chances are you've undergone some form of coaching, or training over the years to refresh and polish your leadership skills. However, it's easy to forget about personal development once these programs end. In such cases, self-coaching provides an easy and sustainable way to ensure that you continue to prioritize your growth and development.
What is Self-Coaching?
Self-Coaching is a way to improve self-awareness and empower oneself to bring about changes in his/her attitude, behavior or performance to unleash his or her true potential in various aspects of his/her life. It helps individuals to overcome challenges and reset oneself in turbulent times.
Benefits of Self-Coaching
Self-coaching has many benefits associated with it. Some of them include:
- Quicker problem-solving
- Full autonomy
- Improvement in confidence levels
- Greater mentoring skills
- Heightened self-awareness
- Positive change in mindset
- Zero/Low Cost
Steps to Self-Coaching
The following are the steps you can take as you embark on your journey of self-coaching:
1. Clarify your Objectives
Before you start, take some time to understand and identify the reasons for self-coaching. Only if you determine the "WHY?" will you be able to answer the "HOW?".
2. Do a Brain-dump
Take a sheet of paper and write down everything that is occupying your thoughts and emotions. Try not to stop or think too much while doing this. Keep writing until you feel that you've emptied everything onto the sheet.
3. Craft a Plan
Refer to the sheet where you did your brain-dump and go through it to identify items that are related to your coaching objectives. If you have more than one coaching objective, make sure you prioritize the objectives.
4. Hold Yourself Accountable
Don't let yourself off easy by coming up with a plan with no deadline. Setting deadlines creates a sense of goal-setting and urgency that will provide the intrinsic drive needed for you to achieve your objective(s).
5. Get Buy-In
Chances are that in order to meet your objectives you need to make some sacrifices or get help from others. Make sure that the people involved or affected by your decisions are okay with it. You will definitely need their support and encouragement.
6. Introspect
Every day take time out to write down your key takeaways for the day. Writing in a journal is a useful way to introspect and reflect on your progress towards your goal(s).
7. Love Thyself
You may wonder "If I love myself, I wouldn't want to coach myself". That's true - often it's a desire for change that necessitates self-coaching. However, that being said, self-love is important. Accept yourself as a flawed being with a desire to change. If you don't love yourself now, you won't love yourself later and could be trapped in a vicious cycle of self-hate.
