Business Coaching

Business coaching
Business coaching is primarily concerned with improving performance at work and facilitating professional development. Formerly confined to senior management and known as ‘Executive coaching’, the more general term ‘Business coaching’ recognises the importance of coaching for people at all levels within an organisation.
Whereas coaching was formerly identified with external consultants brought in to provide a fresh perspective and specialist expertise, many companies now expect their managers to act as coaches for their teams. In the next two chapters, I will look at the differences in the type of coaching provided by external consultants and managers.
My version of business coaching - ‘coaching creative professionals’
I’m a slightly unusual business coach in that I work mostly with creative professionals. I describe myself as a business coach rather than a life coach because the main focus of my coaching is on my clients’ work - their creative process, their working relationships and their professional goals.
Working within the creative industries however, the line between the personal and professional is often blurred, since most artists and creatives seek to make a career out of their passion rather than to keep the two separate. I describe my clients as ‘creative professionals’ to emphasise the importance of balancing creativity, authenticity, and a professional approach to high-level creative performance.
This may be a good place to point out that I do not believe the term ‘creative’ should be reserved for the creative department - it includes everyone involved in the creative process, whether as writer, artist, designer, performer, programmer, director, manager, producer, editor, account handler, planner, marketer or client. And maybe even the artist formerly known as ‘the audience’.

5. 
   The External Coach or Coaching Consultant
   

Having looked at Different Types of Coaching, in this chapter and the next I will outline the two basic roles for coaches in business: the external coach (or coaching consultant); and the internal coach (usually a line manager).