Finding time and space to make your career progress can sometimes feel overwhelming. What if you could count on someone reliable and experienced to help you set up a plan? What if you could learn how to improve your work-life balance? And become, not only more productive, but ultimately… happier?
We often spend our days stressing at work and end up not having enough time in the day to take care of ourselves – let alone thinking about our careers! It seems that everything runs at an overwhelming pace. Especially in the busy world of tech, it’s easy to feel carried away by waves of rushed tasks, limiting schedules, options, and impending decisions.
But what if you could count on someone reliable and experienced who can help you set up a plan for your career progression? What if you could learn how to improve your work-life balance? And become, not only more productive, but ultimately… happier? Let us introduce you to coaching.
Coaching is an interactive development process where an experienced person, called coach, provides training and guidance to support individuals or organizations in improving performance and achieving goals, focusing on specific tasks and objectives.
How exactly can your career (and personal life?) benefit from it? Keep reading to find out the 7 reasons why coaching can be truly life-changing.
7 Reasons Why Coaching Can Help Boost Your Career
No Need to Start From Scratch
We all want to grow our careers, but sometimes we don’t even know where to start. Just thinking about the amount of dedication it takes might be enough to keep us from trying.
Working with a professional coach will help you understand that you don’t need to start from scratch. Using this experience-based advice, you can begin drawing up a plan with realistic and achievable goals and working on qualities you already have.
The first step is always the most complicated one. Qualified help can give us a push to launch ourselves into the right path, where we take into account our specific qualities and ambitions.
Coaches create unique plans for each individual. They understand the different areas in life that require change and improvement to help us determine which behaviors need to be adapted.
This type of leadership will help you skip unnecessary errors and avoid going through needless actions. It will make the whole process of development easier and more enjoyable knowing that you have been led by a professional with that crucial thing called experience.
No More Wasting Time
Time is one of the most precious resources we have in our lives. Unfortunately, the time we waste will never get back to us, so we need to use it wisely! Spending your energy overthinking and focusing on shallow pieces of advice is a waste of time and won’t give you anything valuable in return.
Choosing the right coach will help you steer clear of needless distractions and time wasters. They’ll help you improve your focus and teach you valuable techniques that you can apply to your career (and personal life as well!). Avoid time wasters and choose your mentor wisely!
Find What Works for You
Finding what works for you may be tricky! It is good to count on someone within your environment with good judgment and vision on how to transform your skills and abilities into something bigger and better.
By observing your actions and emotions from other perspectives, a coach can advise you and tell you where you should direct your focus if you want to take your career to another level.
Having something specific to improve is a great way to make better life and career choices.
We’re all unique, with different qualities and skills. A good coach can easily spot them and teach us how to use them in our development. They’re also able to help us work on our weaknesses and teach us how we can use them to our advantage.
Find what works for you and keep working on it!
There’s Always Space for Improvement and Knowledge
The only thing I know is that I know nothing.”
Socrates once said.
No matter how much we continue to learn and grow throughout life, there is always space for improvement and more knowledge.
There is nothing worse than feeling stuck in our progress, thinking there is nothing else we can do to achieve higher goals. No matter how much we already know, we should never stop discovering and learning.
Having someone who can be there for us with advice, crucial information, and knowledge can help us with our quest to continue growing as individuals.
Create a Safe Space to Share Ideas
Sharing our vision and emotions with the wrong person might sometimes result in self-doubt and confusion. That’s why it’s very important to create a safe environment to share our thoughts without being judged and misunderstood.
Showing our perspectives and gaining new ones with the right adviser can be a huge step in our journey towards a successful life and career.
Nothing is more important than being our true selves, letting our ideas flow, our visions come to life, and being seen as we are.
More Confidence = More Engagement
How many times has a lack of confidence made you lose chances towards a project?
Confidence is a big part of how people see you and your actions. Without it, you’re hiding your true self and your qualities. Being confident makes you more productive, reliable, and satisfied with your career.
Self-trust will chase away all doubts about your abilities. Self-assurance leads to more engagement in your work environment, new projects, and opportunities!
Coaching guidance can boost your confidence and help you understand how powerful and unique you are. Believe in yourself!
Self-Care is Key
We all heard stories of careers and lives wasted due to lack of self-care. If you want to be successful and lead your life and career in the right direction, you must never forget to practice self-care.
Knowing that you have someone to rely on will open doors not only to gain self-awareness and balance but also to improve your career and life as a whole. Coaching will remind you how your career development is connected with evolving and taking care of who you are.
Coaching at KWAN: our People Managers
At KWAN, we have our own department of specialized coaches, our People Managers!
What is a People Manager?
Someone who accompanies KWANers throughout their life cycle in the company. A professional focused on personal and professional wellbeing and development, aiming to provide the best experience at KWAN. – Joana Ferreira, People manager at KWAN
A People Manager will give you valuable, practical, and effective advice that will guide you into the steps towards your development, taking into account your unique qualities and specific goals (such as, what training should you take to help you get that promotion you’re after?), thus saving your time and enhancing your performance in various areas of your life.
Moreover, by creating a safe space for sharing, a People Manager will not only listen to your ideas and ambitions but also give you extra knowledge and new perspectives that are key to improve self-awareness and to achieve success at professional level.
Remember, the goal of a People Manager is, ultimately, your happiness and success!
Does Working With a People Manager Make a Difference in the Career of an IT Professional?
To answer this question, we asked our KWANers to talk about their relations with their People Manager.
Eliana is always willing to help, and a professional but also friendly relationship was built, which facilitates communication and makes me more comfortable to ask for help when needed.” – João Nunes, .Net Developer
I feel comfortable talking about any topic with Jorge. I have never had to expose difficult or delicate situations, but I know he would handle any sensitive topic well. He is super available, friendly, and fun. He always checks to see if I am okay. He is very present despite this remote context. We should all have a Jorge in our lives.“ – Paula Rodrigues, UX/UI Designer
Among Sara’s many qualities, the most outstanding is her patience! Even though I had tons of questions and doubts since I was approved in the selection process, Sara always answered me on the spot, or when she didn’t know the answer, she would talk to whoever knew how to help me. She has always showed a lot of willingness and always treated me with great attention when I needed it (and this goes for all KWAN employees). I stress that this attention and care are very important for those who live abroad.” – Fábio Kerber da Silva, DevOps
Rita is amazing! She was always very attentive, transparent, and honest during all our interactions. I always felt comfortable talking about any subject and was always well “received”, even on the most difficult subjects.” – Genésio Valois, Full Stack Developer
Joana is always available for everything I need, always attentive, and she’s always in constant contact. I no longer feel like a “number”. I feel constant support and concern for my well-being.” – Tiago Fraga, Java Developer
7 Reasons Why Coaching Can Help Boost Your Career: Final Thoughts
Coaching can help you progress in your career and make wonders for your personal and professional wellbeing!
Summing up, you don’t need to start from scratch – as you might think you need – you can work on what you already have; a good coach will help you manage your time and find out how to adjust and increase your skills in order to reach your goals… so make sure to find someone able to provide you that, someone within your environment, with good judgment, and vision. Remember that there’s always space for learning and improving, and with your coach, you should always have space to share your ideas. Finally, taking care of yourself is important and confidence is key!
If you’re a tech professional, at KWAN you can count with a dedicated coach (to whom we call People Manager) to support you and guide you throughout your professional journey.
Moreover, a People Manager is specialized in the tech industry, therefore experienced in which training will help you evolve in your career!
Check out our job opportunities and let’s grow your career together!