Becoming an Exceptional Executive Coach

CHAPTER3Foundations and Definitions

THREE STREAMS OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE CONVERGE IN EXECUTIVE COACHING. THE FIRST STREAM IS REFLECTED IN THE ONE-TO-ONE STRUCTURE OF COACHING AND COMES FROM THE CONFIDENTIAL TALKING PROCESS THAT therapists and counselors employ. As therapy became more common and acceptable in the United States in the 1960s, some of those clinical practitioners were invited to apply their skills to the needs of corporate executives, even before executive coaching was labeled as a practice in its own right.

A second stream taps activities of consultants who were engaged to help with organizational and human resources challenges. They normalized the general use of external professionals when special expertise was needed by organizations. ...