Coaching is an interactive process designed to help individuals develop capabilities rapidly. It is usually work related and focused on improving performance or behavior. In the professional set-up it is a goal-oriented form of personally tailored learning for executives.

The digital age has unleashed lots of disruption in the way we conduct business and in our interactions within the workplace challenging executives to work efficiently and faster as they battle competition, changing customer preferences, skewed demand curves and a more demanding workforce.   Dealing with these changes can be stressful as much as it can be trying on the capabilities of the individual. Here’s where Coaching plays a key role in helping individuals meet their goals through insightful feedback on developing their capabilities. 

Coaching as concept

Coaching is an interactive process designed to help individuals develop capabilities rapidly. It is usually work related and focused on improving performance or behavior. In the professional set-up it is a goal-oriented form of personally tailored learning for executives. 

The essential features of coaching are that it is a short-term, time limited, paid for, goal specific, action orientated and, is a personally tailored approach to learning. It utilities continuous feedback and objectivity to facilitate thinking and bring about changes in mind set and eventually behavior.

Coaching is not the same as Mentoring

Coaching is often confused for Mentoring and vice-a versa. While there are superficial similarities between the two approaches – both aim to address individual professional development and are one-to-one conversations – there are fundamental differences.  A Mentor is usually a more senior person who shares experience and advises a junior person working in the same field whereas a Coach is not necessarily senior to the person being coached, and will not typically give advice or pass on experience; instead s/he uses questions and feedback to facilitate the other person’s thinking and practical learning. Also a Mentor is not typically the line manager of the person being mentored, but someone who is available for advice and guidance when needed whereas Coaching is frequently delivered by line managers with their teams.

Using Coaching as a management style

The need for Coaching is propelled by the increasing demand by organisations for senior managers with key ‘soft skills’. Many business schools and in-company standard development programmes have failed to embed the kinds of feedback-based approaches necessary for self-insight and the acquisition of soft skills, for managers when they were more junior. Also, some senior managers consider they have ‘made it’ and worry that being seen to undergo development may be perceived by others as admitting they have a weakness. 

Coaching as a management style is effective in such situations as the nature of the coaching relationship is personalized, non-judgemental, empathetic and private - without losing focus on the end goal/s.

It is a collaborative approach between the Coach and the Coachee focusing on goals rather than problems, encouraging feedback based on observation over judgement. Primarily it embeds probing the Coachee to come-up with his/ her own answers through socratic questioning.

Outcomes

Coaching is resorted to with specific outcomes in mind to drive organisational effectiveness through increased capability. These outcomes could range between or across any one or more of the following:

• accelerating personal development of individuals defined as ‘high potential’
• supporting the induction or appointment of a senior executives into a more senior, or different role/ industry
• driving effective implementation of organisation change, through supporting teams and individuals
• supporting executives in their developmental journeys based on outcomes of their 360-degree appraisal or Development Centers

In sum

As the business environment becomes more complex, organisations will increasingly turn to Coaches for help in understanding how to act. There’s no question that future leaders will need constant Coaching to manoeuvre change and drive effectiveness in the quest for better business results. A good coach will have to do more than just influence behaviors. They will have to be an essential part of the executive’s learning process, providing knowledge, opinions, and judgment in critical areas. 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house