Coaching

Coaching is more popular as a development intervention that ever; but the question begs… ‘is it right for your organisation and its people?’

The following information is taken directly from the CIPD’s fact sheet on coaching:

There is some confusion about what exactly coaching is, and how it differs from other ‘helping behaviours’ such as counseling and mentoring. Broadly speaking, the CIPD defines coaching as ‘developing a person’s skills and knowledge so that their job performance improves, hopefully leading to the achievement of organisational objectives. It targets high performance and improvement at work, although it may also have an impact on an individual’s private life. It usually lasts for a short period and focuses on specific skills and goals.’

Although there is a lack of agreement among coaching professionals about precise definitions, these are some generally agreed characteristics of coaching in organisations:

			It is essentially a non-directive form of development.
			It focuses on improving performance and developing individuals’ skills.
			Personal issues may be discussed but the emphasis is on performance at work.
			Coaching activities have both organisational and individual goals.
			It assumes that the individual is psychologically well and does not require a clinical intervention.
			It provides people with feedback on both their strengths and their weaknesses.
			It is a skilled activity.

The first step will be the identification of some kind of learning or development need, either by the individual themselves, their line manager or some one from the HR department. Once this has been identified, the next step is for the manager and the individual to decide how best the need can be met.

Coaching is just one of a range of training and development interventions that organisations can use to meet identified learning and development needs. Its merits should be considered alongside other types of development interventions, such as training courses, mentoring or on-the-job training. Employee preferences should also be borne in mind. There is a danger that coaching can be seen as a solution for all kinds of development needs. It is important that coaching is only used when it is genuinely seen as the best way of helping an individual learn and develop.

CIPD 2006

Whether it is personal coaching or executive coaching we offer experienced coaches who can work with individuals at any level to challenge and ultimately improve their performance in a chosen area.