Remember back in elementary school how excited you were on days when you had “Show and Tell”? Maybe you got to bring in your newest video game or maybe a “magic rock” you found in your back yard. Perhaps it was photos from your trip to Grandma’s house or, if your teacher was cool, you got to bring in your pet turtle, frog or hamster.
By sharing something, you always seemed to take a lot more pride in whatever it was, didn’t you?
That is the same philosophy I hold when it comes to the third part of a successful Business Plan – Share it with a manager or coach.
The first thing it does is it challenges you to put your Business Plan into a legible, easy to understand format. It should be a document that others can look at and they instantly see what you are trying to accomplish and how you hope to do it.
Secondly, it begins to build another level of accountability. When you tell people what you plan to do, it makes it that much more important that you accomplish this task, activity or series of events. Depending on your relationship with your coach/manager (and that may also include a spouse, child or parent) you will not want to let them down so you’ll try even harder to deliver on the promises you made in your Business Plan.
That “accountability” will end up working both ways. Anyone who has taken the responsibility to serve as your manager and/or coach should do everything within their power to help hold you accountable. Encouragement, support and guidance are all ways to do that. Some coaches will be tough while others will be lenient or passive. Determine how much accountability you expect from your coach early in your relationship. Like any other relationship, this will evolve as time goes on and you each get to know each other.
I used to say to agents I would work with in coaching scenarios, “You can always expect to feel my hand on your shoulder. Sometimes, I’ll just be patting you on the back letting you know you’ve done well. Sometimes I’ll be keeping you from straying off the path. And sometimes I will be pushing you, reminding you where you want to go and helping you keep moving in the right direction.”
Do you feel your coach’s hand on your shoulder? If you do, congratulations. You have someone who has made the commitment to help you achieve your goals. If you don’t, that’s okay. Find someone today – tomorrow at the latest. Then turn your face towards your goals and believe that your coach will be behind you, hands on your shoulders, guiding you towards success.