The role of coaching in improving performance Essay

The role of coaching in improving performance - Essay Example Had it not been for the coaching that they had received at the right time, they would still be struck at one place or the other. International Coach Federation (ICF), the international accrediting body for coaching, the defines coaching as, â€Å" an ongoing partnership that helps [people] produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives and†¦deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life†. In Sir John Whitmore’s words, coaching is defined as â€Å"unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.† (Whitmore 2002). A coach could be someone to train you in a new skill, encourage and motivate you, give you feedback for improvement and provide you with individual attention. Plants grow in wild; however they cannot match the yield from that of a well-cultured farm. The culturing that creates a well-maintained farm out of an unevenly undulated jungle in what coaching does to an individual. At an organization level, training plays a very significant role. After getting fresh talent into the organization, it is the responsibility of the management, to ensure that they are provided with the right training plus coaching at the right time. Only this will guarantee that they work in alignment to company’s goals and objectives. Coaching at its basic level is ‘observation and feedback’. (Luecke 2004). This simple yet magical definition can turn around organizations and boost-up individual performances to great heights. That is, coaches will normally be experts, who has 360 degree experience in the field, using which they can guide prospective employees on the opportunities and challenges of undergoing coaching. (Sherman and Freas 2004). The corrective measures needed or the area to be focused and worked upon will be obtained through the feedback. Thus coaching can pump in the invaluable component of ‘trigger for change’ into