A process to help each individual reach their highest potential.
We all, from time to time, benefit from the worldly advice of a trusted friend or colleague who may let us know that we may gain more by doing a particular thing differently. The advice may not be to suggest that we do not have the capability or knowledge ourselves to recognise the benefit of this change but simply that as the current outcome does not seem to be successful and this would be a good time to try an alternative which could improve the result.
This is like an athlete training for some competition and the athlete's coach providing advice on how to get the best results in the time available. Much of the advice may reconfirm what the athlete already suspects but somehow hasn't had the time to test out all the alternatives. The coach is suggesting which of those alternatives may provide a better result. Without this advice the athlete would be locked into a lower level of performance for the competition.
Knowledge is power but the truth is most of this power never gets used to provide the benefits it should. We need to manage these assets as we do any others and this can be very difficult to do in isolation by trial and error.
Organisations are realising that having clever, well qualified people may not always provide the expected outcome. The problem is in the individual's management of this capability through the interface which is often referred to as his "personality" or "style".
Coaching is the process of helping each individual manage his capability to give the greatest benefit to themselves and therefore the company.
A large part of this process is learning about oneself and the natural interface and then learning about how best to benefit from this natural position. The journey is interesting and personal but it is also highly beneficial in its own right. However, as part of an ongoing process of corporate continuous improvement it is essential if the full potential of the team is to be realised.