The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching: 50 Top Executive Coaches Reveal Their Secrets

236 INTERNALCOACHING

learning represents only 10 to 20 percent of their development experiences.
The vast majority (80 to 90 percent) of professional growth comes from on
the job experiences through completing challenging job assignments, being
accountable for measurable performance results, and receiving coaching and
mentor ing from leadership.
As a coach, the leader is the touchstone for all the aspects of professional
development. The leader not only makes job assignments, he or she also sets
the direction for structured learning experiences and performance measure-
ments, gives feedback, and provides the individual mentoring that is often
the critical ingredient in developing an individual.
The role of a coach in business and in sports is very similar. For example, a
sports coach determines the overall strategy for the team; aligns the resources
(chooses the players); assists with key decisions in the game; and works with
individual players to develop their personal skills, attitude, and approach.

FIGURE10.2 The Sources of Professional Growth

Challenging

job

assignments

Performance

results

accountability

Coaching

and

mentoring

Structured

learning

experiences