When to invest in Founder Coaching?

As a founder scaling a business, there is plenty to keep you occupied, from building and managing a team to developing services and products — not to mention keeping investors and board members happy. But with the rapid pace of innovation and growth, it’s crucial that you invest in a support structure.

When is the right time to invest in a business coach?

In our article ‘What is Founder Coaching’, we examined the value within business coaching and how it differs from mentoring or consulting. Yet one of the most frequently asked questions around business coaching is ‘when is the right time to invest in this service?’

Here are a few example scenarios in which a client might most benefit from a Founder Coach relationship:

• When the business has reached a plateau and the founder doesn’t know the next step
• The founder requires help addressing a specific issue in their business
• The founder wants to scale the business, and is unsure where to start
• The founder has hit their capacity but there is more they want to achieve
• The dynamic isn’t quite right, with the team or board for example, and the founder can’t put their finger on why
• The founder isn’t enjoying their work anymore, and is perhaps spending more time on pet projects

When should investors or board members suggest Founder Coaching?

Although you might think that Founder Coaching is a service only sought out by founders themselves, there are times when those with a vested interested in the business; such as stakeholders, board members or investors; recognise that a coach would be a valuable support to the Founder and resource for the business.

Here a few flags which can identify the need for interested parties to suggest the services of a Founder Coach:

• Founder has disengaged from the core business and over investing in pet projects
• Management team and others in the company are disengaging from the company and / or founder
• Founder Syndrome: the founder sees the business as an extension of them and they are using it for their own means, rather than seeing it as a separate entity with other stakeholders and interested parties that needs to stand alone
• Founder refuses to delegate, and will only pursue projects if it was their idea, they accept no contributions

Founder Coaching is a service which is of value to more than just the founder

What will Founders gain from the services of a Founder Coach?

Whether a Founder Coach has been contracted to work with a client as a result of a recommendation by an investor or board member, or by the founder themselves, it’s important to make clear that a professional coach only works for their client — the founder.

• An independent resource wanting to offer support with no ulterior motive or vested interest in the outcome (such as; an exit for an investor, employment for the team, increased profits for board members, stability for a partner, etc).
• Assured confidentiality; nothing is reported back to the investors or board members
• Space to be selfish; this is a one-way relationship all about the founder’s needs and the founder’s agenda in support of their business
• The opportunity to re-engage with their original purpose and find direction in their role
• Insight from the team to grow other-awareness; the coach will speak with members of the team and interested parties to learn how the founder is being perceived, and then work with the founder to bring this into alignment as part of 360° feedback
• Balance between personal goals, goals within the role and business goals

Founder Coaching is a great option for investors and board members wanting to offer support to their founder or CEO from an independent resource — as the challenge for many founders is that everyone has a vested interest in an outcome.

Hi, I’m Jennifer Clamp, a Founder Coach who works with purpose-driven female founders who are ambitious for the future and wish to bring their vision into reality 💫 ↓

Learn more about how Founder Coaching can be a liberating experience for you at withaata.com