Becky Anthony wanted to improve her skills as a leader and manager.

There was new leadership at the Iowa Hospital Association, where she works as senior vice president of education, and she and a few peers wanted to refine their management skills.

Anthony turned to an executive business coach who guided her through a nine-month process that has helped her become a strategic thinker. Now she looks less at day-to-day issues and focuses more on the big picture.

"When I am more effective, I am happier as an employee, and therefore the organization benefits," she said.

Business coaches, which are growing in number, are becoming a common part of executive development and are helping people make career shifts in companies reducing ranks. The International Coach Federation in Lexington, Ky. has seen its membership triple in the past five years to about 9,000.

"The demand for coaches, both executive and personal, is growing," said Kim Livesay, a spokeswoman for the federation.

Large corporations such as IBM and MCI have developed internal coaching systems, while many other companies are hiring outside coaches to help with career development, she said.

Several of Anthony's co-workers also went through the coaching process. She worked with Bruce Kawahara of BluOpal, a coaching and consulting business in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Kawahara was a "safe sounding board," who brought an outside perspective, Anthony said. "He helped to stretch me to look at things in a different way."

Kawahara has been an executive coach for about four years. His background is in training and development, and internal communications. Many of the people he coaches are operating under self-imposed limitations and are "unable or unwilling to perform at their highest levels," he said.

He works with clients to determine what is important to them and then helps "inspire the energy, confidence and courage" for them to meet their goals, he said.

Kawahara generally spends an hour two or three times a month with each client, many of whom he speaks with by telephone.

"I try to make some face-to-face contact, but there are some clients I have never met," Kawahara said. "It's a matter of learning to be able to ask the right kinds of questions."

A key element of coaching is making sure the client feels free to speak openly. "A coach needs to provide an environment where a person feels safe and can be assured of confidentiality," he said.