The coaching profession: some of the key challenges

Abstract

This paper explores some of the key challenges facing the growing profession of coaching. These include: ensuring that coaching is meeting the needs of both the coachee and the organisation, and also that there is demonstrable return on investment. To meet these needs it is necessary to ensure quality of practice through such means as supervision and review, establishing an appropriate profession, and moving beyond an individual focus to also focus on the wider systemic context. The paper is written from a personal perspective, from someone who has been involved in coaching, supervising coaches, advising companies on their coaching strategy and carrying out research in the field of Coaching Supervision. The primary focus is on coaching in the British context, but the author does also include reference to experience in other countries.