Change can be a real challenge. Ask anyone who has ever tried to make a significant shift in their business, career or personal life. Yet without change, nothing changes… things don’t grow or move forward. And when that happens, they ultimately wither and die.

However, electing to undertake significant change can, and often does have a positive effect on people. It can drive up their motivation and enthuse them to be decisive, to take significant action and to see through the things that need to be done to be successful.

We are of course in a situation currently, where change has been thrust upon us for the past 2 years. All courtesy of a global pandemic, that has essentially saw world commerce chased into a state of hibernation. As we re-emerge in a measurably less predictable environment; decisiveness, motivation and action may well be qualities that are in limited supply.

I’ve spoken with many businesses later who are very focused on ‘the plan’ for recovery and others who have told me that they feel are like rabbits caught in the headlights of this monumental set of challenges. To ensure that leaders are impactful they need to dust off their coaching skills and sharpen them up. Coaching is effective and progressive during these times of change, it’s absolutely critical that leaders who want to be both a coach and mentor do these 5 things effectively;

Brutal Honesty – First things first… coaches need to be completely honest. There is no benefit to sugar coating the circumstances or shying away from the difficult and challenging decisions that need to be made. Nor is it in anyone’s interest not to face up to these things early and with determination. It is vital that someone holds a mirror up to your situation and holds you accountable not only for making timely, informed decisions, but more importantly for taking the necessary actions required to mitigate risk.

The voice of reason – Because so many things are impacting performance at a personal, professional and operational level right now, it is easy to be overly enthusiastic or pessimistic about the future for your plans and the market opportunities. The coach needs to regulate this, stay balanced and positive in their assessments and ensure that you retain a laser like focus on the desired outcome and views the path ahead through a lens of realism and balanced optimism.

Mindset – Understanding all of the circumstances affecting the client and business is critical. There are no straight lines to the best outcome right now and often, everything is intertwined; business performance, making sure your team are looked after, personal circumstances etc. The coach must ensure that all aspects of your psychological focus are considered, and that decisions and actions factor this in. They must show empathy and curiosity towards your mindset and work on ensuring you maintain a positive and progressive outlook.

See things through – Action, action, action… nothing will change unless a new or different type of force is applied to it. The coach plays a key role here in ensuring accountability for the delivery of committed actions and consistent progress in the right direction. Finding new and creative ways to check in regularly on activity and outcomes will deliver benefit and create momentum.

No plan Survives first contact – No one plans like the military, but the military also know too well that no plan survives first contact. The coach must push you to remain vigilant. To learn to look ahead, to anticipate what will impact the successful execution of the plan and help you to think fast about what adaptation needs to be made, in order to remain on track.

Challenges are the order of the day in business for the foreseeable future. While these are only a few of the benefits of coaching during times of challenge, hopefully they illustrate the type of benefits it can produce. Coaching is a tried and tested way of keeping yourself honest and focused on delivering consistently and building back to a position of strength.