Strategic career coaching for an uncertain world

Leaders forced to downsize the bench strength of their firms face a strategic question: How will the company develop the next generation of leadership talent? Though funding may no longer permit organizational-wide development, pin-pointed efforts through career coaching may be necessary to ensure that key personnel are ready to assume leadership roles in the future. From a strategic perspective, a look at the role career-coaching can and should play suggests what proteges can expect and what coaches should provide. And while career coaches help skilled people ask the right developmental questions, leaders must evaluate whether coaching talent is the answer to future talent needs. The inherent skills and abilities a protege possesses form the competencies that are the building blocks of a successful career strategy. Careers must be built at the intersection of strengths and opportunities.