When we set out on our partnership research project with the CIPD, aimed at discovering what makes the difference when establishing and delivering coaching in organisations, I remember saying to my colleagues: "There has been so much research into the content and quality of the coaching relationship.

This research is different: it looks instead at the organisational perspective and what is needed to make coaching successful at an organisational level."

I wonder how I could have separated those two perspectives so tidily. Coaching is relational and the individual coaching relationship will always be at the heart of it in organisations. What help can be provided to best support that critical relationship in the service of the organisation and the individual?

The answer is: "It depends." But a key factor is compatibility. Each organisation has a different context for coaching and this can change over time. This implies a crucial role for practitioners concerned with setting up and delivering coaching services: the role of paying attention to this context.

There are challenges when you ask context-setting questions. First, you might not like what you learn (for example, the notion that a standard approach across the whole organisation is required). Second, if compatibility is important, so is difference.

Coaching is usually used to bring about change, so the coaching and its supporting structures need to be culturally compatible enough not to be rejected and different enough to make a difference.

The context for coaching includes factors such as business priorities, the purpose of coaching, the organisational culture, senior sponsorship, perception of coaching and the availability of resources.

When practitioners pose good questions in these areas, they find a shape for their coaching that is supportive of what they are trying to achieve in an organisational context.