The role of in-house coaching

Brefi Group provides experienced executive coaches to work with individuals and teams in organisations. External coaches are appropriate when there are highly sensitive or confidential issues to be addressed or when a coach with extensive and diverse experience is needed. Increasingly, organisations are recruiting and training internal coaches to provide the majority of their coaching resource. Internal coaches are likely to be used for less senior staff. With suitable training and a suitable organisation culture, line managers can also adopt a coaching approach.

Brefi Group provides skills training for managers and internal coaches, and also works with organisations to develop values and culture to support a coaching approach.

Internal coaches are preferable

• When knowing the company culture, history and politics is critical
• When easy availability is desired
• For being able to build up a high level of personal trust over a period of time
• For not being seen to be ‘selling’ consulting time
• For keeping costs under control – and may be less expensive

External coaches are preferable

• For providing sensitive feedback to senior business leaders. For political reasons, this can be difficult for an internal coach
• For bringing specialised expertise from a wide variety of organisational and industry situations
• When individuals are concerned about ‘conflict of interests’ and whether confidentiality will be observed
• For providing a wider range of ideas and experience
• For being less likely to judge and being perceived as more objective

Establishing a coaching culture

Today's organsiations will get the most benefit by establishing a coaching cultue i which managers adopt a coaching approach and use of internal and external coaches is recognised as an effectivway of improving performance. David Clutterbuck (2004) explains how to establish a coaching climate: -

• By ensuring that managers have at least the basic skills of coaching
• By equipping all employees with the skills to be coached effectively
• By providing an advanced coaching skills programme for senior managers
• By providing opportunities to review good coaching practice
• By recognising and rewarding managers who demonstrate good coaching.
• By measuring and providing feedback on the quality, relevance and accessibility of coaching
• By ensuring that top management provides strong, positive role models
• By identifying cultural and systems barriers to developmental behaviours
• HR Practitioners can track how much the organisation is perceived to support development and coaching activity in a variety of ways, including through employee attitude surveys.
• Creating a coaching culture generally involves implementing a long-term, strategic organisational development programme in an organisation.

You will know you have a coaching climate when:

• Personal growth, team development and organisational learning are integrated and the links clearly understood.
• People are able to engage in constructive and positive challenging
• People welcome feedback (even at the top) and actively seek it
• Coaching is seen as a responsibility of managers and their direct reports
• There is good understanding at all levels about what effective developers and developees do
• Coaching is seen primarily as an opportunity rather than a remedial intervention
• People are recognised and rewarded for their activity in sharing knowledge
• Time for reflection is valued
• There are effective mechanisms for identifying and addressing barriers to learning
• People look first inside the organisation for their next job
• There are strong role models of good coaching practice

What to do next

With our MBA level experience and training in the psychology of change, Brefi Group coaches possess the unique combination of maturity, professional skills and human qualities required to work with top decision-makers and the leaders of the future, whether they be in commercial or public organisations or running a small company. Such key individuals have the maximum leverage for change – they provide the leadership and role models for the rest of the organisation. They are under the greatest pressure, and are more likely to suffer from stress and an out of balance work/home life.

We can also train managers as coaches and set up in-house coaching and mentoring schemes.

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