There are at least four major types of coaching which include: Life Skills Coaching, Business Coaching, Executive Coaching and Manager as Coach.

Business coaching, Executive coaching and the Manager as Coach have relevance to the business environment and therefore form the major focus and primary offering of the CEO Coach Accreditation Program of CFI.

Life skills coaching

The concept of life skills coaching preceded that of business and executive coaching.

Life skills coaching, was developed in New York in 1960's. This was first introduced by Dr. Winthdrop Adkins and Dr. Sidney Rosenberg*

Life skills coaching, has infiltrated into the corporate sector and it has become part of everyday vocabulary.

It has evolved into an individual relationship between a coach and a coachee to bring about life transforming experiences. Life skills coaching is all about clarifying values and visions, setting goals and new actions so that an individual may lead a more satisfying and fulfilling life*

Examples of life skills coaching include partnership coaching, retirement coaching, singles coaching, spiritual development coaching, migrant transitions coaching, fitness coaching, wellness coaching, career coaching and quality of life coaching such as balancing life and work*

Benefits of life skills coaching include*

• Clarifying what you want from life - your purpose and vision.
  
• Setting more effective goals.
  
• Having someone on your side to support and encourage you on your journey of change.
  
• Having someone to keep your focused, challenge you, keep you accountable and confront you when you are falling behind on your commitments.
  
• Having a sounding board for your ideas, plans and strategies.

Business coaching

Business coaching has emerged as a critical intervention to enhance customer satisfaction, productivity and overall organizational effectiveness. It is a professional service for organizations wishing to master continuing change and achieve their business objectives*

Business coaching endeavors to help the business owners / entrepreneurs to take the business to the next level by bringing in relevant business skills through coaching. Most business owners are so caught up in the day-to-day running of their business that they have no time to look at the 'big picture' - look at their business purpose, their strategies, their growth plans, develop their staff, increase value to customers or balance their personal and working lives.

Benefits of Business coaching*

The benefits of business coaching are numerous and range from reducing hours at work and developing stronger relationships with clients, to expanding and developing a wider market base.

Strategic benefits of Business Coaching include*

• Attract more business.
  
• Improved customer service.
  
• Provide structure, guidance and focus.
  
• Guide individuals to adopt better solutions & streamlining processes & procedures to ensure productivity and customer satisfaction.
  
• Motivate and sustain momentum.
  
• Provide non-biased, objective advice on business decisions.
  
• Increase awareness of resources and when to use them.
  
• Broaden the scope of available information, ideas and solutions.

Manager as Coach

While executive coaching is an extremely effective mechanism for individual development, it is also expensive and inappropriate when it comes to addressing the leadership development needs of large numbers of middle and junior managers. This is where the "Manager as Coach" becomes relevant. Every manager must learn the skills of coaching to help enhance his / her leadership style. Managers are trained and supported to adopt a coaching oriented style of management through the "Manager as Coach" model of CFI.

Executive Coaching? **

Executive Coaching is defined as a helping relationship formed between a client who has managerial authority and responsibility in an organization and a consultant who uses a wide variety of behavioral techniques and methods to help the client achieve a mutually identified set of goals to improve his / her professional performance and personal satisfaction and consequently to improve the client's organization within a formally defined coaching agreement (Richard R. Kilburg, 2007).

Executive coaching helps executives to learn and to make best use of learning in order to bring about effective action, performance improvement, personal growth and better business results for the organization. Therefore, Executive Coaching is primarily concerned with designing and facilitating change and continuous improvement. As such, it involves understanding and leveraging on an individual's strengths, as well as recognizing and overcoming his or her weaknesses.

Executive coaching is typically a series of one-on-one interactions designed to meet the individual needs of the coachee, but generally focuses on personal awareness and targeted skills to improve work performance. It is a process to provide executives with valid information enabling them to make well informed choices.

Executive coaching recognizes that no two executives are alike and that each person has a unique knowledge base, learning pace and personality style. It is a consultative relationship-based service provided by coaches who serve as sounding boards and it is ultimately about moving the executive towards increased versatility and effectiveness.

Source:

*Zeus Perry and Skiffington Suzanne, The complete guide to coaching at work, McGraw Hill, Australia, 2000.

**Richard R. Kilburg and Richard C. Diedrich, The Wisdom of Coaching - Essential Papers in Consulting Psychology for a World of Change, American Psychological Association, 2007.