Coaching

Introduction

Coaching has established itself as an essential tool in creating business leadership more professionally. The tool of coaching has its roots within psychotherapy; this was first used by organizations to equip leaders that faced performance or behavior problems. As the years passed, more literature and experience became available on coaching which displayed positive and developmental purpose. These applications had specific problems which lead to sharpened performance skills and limitless leadership potential. The delivery of these applications are applied toward the increasing value of the organization. This perspective of coaching has the flexibility to focus on the individual or maximize a broader view within the organization. The International Coach Federation defines coaching as "partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential (http://coachfederation.org/)." Prior to this course, my views of coaching were misconstrued. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast my past views of coaching as related to mentoring, analyze key elements that contribute to coaching competencies and discuss this management tool within in traditional management approach.

Prior Perspective of Coaching

Early in my career as a financial manager, my experience and viewpoint of utilizing coaching as a management tool were far-off. The management tool that was commonly used within the Department of Defense workforce was mentoring. With this, my methodology of coaching and mentoring was perplexing. In the book, Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others by Flaherty, J: the idea of coaching is portrayed as a style of management that focuses on growth and development. This point of view defines coaching as a stand alone activity that has no time frame and focus on leading with a purpose and intent to facilitate and encourage higher learning.

The functions of...