Coaching and Leadership In the Six Cultures of Contemporary Organizations

W Bergquist, V Brock International Journal of Coaching in Organizations 2006

Over the past twenty years, one of us [Bill] has recognized the need for cultural analyses of organizations from the perspective of those who lead and work in these organizations. (Bergquist, 1993; Bergquist, Guest and Rooney, 2003, Bergquist and Pawlak, 2007) He assumed that those inside the organizations might welcome an understanding of organizational culture, because many organizations seem to be particularly resistant to influence and change. The dynamics of contemporary organizations are often difficult to understand. Any framework that can help bring order to the complexity of these organizations will be greatly appreciated. One of us [Vikki] has recently conducted a series of interviews with leading practitioners in the field of coaching. She has discovered widely divergent perspectives on the field and believes (with Bill) that these differing perspectives relate to differing organizational cultures and, in turn, to differing notions about effective leadership and coaching in each of these cultures. This article represents a blending of the conceptual work and research done by both authors.