Routledge The Value of Executive Coaching

The explosive growth of coaching over the past decade has been accompanied by comparable growth in coach training as well as in membership of professional bodies representing the industry. Yet philosophical and intellectual debates over executive coaching and its measurable value and outcomes appear limited in much of the existing literature. Many practitioners appear uncomfortable with the hard measurement of real return on investment, preferring softer, more qualitative approaches to evaluation. To challenge the self-perpetuating myth of value which has grown up around executive coaching, The Value of Executive Coaching critically explores the discourses surrounding this aspect of leadership development and considers different ways of thinking about its growth, development and application outside its established functionalist perspective. Using case study evidence, this exciting new text enhances our understanding of how and why the value proposition of executive coaching is perceived and perpetuated, and provides readers with the opportunity to explore some of the issues which influence perceptions of value. This book will be valuable reading for practising coaches and students on postgraduate coaching courses. Review ‘This book continues the debate on measuring the impact of coaching for individuals and for organizations. Defining the input and the anticipated outcomes seems relatively easy; the difficulty comes when you actually try to measure it, rigorously and substantially. Angela combines pragmatism with academic thinking to steer the profession to a better understanding of how important measuring the return on investment of coaching is for everyone involved; something good coaches will welcome.’ - Patricia Stretton, MD, People face2face Ltd, UK ‘Assessing the value of coaching isn’t simple. There are too many factors, too many agendas and timelines for a problem-solution approach to measurement to give an accurate picture of effectiveness. This book addresses the complexity of measuring coaching and provides practical ways to reflect the complexity of outcomes and value.’ - David Clutterbuck, Professor and Special Ambassador, European Mentoring and Coaching Council, UK ‘This book fills a gaping hole in the Executive Coach’s armoury – it provides rigorous research on a topic that is not covered comprehensively elsewhere. The ability to demonstrate the value of executive coaching is increasingly expected by organizations and clients, and this book provides a range of credible and practical options to satisfy this need. It is also a valuable resource for purchasers of coaching services.’ - Caroline Talbott, qualified NLP Business Practitioner and Accredited Executive Coach. She is the author of ‘Essential Career Transition Coaching skills’ About the Author Angela Mulvie is an experienced consultant and executive coach specialising in Performance Management and Senior Executive Development. She also works extensively with Investors in People. A Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), she is an Associate Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and a Member of the Association for Coaching.