Does Corporate Coaching Work? (6/24)

Does Corporate Coaching Work?

After Joanne Gunning read a business article about executive coaching in her local newspaper in 1994, she was compelled to track down the business coach who had been featured in the piece and set up an initial phone consultation with him. "I made my decision to work with [him] quickly because I was prepared to make the commitment," says Gunning. "Not only in terms of money, but in terms of time and dedication to the process."

"I felt that 1999 was going to be a crucial year," explains Gunning, a financial adviser at Kingston, Ontario-based Independent Retirement Planners. "I decided that I would benefit from working with someone who could challenge me to look further into the future and be creative and visionary regarding what I wanted my business to look like five years from now."

Gunning has been working with her coach six months now, and she says the results have been great. She's already reached her business goals for the year, and says that her coach, instead of allowing her to rest on her laurels, has asked her to set new goals for the remainder of the year. "My coach has helped me take a holistic approach to my life, and although I am working with him predominantly for business reasons, I have found that he has urged me to set goals in my personal life, as well," says Gunning. "As a result, I am happier and healthier than I've been in years. Working toward excellence is a wonderful feeling."

Gunning's experience isn't unique in today's competitive, harried business environment. In fact, career coaches have been around a long time, but they've used different titles, like mentor, management consultant and human resource specialist, to name a few. Recently, "career coaching" emerged as an individualized service to executives and professionals who want to enhance their personal effectiveness by improving their communication and negotiating skills, professional presence and other interpersonal abilities while remaining in their present job.

Other benefits that result from corporate coaching cover a broad spectrum - from improved productivity, to the ability to deal with other professionals, to an overall feeling of accomplishment. Many middle managers use coaches to help them move to the next level in their jobs, and still others hire coaches to help them walk away from their current positions and into more fulfilling ventures. "With coaching, you've got someone in your corner supporting you through whatever it takes to overcome barriers, access resources, and obtain the components necessary for success," says Robert Knowlton (Gunning's coach), president of Options Success Coaching and Training in Marlbank, Ontario. "Generally, your coach has either been there themselves, or has worked with you to define exactly what the goals of the relationship are."