Hi, I'm Dani Tan, and if you are here, you are in the right place. Welcome to the pivot and promotion podcast where we say forget the rules because they weren't written for us. I'm Danny Tan. I'm your host as well as career and leadership coach and a proud advocate for redefining what success and leadership looks like. And here's what I know. You can lead at any level. You can pivot at any age and you can make moves that feel right for you. Whether you're climbing the corporate ladder, starting something completely new, or just figuring out your next step, I've got you covered with strategies, stories, and straight up inspiration. So let's make some moves. Today, I'm diving into a coaching Q and a series.

This mini series will be about common questions and misconceptions that I get asked about coaching. So you'll get my take, my answers, as well as my perspective when it comes to it. This mini series will probably be about eight or so episodes. I may drop them all at once or in two sections. You'll find out soon enough, as long as you're listening to the podcast, [00:01:00] but let's get started. So the first one that typically comes up is, is coaching really worth it? Like what is the value of coaching? Brilliant investment. Does it pay off? and let's just dive into that. So the first thing I would say is When it comes to coaching and if it's really worth it and what is the value of it, we come in, a lot of us come into coaching and mind you, I've been coached to myself.

I've had more than three to four coaches in my lifetime. and all for different specific things. But so I'll talk for personal experience as well as my clients and their experiences. But the first thing that comes in is we're typically going into coaching with a very clear goal of what it is that we want to attain. So maybe you're working with a coach because you want to start a business. Maybe you're working with a coach because you want to get a promotion or you're working with a coach because you want to start to, create a personal brand for yourself. We have these like very, what sounds like immediate goals that we want to return on. So I'm paying this person to help me achieve this goal.

The thing that we don't [00:02:00] realize is that. Yes, there is that piece of attaining ultimately what it is that you want, but there's also this long term impact that it's sometimes just harder to speak to in general, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna really emphasize it. So here's one example. If you're somebody who's like, I'm want to start a business. you know, I want to start this business. And so I'm hiring a coach to help me do that. And the business is going to happen in three months or six months, because that's my goal of when I want to go into that full time. Well, I could option a read a bunch of books, option B, listen to a bunch of podcasts, you know, option C, um, friends about it or.

In general, just like watch YouTube videos about it and start to learn it and that's totally okay. Will there be a different like run rate of time? Definitely, like maybe it'll take a little bit more time because you're really having to dive and explore and figure out what is the right information and what's good information versus not so great information. Um. You're getting a lot of different perspectives. So, you know, that's one piece that you can still, of course, [00:03:00] attain what it is that you want to attain. But the thing that people don't realize is that when you're working with a coach, you're not just getting a plan. You're also building all these different pieces for longterm.

I always say it's like a ripple effect of layers upon layers, upon layers that you're going to have for a lifetime. So for example, if you're someone who's like, I'm starting a business, you may be a confident. AF is so, so super confident in your corporate life, in your personal life, with your friends. You may be the most confident person ever, but when we try something brand new, which is typically why we're going into coaching, because we're trying to get expertise or understanding or support in a brand new area. When you're trying something new, your confidence may not be fully up to, you know, built up yet. And so knowing that when you're going into a coaching container, The value is, is that you're going to start to grow those pieces, too.

So you'll start to grow your confidence, grow your ability to have self trust in your decision making, be able to assess risk and create, and create a decision tree for what calculated risk taking can look like. [00:04:00] And so those pieces are very important too. You'll also learn different skills. So depending on what coach you're working with and what their background is or their expertise, you may be learning additional skills for marketing, maybe learning additional skills for creating a personal brand, maybe learning additional skills for how to hire, how to fire, how to create processes, how to create systems. how to create a content calendar. It may be how to interview, how to negotiate.

