Types of coaching
There are many types of Coaching, depending on the Criteria we use to distinguish them.
The main division regards the way that a Coach works.
We have Operational coaching (other names are Behavioural or Feedback), which allows for quick but at the same time shallow change at the level of behaviour. It is most often practiced by managers, where the Coachee is their employee (quite popular amongst sales representatives). There is also holistic coaching, which allows to work (and change) at many deeper levels, such as Values , beliefs and Identity. Change here is usually a longer process, but has a more long-term effect and encompasses the whole person (that is why it is called holistic).
We can further divide holistic coaching into areas on which The client wants to concentrate in order to change. Here we distinguish business coaching, which mostly refers to the professional life of The client and life coaching, which is related more to his private life.
In business, coaching clients at a higher managerial level is called executive coaching.
Another division is according to whether the client is an individual person or a group of people. In the second case, we talk about team coaching (or group coaching). Additionally, depending on the area of work, we can distinguish other types of coaching, for example sports, health, career, etc.
Below a short characteristic of the main types of coaching:
Business Coaching
The most popular form of coaching. It is addressed to employees at all levels in the organisation, with the exception of top managers and directors. Most often, Business coaching concentrates on the improvement of competences relating to the profession of the Coachee , especially managerial skills.
Executive Coaching
Intended for top management, like Presidents, Board Members and Key Managers. Business Goals may be, for example: the improvement of the process of making decisions or improving leadership skills.
Team coaching
Team coaching is about supporting the development and goal achievement of groups and teams of employees. In most cases, this is a type of “on the job” coaching, which means working with a team in real time. Most often it concerns areas of co-operation within a group.
Executive Team coaching
This is top management team coaching. It improves co-operation and synergy between the members of the highest management levels in an organisation.
Life Coaching
In this case anyone who wants to achieve some change in their life, to overcome a Problem or simply develop, can become a client. Because it is the client who is the principal and sponsor, and not a company, the subjects of meetings are most often devoted to personal issues, although of course this does not mean that professional issues cannot be discussed.
Sports coaching
It is the prototype and source of inspiration for business related coaching. Sports coaching is about improving sports results. It may concentrate on physical aspects, on improving technique or on dealing with stress and psychological burden during important international competitions.
One coach may work according to different methods, however, because of the slightly different specificity of each of the types of coaching, somewhat different tools, knowledge and approach to the client are required.