Most startups don’t have the luxury of time to get things right, they need to stay on the right track. This is where leaders often turn to a coach, an outside voice, to help them gain clarity on their priorities and find a path through.

So, what is the purpose of a coach in the startup world? And how do they bring value in the already time limited and fast paced world of new business.

A coach is specifically trained in helping people to reflect on their current challenges, drawing on both their weaknesses and strengths to help them achieve their goals. Unlike mentoring, which involves learning from someone with prior experience, one of the fundamental principles of coaching is the belief that individuals possess the answers within themselves. Coaching is not about providing solutions but about asking powerful questions that guide leaders to discover their own answers. Coaching sessions are typically 1–2 hours long and can be held online or in person.

Why you might seek coaching as a startup:

Growing pains

Whether you are just starting out or have been expanding your team at a rate of knots, the fast-paced environment of a startup can lead to challenges. For example, in managing difficult team dynamics, role uncertainty, and missing organisational structure.

A coach can help you to evolve with a sense of calm, identify priorities, and learn to communicate effectively, recognising different personalities and needs within the team.

Mission creep

When you are juggling so many priorities with a vast array of decisions to make, it’s not uncommon to find your focus has shifted slightly. It’s easy to find yourself going off on a tangent, with your budget suffering accordingly. Worse, you may not have noticed.

A coach can be useful in holding you accountable. Coaching sessions often result in clear ideas and action points that need to be followed through. Allowing a realistic amount of time between sessions is important for ensuring progress and is something your coach will discuss with you.

Accidental Managers

As startups evolve and change, job roles and team dynamics do too. Failure to adequately prepare newly promoted managers or to fully integrate managers from outside of the business can result in a higher employee turnover, reduced performance, and burnout.

A coach can be instrumental in helping new managers to hit the ground running, helping them to cope with the pressure of new management, developing skills in delegation and performance management as well as effective communication.

Wellbeing

Being a part of a startup can be exhilarating, intense, and scary at the same time. Reflective questioning in coaching sessions is designed to ensure you create sufficient balance in your working and home life; building good habits that allow you to maximise the best of both worlds.

Being in leadership within a startup can be stressful and not focusing on your own wellbeing can result in additional stress and effect your ability to make the best decisions for your business.

"It’s easy to lose your identity in a startup and when difficult times hit, you’ll suffer the consequences. Keeping a constant check in on yourself helps you stay one step ahead.” Gary Parsons, Talk Staff, CEO.

Leaders often choose to have several coaching sessions focused specifically on building Mental Strength. Being intentional about checking in on wellbeing and addressing challenges such as Imposter Syndrome to build their resilience and prevent burnout.

Getting the most out of coaching as a startup

Whilst having a coach can be incredibly empowering, it’s not without its challenges. Here are some top tips when using a coach:

Building trust and rapport with your coach

Adding an external person to the ecosystem of a startup, even temporarily, can raise anxiety and suspicion. Particularly in competitive working environments. It can be helpful to highlight to the team that a coach’s role is not to come up with alternative solutions or to make judgements but to ask powerful questions. It is important for leaders and teams to understand that a coach is specifically trained to ensure confidentiality and to work alongside you, exploring your ideas and concerns.

Finding the right chemistry with your coach

Don’t feel shy about meeting a few different coaches before you settle on one. Choosing the right coach for you will be instrumental in your success as you work with your chosen coach. Find someone you feel comfortable being open and honest with. It is standard practice to have a short “chemistry call” or “discovery call” with a few coaches to see who you feel most compatible with.

If you are a leader and feel a colleague would benefit from a coach, its important they are motivated to make changes. A coach is not there to persuade but to assist. Giving people a choice of which coach they work with can also increase their engagement in the process. 

The power of coaching for startups

Coaches help startup leaders step back from the details and see the bigger picture, focusing on communication patterns, limiting beliefs, and overall team dynamics. This approach not only fosters creativity but also facilitates a levelling up of what the team can achieve.

Coaching allows individuals to see themselves from a different perspective, helping them identify their strengths and weaknesses to help them grow. From providing an external perspective to fostering resilience, coaching can play an important role in helping teams and leaders thrive amidst uncertainty.