About the Book
Internal Coaching: The Inside Story provides a window into the world of internal coaching: the challenges and rewards for the coaches themselves and the ways in which organisations can ensure that they can get best value for money from their investment in them.Internal coaching is booming. A recent survey showed that nearly four fifths of large organisations in the UK believe that internal coaching (that is coaching delivered by one employee to another in a different chain of command) will grow over the next three years. Yet there has been surprisingly little written about the unique nature of the internal coaching role. Drawing on the stories of hundreds of internal coaches, coach sponsors, lead coaches, supervisors of internal coaches and coach trainers, Internal Coaching: The Inside Story gives internal coaches a voice. It makes available to hard-pressed HR directors, talent managers, and learning and development professionals the fruits of very practical research into what is working in organisations and how they might maximise the value for money they get from their investment in internal coaches. The whole aim is to stimulate thinking and be a catalyst for generating options and choices. In the words of its author: "My dream is that, every few pages, a reader somewhere will think: 'Now that's a good idea. We should think about trying that.' "
Table of Contents:
Series Editor’s Foreword , Foreword , Introduction , What Internal Coaches Need to Know , The role of the internal coach , Recognising ethical dilemmas , Addressing ethical dilemmas , What Organisations Need to Know , Why have internal coaches? , Developing a coaching strategy , Building the organisational framework , Selection and training , Supervision and continuous professional development , Evaluation , The future for internal coaching? , Appendix
About the Author :
Katharine St John-Brooks is an executive coach and consultant specialising in the strategic use of internal coaches within organisations. She has an MSc in Organisational Behaviour and an MA in Professional Development (Coaching), is a fellow of the Institute of Consulting, and runs her own leadership consultancy, Working Solutions. In her coaching work, she focuses on Board level executives. Katharine has extensive experience of working in private, public, and non-profit sectors and regularly speaks at conferences and workshops about coaching. She chairs the EMCC's Public Sector Coaching & Mentoring Forum, co-chairs their Internal Coaching Special Interest Group and is Chair of a charity for isolated older people.
Review :
'A very pragmatic and balanced view looking at the complex world of managing an internal coaching pool. There is a lot of food for thought contained in this book, with practical points to ponder and some very thought-provoking questions. A very useful "toolkit" for those of us who manage internal coaching within large organisations.' - Leigh Naylor, Leadership and Talent Consultant, British Airways PLC 'This book strikes that fine balance, providing thorough insight and plenty of stimulation and challenges, whilst also being concise. Invaluable for anyone setting up an internal coaching scheme or thinking about becoming an internal coach.' - James Hutton, Head of Talent & Development, News UK'A thoughtful and thorough expose of the reality of coaching inside organisations. The counsel of coaches and sponsors of coaching is all here: start-up tips, checklists, case studies, lessons learned, and, above all, a celebration of achieving great things through perseverance and business focus.' - Trevor Elkin, Leadership Development, Home Office Capability & Change Team'This book is an invaluable guide for all internal coaches and organisers of internal coaching services. It brings to life what it is to be an internal coach - with all its rewards, pitfalls, and complexities - and provides a veritable feast of examples of how organisations all over the world are approaching the challenge of setting up, supporting, and harnessing the power of internal coaching. Essential reading.' - John Leary-Joyce, CEO Academy of Executive Coaching and Chairman EMCC UK'Internal Coaching is essential reading for any lead coaches and supervisors looking to protect and build on their organisation's investment in coaching, engage and support internal coaches, and assure ethical and accountable practice. I'm sure many will wish they had had this resource when they first embarked on their journey with coaching.' - Katherine Long, Director of Development and Supervision, OCM'Highly practical, engaging, and long overdue. This book is an important contribution to a growing area of coaching. The combination of experience, research, practice, and theory present in this book make it a must for organisations and practitioners thinking about, or currently running, internal coaching programmes. While targeted towards internal coaching, the wide variety of case examples, insightful commentary, and a willingness to approach difficult issues makes this book an important resource for all coaches.' - Dr Michael Cavanagh, Coaching Psychology Unit, University of Sydney'Finally, a book dedicated to the internal coach. Finally, a handbook for coaches that puts ethics before everything else. It gives me great pleasure to recommend this accessible and inspirational book for everyone engaged in helping conversations inside organisations.'- Erik de Haan, Director of Centre for Coaching, Ashridge, and Professor of Organisation Development and Coaching, VU University Amsterdam
