The high rate of corporate change and the expectation of short-term performance put those who lead organisations under considerable pressure to produce results. But producing sustained results cannot be achieved by simply driving the bottom line. It requires that those who work for a company at any level be focused and motivated, and this necessitates leadership of a high order. Professional coaching can help the individual at the top develop this skill.

This book describes the current state of evolution of external coaching; it assesses the future demand for coaching as a consultancy service to senior executives and discusses the ways in which that demand may be met. Finally, it offers a model of top executive professional coaching against which buyers may benchmark the services offered to them.

Introduction
PART I: THE EMERGING DISCIPLINE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COACHING
Development Coaching Defined
The Supply and Demand Factors
PART II: A FRAMEWORK FOR PROFESSIONAL COACHING FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Development Coaching: A Model
Case Studies
The Process of Professional Development Coaching
The Required Competencies
PART III: KEY ISSUES WITHIN PROFESSIONAL COACHING FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Evaluating Development Coaching
Ethics and Standards in Coaching
Training for Development Coaches
PART IV: EMERGING TRENDS FOR PROFESSIONAL COACHING FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
The Evolving Marketplace for Development Coaching
The Internationalisation of Coaching
PART V: THE FUTURE FOR PROFESSIONAL COACHING FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
A Vision for Development Coaching
The Organisational Sponsor's Perspective: Development Coaching in the BBC Development Coaching in a Consulting Context
An Assessment of Professional Coaching for Leadership Development Appendices

LUCY WEST and MIKE MILAN are founding directors of The Coaching Partnership, a specialist consultancy in London offering development coaching for key individuals with the purpose of enhancing organisational performance. They work one-on-one with chief executives, board directors and other senior executives in the private, public and charitable sectors.

Lucy began her career as a public relations consultant. She subsequently obtained an MBA from London Business School and joined Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), where she coached senior executives and their teams through post-merger integrations. She then worked as a development coach at GHN (now Penna Executive Coaching), before leaving to found The Coaching Partnership.

Mike's first career was in management in the public sector (Prison Service, local and central government). Subsequently he was managing director of an optical chain and founding chairman of a consultancy offering monitoring and evaluation of service delivery in the public sector. He joined GHN as a development coach and became director of professional development.