This paper provides an overview on the development of a coaching culture. It focuses on the best practices that are developing within the US and the European Union and presents a five stage model for the development of a coaching culture within organizations. Me five stages are: Informal External Coaching, Professional External coaching, Coaching for A ll, Coaching as a Management Style and Coaching Across the Network. Me article suggests that many organizations have aspirations to build a coaching culture, but a large number of them are currently at level one, two or three a long this journey.

In the focus of the author of the article questions are questions related to the process of defining and building the identity of the individual in the process of coaching. The starting point for the discussion is the assumption that the post-modern world, the knowledge and experience mediated through the media, shape the identity of individuals, as well as the order of social relations. The author verifies many psychological and sociological definitions of individual identity and the process of building one’s lifestyle. The question of whether an individual knows himself and knows how to thoughtfully build „yourself ” is an issue that is intertwined in the article’s multithreaded analysis of the identity of a man with everyday issues raised by the coaches in the coaching of an individual. According to the author coaching is a process that prepares the body to function in the world, according to the identity defined and worked out during the coaching sessions.

The article is a theoretical introduction to further empirical studies planned by the authors. Its aim is to review the theoretical assumptions concerning the concept of self-leadership as a basis for an integrated, holistic management paradigm, manifested among others in coaching management style. One of the concepts referred to by the authors is Spiral dynamics by Graves, which assumes continuous development of self-consciousness of man and of humanity as a collective community, which is reflected also in management.

The article presents the nature of an autonomous and paternalistic management style. The author refers to “folwark-like organizational culture model” popular among Polish companies which embodies the essence of paternalistic management style characterized by coercion and absolute control over an employee. The author states that it is not in company’s best interest to have the employees dependent on their superiors. Autonomous management style characterized by trust and respect is much more constructive. That style of management directly corresponds with coaching approach.

The paper presents the characteristics of coaching management style. Some substantial dilemmas encountered by the managers who apply the coaching management style have been indicated. The dilemma of being a coach or a mentor, the dilemma related to the manager’s behaviour towards the employee awaiting orders, the dilemma related to applying coaching to employees at the time of electronic communication and the dilemma of applying coaching at work under time pressure have been analysed.