Coaching & mentoring - Essay Example

Coaching is about the alignment of actions, thoughts, and motivations toward a desired outcome or process. At times, coaching is not about a means to an end, but about the improvement of a process toward a desired outcome. This process could be considered developmental and is often associated with actualization or learning for individuals, teams, and organizations. Coaching takes place in small increments, often separated by weeks, and must be both intimate and flexible. While coaches may offer perspectives on substantive issues and the coaching agenda, executives must determine learning goals and issues around which they desire to be coached.

(Brown, 1999, 40) Executive coaching involves one-on-one discussions between an executive and a behavioral science professional on topics involving skills and style in a professional setting. Coaching has several advantages over other types of executive development options, such as class activities, group facilitation, and consulting advice. Convenience, relevance, and the self-directed nature of executive coaching are important advantages that one should consider in deciding to use coaching over other ways of achieving professional growth and greater organizational effectiveness.

Central to executive coaching are the notions that the objectives are jointly determined by the executive and the coach, that it involves observation and assessment of behaviors related to these objectives, and that these observations and assessments are shared. Three different perspectives are relevant for an executive coach to consider in conversations regarding executive performance: the individual executive, the work unit, and the organization. An initial consideration is to explore the executives self-awareness.

A first step is to compare the individuals self-perception of his or her relevant strengths, weaknesses, and suggested areas of development