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Originally posted on the Noomii Career Blog.

“Can a career coach boost my chances for promotion?” This is a very common question in today’s business environment, where everyone wants to get ahead - one of the basic career goals for managers. Based on my 35 years of experience in helping middle managers get promoted, my answer is yes: the right coach can help you open doors to new opportunities.

But just hiring a coach isn’t going to do the trick. A coach is kind of like a gym membership. You might sign up for the gym with great intentions, but your membership alone isn’t going to get you into shape. You’ve got to actually go to the gym for your membership to work. It’s the same with your coach. A coach isn’t going to get you promoted without effort on your part. So here’s what working with a coach should look like:

The best way to work with a coach is to establish a partnership. And like in every partnership, each of you should take on a certain role in order for the partnership to succeed.  Here’s where a professional coach will help you get ahead:

1.    Showing you a mirror

If you’ve recently been turned down for a promotion, it’s pretty likely that your emotions have taken over your logic. At this point, it’s hard to really understand why you didn’t get the promotion and a coach can help you answer this important question. Experienced coaches know that self-awareness is vital to successful career goals for managers and as a result will help you view yourself as others view you. The coach will have a look at the whole picture, such as meeting summaries and performance evaluations and will help you fill in the gaps necessary you’ll need to successfully compete for your next promotion opportunity.

2.    Fleshing out your goals

Right now, I can guess that the only goal you have in mind is to get promoted. That’s a good start, but not good enough. Based on an in-depth analysis of your current situation, an experienced coach can help you translate your general goal into a personal action plan, divided into stages and including specific timelines. In this way, you’ll be able to actually work towards your next promotion, knowing exactly what you need to achieve it.

3. Keeping you true to yourself

With the abundance of “how to be a manager” guides out there, your natural tendency might be to try to transform yourself into something you’re not. A professional coach will help you develop new competencies while ensuring that what makes you stand out as a manager is still is preserved. This is the winning combination you need to get that next promotion.

A professional coach can help you make it or break it when it comes to  your next promotion. It’s important to remember that like all successful partnerships, it takes effort from both of sides.

And always remember:

Great managers are made. Not born.

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