The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines coaching as:  "partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential."  The word process is an important one in this definition.  It implies a set of actions directed toward a specific end.   Action is one of the key components of coaching; the other is learning.  Both together provide the power to make meaningful changes in behavior and performance.  The emphasis of coaching is on building an executive's ability to deal with job related issues using his/her own decision-making skills.  The coaching process focuses on the skills, learning and actions required to achieve desired business outcomes.  It unleashes the best of a business person, accelerating change.  

   

As coaching grows in popularity, it is also becoming more regulated and studied.  As a result, several reputable institutions, associations and companies are conducting studies about coaching including why it is used. 

 According to the ICF 2009 Global Coaching Client Study, the top motivators for obtaining coaching are:

• Self-esteem/self-confidence  
• Work/life balance  
• Career opportunities 
• Business management  
• Relationships  

In the 2009 Harvard Business Review survey of coaches, three key reasons for selecting coaching were identified as:

• Develop high potentials or facilitate transition 
• Provide a sounding board 
• Address derailing behavior 

The Manchester Review surveyed 100 U.S. executives ages 30-59 for its report on "Maximizing the Impact of Executive Coaching."  They concluded that executive coaching is now among the most widely used executive development techniques because coaching translates into doing and doing translates into impacting the business.   Study participants identified the top coaching development priorities as:

• Enhancing leadership skills
• Enhancing management skills
• Fostering personal growth (e.g. clarifying career issues, work/life balance, self-knowledge, self-development)
• Enhancing business agility and technical or functional credibility
• Enhancing interpersonal skills

 The reality is that more and more companies are realizing that every business problem is really a people problem and every business opportunity a people opportunity.  People are without a doubt the most important contributor to a company's business results, including the bottom-line.   Coaching is one of the most powerful tools for driving change, enhancing employee engagement and developing leaders.   In fact, The American Management Association now recognizes coaching as an integral element in leadership development.

  

Executive coaching provides a safe environment for executives and managers to reflect, gain clarity and make appropriate choices.  It helps shift an executive's perspective from reacting to the situations around him/her to strategically making a choice of how to respond based on his/her values, beliefs and business objectives.

 

According to a study from Quilken Ltd titled "Consolidating the business case for executive coaching", executive coaching provides "tailored, just in time, one-to-one development that expensive one-size-fits-all approaches cannot." 

 

Quilken study participants said the three things they valued most about the coaching experience were:

• The understanding they gained about themselves and the impact they have on others
• The availability of  a confidential and safe place "to be human"
• The discipline of taking the time out from a busy day to work on effectiveness, focus and perspective.

All of these benefits were seen as essential to effectively perform in an executive role in today's complex business environment.

 

The 2009 ICF study referenced above also asked clients about the degree of improvement they experienced through coaching.  Respondents reported the following:

• 80% reported increased self-esteem/self-confidence 
• 73% reported improved business relationships
• 72% reported more effective communication skills 
• 71% reported enhanced Interpersonal skills 
• 70% reported an improvement in work performance overall  
• 96% of the clients surveyed said they would repeat the coaching experience given the opportunity. 

One benefit of coaching that is sometimes overlooked is the power of the example it sets for an organization when senior leaders engage in self-improvement.  It sends a positive and clear expectation that leaders at all levels (even high performing leaders) can and should continuously improve.   It is an unfortunate truth that the more senior an executive becomes the less likely it is that others will offer frequent and honest performance feedback.  Coaching provides an opportunity for this feedback to occur.