A four-phase study was conducted in Great Britain to determine what executive coaching is, why organizations use it, what issues are involved, and where executive coaching fits in terms of management learning theory. Data were gathered through a literature review, in-depth interviews with management development specialists and others in…

The questions of how managers learn and what kind of learning really makes a difference in managers' development were examined through case studies during which some 60 managers from five well-known organizations (a large private sector firm, the British Post Office, a British government department, Britain's open university, and a British large…