Executive coaches make CEOs better listeners

According to a recent story in the Financial Times, there are as many as 30,000 corporate coaches worldwide generating revenues of roughly $1.5 billion. More than half of those coaches work within the United States.

In the past, executive coaching was cloaked in secrecy because it showed weakness or lack of intelligence in a CEO, said the Financial Times. Today, companies are hiring a chief of coaching, who then staffs a bench of coaches. That way, the company can avoid conflicting messages from a gaggle of unaffiliated coaches, which was reportedly a problem only five years ago, according to the Financial Times.

The London-based paper said corporations are building a “coaching culture” in senior management, meaning the execs should listen more and help provoke thoughtful discourse. A coaching culture in corporate America? Imagine what this will do to the nation’s Little League teams.

Speaking of senior executives . . .