The Rise of Coaching |
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| Written by Shane Jensen, MA, ACC, CEC |
| Sunday, 21 February 2010 18:07 |
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The term coaching has become an everyday occurrence in most organizations, regardless of their size. Year over year, coaching becomes more and more popular. From my perspective, this is a good thing. No doubt that with the massive changes we are seeing in our workforce demographics and the ever shifting economy, business owners and leaders are looking for economical and effective strategies to ensure highly productive teams and individuals. Coaching then, when done correctly, can have a profound impact on a business’ bottom line. I have been approached by several clients during this unique business climate for direction on the most appropriate coaching for their business needs. It is my intent to bring clarity and provide helpful information to other business leaders who are considering coaching as part of their business strategy. Coaching for all intensive purposes can be divided into two camps. Both camps are equally valid and can produce great results. One camp is where a leader or business owner establishes a relationship with an external (and sometimes internal) coach on a one-to-one basis. This approach is commonly known as executive, business or managerial coaching. These professional coaches usually come with a lot of experience and will have done some type of professional training and development through a well recognized institution. The format for the one-to-one coaching varies from coach to coach. The most common arrangement is one where the business leader works with his or her coach, usually two or three times a month, via telephone or face-to-face conversations. Common reasons for working with a coach in this format would be to improve team performance, increase productivity, develop new business strategies, resolve conflict and even consider possible career goals. It is also common for businesses to arrange a coach for their leaders to improve their own workplace performance and to ensure successful leaders stay sharp and perform to the best of their ability. The second camp is entirely different. In this approach, the organization has made a commitment to ensure that leaders are using coaching as a key part of their leadership style. It embraces a coaching leadership style that is practiced on a daily basis by all of the leaders (or as many as possible) in the business. There is overwhelming evidence that shows that coaching has a positive impact on team and individual employee performance and satisfaction. Our own research has shown that employees prefer coaching as a preferred method of leadership and communication. It should be noted that it is not just the employees who benefit. Leaders who embrace coaching find that they are much more productive, have more time to focus on key projects and are highly engaged in their role as a leader. In the big picture, coaching is still finding its place in the business world. To make coaching a reality for a business, it usually involves a commitment to investing in some type of formal training. As mentioned before, once coaching becomes part of an organizations culture, the results are outstanding.
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