It Starts with Passion, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 28Sit at the feet of a master

I have always been a great believer in having coaches and mentors in my life. People you trust to tell you the truth, to guide you when you need it, to encourage you when you are on the right track and even to give you a push when you are procrastinating over something in your life. I have had great sporting coaches, great business coaches, great fitness coaches and great presentation skills coaches. I have always looked for mentors to bounce ideas off, to learn from and to watch as they have transitioned themselves in their career or business.

Often when the subject of coaches and mentors is raised people argue that they know what they need to do and they don’t need any more answers or ideas. This may be true but you do need to be accountable to someone, and that’s where a coach can play a critical role. For myself, I know I thrive when I have a coach. When I think I have all the answers, that’s when I know I am on the slippery slope of decline.

I am not the only one who believes in the power of having a coach. Over the years I have worked with and had the chance to interview a number of CEOs of large companies; very few of them don’t use a coach or mentor.

When I facilitated a panel of CEOs for a Toyota Dealer Conference in Perth, Australia, the panel included Managing Director of Wesfarmers Corporation, Richard Goyder, AO. Wesfarmers owns Coles, Target, Officeworks and Bunnings, as well as coal-mining, insurance, chemicals, energy and ...