Using an Integrated Approach to Developing Leadership Capability in an Organisational Setting: The role of one-to-one executive coaching and group executive coaching

This thesis focused on the use of an integrated approach to leadership development, with special emphasis on the role of executive coaching (one-to-one coaching, and group coaching). I chose the topic for study due to its growing importance and utilisation in the corporate setting and higher education research. The demarcating lines between higher education and corporate education are getting thinner and thinner. Collaboration has bridged the gap between the two, while corporate universities and corporate academies are now offering some of the courses offered by higher education. Leadership development, in both the corporate world and higher education, share many commonalities; including coaching and mentoring. One can say that corporate learning has become the higher education for practitioners, as is being evidenced by the rise in the establishment of corporate universities and corporate academies. Corporate learning is an active area of investment for corporate organisations as corporate learning helps the organisations to improve and retain their leaders and professionals. This study used a phenomenological approach to capture the experience of those undertaking such development. This study aims at exploring participants' interaction with the world of leadership development through executive coaching, and the meaning they developed from that experience. The results offered some insight into the pros and cons of one-to-one executive coaching, and group executive coaching, and factors to consider when deploying either of these methods. The study also provided suggestions on how to improve the practice of executive coaching. It suggests measures that can be implemented to enhance learning for practitioners. It also suggests how one can leverage the concept of executive coaching in developing the organisation's leaders. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge about executive coaching and leadership development, especially in a corporate setting and Higher education setting. This study concludes by calling for collaboration between institutions of higher education, the corporate community, and coaching practitioners, to create awareness, raise the standard and create a pragmatic and enduring legacy for executive coaching field