Kudos to Chief Learning Officer Magazine

Chief Learning Officer Magazine (CLO) published an article titled, “The Case for Coaching,” in its February 2009 edition.  Author Helen Peters does an excellent job of laying out the challenges of maintaining a commitment to leadership development while managing tight budgets, changing needs, and increasing pressures from retiring baby boomers.  She goes on to recommend executive coaching as a means of providing:

• development tailored to individual needs
• developmental goals that are clear, measurable, and relevant to bosses, leaders, coaches and those being coached
• impact in four to six months – that can be seen at the individual level and at the business level

Peters continues to make the case for coaching by stating that, “The number of executive competencies required for success has grown exponentially.  Talented leaders — smart, sophisticated businesspeople who are technically literate, globally astute and operationally agile — are the most important organizational resource for the next 20 years.  The ongoing development of current leaders has to be a priority.”

Executive coaching, as described by Peters, helps fill the mentoring and development gaps created by today’s working environments of accelerated promotions, downsizing, globalization, and the move to virtual organizations.  We would add that the list of competencies expected for success may also mean that the resources to develop and nurture those competencies may not all exist within your current organization.  Having a pool of experienced external coaches available to your organization can provide the just-in-time and just-what-you-need performance support that your aspiring, high-potential, or established leaders need.

We also agree wholeheartedly with the Fortune magazine quote that Peters includes in the article, “Coaching bridges the growing chasm between what managers are being asked to do and what they have been trained to do.”

So from the CLO article, we conclude that executive coaching is a relevant, measurable, efficient, and effective strategy for managing and developing your leadership talent pipeline.  Kudos to the folks at Chief Learning Officer for a well-presented case for executive coaching.