Unconventional learning spaces. Coaching in executive education

Coaching at its most effective requires a shift in organizational culture that challenges certain generally accepted concepts of performance management and strengthens executives' role as developers. The widespread use of coaching as an executive development tool is opening up enormous possibilities while at the same time posing new challenges for both companies and business schools. As a method for teaching and fostering self-knowledge, coaching may very well outlive the fleeting fashions of the management world, but to do so it must fit in with the policies and practices of human resource management and, in its application, preserve the essence of the wise Socratic principles that inspire it. Similarly, as a leadership style, coaching can yield great benefits for executives who practice it. In any event, coaching at its most effective requires a shift in organizational culture that challenges certain generally accepted concepts of performance management and strengthens executives' role as developers. Over the past 10 years, ESADE has been applying Richard Boyatzis's intentional change model in a process of gradually incorporating coaching into its programs. This experience has allowed us to assess the magnitude of the challenges mentioned above.