Coaching is for everyone!
Coaching is becoming ever more important in the world of business, because it can provide huge benefits for those who are looking for ways to grow and improve. As I look at how coaching has grown more important as a critical leadership practice, I’ll analyze the contribution of coaching in the business world. I’ll also explore several coaching methodologies, including the strengths vs. deficit method, and will summarize the theories involved in the use of coaching as a leadership competency.
Importance of Coaching
You know a subject has become important when they start teaching it in the schools. “In MBA classes...professors now teach students to adopt the ‘right leadership style’ for themselves...to make them aware of how they are perceived by other and to learn how to manage those perceptions” (O'Toole, 2008, pp. 50-51). Coaching has been a huge part of my MBA studies, and as I learn more about coaching, I am able to develop myself as a future leader and coach.
Paul Reilly, Chairman of Korn/Ferry International, is quoted in Cashman’s Leadership from the Inside Out (2008) as saying that:
In five years, 50 percent of all C-level executives will retire. Therefore, the need has never been more urgent to cultivate key talent, to make coaching a part of each leader’s development plan, and to recognize leadership potential at every level of organizations. (p. 165)
If Reilly’s prediction comes true, there should be a plethora of positions available by the time I receive my MBA. I think that the tools I’ve learned to use through coaching will help me relate and lead in the future.
Coaching is going to be very important to me in the coming year. Teaching is still something I’m learning, and one thing I struggled with last year was getting my students to care about their education. I’ll be using a lot of positive questioning to find out where their strong points are. Classroom governance will just be one way I will empower them. They will also be responsible for setting project, term, and yearlong goals. By giving them responsibility for their own success throughout the year, I’ll be helping them set precedence for the rest of their lives.
Analysis of the Coaching Contribution
Coaching contributes to the business world by focusing on helping people grow and change as they develop their own leadership skills. “When the leader is liberated, extraordinary things happen” (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p. xii). As a liberated leader, I must first know myself. “The best way to take action for ourselves is through coaching” (Cashman, 2008, p. 168). Although I don’t have much experience in being coached, providing coaching for others allows me the opportunity to look at myself as well. I have found that I am able to look at my place in life more objectively, which in turn makes me able to help others see their situation more clearly. It’s a win-win situation!
