Overview

Twenty years ago, few people would have talked about coaching unless it related to sports performance. There it would have been recognized as a signal that the person had abilities that could be best developed through having focused attention on reducing technical weaknesses. Successful sportsmen would pay tribute to their coaches as key to achieving their goals. At the same time, to say to a manager, who would happily pay for tennis or golf coaching, that they needed a coach at work would have been seen as an insult. It would imply that they were underperforming, when career success rests on signalling to an employer that you are always performing to your full potential.

Move on to the 21st century and, for many business people to have an external coach has become a signal of success. It offers a safe space to talk about the loneliness of being near the top, lack of confidence, knowledge and skills gaps, the challenges of living the life of a senior manager, relationship difficulties with senior colleagues and even is it worth it? . For an elite within organizations, external coaching is available as a source of support; a confidential relationship like no other within their working day. The sceptical have dismissed it as corporately sponsored therapy. The people who work as executive coaches come from a wide range of backgrounds, but they have often had extensive training to enable...