Study note on executive coaching

Study note on executive coaching

References with extracted contents

Kombarakaran, F.A., J.A. Yang, M.N. Baker and P.B. Fermandes. 2008. "Executive coaching: It works!"Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 60(1): 78-90.

"The phenomenon of executive coaching has mushroomed in recent years. The need for competent managers and the reported success of coaching have prompted corporations to adopt this strategy to improve executive performance. Coaching may be popular because it provides needed expertise, an objective viewpoint, and is integrated into the executive’s routine (Lary, 1997)";

"Executive coaching is a short-term interactive process between a coach and a manager to improve leadership effectiveness by enhancing self-awareness and the practice of new behaviors. The coaching process facilitates the acquisition of new skills, perspectives, tools and knowledge through support, encouragement, and feedback in the organizational context. Executive coaching has become a method of choice for leadership development because of its unique position in helping modify perspectives and behavior without sacrificing competence and self-esteem (Strickland, 1997)";

"Coaching is often used to help an executive transition from the role of a project manager to people manager (Hayes, 1997). Transition challenges include adjusting personal style and approaches to people and learning the rules and expectations of the new role. Coaching may also focus on a specific content area to provide the leader with specific knowledge and skills. Coaching may also be recommended for problematic attitudes and behaviors. Executives may need coaching to understand their new role with its implicit style, rules, and expectations";

Sherman, S. and A. Freas. 2004. "The Wild West of Executive Coaching" Harvard Business Review 82(11) November: 82-90, 148.

".... companies that use coaches to help their top executives become more effective must chart their own courses. No one has yet demonstrated conclusively what makes an executive coach qualified or what makes one approach to executive coaching better than another. Barriers to entry are nonexistent—many self-styled executive coaches know little about business, and some know little about coaching";

"The growing popularity of executive coaching is a response to compelling needs. Many of the new business practices that so greatly improved productivity in recent decades also introduced contradictions into the relationships between corporations and their top executives. The most bedeviling of these has been a gradual warping of the traditional alignment of companies and their leaders. Developing more fruitful ways for businesses and executives to work together has become a priority and a new source of economic value";

"Unlike most business processes, which tend to reduce information to abstractions, executive coaching engages with people in customized ways that acknowledge and honor their individuality. It helps people know themselves better, live more consciously, and contribute more richly. The essentially human nature of coaching is what makes it work—and also what makes it nearly impossible to quantify";

Feldman, D.C. and M.J. Lankau. 2005. "Executive Coaching: A Review and Agenda for Future Research" Journal of Management 1(6), Sage: 829-848.

"Although executive coaching has been defined in a variety of ways by different authors, researchers typically define it as a short- to medium-term relationship between an executive and a consultant with the purpose of improving an executive’s work effectiveness (Douglas & McCauley, 1999; Feldman, 2001). In the past decade, the prevalence of executive coaching in corporations has risen dramatically as an alternative to conventional executive training";

"At its broadest level, coaching is generally defined as a “process of equipping people with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities they need to develop themselves and become more effective” (Peterson&Hicks, 1995: 41). The notion of coaching as a developmental activity in the management literature is not a new phenomenon. In early studies on managerial roles (Mace & Mahler, 1958; Mintzberg, 1973, 1990, 1994; Yukl, 1994), coaching was primarily viewed as a technique that managers could use to correct deficiencies in employees’ task performance";

"An adviser is an individual who shares his or her business acumen or functional expertise with executives to assist them in planning or executing specific organizational actions. Advising relationships typically focus on strategic or operational issues in the organization, such as how to take a company public (Sperry, 1993). In contrast, executive coaches do not assume the role of technical expert, are not contracted for traditional business consulting, and do not provide recommendations on specific business initiatives";

Angélique du Toit, (2005) "A guide to executive coaching: Advice to managers and their organizations" Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, Vol. 19 Issue: 2, pp. 11-12 [https://doi.org/10.1108/14777280510580672].

".... the following are the key characteristics of coaching as it applies to organizations: * a reflective practice based on a one-to-one relationship with the coach; *  tailored to the needs of the individual; *  stimulating growth in areas of organizational importance or weakness; *  present and future focused; *  action oriented; *  a non-directive intervention form of development; and *  aimed at the development of individual performance and abilities";

"Although there is no blue-print available to avoid making the wrong choice when selecting a coach, the following will act as a guideline: (1) Assess the need of the individual to be coached. (2) Should the services of an internal or external coach be employed? (3) Match the profile of the coach with that of the need of the individual, the issues to be explored and the organization. (4) What is the relevant experience of the coach and how much experience have they had? (5) Ensure you obtain testimonials from previous clients. (6) How will quality be monitored during the coaching assignment? (7) Agree measurable outcomes for the coaching assignment. (8) Determine qualifications and any membership of professional bodies. (9) Match personal qualities and characteristics with the individuals they will coach";

Glunk, U. and Follini, B. 2011. "Polarities in executive coaching" Journal of Management Development Vol. 30 Issue: 2, pp. 222-230 [https://doi.org/10.1108/02621711111105795].

"The coaching relationship entails ambiguities and tensions; if this is not the case, the coaching becomes flat and uninspired. The metaphor of a seesaw can best illustrate this relationship. The coach is in charge of keeping the seesaw in movement; depending on the “weight” of the other person, the coach has to adjust his/her own position, leaning towards one direction or the other, allowing for the complementarities of opposing forces";