How Non-Business Problems Can Affect Your Business
Photo by Alon
I’ve always been a strong believer in holistic business coaching. Don’t worry: I don’t mean that I’m going to solve all your problems with aromatherapy oil! When I use the word ‘holistic’ I do so in the true sense of the word: the belief that the parts of something are intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.
My coaching clients are three dimensional people with many different facets to their lives. They are business people, yes, but they’re also parents and partners and academics and craftsman and highly regarded professionals. If I were to just look at their issues and concerns in one dimension, I wouldn’t be able to address them even half as effectively as I can when I look at the whole three dimensional picture.
The reality is that hardly any of us are able to effectively separate our working lives from our home lives. However efficiently you try to set up systems to keep the two apart, there will inevitably be ‘leakage’ from one to the other.
Don’t believe me? Here are just a few of the ways your life can have a detrimental impact on your business.
What if you… broke your leg
You go out one Saturday to walk the dog with your family and a nasty slip turns into a broken leg. The logistics of how this would affect your business could be huge. Many business owners do a lot of driving and traveling, which would be very difficult to manage. Doctors appointments could eat into business time and it would likely be difficult to concentrate on your business when you’re in a great deal of pain and discomfort.
What if you… had to deal with a family tragedy
None of us want to think about this one, but if you had to deal with a family tragedy such as the loss of a parent, you would undoubtedly have to take time away from your business. Compassionate leave and paid holiday doesn’t exist in self-employment and so you may feel you need to return to work before you’re ready. This would obviously have a huge impact on your state of mind which would affect your effectiveness as a business owner.
What if you… argued with your partner before an important meeting
Our partners are a huge part of our lives and the state of our relationship with them can have a big impact on how we approach things. Something as simple as a disagreement with a loved one over breakfast could affect how we function for the rest of the day. This could be very problematic before an important meeting or a delicate piece of work.
What if you… disagreed socially with a client
When you work with a client for a long time it’s natural for you to develop a social relationship with them. In some cases this can work well, but in others it can lead to unexpected conflicts. This is also true when things happen the other way round and a friend becomes a client. A disagreement with them in a social context would inevitably lead to a loss of trust and would affect your business dealings with them.
What if you… were dealing with a troublesome teenager
Problems at home can really affect our confidence, especially when they make us doubt ourselves. The way we interact with our children can be a hugely emotive issue and if you don’t feel that you’re able to do so effectively it could make you feel seriously self-conscious. This self-consciousness would be likely to spread into other areas of your life and could make you doubt yourself professionally.
It’s because life problems like these can have such an impact on our businesses that I believe in working with my clients as people, not just as business owners. If you’ve struggled with these issues or ones like them in the past, you may benefit from better addressing them in the future. Take my questionnaire Are You Ready for Coaching? to find out more.
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