The psychology of executive coaching: Theory and application
B Peltier Taylor & Francis 2001
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This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research study into critical moments in the coaching relationship. Interviews were completed with a total of 28 experienced coaches. The research highlighted that critical moments are unforeseen and characterised by intense emotions and anxiety within the coaching relationship. These momen...
Executive coaching is an emerging field with broad demand and subsequent growth in service providers. The International Coach Federation (ICF) reports a membership of over 5500 coaches, and there is likely a large but indeterminate number of practicing coaches that do not belong to that organization. Enterprises around the globe are utili...
This article is an attempt to evaluate the appropriateness of the cognitive-behavioral approach for use in executive coaching engagements. The basic tenets of cognitive- behavior therapy, as well as its conceptual underpinnings, are reviewed. Following this, a discussion of how well the goals of executive coaching are met by a cognitive-b...
Coaching is emerging as a major professional development and performance enhancement process. There are, however, few professional development programmes aimed at coaches themselves, and no internationally recognized qualification or professional standard. Much of the literature on coaching has been written by those with a human psycholog...
We propose that I/O psychologists who coach executives have overlooked psychotherapy outcome research as a source of information and ideas that can be used to improve our executive coaching practices. This research, based on thousands of studies and many meta-analyses, has converged on the conclusion that four ‘‘active ingredients’’ accou...
I have a simple yet fundamental assumption about coaching: The purpose is to change behavior. The core of my coaching boils down to one equally simple yet provocative question for the participant: What are you going to do differently? Implicit in that question is a focus on action and a focus on the future (rather than the past). This cha...
A literature search revealed diverse descriptions of the coaching/therapy boundary. In an attempt to gain greater definition, organisational coaches were surveyed to discover how they made decisions about the boundary in their practice. Responses indicated that practising coaches viewed coaching as differing from therapy in being future-o...
It remains unclear as to what activities are referred to by the term 'coaching'. Amidst many different conceptualisations of the term, there is no agreement to date on its definition. Ernesto Spinelli provides a critical overview of the similarities and differences between coaching and therapy. While all manner of distinctions have been m...
Using the Five Factor Model of personality and the construct general self efficacy this study explores the relationship between coaching clients’ personality and a self-report measure of the transfer of learning from coaching to the workplace. Positive correlations are found between the application of coaching development and conscientio...
Within the principles of constructivist grounded theory this study investigates the developmental factors involved in executive coaching for women in senior roles. The paper presents an analysis of the unique experiences of eleven senior women in their executive coaching engagements in Australia. The findings support recent discourse sugg...
In a randomised controlled study, 41 executives in a public health agency received 360-degree feedback, a half-day leadership workshop, and four individual coaching sessions over 10 weeks. The coaching used a cognitive-behavioural solution-focused approach. Quantitative and qualitative measures were taken. This is the first published rand...
To many members of the British Psychological Society (BPS) it may appear that the BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology (SGCP) has come from nowhere to somewhere in a short space of time. It held its inaugural meeting on 15 December 2004 and by March 2005, it had become the third largest BPS subsystem with over 1600 Founder Members ...
Purpose: This contribution argues for a new way of studying executive-coaching outcome. The argument accepts that we are not likely to get rigorous data on coaching outcome from well-designed clinical trials in the near future, and assumes a degree of effectiveness that is based upon the first indications and the more rigorous studies ...
The use of executive coaching as a developmental intervention for managers has increased dramatically during the past decade. Consequently, there has been a burgeoning practitioner literature on the topic of executive coaching. Empirical research on executive coaching, however, has lagged far behind, and theoretical work on the processes ...
Work related stress is causing concern and is having negative effects on individuals and organisations (HSE, 2001). Various interventions are used to reduce workplace stress but this paper proposes that coaching can be effective in tackling stress. Coaching is becoming increasingly popular and is viewed positively within the corp...
There is growing evidence that coaching is effective. However, little is known about the process variables critical for coaching success. This article investigates the role of the two interpersonal behaviour dimensions affiliation and dominance in the formation of a positive coaching relationship and in coaching success. The interaction o...
We offer a theoretical coaching cube that helps to structure and understand the coaching industry. The three dimensions of the cube refer to (1) coaching agendas (what); (2) coaches' characteristics (who); and (3) coaching approaches/schools (how). Each dimension is described by discussing the academic literature surrounding it. Using an ...
