The Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey offers insight into leadership development, based on information from coaches and those who hire them. Now in its sixth consecutive year, The Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey is co-sponsored by executive education departments at the University of Georgia, Texas Christian University and Miami University.

Survey highlights:

• Training budgets for 2011 will be increasing at a higher rate than we have seen in many years.
• After a pullback in recent years, organizations are again offering coaching to all levels of management, instead of restricting services to include only top line executives.
• Demand for executive coaching is on the rise. Four out of five executive coaches anticipatean increase in the demand for executive coaching in 2011, and over half of HR professionals and business leaders also expect an increase.
• A vast majority of business professionals see the value of coaching as very high. The credibility of coaching increases every year.
• More HR professionals are hiring certified executive coaches. Four out of five executives and HR professionals said training and certification for executive coaches is “very important” or “absolutely essential.”
• Coaching is used more and more often for leadership development as opposed to problemsolving.
• In-person delivery of coaching is on the rise.
• New standards for the executive coaching industry are being set. There is a shift among executive coaches toward the adoption of published processes for their work with clients.
• Coach training has been a fragmented field in the past. There is significant movement among newer coaches to seek out university-based training and certification.
• Few organizations calculate return on investment (ROI). The phrase ‘impact on business’ (IOB) seems to describe the result most people see from executive coaching.

2011 Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey