Coaching Information

Choosing an Apprentice


Along the path from where you are now to millions in revenue, thousands in readers, tens of thousands of prospects, or hundreds of clients  -- whatever criteria you use to define success for your coaching...there us is one key speedbump which is seldom talked about.
 
That is capacity.
 
This is especially true as your revenues grow up to six figures and you set your sights on building a seven-figure legacy business with a global impact. 
 
How do you get your head around this problem? What secrets will ease your way through the growing pains? 
 
In all the many thousands of hours of consulting, coaching and training I've done, there is only one key I've found to date that doesn't require significant cash investment.  And that is the concept of apprentices.

Several years ago I was one of those apprentices.
 
I'd been running my own recruitment business for some time, and had become disgruntled by putting great people into heirarchical organizations that stifled creativity and disregarded the whole person. 
 
I decided to take a sabbatical and paid for supplies to begin volunteering with the Coaching Scoop's Real Interviews project for Steve Davis and Thomas Leonard of CoachVille.
 
Some might say I had found myself a real winner of an apprenticeship program.
 
I tell you this story for two reasons.
 
(1) You may find yourself wishing for an apprenticeship for yourself, from time to time.  It's a great way to move quickly into new areas by finding a mentor who will trade you a lifetime of wisdom for your legwork.

(2) Regardless of where you think you 'are' in your work, you are ready for an apprentice.  Because the benefits of an apprentice are in fact much greater to you than just the added pair of willing hands.
 
What you teach, you become. 
 
And what you teach, also becomes your legacy. 
 
As you mentor your apprentices, there is a point at which they become your proteges. 
 
This is a tipping point that occurs when the apprentice graduates from learning to creating.

A few things to bear in mind as you prepare for apprentices:
 
(1) Don't change what you do. 
 
Design the apprentice relationships so that it doesn't disrupt your productivity.  Allow your apprentice to come into your existing set up.  The key at the beginning is to increase your capacity, not add capacity.
 
Your apprentice is someone you invite to your house without cleaning up first.   Soon enough, they'll be helping you tidy things.
 
(2) Pick certain people for your apprentices.  There are two main criteria.

You must like and respect them.

They should be entrepreneurially minded, meaning either they have run a business of their own OR they were brought up by familiy who did.
 
The latter covers just about every other characteristic you could want: loyalty, hard work, a sense of urgency, and a problem solving orientation.
 
(3) Use technology and systems to support the addition of new people to your business.
 
The most basic and essential way to induct an apprentice is to set up a system of shadowing.  The simplest way is to set up your email so that a copy gets sent to your apprentice.

That's a natural part of the selection process because the apprentice - mentor relationship can rely quite a bit on personal chemistry and whether or not the visions align. 

Andrea J. Lee coaches entrepreneurs and online business owners. As Thomas J. Leonard's General Manager, she helped build and manage the largest network and trainer of personal and business coaches in the world. Now the CEO of Andrea J. Lee Group of Companies, she writes, speaks and consults on Marketing, Internet and Business systems. This is an excerpt from the her NEW BOOK - Multiple Streams of Coaching Income, http://www.multiplestreamsofcoachingincome.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Ranking the Big 12 coaching jobs
ESPN - 12 hours ago
I'm a young coach starting out my career with limitless dreams and unmatched ambition. I want to direct a team at the highest levels of my profession and ...


Sportsnet.ca

Groulx won't be coaching Canadian juniors
CBC.ca, Canada - 11 hours ago
Benoit Groulx has coached the Olympiques to three Memorial Cup berths in six years. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press) Benoit Groulx has accepted a job as ...
Giroux reportedly takes coaching position in AHL National Post
Amerks sign Benoit Groulx to be new head coach News 10NBC
Groulx steps down as national junior team head coach QMJHL (press release)
TSN.ca - WHAM
all 46 news articles


• Rob Murray lands head coaching job with Providence Bruins
The Republican - MassLive.com, MA - 4 hours ago
by The Republican Sports Desk PROVIDENCE - Former Springfield Falcons star Rob Murray was named coach of the Providence Bruins Thursday. ...
Murray's the Man New England Hockey Journal
Boston Bruins Name Rob Murray Head Coach of Providence OurSports Central (press release)
P-Bruins give Murray keys to the bench Providence Journal
all 18 news articles


Fire spoil Arena's coaching debut with Galaxy
USA Today - 7 minutes ago
(AP) — John Thorrington scored in the 65th minute to give the Chicago Fire a 1-0 victory and spoil coach Bruce Arena's debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy on ...


ESPN

Kicking it with Bobby Johnson, Part 2
ESPN - 3 hours ago
Still, the question persists: Is there a ceiling at Vanderbilt in football no matter how good a coaching job you do? In the second part of my Q&A with ...
Kicking it with Bobby Johnson, Part I ESPN
all 5 news articles


University Of North Dakota: Hall of Fame NBA Coach Phil Jackson ...
Trading Markets (press release), CA - 12 hours ago
Jackson, currently the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, has amassed 976 regular season wins in his 17 seasons coaching in the NBA. He's led his teams, ...


Bulgaria beats Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-1 in coaching debut of ...
The Canadian Press,  Bosnia-Herzegovina - Aug 20, 2008
The match featured the coaching debut of Miroslav Blazevic, who led Croatia to third place at the 1998 World Cup and signed a two-year contract to coach ...


For use in weekend editions of Aug. 23-24 and thereafter
The Spread, MI - 7 hours ago
Still, if you didn't know any better, you might think he was still coaching by the way Miami's players talk sometimes. ``I was real excited to be a part of ...
Nowhere to go but up for Dolphins The Spread
all 7 news articles


HHS cross country makes coaching changes
Packet Online, NJ - 6 hours ago
And the only varsity head coaching changes have occurred in the cross country program. Kim Kryscnski is the new girls’ head coach. ...


Bucknuts.com

All-Time Greatest – No. 9: Wes Fesler
Bucknuts.com - 12 hours ago
Once his collegiate career ended, Fesler immediately got into coaching – but it wasn’t football coaching right away. He was the varsity basketball coach at ...

Coaching - Google News

home | site map
© 2006