Business coaching: A hen with ducklings

Abstract

Background: Globally, business coaching is an unregulated industry that is not yet considered a profession. In South Africa, two of the regulatory bodies, namely Coaches and Mentors of South Africa and the Institute of Management Consultants and Master Coaches of South Africa, were recognised as professional non-statutory bodies in 2015. Aim:The purpose of this study is to inquire into how business coaching is currently being practised in South Africa from a practitioner's perspective.Setting: At this key point in the maturation process of business coaching, it is important to understand the present state of the industry in order to direct it towards its aim of becoming a profession.Method: A questionnaire was designed specifically for this research. It included all aspects associated with the coaching practice. Questionnaires were presented to all members of the professional body for coaches and mentors in South Africa. Results:The findings are in line with the results of similar studies conducted elsewhere in the world. They revealed that business coaching is a young industry that attracts practitioners from different backgrounds. The recommendations of these studies support the notion that business coaching must move towards professionalisation. The information acquired through this research can contribute to the development of a score sheet for the industry in South Africa, as well as a progression plan to direct the industry towards professionalisation. Conclusion:The article provides information regarding the current state of business coaching in South Africa and links it with international tendencies. It shows that South Africa is on par with the development of the industry globally.

African organisational coaching practice: Exploring approaches used, and the factors influencing coaches’ fees

“…This potentially points to coaches in Africa using less-sophisticated approaches when compared with, for example, coaches in Europe where only 23% reported to use the Behavioural or Goal-focussed or GROW (Passmore et al, 2017). Our result also differs from a South African study (Schutte, 2019) that found South African coaches to predominantly use their own coaching model and a positive psychology approach.…”

“…In a South African study (n = 148), 63% of participants indicated that they used their own coaching model, 59% used a positive psychology approach and 40% of coaches used a narrative approach (participants were allowed to select more than one option) (Schutte, 2019). No research could be found on Pan-African coaching approaches, an aspect addressed in the present study.…”

“…The only African study (n = 148) that was found, revealed that South African coaches charge between R550 ($321) and R1850 ($110) per hour with an average of R1034 ($60) per hour (Schutte, 2019); however, it is not clear whether these rates were exclusive to organisational coaching. To the best of our knowledge, no study has enquired about organisational rates across Africa and importantly, none of the studies attempted to determine which factors influence the rates charged.…”

Systemic coaching for higher effectiveness

“…Additionally, the theoretical grounding of the current study in the ecosystems theory lends higher power of explanation and prediction. The proliferation of coaching literature by not using theory does not contribute to professionalizing coaching as an industry (Schutte, 2019). Therefore, the current study advances the growing research on systemic coaching for exploring ways of higher coaching effectiveness.…”

“…Serenko and Bontis (2013, p. 138) contend that for any discipline to be acknowledged as a profession should demonstrate two attributes: it should provide a theoretical, conceptual and methodological foundation to research and practice and the discipline should improve "the state of practice, ensure practical application of academic findings and increase the quality of life." Sperry (2013) doubts if coaching meets with the two criteria for it to be recognized as a profession, while Schutte (2019) expresses concern that coaching is not considered a profession as it is an unregulated industry. Hence, contribution toward theoretical grounding of coaching and higher effectiveness will advance professionalizing the coaching industryan attempt this study makes and contributes by employing ecosystem theory and a systemic approach to coaching that predicts higher coaching effectiveness.…”