Benefits of a coach

Growth isn't an isolated phenomenon in the distance you're trying to aim for — it's a way of life. If your business isn't growing as quickly as you like, there are specific reasons why and fixes you can apply immediately.

For your business to grow and reach its full potential, it helps to have a growth mindset. Your mindset has a profound impact on the direction of your business and whether it will grow or stagnate.

Businesses encounter many challenges as they scale. By repeatedly facing challenges and learning from them, you change and evolve. That's why the growth mindset is essential in your personal and business success.

Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset

The growth mindset is different from the fixed mindset. Most of us believe things are the way they are, and they don't change over time. This is a way of thinking that believes we're born with talent and intelligence and do what we can with them.

The growth mindset says that talent and intelligence are just the starting point. But, in the grand scheme of things, it's not these qualities but perseverance and the capacity to learn that allow us to do amazing things. For example, the fixed mindset says, "I can't do that." The growth mindset says, "I can't do that yet." A growth mindset can embrace what you don't know. That said, who hasn't had a blind spot or two in their life? That situation or period where you kid yourself that you know when you don't. Whether conscious or not - it's perfectly natural! But depending upon scale and frequency, it can mean we miss out on attaining personal growth at a much quicker pace. As a thought-leader, you want to rise above what comes naturally—appreciating that being outside your comfort zone can be a good thing.

A coach or mentor can offer a new perspective and give you support and advice based on their experience with many successful individuals. 

Specifically, they can help you with:

1. Clearly defining goals and sticking to them

2. Accountability

3. Increasing engagement and commitment

4. Learning from an expert

5. Developing personal awareness

There's a good chance that you've been working so hard that you've hardly stopped to think about these fundamental aspects of growing faster. An accountability partner, mentor or coach can help you find gaps in your knowledge — not to make you feel bad, but to help you feel more at ease outside your comfort zone and be your very best! And if you are the best already? Well, even the best can be better! 

For example, take a look at the list of qualities below. Do you tick each one?

Growth Mindset Qualities

1. Unafraid to Fail. 

You will inevitably make mistakes along the way. However, the growth mindset sees every failure as a valuable learning experience. You take what you learn from the experience and use it next time.

2. Accountable to Yourself. 

People with this mindset don't blame others for what happens. Instead, they take accountability for their words and actions.

3. Not Concerned with What Others Have. 

If you think this way, you're not jealous of the success of others. Instead, you're happy for the people around you who succeed, and you draw inspiration from them for your success.

4. Positive. 

People like this are consistently positive. Not only are they positive, but they surround themselves with positive people and steer clear of negativity. 

5. Constantly Learning. 

The key feature of the growth mindset is that you're hungry to learn. You want to know about everything. But most of all, you want to learn through experience. You're excited to try something new and see what happens because you know experience is the best teacher.

6. Obsessed with Efficiency. 

People who think this way are always seeking to streamline and make things more efficient. They're trying to work smarter, not harder. 

7. Priority Setting. 

Successful people are good at setting priorities and focusing on the most important things. As a result, they don't get lost in the little details or are easily distracted.

8. Resilience. 

The growth mindset makes you resilient. You're ready to get kicked to the floor and get right back up to try again. 

9. Gaining expertise. 

A person with this mentality seeks to become an expert in their field and gain deep expertise. 

It is important to note that a growth mindset is for everyone; it is not an attribute you're born with but a choice you make. Everyone can have a growth mindset. However, like any change, it is not easy. HBR's article on mentoring, published in January this year, highlighted that "76% of working professionals believe that a mentor is important to growth; however, more than 54% do not have such a relationship." This underlines a critical challenge that individuals face; how do they find the best mentor match and start building a great relationship? While the HBR article offers an excellent eight-step process, investing time to understand your goals and where you want to be is a crucial first step in clarifying for you and your "mentor to-be" how they can help you. 

If you still have more questions and would like to learn more, feel free to get in touch. 

Check out our other latest articles in the growth resources section of our website.

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