Coaching is generally understood as the practice of supporting an individual through the process of achieving a specific personal or professional result. There are a number of models and methodologies used in coaching; but the most basic practice consists of the coach asking challenging questions and the coachee finding answers based on his or her values, preferences and unique perspective.
Life coaching is one form of coaching. It is a practice that helps people identify and achieve personal goals. Life coaches, also known as success coaches, help clients set and reach goals using a variety of tools and techniques. A life success coach can draw from a variety of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, positive adult development, mentoring, and career counseling.
Business coaching is another type of coaching. Business coaches provide positive support, feedback and advice to an individual or a group in order to help improve their personal effectiveness in the business setting. Business coaching includes executive coaching, corporate coaching and leadership coaching. There are almost as many different ways of delivering business coaching as there are business coaches. Some offer personal support and feedback, others combine a coaching approach with practical and structured business planning and bring a disciplined accountability to the relationship. Particularly in the small business market, business coaching is as much about driving profit as it is about developing the person.
Business coaching is not the same as mentoring. Mentoring involves a developmental relationship between a more experienced mentor and a less experienced partner, and it typically involves sharing of advice. A business coach can act as a mentor given that he or she has adequate expertise and experience. However, mentoring is not a form of business coaching.
Executive coaching is a third form of coaching. Executive coaches work their clients towards specific professional goals; these include career transition, interpersonal and professional communication, performance management, organizational effectiveness, managing career and personal changes, developing executive presence, enhancing strategic thinking, dealing effectively with conflict, and building an effective team within an organization.
An Industrial Organizational Psychologist (I/O psychologist) is one example of executive coaching. As a science, I/O psychology is devoted to the study of the interplay between people and organizations. It is also an applied field in which practitioners of I/O psychology use the scientific findings from the field to inform organizational practice. Much of the applied and scientific work is aimed toward positively impacting people's job performance, and/or their health, safety and well-being at work.
Coaching is not a practice restricted to external consultants or experts. Many organizations expect their senior leaders and middle managers to coach their team members toward higher levels of performance, increased job satisfaction, personal growth, and career development. Indeed, coaching is now an integral part of performance management in many organizations. Gone are the days when manager simply posted a set of criteria and expected their subordinates to figure out how to meet them. Nowadays, organizations view employees as human capital whose value must be protected and increased. It has become standard practice for managers to engage in regular business coaching in order to enhance the performance of their subordinates.
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