266 THECOACHINGALMANAC
her actions and gave her an oppor tunity to practice some changes in her be-
havior, resulting in good working relationships with her team and with the
executives to whom she was assigned.
Some offered caution like Eric deNijs at Capital One, who helps us to be-
ware of the concern that too many people are cashing in on the recent popu-
larity of coaching. Exemplary internal coaches like Eric who are dedicating
their lives to the profession of coaching are truly making a difference:
My biggest concern for coaching today is growing the coaching value
proposition. It seems that many people are trying to cash in on the recent
popularity of coaching. However, this is a profession complete with lan-
guage, technology, values, and risks. If we want to protect and enhance the
future of coaching we need to do a better job of educating the consumer
about the standards of coaching excellence.
The rewards are great. As Bruce A. McGuiness of the Department of De-
fense helps us to see, “it is the unselfish coach that succeeds.” Bruce also
notes that tools, like books and materials, can help a person along the way in
addition to the exemplary coaching provided by the coach.
Prasanta Kumar Padhy shared this wonderful quote: “explore something
out of nothing.” This is what he is doing at Berhampur University in India.
Then there is the issue of integrating coaching results/solutions and cre-
ating a whole system. As Mary Anne Rasmussen at Allianz AG advises,
there needs to be “a stronger organizational commitment to the coaching
ef fort.”
Clearly, the data and the comments from those who contributed indi-
cate that it does take an organization to coach a person. Coaches who
have learned how to employ the resources of the organization, the commu-
nity, internal /external coaches and mentors, and team efforts provide the
best results.
Some of our respondents expressed concern, as did David Proctor of the
United Way of Rhode Island, who talks about how sometimes organizations
will put a “hammer on someone” through coaching. He uses a great metaphor
in saying, “much more helpful imagery is seeing the client and the coach as
fellow pilgrims on a journey with the coach bringing some of the resources
such as a wilderness guide brings while leading a group.”
Kenneth Yap at Meta HR & Communication explains it well when he says,
“Coaching is to be a guide by the side, not merely a sage on the stage.”
Patt i Waterbury says it well, too, when she says, “ When you understand
your old maps, you can decide whether to let them define your future.”