Problems Don't Take Years To Solve. Unless You Go To A Therapist

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge


Many executive and business coaches proudly and publicly proclaim:

"I'm not here to teach you anything -- because I can't do that. 
 Rather I'm here to bring the best out of you, which you need to have brought out."

I’m adamantly opposed to this type of thinking and this is where my philosophy, frameworks and methodologies part ways with much of the establishment coaching industry and even media-annointed “coaching gurus”.

You see, unlike so many other executive and business coaches who are operating under the principle that it's somehow wrong to teach you things or to directly and explicitly provide a model for your success, I'm actually here to teach you things and provide a variety of models for success and improvement. 

Not to tell you things, but to teach you things. 

Sometimes you'll discover the solutions on your own. Other times, I'll drop hints or steer you in certain directions for exploration and understanding. But if or when that no longer works for you or we are not satisfied with the results, I'll step in and then together we'll look at various solutions and models, trying them on for size and future-pacing them to ensure efficacy and fit.

You see, besides teaching, advising and guiding you, I'm here to help you solve problems.  And yet within the traditional executive and business coaching industry it's almost verboten to do so. Perhaps this is because some many coaches don't have a sufficiently stocked tool box or a set of proven models to work with, choose from and future pace. 

From my vantage point, this actually wouldn't be surprising, since in the current business environment so many the current Western coaching models along with many of the associated coaching techniques appear to have hit a wall if they aren't straight-out broken.

The fact is many of these models and techniques were created by pure academicians who never had to battle-test, let alone battle-prove these models and techniques in the fast-paced and, more often than not, viciously competitive corporate  world.

If your coach can't help solve your problem, why work them? Anything less than solving a problem is simply therapy. There's nothing wrong with that as we all need a shoulder to cry on once in a while and it's always help to have someone available with which we can share our difficulties. But imagine how much better it would be to solve and mitigate if not eliminate the issues and obstacles confronting or confounding us.

The challenges facing executives as well as entrepreneurs are legion, ranging from communication issues, office politics, marriage and relationship problems and so forth. All of these are addressable and must be addressed for the executive or entrepreneur to operate at peak or near peak effectiveness without over revving their engine and burning out.

Problems never take years to solve, unless you go a therapist. 

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