Henry Mintzberg's latest book, entitled simply Managing, is an excellent addition to the Leadership and Management literature. I have summarised the very useful model of managing he has developed in one of this month's articles. He also explores some of the paradoxes of being a manager which lead me to suggest what some of the paradoxes of coaching are in a second article - let me know which others you would add.

I'm also publishing the results of research we have carried out into how organisations are ensuring good value for their investment in executive coaching. The report paints a picture of coaching as seen from a corporate buyer's perspective.

Finally, there is the opportunity to take part in some research into adaptability. The research is exploring the personal attributes, i.e. the things that people posses that underpin adaptability, and how coaching can support the development of these attributes. As is customary participation in the research will be rewarded by a summary of the research results. The survey will close on 14 July 2010.

Kind regards

Mintzberg on Managing "Henry Mintzberg's latest book Managing presents a model of what managers do based on close observation of what they actually do do. As he points out, the overall purpose of managing a unit is to ensure that that unit serves its basic purpose - which of course involves the taking of effective actions. Sometimes the manager himself or herself gets to take that action - but most commonly they are one or two steps back from the action. One step back the manager encourages others to take action - by coaching, motivating, building teams, strenghtening culture, and so on. Two steps back the manager gets things done by using information to drive other people to take action. ..." read more ...

The Conundrums of Managing - and of Coaching "Henry Mintzberg's latest book Managing includes a chapter on "The Inescapabable Conundrums of Managing". These conundrums are often expressed as questions - and managers across all kinds of organisations face them time and time again. Finding ways of reconciling the conundrums (they rarely can be resolved) is basic to managing. Mintzberg identifies 13 such conundrums: ..." read more ...

The Challenges of Coaching in the Current Climate - Research Report Jericho Partners recently worked with John Gilkes to support his research into how organisations are using coaching to support leadership, and how they ensure value from that investment. "The organisations surveyed were generally found to be using coaching in a relatively unsophisticated way. Executive coaching was often tactical rather than strategic and the systems and processes remain quite under‐developed. There were exceptions to this, but the distribution of respondents as measured on the ‘maturity of coaching usage scale’ was weighted further to the lower end than had been expected. The focus of coaching continues to be on individual performance improvement rather than on business return, and few organisations could show real progress in demonstrating a return on their coaching investment. Indeed, many felt that the demonstration of a true financial return was not possible and were happy to evaluate the value of coaching by using various measures of individual leader effectiveness. ..." download the full report

Coachees/Adaptors - Participate in Research on how to Increase Your Adaptability Managing change, especially in business organisations, has given rise to countless books and vast numbers of consulting assignments. However Richard Barrett claims that organisations don’t change, people do! Whilst many people in business are familiar with the stages and theories of change including the infamous change curve, little is known about what is required to be adaptable. What are the qualities and attitudes within us that will help or hinder our ability to adapt? By getting involved in this research and completing this questionnaire you will contribute towards the identification of these attributes. It will help us all understand what is important in being able to adapt and how we can work with our clients to be better at it. If you are a coach helping others adapt, click here. If you have adapted to change yourself, click here - but please complete only one of the surveys. The survey will close at the end of Wednesday July 14th - if you have any questions about it, please contact Ruth Simpson (ruth@animi.org.uk). see other research carried out by Ruth

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Mike is the Senior Partner with Jericho Partners. Jericho Partners is a partnership of professional coaches, working with the leaders of global corporations, national operations and regional companies. To find out more about Mike and working with him, click here.