1. 28 August 2015
Management Magazine
Special Report
Coaching as a
profession for the future
In coming years, we are likely to ex-
perience an increased demand for
professional coaching as more peo-
ple and employers become aware of
the fact that performance gaps may
not necessarily be addressed through
more training
By EILEEN LASKAR
E
verybody is born with the potential to be great!
However, many people are settling for less
because they have nobody to inspire, chal-
lenge and support them to expand their horizons.
Professional coaches work with clients or coachees’
to unlock, apply, and stretch their potential for the
greater good. Unfortunately, many people still don’t
understand what professional coaching entails. In the
sections below, we explore coaching for better under-
standing and application.
Defining and simplifying professional coaching
Many people associate coaching with sports, where a
talented sports star such as Tiger Woods has a coach.
In coaching, human potential is considered to be
“work in progress” and coaches believe that people,
when stretched, can do more. However, sports coach-
ing is more instructional as the coach knows what
needs to be done and advises the player on what to do
in order to improve scores. Professional coaching as an
emerging career takes a different twist; it’s not about
telling, instructing or advising others what to do and
how to do it.
In their website, the largest global coaching regula-
tory body – International Coach Federation (www.
coachfederation.org) defines coaching as, “partnering
with coachees’ in a thought-provoking and creative
process that inspires them to maximise their personal
and professional potential.” In simple terms, coach-
ing can be defined as a systematic methodology of
unlocking people’s potential to maximise their own
performance.
How coaching works
There are certain principles that underlie the coaching
philosophy. The first principle is that the coach must
have inherent genuine desire to help people become
their very best. This takes a positive mind-set and a
possibility attitude to believe in people. The effective
coach also believes in people’s ability to set goals and
develop roadmaps. This takes patience and humility,
especially in instances where the coach is an expert. It

2. 29August 2015
Management Magazine
Special Report
“Coaching improves employee
engagement, productivity, manager-
employee relations, performance
management, talent development and
succession planning,” Eileen Laskar.
also takes a belief that people have limitless potential
and no matter how well they are doing today, they still
have so much more to offer. A coach challenges clients
to do more.
Besides this coaching mind-set, the coach applies
eleven core coaching competencies as prescribed by
the International Coach Federation (ICF). In a coach-
ing conversation, four competencies are fundamental;
coaching presence (ability of the coach to switch off
their own agenda, including advice and instructions),
active listening (watching body language and tone of
voice for what is being said and not said), powerful
questioning (ability to ask resonant, relevant, incisive,
challenging questions that provoke a coachee to think
differently and gain awareness), and direct communi-
cation (ability to reframe the conversation and help
the client see different perspectives, while providing
relevant feedback).
In essence, the coach is an expert in the coaching
process and methodology, and the coachee/client is an
expert in their own circumstances. Additionally, the
coach believes people have their own solutions and
that for real change to take place, true and committed
actions and decisions must come from within
.
How does a coaching journey look like?
Coaching is a relationship where a coach partners
with a coachee to help him or her achieve objectives.
These range from personal wellbeing and effective-
ness, career development, performance improvement,
business success, change management and leader-
ship effectiveness among others. The relationship
begins with some form of assessment to determine the
coaching need and also define clear objectives for the
engagement. Based on the scope identified and agreed
upon, the coach and the coachee design a coaching
agreement which spells the obligations of each party
and other important contracting terms, including the
fee and payment terms, if applicable. The contracting
terms may be simple when it is internal coaching at
the workplace, or complex when coaching is being
provided by an external coach. In each session, the
coachee sets the agenda and this is what guides the
focus of the session. He or she may submit progress
reports to the coach to help monitor the progress
towards the set goals. The coach and coachee monitor
whether they are addressing the coachee’s needs using
set monitoring tools. A final evaluation is conducted at
the end of the coaching engagement.
Is coaching for people with performance problems?
Traditionally, coaching was more remedial (trying
to correct some negative behaviour or turnaround
poor performance). However progressively, coaching
is being embraced as a developmental approach to
employees and leaders in the workplace. Research has
proved that coaching improves employee engagement,
productivity, manager-employee relations, perfor-
mance management, talent development and succes-
sion planning. Organisations and individuals seek
coaching for growth and re-invention, given the vola-
tile and competitive market. This trend will increase in
the future. Just like in the sports arena, winning today
does no guarantee winning tomorrow, neither does
failing today mean losing tomorrow.
Are there specific coaching disciplines?
At the heart of coaching are universal principles and
competencies. As the coaching profession has grown
over the past 20 years, different niches have emerged
to respond to specific coaching needs. Some specialisa-
tion areas include leadership and executive, workplace,
business and entrepreneurship, life, spiritual, career,
performance, family, health and fitness, financial and
wealth creation, parental, youth and retirement. There
are as many coaching niches and varied coaching
needs, and we are likely to see more areas emerging in
the future. However, it is worth noting that some of
these are considered the mother disciplines, especially
the first five listed above. The rest would be more of
sub-disciplines stemming from those core disciplines.
It helps if the client chose a coach who is specialised in
their area of need.
Coaching Vs. Mentoring
Other people development approaches are confused
with coaching, especially mentoring. Mentoring entails
inspiring and developing others through sharing expe-
riences, lessons, resources and networks. The number
one qualifier for a mentor is that s/he must have “been
there and done that” and knows what works or does
not work based on their experience. Most of the time,
the mentee or protégé is the one who asks the ques-
tions as the mentor does the talking and sharing. In
coaching, the coach asks the question as the coachee
thinks and generates their own solutions. Within the
workplace setting, the two approaches complement
each other, depending on the prevailing circumstances.
Coaching is an emerging and evolving profession
and industry. In the coming years, we are likely to
experience an increased demand for professional
coaching in all spheres of life, especially as more and
more people and employers become aware of the fact
that the performance gaps they experience may not
necessarily be addressed through more and more train-
ing. Coaching is fast becoming the profession for the
future!
Email: Eileen.laskar@cdi-africa.com