Business Intelligence

Published February 2009

The Case for Coaching

Helen Peters

Studies suggest executive coaching may be the best way for organizations to effectively develop the leaders needed for increasingly turbulent times.

Organizations are caught in a dilemma. The recent global economic meltdown has required many companies to cut back drastically and tighten belts wherever possible — including cutting their commitment and resources dedicated to leadership development.

At the same time, a majority of CEOs across industries and geographies view maximizing the productivity of their current leaders and developing the next generation of leaders as mission critical. Aon Consulting’s “2008 Benefits and Talent Survey” found that 56 percents of employers in the U.S. are experiencing a leadership shortage that is impeding their organization’s performance. In addition, succession planning is taking on a new urgency in many organizations as baby-boomer managers head toward retirement.

How can companies reconcile their need to retain and develop leaders while still managing costs and ensuring a return on investment? One-on-one executive coaching may be the best answer to that question.

Business school programs meet certain development needs but tend to be generic and at times academic. Targeted in-house leadership initiatives help to align leaders with corporate culture and strategy and have the added advantage of building internal networks. But once again, large leadership programs tend to be a shotgun-type approach to development with potentially uneven benefits that are difficult to measure.

Executive coaching provides:

• Development that is specific to the individual leader and his or her unique needs.

• Clearly-defined, measurable objectives and outcomes that are collectively agreed to by the boss, the leader being coached and the coach.

• Observable behavioral change and business impact in four to six months.

Coaching can benefit the next generation of leaders, leaders brought into the organization from the outside and current leaders who need to up their game to meet new strategic and global challenges. But before engaging an executive coach, it’s important to examine the background and experience of a coach and the characteristics of qualified vendors of coaching services.

Developing the Next Generation of Leaders
Leadership development used to be done primarily by moving young, talented professionals progressively up the middle management ranks. Incremental promotions allowed them to be tested in lower-risk assignments and to develop skills over an extended period of time. Their direct managers were often available to provide hands-on coaching and mentoring along the way.

In today’s organizations, mid-management jobs have been eliminated and more traditional career paths have become a thing of the past. Greater demands mean that bosses are no longer able to give junior executives the time and attention they would like. Global and virtual organizations provide less visibility and less one-on-one access.

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