So those skills are growing too as well. And that's the thing is that you're not going to get negotiation skills for just the three months or six months you work with somebody. And you're not going to just get, um, you know, marketing skills with the person that you work with for six months or 12 months, you have those skills. for a lifetime. So when you walk away from your time working together, now you have either a strong foundation or even, even more than that. And you're going to continue to grow and grow and grow and layer on top of those skills that you've already learned, which just helped accelerate where it is that you want to be. So that's the next thing is that. Is coaching worth it?

And what is the value of coaching? It helps accelerate [00:05:00] whatever it is you want to do. So like I was kind of mentioning before, you get this immediate exchange, right? Of somebody who specializes or has background or expertise in what it is that you want to do. So versus let's say you're like, I want to start a blog. Okay. Great. So could I go into YouTube, read a bunch of articles and explore all the different ways to start a blog? Yes. But then the big thing that comes up in coaching is the overwhelm of there is the entire buffet of options that we can take. okay, well this website says to start a blog this way, or this article said to start a blog this way, or you know, this video said to start a blog that way.

And so now I have. so many options, but I'm not sure which option is the best option to start with. Right. And so that's where the overwhelm comes in. So either that overwhelm will put you into freeze and you won't move forward with what it is that you're trying to action and make come to flourishing. Or you may also start to farm out what your goal is to a bunch of different opinions. And all those different opinions may or may not have [00:06:00] expertise or understanding. of what it is that you're trying to achieve. So now you're getting all these differing opinions from, you know, your parents, your, your friends, your old coworkers, your old boss, but they may not even have expertise in what is that you're doing, or at least not even have a shared experience and who it is and how you approach things.

So now you have all these external opinions, as well as all this external information from all the different sources. In the world, which is amazing that we have that, but it starts to slow down your progress. So where as maybe if you're working and partnering with a coach, you would have a plan in the course of six months. This is where you want to achieve. Um, but when you're by yourself, you're kind of just going, trying to sift through all the information. Whereas when you're working with a coach, the value is it helps accelerate your path. So either it's going to accelerate your path to have a clear strategy and plan for your promotion, for your building your business, for who to hire next on your team, how to have those difficult conversations in order to help you get to the next level.

And that is the value of working with someone who, [00:07:00] one, either they have the lived experience, two, it's their expertise in what they study. Three, they have a pool of clients that they have been working with who Achieve similar goals as you, therefore they know the similar challenges that come up in different industries. They know the similar paths that need to be taken in order to get there. And that's the part that helps you accelerate to where you want to go without getting stuck in the open with all the different options. And it doesn't matter how like type a, um, plan or go get her. You are, this stuff will come up, it'll come up no matter where you are, because any time we're trying to achieve something new that we haven't done before, it's going to go ahead and.

Have that piece that comes up. And so then the third and last thing would be is Is there a return on investment when it comes to your life? Is it just going to be focused on the goal or is there more to it? So, for example, if you are thinking to yourself, Okay, I'm going to start taking on clients. I'm going to build a business. I want to be seen as a leader within my organization. Those are all maybe, let's say, [00:08:00] professional pieces or goals that we're talking about, but it bleeds into your life in general too, right? So if you're someone who has a difficult time having difficult conversations with leadership and being visible and speaking up, sure, we're going to work on those things within coaching in the course of six months.

But the other thing is too, That's going to bleed into your personal life. So if you have maybe a hard time having those boundaries and showing up in that way in your workspace, that's going to also show up in your personal space too. So maybe you have a hard time holding boundaries with family members. Maybe you have a hard time holding boundaries with your partner or your significant other or your friends. And so being able to practice that in your. Professional will also be able to carry over into your personal. That's a big thing that I hear that comes up with my clients in general. They'll say, Oh my gosh, Jenny, I came to you for like getting this next job or I came to you to start building a business, but I feel like it's actually just, it's encompassing everything.

