Enabling IT Professionals to Cope with Technological Change through Skill-based Coaching

Abstract

The constant advancement in technology poses unprecedented complexity and challenges to companies. Information technology (IT) is at the forefront of this trend. Skills to assess and embrace modern IT are becoming a major factor for innovation and success. IT professionals have to stay either up to date or fail. All professionals working in the IT field are affected by this trend, from the software engineer implementing a new solution to the head of the IT department (Chief Information Officer, CIO). The purpose of this article is to conceptualize skill-based coaching as a new approach for helping IT professionals cope with today’s challenges. We conduct two in-depth case studies. In the first case, an agile software development project at a food industry company is investigated. In the second case, a structured teaching and coaching program offered by an university is analyzed. The coaching cube is used to compare both cases. Through measuring a significant increase in skills the suitability of the concept is shown. Based on the results of the case studies, skill-based coaching is conceptually described and explained. Results show that skill-based coaching is a feasible approach to empower IT professionals and enable them to work with modern and future technologies.