January 12, 2022
Demand for coaching within organizations is exploding. Yet certain barriers seem to be blocking the way for coaching to reach its full potential. This article will propose one solution for making a significant leap forward. It involves connecting several dots that have begun to more clearly emerge.
Noticeably absent from that definition is anything about advice-giving or providing new directions. Indeed, business coaching is the antithesis of the junior high school athletic coach giving specific directions to the players. That pattern of telling people what to do and how to do it better permeates most coaching in the world of athletics.The use of internal coaches is not a revolutionary idea. Whirlpool, in the early 2000s, established a program that used an external leadership coaching consultant to develop a cadre of internal organizational coaches.[vi] One fundamental that makes coaching successful is the nature of the relationship between the two people involved. We submit that internal colleagues who understand the culture in which they both function, who have some degree of knowledge of one another resulting from past experiences together; will have a leg up in building a trusting relationship that then increases the likelihood of coaching being successful.
The above should in no way be interpreted to diminish the value and contribution of external coaches. They are extremely valuable and often appropriate for the CEO or someone with especially challenging circumstances or behavior. The points earlier in this article are simply a way for the benefits of coaching to be made available to a wider audience.
—Jack Zenger Connect with Zenger Folkman on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
(This article first appeared on Forbes)
___________________________
[i] Cite DDI study on exec preferences for their development.
[ii] International Coaching Federation, ROI on coaching
[iii] Personnel Management Assoc. Feb. 10, 2021
[iv] Manchester Inc. study on ROI of exec. Development
[v] Doug MacKie, (cite Strength Based Approach article in 2016)
[vi] Hunt, J. & Weintraub, J. Hunt, J. & Weintraub, J. (2007). The Coaching Organization A Strategy for Developing Leaders. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Articles — May 17, 2022
Articles — April 07, 2022
Articles — April 04, 2022
Articles — March 21, 2022