Executive Coaching - A Guide For The HR Professional.pdf

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What Is the Role
of the HR Professional?
The role of the human resources professional certainly is a very
important one in the coaching process. In most organizations,
coaching budgets or approvals lie within the domain of Human
Resources. This can be one of the more gratifying roles you perform.
It can also be frustrating because it deals with so many intangible
issues and mostly occurs out of sight.
The HR person is a multiple-direction bridge between the boss,
the client, the people who serve as information sources, and the
external coach. The metaphor of a “bridge” is helpful in that it
emphasizes that connections are made and traffic (information)
flows in all directions. You need to understand the needs of all
of these stakeholders. You are often called on to assist in smoothing
the way for the relationships to work well. You may be depended
on to be the knowledgeable advisor regarding how coaching will be
deployed in the organization so it will dovetail with current or
future development programs.
As one HR professional from a high-tech firm explained: “The
communication between the coach and the HR professional is critical
to the success of the coaching effort. The HR professional
brings an understanding of the business that is critical for the external
coach. The coach needs the information from the HR professional
in order to understand the company’s culture. So it is very
important that they work well together for the coaching to be
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