The Role of Coaching in Developing the Leaders of Tomorrow - Coursework Example

The role of coaching in developing the leaders of tomorrow Introduction Over the past decade, an increasing number of organizations have elected coaching over conventional executive training as part of their leadership development programs. Motivated by research which has reported the effectiveness of coaching as a method of leadership development, corporations have increasingly adopted coaching as a strategy for improving executive performance (Hawkins 2011). The increasing prevalence of coaching in leadership development in practice has been matched with the corresponding emergence of a growing body of literature on coaching from multidisciplinary perspectives which has sought to differentiate coaching from conventional training, illustrate different types of coaching relationships, outline steps in coaching interventions and propose potential outcomes associated with successful coaching. This article will examine the role of coaching in leadership development. The article will first briefly define coaching from a leadership development perspective and situate it in its practical and theoretical context. The article will then examine some of the potential benefits and challenges for organisations choosing coaching as a method for developing their leaders and conclude by arguing that although coaching offers a promising alternative to conventional training, more research needs to be done into the actual effectiveness of coaching as an intervention to inform leadership development practice. Coaching in Leadership Development What is coaching? Broadly defined, coaching is an intervention intended to improve organizational effectiveness by facilitating the acquisition of new skills, perspectives, tools, knowledge and opportunities where a coach interacts with a client to enable the client improve their effectiveness or performance through self-development and behavior change. Coaching in management and leadership development literature has been defined by several authors and practitioners as a short-term interactive process between a coach and a manager (Kombarakaran et al 2008) or between a consultant and executive (Feldman & Lankau 2005) aimed at improving the manager’s or executive’s work or leadership effectiveness. Coaching usually serves a dual purpose of facilitating the client’s personal career development while serving an organizational need for effective leadership. The target outcome of coaching as a method of leadership development is to achieve changes in managerial behaviours which are presumed to increase organizational effectiveness. While the increasing adoption of coaching in leadership development can be situated in contemporary corporate trends, coaching was identified in earlier managerial studies as a technique which could be used by managers to correct deficiencies in employee performance by filling gaps in knowledge, skills and performance. The dual purpose of coaching can be traced back to the recognition by human resource practitioners decades ago that the training and development of leaders and managers is an essential requirement of organizational effectiveness (Boyatzis et al 2006). More recently, coaching has come to be viewed in leadership development as a means enabling executives achieve higher and optimal levels of performance by addressing some of the deficiencies in leadership skills that have the potential to inhibit their performance and effectiveness. In particular, executive coaching emerged as a trend in the 1990s specifically aimed at reducing the high failure rates among senior executives which were attributed to poor leadership skills (Feldman & Lankau 2005). Coaching as a method of leadership development is grounded in cognitive learning theories such as Kolb’s Experiential Learning theory. The coach as a facilitator of development assists the leader as a learner to identify their own strengths and weaknesses, capabilities, deficiencies and obtain insights into how they can improve their performance under the mentorship of the coach. Therefore, it is essentially a cognitive process which requires the learner’s active mental participation, reflection and response to feedback. According to Kolb’s learning theory, learning occurs in a four stage integrated process; concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. Each of these modes combines to yield four distinct learning styles- accommodators, convergers, divergers and assimilators. Using Kolb’s experiential learning model, professional coaches can help leaders develop their capabilities to respond most appropriately to different situations (Turesky & Gallagher 2011). Who is a coach? Although the term coach is widely used in a variety of contexts, the literature on coaching in leadership development defines the primary role of a coach as a facilitator of professional development. A coach is expected to facilitate professional development by assisting leaders to organize their thinking, become more objective and develop a greater capacity to manage change and uncertainty. A coach develops the capacity of leaders to identify some of the self-behavioral constraints to effective management and to develop new problem-solving options. They also provide insights and help executives acquire new skills through modeling. There are several identifiable characteristics of, core competencies and attributes practitioners are expected to possess to be referred to as coaches. As a core competency, coaches should essentially be professionals who are knowledgeable about the business context in which their clients or leaders operate (Feldman & Lankau 2005). It is critical for a coach to have an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of leadership, business disciplines, management principles and organizational politics if they are to fulfill their role of facilitating professional development (Hawkins 2011). Coaches are also generally expected to have a considerable amount of training and experience in their respective fields and should possess as a minimum the relevant professional and academic certification. A study by Wasylyshyn (2003) identified some of the important credentials expected in a coach from a survey of executive coaching clients. The most frequently cited criteria included graduate training, experience, an understanding of the business, established reputation as a coach, listening skills and professionalism. The literature on coaching in leadership development has identified several benefits as well as some of the potential challenges faced by organizations which chose coaching over conventional executive training as a method for developing their leaders. Potential benefits of coaching in leadership development One of the main potential benefits of coaching as