CAREER coaching is becoming more acceptable in Australia.
A coaching relationship is largely short term with a focus on changing behaviour that limits the client’s professional development.
It is a practice that has become firmly established in the US and, while many American coaches come from a counselling or psychotherapy background, it is not just another term for therapy.
One American coach described it as “closing the gap between where you are and where you want to be”.
That gap may be the next promotion or finding work that will provide a better time balance between work, family and the self.
A number of reasons contribute to the growing popularity of coaching. As organisations flatten and middle managers disappear, senior managers are stretched further – often to areas they do not understand well.
At the same time, a younger generation joining the workforce is more diverse in all aspects and less likely to accept decisions without questioning.
This is a challenge for older managers used to “command and control” styles of leadership.
Coaching styles differ from supportive and nurturing to demanding and critical. Some coaches work face-to-face, sometimes shadowing the client in their workplace. Others never meet them, working solely by telephone and/or email.
