Business Coaching and Mentoring For Dummies

Introduction

There was a time when business owners who told colleagues they had a coach or mentor were asked ‘Why do you need a coach? What’s wrong with you?’ The thinking used to be that if you have a coach, you must have problems you can’t sort out for yourself. Meanwhile, in sports and the arts, it has long been common practice for top-class athletes to have performance and psychological coaches and for stars of stage and screen to have voice and acting coaches.

Fortunately, in the past 15–20 years, the coaching conversation in business has shifted. Savvy business leaders are reaping the benefits of having a professional coach or mentor by their side. It’s not uncommon for such leaders to ask each other, ‘Do you know a really great business coach or mentor?’ as they would for any other professional, such as an accountant. Business coaching and mentoring is becoming widely regarded as an essential professional service.

One of the reasons for the growing demand for professional business coaching and mentoring is that today’s business landscape is changing quicker than ever. Who would have imagined 20 years ago the transformations brought about by technology, the emergence of the Chinese and Indian economies and the global effects of the credit crunch, recession and depression of the last decade. A lot has changed. Business coaching is all about change, dealing with change and assisting clients to deliver and adapt to political, economic, social and technological changes. Business ...