Performance Coach – 11 Facts Checklist (2023)

In this article, I will share everything you need to know about performance coaching.

1 out of every 6 entrepreneurs is turning to a performance coach to propel their business to the next level in a fraction of the time.

But should you hire a performance coach?

Read on to find out.

#1 What Is Performance Coaching?

Coaching Tips
FREE Coaching Tips!
Enter your email below to get access to my proven self-growth tips and strategies!

Performance coaching is a system designed to guide you toward your next level of achievement through:

  • Establishing goals
  • Creating a roadmap 
  • Implementing habit change
  • Accountability
  • Tracking progress & adjusting as necessary

Performance coaches help their clients to identify, set, and achieve goals. They often work with top executives who want to improve their leadership skills and get to the top of their industry.

Many leaders hire performance coaches to help their team to get the most out of their job and boost the performance of their company. 

Performance coaching is also very popular among entrepreneurs who want to grow a successful business or take their business to the next level.

Performance Coach
Photo by The Lazy Artist Gallery for Pexels

Life Coaching Vs Performance Coaching

There are a lot of similarities between life coaching and performance coaching. 

Both life coaches and performance coaches help their clients to set and achieve goals using accountability and drawing on the experience of the coach to accelerate progress.

The role of a coach is not to give advice but to ask the right questions to help you think about your life or situation in a different way.

Changing your perspective leads to new insights, which in turn can lead to new ideas, opportunities, and action steps. The coach holds you accountable, but you do the work.

Both a life coach and a performance coach will walk you through a similar process, however, a performance coach goes further. Usually, they include ways to track your performance to see if it is producing the desired results, then adjust the program accordingly.

Coaching for performance may go as far as to track factors that affect your body and mind, including:

  • Sleep quality
  • Diet
  • Resting heart rate
  • Activity levels 
  • Stress management (such as yoga or meditation).
Unlock Your Potential NOW!
Unlock Your Potential NOW!
Get FREE access to my self-growth area and achieve more fulfillment, success, control, and self-love!

#2 Performance Coach for Entrepreneurs

Hiring a coach for performance is the secret of every savvy, successful entrepreneur.

Running a business pulls you in a million different directions, making it hard to focus on what really matters.

Most entrepreneurs are also bursting with creativity and ideas, and it can be tempting to spread yourself too thin. 

A performance coach helps you stay focused on the things that will grow your business.

They will also accompany your personal and professional development, giving you an edge over the competition.

The bottom line: performance coaching for entrepreneurs is about working smarter, not harder, making your business more effective, and earning more money while you do it.

Performance Coaching
Photo by Piotr Adamovics for Pexels

#3 Personal Performance Coach

Performance coaches can also help people reach their full potential in their personal life. Consider this example.

Jane was stuck in a rut. After spending most of her life dedicated to raising her family, she felt she had no time for herself and had lost her sense of identity. 

Working with a performance coach helped her to find and prioritize her values. She realized she had always enjoyed personal challenges and had a long-forgotten passion for interior design.

Jane enrolled in an interior design course and eventually set up a business she could run in parallel to her part-time job — and fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming an interior designer.

#4 What Is a High Performance Coach?

High Performance Coaching Definition

High performance coach, Brendon Burchard, defines high performance coaching as: “succeeding beyond standard norms, consistently over the long term while maintaining wellbeing and positive relationships”.

High performance coaching focuses on changing your mindset so you can get out of your own way and achieve your highest potential in every area of your life.

The aim of high performance coaching is to reduce interference from what Timothy W. Gallwey calls “Self 1”.

Self 1 is the voice of your inner critic, the one that repeats negative opinions of you and gives you that feeling of not being enough.

This voice distracts you from the task at hand, leading to poor performance. A high performance coach will keep you accountable for taking consistent action toward your goals.

Coaching Tips
FREE Coaching Tips!
Enter your email below to get access to my proven self-growth tips and strategies!

#5 Performance Coaching Styles

The 4 main coaching styles that coaches usually adopt are:

  1. Democratic
  2. Autocratic
  3. Laissez-faire
  4. Holistic

A democratic coaching process is participative. This means the client is proactive in setting goals and identifying the steps to achieve them.

An autocratic approach to coaching is usually necessary when the coach has more experience or skills than the client. 