a tool for leadership development is that it enables leaders to learn more about themselves and acquire new skills which are beneficial to the organization. Surveys conducted on leaders who have undergone coaching have shown that a majority reported that coaching had positively influenced their personal lives in addition to personal growth through increased self confidence, improved self awareness, improved decision making and acquisition of new skills which translated into improved productivity (Feldman & Lankau 2005; Kombarakaran et al 2006). This is especially important for senior executives in the contemporary global business environment as the success of many organizations is tied to the ability of senior executives to prioritize efficiently and set clear objectives that align with corporate goals (Feldman & Lankau 2005). Therefore, coaching as a tool of leadership development can be used to indirectly improve organizational effectiveness by facilitating increased productivity in leaders. Beyond the professional and personal development of leaders, coaching can also enable the organization retain talented and trained managers and employees. Surveys of the managers and employees of senor executives who have undergone coaching have indicated improved working relationships between senior executives and managers. Improved communication between executives, managers and employees has encouraged managers and employees to seek future personal development and improved commitment to the organization ( Feldman & Lankau 2005; Kombarakaran et al 2006). The benefits of coaching are not only limited to leaders or executives but also to others in the work environment such as managers, colleagues and customers. By fostering transformational leadership, coaching has the potential to transform organizational culture (Hawkins 2011). Coaching indirectly improves relationships at various organizational levels as leaders use the skills and insights they have learned to coach their subordinates to improve their own performance and effectiveness. Coaching is therefore a good long term investment which can save the costs associated with external coaching. Boyatzis et al (2006) have also identified the development of sustainable leadership as one of the primary benefits of coaching as a tool of leadership development. Coaching will result in a steady stream of capable leaders who are physiologically and psychologically balanced. Consequently, this may contribute to the sustainability of their energy, focus and talent within the organization. Organizations that adopt coaching may generate a conveyor belt of prepared leaders. Potential challenges of coaching in leadership development One of the main potential challenges in adopting coaching as a method or strategy of leadership development relates to the unregulated nature of coaching and consequently the uncertainty surrounding the quality and effectiveness of professional coaching. As earlier mentioned, professional coaching remains largely unregulated and anybody can label themselves a professional coach. This is compounded by the lack of licensing and qualification standards for coaches that imply a degree of uncertainty in verifying the credentials and suitability of coaches to meet the needs of the organization (Feldman & Lankau 2005). Therefore, coaching essentially implies a certain degree of subjectivity in selecting professional coaches and the attendant risk with regards to whether they may actually meet the needs of the organization and client. Coaching is also not a replicable method of skills and knowledge acquisition due to the uniqueness of each coach and client combination. Therefore, organizations are susceptible to the uncertainty over whether the coaches may actually achieve the desired results. For example, an evaluation of many coaching programmes by Hawkins (2011) concluded that many individual coaches over-focus on the individual client and under-serve the organization. Another potential challenge of coaching as a method of leadership development is time. Unlike conventional leadership training programs which have a defined starting and end point with clear goals, coaching requires an unspecified time commitment until the desired outcomes to be achieved. Similarly, coaching is not a discrete process. It requires trust and confidence-building between coach and client which may be challenging and time consuming. It also necessitates continuous feedback and follow-up after the conclusion of the coaching. Different leaders also have different styles of learning and different rates of uptake of lessons. Therefore, coaching may ultimately end up being time consuming at the cost of the organization (Hawkins 2011). There is also the prospect that after the investment made in coaching leaders they may also leave the organization to take up opportunities elsewhere which would result in the organization incurring extra cost in recruitment and training of leaders. Discussion From a theoretical standpoint, there is enough evidence in literature which supports the increasing adoption of coaching as an effective tool for leadership development by organizations. The evidence illustrates the practical use of coaching as an intervention in improving organizational effectiveness by facilitating leaders’ professional and personal development as an indirect means of improving organizational performance and productivity. However, despite the numerous potential advantages, professional coaching still remains largely unregulated. Similarly, there is a need for more research into the actual effectiveness of coaching programs as well as identification of the potential pitfalls for organizations which chose coaching as a leadership development tool to inform a balanced and informed evaluation of coaching as compared to conventional leadership training. References Boyatzis, RE, Smith, ML & Blaize, N 2006, ‘Developing Sustainable Leaders Through Coaching and Compassion’, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Vol.5, No.1, pp. 8-24. Feldman, DC & Lankau, MJ 2005,’ Executive Coaching: A Review and Agenda for Future Research’, Journal of Management, Vol 31, No.6, pp. 829-848. Hawkins, P 2011, Leadership Team Coaching: Developing Collective Transformational Leadership, London: Kogan Page. Kombarakaran, FA, Yang, JA, Baker, MN & Fernandes, PB 2006, ‘Executive Coaching: It works!’ Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, Vol. 60, No.1, pp 78-90. Turesky, EF & Gallagher, D 2011, ‘Know thyself: Coaching for leadership using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory’, The Coaching Psychologist, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 5-14. Wasylyshyn, KM 2003, ‘Executive coaching: An outcome study,’ Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, Vol. 55, No.6, pp. 94-106. Read More