It seems as if just about every consulting and training provider offers coaching training. The following guidelines will help you sort out which ones can genuinely offer you a reliable and effective service. © David Clutterbuck, 2015
Many training providers offer mentoring as part of their portfolio. However, relatively few have significant experience in this specialist area. Experience shows that being able to facilitate training is only part of the value an effective provider can bring. Equally important is their ability to advise on the design and management of the mentoring programme, (more…)
Although overall spend on training and development has in many organisations been capped or declined during the recession, coaching and mentoring appear to have at least held their own and actually become a more critical part of the L&D offering. In part, this is because internally resourced coaching and mentoring are cheaper and proven to (more…)
What makes executive coaches feel valued Considering how much organizations pay for the services of executive coaches, it might be expected that the relationship between them would be a partnership, aimed at providing the best possible support for the client. While in some cases, this is undoubtedly true, a more general picture appears to be (more…)
It is generally true that ‘what gets measured, gets done’, more importantly, measurement helps participants and programme coordinators identify areas for improvement in both process and performance of developmental practice; and acts as a spur to participants to review the learning relationship, with the frequent result that they are re-energised. One of the common outcomes (more…)
Once coaches have some initial experience, they typically want to consolidate and grow their skills. Some of the practical ways internal coaching programmes meet this need include: For those line manager coaches, who want to be recognised for their skills in the role, there is a plethora of qualifications, many of them accredited by one (more…)
Supporting the development of internal coaches What is a coach development centre? Coach development centres are based on established good practice from assessment centres used to select external executive coaches. They differ from assessment centres in that they: A number of organisations internationally are exploring the concept as a practical means of building an internal (more…)
Raising culturally-derived awareness and building culturally-appropriate responsibility Using the Cross-Cultural Kaleidoscope Abstract Whitmore (2002) defined the essence of good coaching practice as “building awareness and taking responsibility.” A phenomenological approach to a research study conducted as part of an MA in Coaching and Mentoring Practice (Name author, 2009) built on the Whitmore definition through (more…)
Evaluating coaching assignments Why evaluate? Evaluation is important because it: When to evaluate What to evaluate You might think that evaluating external coaching is simply a matter of asking the client whether they found it useful and /or of establishing whether a specific performance goal has been achieved. However, it is more complex than (more…)
It’s a common occurrence in organisations, which have invested in building an internal pool of coaches. After two or three years, there is a noticeable drop in enthusiasm and participation and some may even drop out of the programme altogether, usually citing pressure of work as a catch-all excuse. There seem to be several main (more…)