The historical events of 9/11, the subsequent wars, and the coincidental collapse of corporations and economies have heightened the perception of complexity and uncertainty in the business environment. Executive managers face unprecedented challenges, solutions for which are often beyond the reach of current practice. That we live in turb...
Teachers are in a very real sense the embodiment of leadership, providing direction, guidance, and feedback to their students in addition to acting as role models. Teachers may well thus benefit from developmental coaching that draws on theories of leadership. This study was both an experimental (randomly assigned conditions) and a quasi-...
Evidence-based approaches to coach training and education are vital if the coaching industry is to continue to mature. Drawing on past research on mandatory personal therapy for therapists-in-training, this paper reports a qualitative and quantitative within-subject exploration of the impact of compulsory participation in a personal life ...
The purpose of this study was to identify the critical aspects in coaching outcomes as perceived by experienced coaches in the United States in both business and life coaching settings. Nineteen coaches provided a total of 109 critical incidents that led the client to the coaching process. Six dimensions of coaching emerged from the codin...
The current article examines the practice of coaching as a possible alternative to conventional therapy for men. Although overviews of coaching have been outlined, none have specifically addressed how this particular helping modality might fit with the cultural demands of men resistant to conventional sources of professional help. This ar...
Little has been reported about the skills, experience and training of coaches in the Australian context, yet these are critical factors in the ethical practice of coaching. Previous research and experience suggests that formal coach training varies considerably in terms of curricula and quality. At the same time, data is emerging that ...
Coaching psychology can be understood as being the systematic application of behavioural science to the enhancement of life experience, work performance and well-being for individuals, groups and organisations who do not have clinically significant mental heath issues or abnormal levels of distress. Although psychologists have long act...
The paper offers a typology of coaching based on social learning theory, giving four approaches: functionalist, engagement, revolutionary and evolutionary. Each approach adopts a view of reality, which is either subjective or objective, and each approach seeks a learning outcome that is typified by transformation or equilibrium. A range o...
This article addresses the issue of forced estrangement between coaching and counselling. The separation between the two fields is explored and the consequences of this for coaching in particular as a newly established profession are discussed. It will be suggested that the source of differences and similarities between various types of ‘...
Objectives: This paper presents the findings of two surveys exploring the practices and perspectives of the membership of the Coaching Psychology Forum (CPF), the precursor to the Special Group in Coaching Psychology. Design: The study was cross-sectional in design Method: The two surveys were conducted 12 months apart. The surveys fo...
This paper presents findings from a proof of concept pilot study that explored the usefulness of a new Salutogenic model in coaching practice. The model aligns with the positive mindset inculcated in coaching, health, and wellbeing initiatives, and was developed and tested by three coaches who work in executive coaching, eco-coaching...
Working with people invariably involves managing emotions. This qualitative study examines a coaching intervention designed to help a group of retail support workers in one mobile communications organisation in the UK to articulate and manage their emotions more effectively in order to improve workplace relations and motivation. The p...
This article highlights relationships between the emerging practice of global coaching, described in Rosinski (2003a, 2006) and six leading ‘evidence based’ approaches to coaching (Stober & Grant, 2006). Attention is given to global coaching in the international business environment, positioning the treatment within an executive coachi...
This paper outlines the potential significance of behaviourism and its impact on developing effective coaching practice. Its purpose is threefold: firstly, it addresses the issues resonating from the critique of behaviourism, which focuses on its limited understanding and application within the coaching community. This is interesting g...
How do you define coaching and mentoring? What standards should apply? What should a competency framework for a coaching role look like? The issue of definitions and standards in coaching and mentoring circles is the subject of much debate. A competence-based approach is appealing; clarity in the coaching process would be helpful. But...
This research explores the coach and coachee’s experience of psychometrics in coaching with specific reference to the conversation and the relationship. Three coaches and three coachees were recruited and IPA informed the data collection and analysis. The results indicate that psychometrics affect the speed at which issues are accessed...
Businesses often turn to coaching to combat under-performance in training transfer, i.e. the translation of learning from training into improved performance in the workplace. This article reports on a phenomenological study of the experiences of seven professional external coaches working on combined training-coaching leadership develo...
Little is known about what happens in a coaching conversation when an executive is at risk of derailing. Consequently, the coach might be unsure how to manage such challenging engagements. This phenomenological study takes the coach’s perspective in focusing on this gap in the evidence base. Findings highlight the importance of quickly...
