People are the new competitive advantage and anything which can help develop and retain them demands attention. Executive coaching, the personal mentoring and support of key individuals, has proved itself again and again. Initially a technique to help 'derailed' managers get back on track, it is now used proactively to help both new and established executives with the key benefits of increased effectiveness, greater retention and enhanced ability to handle change translate directly into bottom-line results.
Executive coaching is now being adopted worldwide by human resources consulting firms. The developmental approach of Executive Coaching consists of a series of one-on-one interactions between a coach and an executive that attempt to improve the latter’s performance on the job.
(text cited from www.amazon.com)