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.
There are lots of detailed pages on this site, so if you
have a specific interest, please use the search box at the
top of the page. If you would like to know more about us please
complete our contact form, or visit our photo gallery to discover
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