Individual coaching can enhance the performance of a law firm and its top performers; however, the cost of providing it to every attorney in a law firm is prohibitive. Yet, coaching improves individual career development, accelerates culture change, improves organizational effectiveness and enhances personal productivity. Additionally, it is a benefit to law firms that are looking for non-monetary benefits to provide to their associates and to associates, who in these turbulent times, should be looking to develop and maintain a competitive edge.
A paper in the Academy of Management Learning & Education supports these assertions and suggests peer coaching as a cost-effective means of attaining these benefits. Peer coaching, through the creation of an internal coaching culture, is a cost-effective means of spreading the advantage of coaching from one individual to the entire organization. When coaching becomes part of the firm culture it becomes a competitive advantage. According to Sarah Boehle in the May 2007 edition of trainingmag.com, it is rapidly becoming recognized as an "essential tool" for employee retention, productivity and positive morale.
