Psychologists have long been researching the characteristics attributed to entrepreneurs and there is undoubtedly a rough blueprint.

When you think of an entrepreneur, you think of drive, passion, optimism, a proactive attitude, and a growth mindset. These people are “characterised by autonomy, innovativeness, risk-taking, competitiveness, aggressiveness, and proactivity, entrepreneurial orientation is found in the majority of successful founders,” says the website EU-Startups.

While these personal qualities might be enough to get a venture off the ground initially, no single person has every skill necessary to run and grow a business. A good leader will ensure there is a good team to support the core business. And a good leader also knows that there is always more to learn on the journey to leadership.

But this is where it can get tricky.

How does a leader choose their advisor/s and confidants? As someone with the powerful personality traits that will ensure growth, staff and peers may be afraid to challenge them or offer an opinion.

There’s also the question of people’s agendas, making it difficult to confide in and trust the advice of others in the organisation. Knowing that business growth requires the growth of the founder, how does he or she choose an honest, objective advisor and supporter?

Why do so many startups fail?

There is a myriad of reasons why startups fail. But Virgin Startup provides 18 typical mistakes that kill startups. A fair percentage of these boil down to personality quirks and the inability to communicate effectively, as well as bad decisions.

There are other reasons of course too, which may be completely out of the control of the founder. However, often, with outside guidance, these pitfalls could have been avoided.

Passionate about their product/service, developed through creative innovation, a successful entrepreneur needs more than that. There are the supporting processes critical for the survival of a thriving business. And the skills needed to lead people can be very different from the creative set required to start a business.

What is executive coaching?

An executive coach offers an objective perspective, with the courage to ask difficult questions and pose necessary challenges. They have no reason to see you or your business fail, but they might be able to expose your blind spots honestly and in an emotionally safe environment.

Contrary to popular belief, leadership is not an intrinsic talent; it can be learnt.

Through self-awareness and understanding the impact of behaviour and reactions, leadership skills can be developed.

An executive coach strives to understand aspects of you, such as your motivators and how you manage stress and process emotions, your behaviour triggers, how you communicate and engage with staff, and your leadership style.

The relationship is a trusted one, and an experienced coach will draw out the best from you, not only in the context of your business, but also across the rest of your interpersonal relationships. After all, a better person is a better leader.

Coaching tends to be fairly structured, with conversations resulting in action plans, and an understanding of performance and outcomes in a professional context. While there may be an element of delving into your personal life, the aim really is to recognise these issues in the context of your business.

As the business scales up, so too, does the founder. Best of all, while the focus is on the professional setting, the effect will spread across your personal life as you grow and evolve with the business.

Examples of where coaching can help

As mentioned above, coaching tends to be more structured than personal counselling, with clear aims and goals within the context of your venture. Here are some examples of where coaching is helpful:

• If you’re a co-founder or part of a group of founders, it’s obviously key to keep those relationships constructive and positive, particularly as you’re scaling.
• Assisting in scaling the executive teams alongside the founder. Organisational growth can lead to tension, often due to limited resources and disagreement in how to progress. Coaching can assist with cohesion across and within these groups and between individuals.
• Organisational culture, structure, and strategy can start to feel fragmented with rapid growth. A coach can assist with ensuring an inclusive culture, an appropriate structure, and effective communication across the business.

Key to all of this is selecting a coach who has knowledge and experience and with whom you feel you could have a strong and trusting relationship.

It needn’t be a lonely road at the top, but choose your coach carefully.