ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some ways of thinking about executive coaching and reflects further on some of the broader influences impacting on the current state of the art of evaluation and measurement. The search by executive coaches for professional acceptance and stature is having a major influence on the way in which the industry is developing. Both academics, including coaching psychologists and the professional bodies representing the industry, and practitioners are contributing to the ongoing debate surrounding how to establish the value of this kind of investment, yet the impact of such dialogue on the industry is still open to further consideration. This may be as much to do with the stage of growth of the industry and the knowledge supporting such growth, as anything else. A socially constructed discourse emphasises not only the social and symbolic aspects of organisational life, but also cultural aspects.
