The role of the coach in the financial field
In the financial field, coaching is the act of training financial skills, developing them, maximizing them, channeling them according to the appropriate objectives for each client, being the responsibility of the coach to point out and helping to discover and overcome a series of barriers
Coaching has proven high effectiveness in achieving expected results in organizations, this is backed by Return on Investment (ROI) and revised key indicators after the process is complete.
Implementing an enterprise coaching process impacts not only individuals who are directly involved but also the performance of the business as such, as this new style of leadership helps promote the best execution of the business strategy.
The coach adapts to a specific economic situation, whatever it may be, in order to guide in a process of financial education. This is the big difference from the traditional advisor, who applies his knowledge to find the best ways to invest money but does not apply an educational and accompanying value. A coach will help you modify your relationship and behaviour with respect to money. A long-term learning plan.
The role of the Coach in financial management is not to provide a solution to a specific problem in a company, as is the case with consulting, is to accompany his client to challenge himself to leave his comfortable area, to raise his level of awareness and to develop concrete actions that allow him to generate a genuine change in the way he is and to do.
ACTIVITY
The coach should ask what three things you need to know to run anything (a boat, a convent, a company…)
All the answers will go to awfully specifics topics (leadership, facilities, capacity….), but they are not the answers I seek.
We look for simple answers that are the basis of the address, which are:
- WHERE ARE WE
- WHERE WE WANT TO GO
- WHERE WE’RE GOING
The example of a ship captain explains it perfectly
From this activity, we can explain the following three phases
2.1 Initial phase
The first thing the coach needs is to know his client well. To do this, you will ask a series of questions ranging from the most general (current life situation) to the most specific (financial situation). This phase serves to gather information about the person’s income and expenses, their assets, their financial habits and what are the economic problems they are facing.
2.2 Setting an Action Plan
One of the most important aspects of any coaching process is the setting of goals. The fulfilment of these objectives will be the motivational basis of the process, whose strategies and actions will be aimed at these latter purposes. A coach should help their client set achievable goals and accompany him in the process, although the active part is the responsibility of the client, another of the big differences with respect to a financial advisor.
2.3 Developing the Action Plan
With the data obtained in the initial phase, the coach will design a financial action plan to achieve a S.M.A.R.T objective,(compound acronym, in Spanish, by the adjectives: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely). According to the definition of the Corporate Finance Institute (CFI) the S.M.A.R.T. objective is: “a smart goal that incorporates all these criteria to help focus efforts and increase the chances of achieving the goals”.
It is vital for a coach to master certain skills since their management and mastery will depend largely on establishing a climate of trust with its client, essential in any coaching process to succeed.