Coaching in Business

Sir John Whitmore in the book Coaching for performance defines coaching as

‘Unlocking a person’s potential to get the most of their performance’

Executive coaching is a one-to-one session between a coach and an executive. The aim is to enhance the on-the-job performance of the executive

As businesses realise that they have a lot of untapped talent, coaching is an effective means of harnessing and developing that talent.  By developing individuals to achieve their full potential their performance will improve and they will feel more valued and engaged. They are likely to increase the effort they put into their work as they feel more ownership of a process they understand and have the opportunity to influence. Therefore both the business and the individual benefit.

Further benefits are increased trust and team work between colleagues as they gain greater understanding of how their input influences the whole process rather than just a narrow view.

Many people are also accustomed to learning by discovery rather than show and tell. They are therefore less receptive to simply following instructions and will be questioning and require explanations and understanding. If someone is just told or instructed, they will not learn as quickly, and they are likely to feel that their potential is not recognised. They will not feel valued and they may seek employment where they will feel valued. So mentoring may prevent loss of talent and high staff turnover.

So the business benefits include

• Increased productivity
• Improved creativity and problem solving
• The releasing of managers’ time to focus on critical business issues

Individual benefits include

• Increased involvement and improved team working
• Substantially increased motivation and job satisfaction