ABSTRACT
This chapter explores what coaches can do to make the value to the organization more obvious and direct rather than depend on causal chains that are hard to tease apart and harder to demonstrate with evidence. It reviews the theoretical frame and evidence for the contributions a systems view can make for coaches and coaching. The chapter suggests that a systems approach that targets the organization itself can make the value proposition more visible and reliable. A coach with a systems framework will be identifying all the key stakeholders who are affected by the leadership of the coachee and the organizational factors that are going to affect and be affected by the coaching engagement. In executive coaching, there are no legal protections for what is discussed in sessions and the sponsoring organization may be intimately involved in the kinds of goals for coaching, what outcomes are acceptable, and the level of commitment demonstrated by the person being coached.
