No matter where you are in your career, no doubt you want to continue to grow professionally and make an impact at work and in the world. However, a lack of confidence, knowledge, or both, however, might be holding you back. The solution? Finding the right coach. The right coach can fast-track that process and have a huge impact on your life.

I have coached professionals for the past two decades and I’ve also benefited from being part of a coaching group. Coaching is one of the most effective personal and professional accelerators you can invest in. Not only will it help you avoid mistakes that will cost you money, time, and credibility, it can give you the confidence, knowledge, and support to advance 5, even ten years, into your profession.

Throughout my years of coaching I have asked my clients one simple question: What do you get out of being coached? While people vary in their experience level, some are just launching their careers while others have 20 or more years of professional experience, and their responses are surprisingly similar.

Here are three reasons you need a coach:

Coaching helps you add insights, strategies, and tactics to your toolbox.

This is perhaps the most apparent benefit from a coach. After all, it would help if you had new skills and tools to get next-level performance. You get industry-specific best practices you can trust. Part of my coaching strategy is to help my clients with nonprofit best practices and help them avoid landmines that could derail their progress and threaten their future.

A good coach gives you confidence.

You may have talent and knowledge, but you will not go far if you lack confidence. Implementing a strategy or launching a new initiative can be intimidating. A coach is both a sounding board and a career GPS that will ask you the right questions and guide you to success. According to the Institute of Coaching, 80 percent of people who receive coaching report increased self-confidence, and over 70% benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication skills.

“I find myself repeating some of the things I have learned in the coaching session to the leadership team. They think I’m brilliant.” This is one of the best compliments I received recently from a client. Preparing people to walk confidently into meetings and presentations is one of the most rewarding parts of my job.

Earning the trust of your superiors, peers, and team is one of the most incredible confidence boosters anyone can get.

My favorite golf coach, John Nichols, told me several times that I was his most improved player. I was trying to learn golf in my late 30s, and I knew my swing was terrible. But his faith and encouragement gave me the confidence, and courage, to keep going. At one point, I was shooting in the 70s, a far cry from my days at 100+ strokes per game.  

A coach will hold you accountable.

Accountability is not a bad thing. I hired a coach to help me develop a new strategy for growing my business and creating new tools for the clients of The A Group. He didn’t do the work. I did. But he held me accountable to get the job done and guided me through the process when I got stuck or did not know what to do next.

A good coach is a guide. They have been where you want to go and know the fastest and safest path you need to take. You still have to make the trip, but you are not making it alone.

When things get complicated, as they often do, and you can’t see the path out of the dark, having someone to walk alongside you and guide you into the light makes all the difference.

If your career is not where you want it to be, investing in a coach could be the best money you can spend, especially if it allows you to get unstuck and move faster towards the life you desire.