The Present Challenges
The fragmented nature of the executive coaching industry in India poses many challenges both on the supply as well as the demand side.
On the supply side, there is an absence of experienced coaches who understand and appreciate business complexity and ambiguity. Business and Executive Coaches need to have finer business wisdom as compared to what theoretical coaching model based methodologies provide. Coaches need to focus on improvement, change, and outcomes rather than merely “feel good” factor for the Coachee.
On the demand side, there is a need to sensitize CEOs, CXOs and HR Heads on executive coaching and on what executive coaching can and cannot achieve. There is a need to educate them on the critical role that executive coaching can play in strengthening the leadership pipeline.
There is also a challenge in sustaining the coaching journey. It is critical to gauge the coachee’s level of willingness to learn, change and grow, which will eventually define the success of a coaching exercise.
For executive coaching to be successful, confidentiality of information is essential however there is often a challenge in the extent of information that will be shared with the sponsor (client organization).
Besides Multi Nationals, many large Indian Groups such as JK Organisation (Delhi), Aditya Birla Group, Murugappa Group, Mahindra & Mahindra, Dr Reddy Lab, HCL Technology, etc have been using Executive Coaching successfully.
The Way Forward
Executive coaching will play an active role as CEOs and leaders prepare for growth, change and transformation. Organizations need to identify specific domains that can benefit the most by seeking help of external expertise through executive coaching. Necessary steps should be taken to create a culture of coaching by nurturing internal leaders and managers to become coaches.
While the Coaching Industry in India is in its infancy, there is an increasing trend seen in executive coaching playing a critical role in organizations today. This necessitates more insight in the development of an India approach of executive coaching. There is also a need to bring in more structure into this emerging industry to help define the engagement models and professional approach that the discipline requires.
The Research Paper Survey
Methodology
The author of this paper conducted a Survey directed at potential clients at senior levels in business and industry.
The key features of the survey are summarized below:
The highlights of the Findings are provided below: