(excerpt from Chapter 3 of Becoming an Online Business Manager)
Coaching Approach Tactic #4: Come to understand that the business can only grow to the extent, and at the rate that, the business owner grows as a person.
I call this the “Paul Principle,” in sharp contrast to the “Peter Principle” which says that in corporations, people will rise to the level of their incompetency and then stay there. Likewise, in any given business, the growth of the business will rise or fall to the level of the business owner’s personal development. If a business owner isn’t willing to look themselves in the mirror and acknowledge their whole selves, experience says the business won’t be able to make big shifts either.
Applying this once again to our scenario, let’s use our imaginations to illustrate this tactic.
Is it possible that the business owner has made a habit of requesting to start lots of new projects at the last minute, within short timeframes, only to abandon them later, making deadlines moot (and downright annoying)?
Is it possible the business owner “owed” something to the virtual assistant and didn’t follow through, preventing the VA from being able to proceed and leaving the VA feeling unable to speak “truth to power” out of fear?
Could we consider the fact that the business owner is someone of such high profile that the VA has put herself in a state of ultra-sensitivity, worrying about her performance and in awe about her association with this person, resulting in her being paralyzed and stuck?
Especially when it comes to the online world, these are the subtexts that can often emerge ONLY when a coaching-approach is taken. Based on the scenario and tactics above, I hope you’re beginning to grasp what it means to take a coaching approach as an Online Business Manager. It can be boiled down to something very simple:
It’s not only what you do but HOW you do it that will set you apart.
So how do you translate this into the way of being that is the heart of what an Online Business Manager is?
There’s no requirement that you become a coach or take coach training, however if you do, it will without question better equip you for your OBM career as well as transform your life. Start with the basic tenet that underlines everything coaching:
Questions.
Lead with questions.
In case of emergency, ask the very best questions you have.
Ask what questions you’re not asking and what those will reveal.