✨ Coach Spotlight: Geoffrey
Geoffrey is a Business Coach from Kenya. He is an experienced Strategy and Design Thinking expert who has worked for major blue chip companies for the past 20+ years.
What motivated you to become a coach?
Fourteen years ago, I had the desire to create businesses that have impact around the world. I really wanted to help businesses navigate the African landscape and grow. This drove me to help various multinationals and SMEs through business coaching. Today, the desire to do more for the firms still exists and I wake up every morning looking for ways to grow the businesses that I interact with.
What was something you learned about business only after you began coaching?
Every entrepreneur wants to scale their business, makes the same mistakes others have made, and is concerned about the best decisions for the business. I still see businesspeople across many countries around the world make the same mistakes their counterparts in other countries have made.
How do you adapt your coaching style to particular types of business managers or founders?
The key to adaptation is active listening before you embark on an assignment. I listen first to the founder, his/her history, what’s working well, what’s not working and then we jointly formulate a work plan that suits his/her style of management.
What do you think prevents more business leaders from seeking out their own coach?
The fear of the unknown affects the way leaders view coaches. They fear losing control or being answerable to a third party. This hides the very many benefits they could gain from coaching such as having a person who shows you your blind spots, a compass to guide your growth, a partner who can unlock your potential, generation of innovative ideas, among many other benefits.
What are common business challenges faced by leaders that you work with?
In the developing world, the common challenges are financing the business, team knowledge and skillset, lack of clear strategic direction, and regulatory landscape.