Executive Coaching

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"I learn teaching from teachers. I learn golf from golfers. I learn winning from coaches."- Harvey Penick

Executive Coaching and Leadership Development

Executive Coaching has become a core part of leadership development with most organisations now engaging Executive Coaches for their Leaders and Future Leaders.
Executive Coaching can also include: Leadership Coaching, Business Coaching, Career Coaching and Coaching for Managers. Mentoring is distinct from coaching but shares many of the same skills sets, which we include in our Mentoring for Senior Managers program.
In the past coaching was used to help fix toxic behaviours, but today coaching is about developing the capabilities of high potential performers. Harvard Business Review (Jan 2009) reviewed the field of executive coaching and found that the top 3 reasons for engaging an executive coach were:

1. To develop high potentials or facilitate a transition
2. To act as a sounding board
3. To address some derailing behaviour.

Some current definitions of Executive Coaching include:

• “Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them. Clients say coaching brings out their best by helping them focus, break down tasks and clarify their values.”- Fortune Magazine
• “Coaching is a managerial methodology that seeks to maximize employee performance by conscientiously considering individuals and their unique talents and abilities.”
• “Coaching is a conversation, a dialogue, whereby a coach and coachee interact in a dynamic exchange to achieve goals, enhance performance and move the coachee forward to greater success.” Zeus and Skiffington

The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines coaching as: "Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential."

Coaching for Human Resource Development

Coaching is integral to Human Resource Development (HRD) where coaching plays an important part in reaching organisational objectives and filling the leadership pipeline. Coaching should be part of the skill set of every manager/supervisor and the organisation might retain experienced executive coaches for key high performers. Self Leadership International has provided consultants to partner with HR to develop a coaching culture.