Problems with Definition of Coaching
Overly broad definitions of coaching (and mentoring too) plague discussions around these two topics:
- Coaching can be remediation or developmental, goal-specific or general in coverage, conducted internally or by an outside consultant, by a leader/boss or by someone neutral, behaviorally- or psychologically-oriented. Each has different goals, expectations, usages, value, etc.
- Likewise mentoring -- it might be conducted by someone in the same industry or not, in the same company or not, with specific or general goals, by an outsider or not, etc.
Another way of saying this is that the statements about both fields phrased in general terms without context subject the field to either misunderstanding by those in the field and outside, ridicule, avoidance (by people and organizations that can benefit form either) or worse.