The last thirty years have seen significantly more women reaching senior professional positions and a corresponding increase in women returning to work after having children. However, studies reveal that employers often lose highly qualified women, who choose not to return. The economic costs and implications of this ‘brain drain’ are ...
Authenticity, or being true to oneself, has been identified as a key construct related to well-being and the effective performance of leaders. This paper describes the construct of authenticity in the context of existing positive psychology and coaching psychology research. We discuss the Authenticity Scale and its suggested use both a...
A large majority of Society members who voted for or against the proposal to set up a Special Group in Coaching Psychology (SGCP) did not actually see the proposal on which they were voting. This is just an anomaly of the way subsystems are set up within the Society. We have 14 versions of the working document which gradually changed a...
Purpose: In this study the phenomenon of transference (and parallel process) is explored in terms of its historical understanding and possible occurrences in real life sessions with clients. Design/Methodology: After a summary of the main historical breakthroughs in the discoveries of defences, resistance, transference, countertransfer...
Objectives: This paper explores the process of ethical decision making in coaching psychology. The paper seeks to develop a suitable model for application in coaching psychology to complement existing codes of practice. The model of course can be adjusted for use by coaching practitioners. Design: The study used a semi-structured inter...
Executive career derailment seems to coincide with one of the most significant transitions in life - the midlife ‘crisis’. Career derailment is most commonly caused by insensitivity; both to others needs and to the individuals own developmental needs for authenticity. Executive coaches can form strong developmental relationships with d...
Transformative learning is a concept most often associated with the field of education. However, organizations are often seeking to transform executives in order to prepare them for more responsibility, more challenging roles or environments. Coaching is often used as one of the interventions to help facilitate significant executiv...
Objectives: The positive impact of coaching on a range of outcomes, including the well-being of those in receipt of it, has been highlighted by a number of published reviews (e.g. de Haan & Duckworth, 2013) and meta-analyses (e.g. Jones, Woods & Guillaume, 2015). The objective of this study was to assess the potential for coaching to act ...
Objectives: There is a need for a more comprehensive understanding of how coaching processes psychologically operate. This paper presents the findings from a study aimed to characterise the coaching process experience and to identify how specific experiences contribute to coaching outcomes. Design: A qualitative design was adopted. Dat...
In this article, executive or leadership coaching is considered within a broad context of the history of general applied psychology. Executive coaching is briefly explored in its major applications. Advocacy of the randomized controlled trials approach to advance the science base of the field is questioned. The current scientific and conc...
Over the past twenty years, one of us [Bill] has recognized the need for cultural analyses of organizations from the perspective of those who lead and work in these organizations. (Bergquist, 1993; Bergquist, Guest and Rooney, 2003, Bergquist and Pawlak, 2007) He assumed that those inside the organizations might welcome an understanding o...
This article identifies how deep change in organizations, catalyzed by Appreciative Inquiry, and facilitated by coaching, can be the consequence of simultaneous, synergistic Transformative Learning that is experienced at the individual level and enacted at the group level. The authors examine the theoretical and structural framework of th...
In this paper, we examine coaching’s innovativeness through a comparison of its approaches and methods with those of more established helping professions. Using extant literature, we consider the nature of innovation before going on to examine coaching’s core beliefs and values, theoretical paradigms, and its goals, techniques, and method...
This thesis aims to address the principal question of whether business coaching directly or indirectly enhances firm financial performance and growth. The present thesis incorporates four comprehensive and inter-related studies designed to investigate the contribution of business coaching to firm growth in cohorts of start-up companies an...
The purpose of this paper is to show the advantages and disadvantages of internal and external executive coaching. To this end, it offers a thorough review of the literature and an exploratory study based on the Delphi method with 40 selected experts, who gave answers based on their own experience. The results indicate that the decision o...
The person-centred approach is one of the most recognised and respected theoretical positions amongst coaches because coaching shares a number of fundamental principles with this approach, such as the centrality of clients’ experiences and the commitment to the idea that the client already is in possession of their own resources for growt...
Mentalization is the basis of the human ability to understand interpersonal behaviour and is consid-ered a key competence in psychotherapy research. We apply mentalization theory to workplace coaching and argue for its added value from a conceptual perspective. We illustrate its empirical potential with an exploratory analysis of a coachi...