One of my first clients, “George”, was a successful realtor who was seeking support as he was establishing his own real estate business. He was referred to me but wasn’t quite sure how I would be able to help him since I wasn’t a realtor. George shared that he was working with someone who was thriving in the business and helping him to create and grow his real estate office. What George described was having a mentor, someone in your field who has advice for someone less experienced. So, I asked him what he was trying to accomplish.
George was in his early to mid-thirties, married to a stay-at-home wife, and had two small children. His concerns were about creating an office with other realtors whom he could groom as effective producers of business, hiring competent support staff who could back him and others in their sales, while still allowing him time to spend with his young family. My response to him was that while I was not familiar with his profession although peripherally, the issues that he raised were universal for any new or existing business.
To get started, I visited him at his office, and we discovered that some physical organization would be helpful. Since I use the DiSC profile with all my coaching clients, I suggested obtaining profiles for his team members to give him insight into their strengths and areas of development as well. We then worked on how he could manage his time and get home to have dinner with his wife and children and perhaps do some additional simple work tasks from home after they were off to bed. Working with clients, like George, on their people skills through awareness and self-reflection is the essence of what coaching can offer. Coaching, unlike mentoring, helps people work on non-technical skills that permeate all types of workplaces.
“Coaching is releasing a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.” – Unknown