Focused Coaching

Organizations don’t leave it up to individual managers to decide on how to invest in IT, but coaching is allowed to proliferate in an ad hoc fashion. Andrew Park, in Harvard Management Update, recommends that organizations approach coaching by:

• Articulate coaching objectives by making sure that they are linked to corporate strategy and goals.
• Define the details by tackling key questions including:
  • Who merits coaching?
  • Under what circumstances will coaches be used?
  • Will coaches be internal or external?
  • Will coaches commit to an action plan or a contract?
  • Do the coaches have the experience and expertise to meet your coaching program’s overall objectives?
• Establish an orientation session for your new coaches to that they understand the organizational objectives
• Measure the outcome. Although it is difficult to measure effectiveness on coaching, clarified organizational objectives will assist in framing a measurement approach.