And it's true because it's, we can't just live in silos. You're not just working. You just [00:09:00] don't have your work life and then your personal life. Those things are all interconnected on how you can show up on both ways. So. The thing that I think is really important is that there is a return on investment, that it's not just for the one goal, and it's not just for that one time, and it's not just for that one, you know, space of your life. It actually bleeds into everything of how you show up, how you lead yourself, how you're able to even speak to your like financial outcomes. We talk a lot about budgeting and finances when it comes to corporate understanding it. We that in our personal lives too, like what does that look like for myself?

to support myself when I am building a business or just trying to create a budget that makes sense for me while I'm waiting for that next increase or I'm waiting to negotiate this next thing. All of these things extend back and forth. And so when somebody asks me, you know, does is coaching really worth it? I'm like, yes, as long as you are there to truly, you know, do the work when it comes to. Learning what skills need to be worked on working with your coach and what's coming up. And when you're having challenges talking about that too, and what I'll say is this is even for me is it's for [00:10:00] coaching is that, um, when I've worked with different coaches, I had the same thoughts. I was like, Oh my gosh, is this really going to create the impact?

And the thing that I never realized in a million years was that it was, it was all layering on upon each other where. I had one coach for building my business and that coach helped me go from, yeah, I was really confident in corporate and how to do that, but it helped me build my confidence in my own life when it came to building my business, which helped me in turn, have more confidence to have that in my personal life, which was something that I wasn't even anticipating. The same thing with marketing. I was a marketer. I worked in e commerce. I worked in digital and marketing seemed so easy to me when it came to a corporate structure, but when it came to building my own business and marketing myself, All these things came up for me of comfort, comfort with visibility, comfort with speaking up, comfort with being seen, because before I was able to hide behind something else and build it versus being truly seen.

And so with me and the coaching, you know, that I have had and paid for and invested that helped me have that. And that's not [00:11:00] just when it comes to my business, but it also comes into my personal life too. And being comfort comfortable with, you know, being more authentically who I am and showing up in those spaces. So That's my, you know, three part take when it comes to is coaching really worth it? What is the value of coaching and how investing yourself really does pay off? Because coaching is really about how you can go ahead and continue to grow. And if you're like somebody who's like, no, I know what I want. And I know I want more than this is the space for you. So hopefully that helps answer that, but stay tuned because there'll be more parts of this series where I answer more questions and misconceptions when it comes to coaching.

Okay. Talk soon. Thank you again for tuning in to today's podcast. I hope this episode gave you some strategies and insights to shake up on how you lead in life and business. If this inspired you to take action and you're wondering what is it like to work together? There are three different ways we can work together. The first one is private coaching. If you're looking to build something from the ground up, whether it is breaking into a new [00:12:00] industry, really own your leadership on a deeper level and lead teams. Or if you're looking to build your business, then private coaching is definitely for you. It's that one, one hands on support, that custom personalization of being able to make that happen.

And so typically within private coaching, we are developing and having you own your expertise. We're really growing your ability to do strategic decision making, build that confidence within yourself and make sure that you're going after what you really want and not fiddling for what you think you deserve, which I love. The 2nd, 1 is my group coaching program, which is the pivot and promotion community. This is a 12 month program. So, for a full year, it is for career development for growth for accountability for shared learning. So, if you're someone who likes the community space, a group setting for that extra support to make sure that you're achieving your goals, then this is definitely for you.

This is for the person who is the aspiring leader. Who is either just stepping into leadership or is moving from individual contributor to leader, and you want to be able to practice being able to have direct or difficult [00:13:00] conversations, speak up, be visible, network, and be seen as a leader you already are, then this is the space for you. So go ahead and Click and take a look at that program. And last but not least is speaking engagement. So if you are somebody who wants somebody to come in for your organization, for your team, for your conference, and deliver a talk or a workshop that's really going to challenge the status quo and help motivate and inspire, then I'm for you. com and you can book a call for any of these three options.

We'll get on the call. We'll talk about what it's like to work together and then we'll take it from there. So hopefully this was more than enough to get you started, to take bold and badass action, and I will see you next week.