I’ve been a martial artist for most of my life and have a deep appreciation for how hard fighters work to prepare for a fight. Isn’t it interesting, though, that a professional fighter needs a coach? I mean, this guy has trained for years to get to where they are at in their career and yet they have a coach who supervises their training and preparation for each fight.
In reality every world class athlete has a coach. Fighters, golfers, tennis players, baseball, football, you pick the sport. They all have a coach that helps them get even better. World class leaders need coaches, too. How would having a personal coach help you? Many pastors, especially those in small churches, don’t have anyone to talk to, to bounce ideas off of, or to ask advice from. A good coach can be that person for you.
Coaches Provide:
Perspective. You can’t see everything. It is good to have a fresh set of eyes. There is also wisdom in getting coached from someone who isn’t emotionally involved in your life, church, or business.
Focus. A good coach brings clarity. What are you trying to do? Where are you trying to take your church or business? What are your goals? How are you going to accomplish them? A good coach asks the right questions to help to clarify what are the most important things.
Accountability. A coach will ask, “Have you done what we talked about last time?” They are that person who will remind you of your goals. They will make you put a date on it and ask, “When do you want to have this done?” They will make you put deadlines on things. This is very important for senior leaders who do not have someone looking over their shoulder.
Sounding Board. Who do you bounce ideas off of? A coach is the person that you can run ideas, decisions, and future projects by and talk about. There are some ideas that you probably are not ready to discuss with your team until you refine them a bit. The coach will help with that.
Self-Coaching. Coaching ourselves is not the best idea but there are seasons of life when we may have no choice. There are some great books, podcasts, seminars, and on-line courses that can help you. Just understand, these tools and resources can be great, but they do not hold your feet to the fire. There is no accountability.
If you are looking for someone who can help you in these areas please send me an email at david@davidspell.com. There’s no obligation and I’d love to serve you and your organization! My website has some great information about what we offer.
Annie and I are serving the Lord in the US, Africa, South America, and India. Would you join our team? Just click here to get involved. Thanks so much!
