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The Development of Management and Leadership Capability and its ...

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5.2 Formal <strong>and</strong> informal development approaches<br />

5.2.1 Mentoring <strong>and</strong> coaching<br />

Mentoring <strong>and</strong> coaching are referred to throughout this report in the context <strong>of</strong> other issues.<br />

However, it is difficult to find evidence assessing their independent value. <strong>The</strong>y generally<br />

form part <strong>of</strong> a wider portfolio <strong>of</strong> development opportunities <strong>of</strong>fered by large companies,<br />

consultancies <strong>and</strong> Business Schools. Recent research by the School <strong>of</strong> Coaching at the<br />

Industrial Society indicates that coaching for senior staff has become very common but that<br />

the benef<strong>its</strong> are seldom evaluated (see box).<br />

Use <strong>of</strong> coaching for top team managers<br />

Coaching was used by 60% <strong>of</strong> the respondents to the survey. In large organisations<br />

(over 2,500 employees) as many as 80% were using coaching for senior managers.<br />

However, only 27% <strong>of</strong> firms undertook any evaluation <strong>of</strong> the benef<strong>its</strong> <strong>of</strong> coaching.<br />

(Reported in Anon 2002).<br />

<strong>The</strong> very fact <strong>of</strong> the popularity <strong>of</strong> mentoring <strong>and</strong> coaching is evidence <strong>of</strong> dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />

suggests that managers do find them useful. One example <strong>of</strong> a study <strong>of</strong> mentoring in<br />

Business Schools which undertook research into outcomes did find positive results (see box).<br />

Mentoring <strong>of</strong> students<br />

One example <strong>of</strong> a study <strong>of</strong> mentoring <strong>of</strong> students in US Business Schools (Schlee<br />

2000) found improvement both in students’ knowledge <strong>and</strong> in their attitudes as the<br />

result <strong>of</strong> mentoring programmes. <strong>The</strong> measures used were, however, limited <strong>and</strong><br />

there is a need for better <strong>and</strong> more quantifiable measures which can be used to<br />

assess the outcomes <strong>of</strong> mentoring experiences (Bennis <strong>and</strong> Thomas 2002).<br />

A recent study in UK <strong>of</strong> undergraduate business management programmes found similarly<br />

positive satisfaction with the experience from both students <strong>and</strong> academics (Stewart &<br />

Knowles 2003). Another study <strong>of</strong> a group <strong>of</strong> managers undertaking a coaching programme<br />

also found that participants reported a number <strong>of</strong> important gains in competence (Wales<br />

2003). Other research also suggests that managers feel very positive about mentoring <strong>and</strong><br />

coaching activities (Clutterbuck & Megginson - see box). More research is needed to widen<br />

the evidence-base beyond that <strong>of</strong> subjective self-report so that the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> coaching<br />

<strong>and</strong> mentoring can be better assessed.<br />

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