Assessment and Feedback in Coaching: Putting the Pieces Together

W Brittain International Journal of Coaching in Organizations 2009

Excellence in coaching depends on a firm understanding of various assessment strategies combined with feedback that is cogent, valid and straightforward. This article addresses some of the issues that help assessment strategies effectively lay the foundation for defining direction in coaching while providing a framework within which both the coach and client can understand how and where change can occur. The assessment choices that a coach elects will define the direction that the coaching assignment will take as well as the degree to which the client will be able to hear and accept the feedback and coaching offered. The author also addresses the need to go “beyond the numbers” and apply experience and understanding in interpreting the assessment data in a manner that is useful in context and provides guidance for desired change.