"It's not uncommon to come across a very talented individual who has a lot of the attributes you are looking for but also some kind of flaw," Speed relates.

"It might be something relatively minor in the context of that person's overall capabilities, such as difficulty with some aspect of communications, but it's enough to impede his or her ultimate effectiveness and value to the organization," he says.

"Our experience has been that retaining the services of a qualified coach to help the individual address that problem can be very effective."

The idea of using a personal or executive coach may strike the uninitiated as just another business fad, and one with "New Age" overtones to boot.

However, the concept has gained increasing acceptance in many quarters of the business world even at the top level of the executive suite, as Speed's experience illustrates. This is a case where what works for big business works just as well for small business.

"Size really doesn't matter in this case," says William Foster, who has been a professional coach for 15 years. "People working for small businesses, and especially those running and/or owning them, can benefit from using the services of a qualified coach just as much as people involved with big organizations sometimes even more so."

In 1999 there were fewer than a dozen established training schools and organizations for professional coaches. Today there are more than 100, and the number of coaches in North America alone is estimated at about 12,000, says Rey Carr, president of Peer Resources, a company that provides training and consulting services for peer, coach and mentor program development.

"The interest in coaching has increased primarily because the general public and business executives and managers have greatly expanded their search for ways to achieve a variety of personal, professional, spiritual and business goals," he says.

Business owners and executives turn to coaches for any number of reasons, but generally they make the decision when they find themselves at some kind of crossroads. Their motivation, says Foster, is usually one of three things.

"One, they find they are not achieving what they want or that they are no longer sure what. they want to achieve; two, they have both organizational and personal goals that may be in conflict or they need assistance getting those goals set; three, they need the added motivation that comes from making a commitment to an outside, independent party," he says.

When Foster started coaching, the idea was so new that he didn't even call it that. He described himself as a consultant the first couple years he was in business, but he is quick to point out that there are important distinctions between consulting and coaching.

"In most cases, a consultant comes in, observes a business, writes out a report with recommendations, and then he's gone," he explains. "A coach helps a client develop his own solution to a problem or challenge and stays involved to help him implement it."

Coaches help people set specific goals to close three more sales a week or to write a new business plan, for example as opposed to the non specific goals most people set on their own, such as "to be successful."

Foster's approach to coaching involves helping clients set longer term goals then breaking them down into smaller steps. He and the client agree on a specific schedule to meet, most often weekly or every other week, usually by phone but sometimes face to face.

Prior to each meeting, he expects clients to fax him a prep form detailing a number of items:

Such a structured approach can be very effective in achieving business goals, says Martin Dassa, a principal in a Montclair, N.J.based architecture, planning and construction management firm who has worked with Foster.

"Successful careers are built on a foundation of small, decisive actions," he says. "I have found over the past five years that discussing with Bill my choices of which actions to take has increased my confidence and the accuracy and success of these actions," he says.

According to the International Coach Federation, which offers training and credentials for professional coaches, the most significant benefits reported by people who hire a coach are:

Most coaches ask for a three to six month commitment from clients but allow you to withdraw from the agreement earlier if coaching does not work for you.

You can hire a coach for help in achieving a specific goal or completing a project, but the majority of clients who do that end up continuing to work with the coach beyond that period.

Coaches working with individuals charge between $200 and $450 a month for one half hour call per week, according to ICF.

Executive coaches tend to charge more, and clients who want more of a coach's time should expect to pay accordingly. The cost for one to one coaching averages out to about $100 $150 an hour.

There are many resources available that you can use to find a coach (see sidebar), but Carr of Peer Resources offers a few general suggestions to help in the selection process:

RESOURCES FOR FINDING (OR BECOMING) A COACH

The following organizations can help you find the right coach to meet your needs. All groups listed charge no fee to the client for the matching service.

The Coach Connection,
www.findyourcoach.com;
personalized matching.

CoachLink,
www.CoachLink.biz;
manual matching.

Coach Central,
www.coachcentral.info;
computer referral and listing.

The Coach Directory,
www.peer.ca/coaching.html;
keyword search or manual list scan.

Coach Referral Service of the International Coach Federation,
www.coachfederation.org;
computer referral.

Coachville,
www.coachville.com;
keyword search engine.

The International Coach Directory,
www.coachreferral.com/;
computer referral.

Institute for Life Coach Training,
www.lifecoachtraining.com;
computer referral.

If you are interested in becoming a coach yourself, these organizations can help you get started with training and/or certification.

Coach Training Alliance,
www.coachtrainingalliance.com;

The Coaches Training Institute,
www.thecoaches.com;

College of Executive Coaching,
www.executivecoachcollege.com;

Coachville,
www.coachville.com;