Two of the four leadership and coaching cultures can be traced back several centuries. They are the professional culture and the managerial culture. The other two have emerged more recently, partially in response to the seeming failure of the two original cultures to adapt effectively to changes in contemporary institutions. The first of these more contemporary cultures is referred to as the alternative culture and the second is referred to as the advocacy culture.
There are additional external influences in our global culture that are pressing upon the contemporary institution, forcing it in some ways to alter the way it goes about its business. Two new leadership and coaching cultures are emerging in institutions as a result of these external, global forces, and they interact with the previous four, creating additional dynamics. The first one, the virtual culture, was prompted by the technological and social forces that have emerged over the past three decades. The second new one, the tangible culture, has existed in various forms for quite some time, yet has only recently been evident as a separate culture partly in response to emergence of the virtual culture and the concern about the loss of continuity and stability in contemporary culture.
The six cultures are now briefly described and graphically portrayed. A more detailed description of each culture and related coaching implications follows this summary analysis.
The Six Cultures: Summary Descriptions
Professional Culture
Vehicle for building the credibility of coaching as a profession
Studying and analyzing the big systematic picture Generation, interpretation and dissemination of knowledge
Develop specific values and character qualities
Head rather than heart
Differentiate between managers and leaders
Untested assumptions about dominance of rationality
Managerial Culture
Vehicle for improved managerial performance
Planning, implementation, and evaluation
Directed toward specified goals and purposes
No important differences between managers and leaders
Value fiscal responsibility and quantifiable measurement of outcomes
Skills developed through a blend of training and coaching
Untested assumptions about capacity to define and measure results
Download Article 1K Club