Although it is a less common method, it can be an effective way of training the client to make decisions on their own. It also encourages personal and professional development and can help you gain greater confidence and clarity.

As the name suggests, laissez-faire coaching is a hands-off approach that leaves the responsibility almost completely in your hands. 

Although it is perhaps not appropriate for use in every situation, occasionally taking a back seat in the coaching process may empower you to make your own decisions, manage your time, and improve your confidence.

Holistic coaching takes into account the interconnectedness of all areas of your life and how they affect your performance. 

This means they will help you to achieve balance in your:

  • Relationships
  • Health
  • Work or career
  • Home environment
  • Nutrition
  • And more.

When choosing a performance coach, remember that the coaching relationship is key to success. 

This means you must choose a coach who you like, trust, and feel comfortable to work with.

High Performance Coaching
Photo by Gustavo Fring for Pexels

#6 Performance Coaching Tools

One of the most commonly-used tools throughout the coaching industry is the GROW model, which stands for:

  • Goal
  • Reality
  • Options
  • Will

Most performance coaches incorporate this model into their work with clients as it forms a clear structure for the coaching process.

The first step is to identify your goals. A performance coach will help you do that by asking you powerful questions to help you get clear about what you want.

Next, taking stock of your reality — or current situation — will show you the gap between where you are now and where you want to be.

The third step is to consider your options. This is the stage where you come up with new ideas and look for the best way to achieve your goals.

Finally, you choose one option that motivates you the most — the one you have the will to carry out. 

This process maximizes your motivation and focus, thus enhancing your performance.

#7 Best Performance Coaches

The world’s top performance coaches often charge thousands of dollars per hour. 

However, many also share their knowledge for free through social media platforms or distill their experience into books for a fraction of the price of coaching.

Here are 3 of the best performance coaches you should follow.

  • Brendan Burchard — the author of “High Performance Habits” is the number one performance coach in the world. He has worked with top performers from every sector and trained millions of people through his online courses. He shares his top personal development strategies through his YouTube channel and podcast.
  • Ben Newman — is a performance coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who has worked with Fortune 500 companies and professional athletes at the top of their game.
  • Marshall Goldsmith — is a renowned business and leadership coach and author of the bestseller “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”. In his book, he shows you how behavior, not technical skills, is what separates the great from the good.
Unlock Your Potential NOW!
Unlock Your Potential NOW!
Get FREE access to my self-growth area and achieve more fulfillment, success, control, and self-love!

#8 How to Find a Performance Coach Near Me

A quick internet search will help you find performance coaches in your local area. 

Take some time to do your research, and don’t be afraid to interview potential candidates before making your decision.

Look for things like years of experience, skills, and commitment to ongoing professional development.

Many performance coaches also work online and help people from all over the world. You may want to consider this option, too.

#9 How to Become a Performance Coach

Perhaps after reading this far you think you might like to become a performance coach?

If so, you’ve made a great choice, as the global demand for performance coaching is growing.

Although coaching is an unregulated industry — meaning anyone can call themselves a “coach” — the best way to develop your coaching skills is to become a certified performance coach.

This will help your future clients place their trust in you and set your business up for success.

#10 Performance Coach Certification

If you’re thinking of becoming a performance coach, then you probably want to know which is the best certification for you. 

Luckily for you, I have already compiled the 6 best life coach certifications online.

#11 Performance Coach Salary

As with all types of coaching, your earning potential depends on you. 

Some of the top performance coaches in the industry earn thousands of dollars per hour.

However, most coaches start out with lower prices and raise them over the years as they gain more experience. 

There are also other ways to leverage your expertise and create passive income from sales, books, and other products you create.

There is no limit to how much you can earn, but working with a performance coach will help you maximize your earning potential.

Performance Coach Certification
Photo by Anna Shvets for Pexels

Thanks for stopping by and reading my guide.

And don’t forget to share this post with anyone who could benefit from hiring a performance coach.

Related Posts

31 Types Of Coaching – A Complete List
Online Life Coach – The Complete Guide
Best Executive Leadership Coaching Online

About The Author

Bijan Kholghi is a certified life coach with the Milton Erickson Institute Heidelberg (Germany). He helps clients and couples reach breakthroughs in their lives by changing subconscious patterns. His solution-oriented approach is based on Systemic- and Hypnotherapy.

Bijan