Coaching

Coaching has become a significant HRD activity, with recent CIPD survey indicating its use in 82 percent of organisations, where it is seen as a way of motivating and development talented staff (CIPD, 2010), although only 36 per cent have a system to evaluate it. In addition, the responses of staff to being coached can vary since it is a practice linked to counselling and therapy and the provision of ‘remedial’ work for people who need ‘fixing’ (Western, 2008, p. 99).

Originally a development within the sporting field aimed at improving performance (Evered and Selman, 1989), coaching was adapted during the 1970s and 80s as a management activity to enhance employees’ development, with particular emphasis on the transfer of learning from formal training courses into workplace activity. Coaching is mainly concerned with current performance and development issues, based on a relationship between a line manager and an employee, and structured around specific issues and goals (Gray, D.E., 2010). It can be contrasted with mentoring, which tends to focus on long-terms issues such as careers and personal development.

The particular focus of attention in coaching is combining performance improvement with HRD (Megginson and Pedler, 1992), increasingly as part of a talent management agenda. Gold et al. (2010) suggest that coaching provides two benefits for an organisation: first, managers who are coached are more likely to improve performance, and second, managers who coach are more likely to learn about their staff and improve their performance. Other benefits include the relief of stress and increased leadership sustainability by experiencing how to show compassion to others (Boyatzis et al., 2006).

Although the evidence on the value of coaching is still emerging, this has not prevented interest in the development of a coaching culture or coaching organisation (Garvey et al., 2009). Based on their study of major organisations, Clutterbuck and Megginson (2005a, 2005b) have provided a framework for developing a coaching culture based on a consideration of:

  • Coaching linked to business drivers
  • Encouraging and supporting coaches
  • The provision of training for coaches
  • Reward and recognition for coaching
  • A systemic perspective
  • Management of the move to coaching.


References

Boyatzis, R. E., Smith, M. L. and Blaize, N. (2006) Developing sustainable leaders through coaching and compassion. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 5(1): 8–24.

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2010) Learning and Talent Development. London: CIPD.

Clutterbuck, D. and Megginson, D. (2005a) Making Coaching Work: Creating a Coaching Culture. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Clutterbuck, D. and Megginson, D. (2005b) How to create a coaching culture. People Management, 21 April: 44–5.

Evered, R. D. and Selman, J. C. (1989) Coaching and the art of management. Organizational Dynamics, Autumn: 16–32.

Garvey, R., Stokes, P. and Megginson, D. (2009) Coaching and Mentoring: Theory and Practice. London: Sage.

Gold, J., Thorpe, R. and Mumford, A. (2010b) Leadership and Management Development. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Gray, D. E. (2010) Business Coaching for Managers and Organizations – Working with Coaches that Make the Difference. Amherst, MA: HRD Press.

Megginson, D. and Pedler, M. (1992) Self Development. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.

Western, S. (2008) Leadership: A Critical Text. London: Sage.

Comments

  1. ChulangaPereraMay 7, 2022 at 3:56 AM

    Nice post Mohommed.To improve employee performance and gain distinct competitive advantage in the market, companies are drawing on coaching sessions. These personalized sessions lead to organisational performance enhancement through the development of human capital (Achi, and Sleilati, 2016)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mohamed ShamranMay 14, 2022 at 3:06 AM

      Thank you for the input ChulangaPerera. Dweck (2008) also suggest that with good ‘coaching’ and plenty of practice, individuals can improve their performance on any given task.

      Delete

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