This study aimed to understand how coachees experienced strengths-based coaching following the identification of their strengths with the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS). The data was elicited from five semi-structured interviews and analysed with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The study revealed three themes: strengths becoming conscious, development of subjective self and consciously applying strengths. The study has illuminated how strengths-based coaching helped to uncover strengths blind spots and raise coachees’ awareness. Strengths became more tangible for the coachees providing a framework in coaching and facilitating discussions. Coachees were then able to consciously apply their strengths outside of coaching, making them feel more equipped for future challenges.
Rapport is imperative to the development of coaching relationships and predicts coaching outcomes. However, rapport can be hindered in cross-ethnicity helping relationships, especially if the coach is White and the coachee is a person of colour (POC). This action research study developed a coaching model which optimises rapport in cross-ethnicity dyads. Maintenance of an equitable power dynamic was vital. Factors which affected rapport included the perception of coaching as an exclusionary White space and allowing space for ethnicity discussions. Both required cross-ethnicity skills. Due to the discernment of coaching as a White space, actions beyond the dyad are required.
My study was based on in-depth interviews with 6 young adults who had recently moved from education into graduate training schemes in the shadow of the Covid-Pandemic. I set out to understand their experiences and how coaching had been used by their organisations to support their needs and meet their expectations. My chosen approach for analysing the data was Narrative Analysis, a less commonly applied methodology within coaching research. Taken together, the stories of the graduates provide a snap shot of ‘Coming of Age’ in a contemporary workplace setting. A significant observation was that this group of graduates entering the workplace is not so very different from their predecessors despite the challenges of accelerating social and technological change. A thread that ran through the narratives was the pivotal role of the guide, used here in its broadest sense to mean someone who provides an external source of wisdom or direction, whether they be family, friends, managers or coaches. The graduates’ nee…
In this article I focus on the development of my professional attitude [Haltung] during the transition from practitioner to researcher. It is part of my dissertation in which I ask in what sense (coaching) supervisors in training develop haltung during their training period. Based on self-reflective documentation resulting from both my practice and research, here I aim to sketch developmental processes while studying my own occupation (i.e., supervisor trainer) in the field. Thus, I (i) analyse my own professional development as parallel to my dissertation research, I (ii) illustrate the corresponding mixed-methods approach as a case study of working with the self, and I (iii) value induced contextual framings as additional insights for my research.
Most companies and professions profess values – whether to instil good practice, or to reassure clients, but what of our own values, often lost beneath those we should adopt? My research used constructivist grounded theory methodology to propose a theory explaining how coaching can enable a coachee to identify their personal values. Uncovering Valu-abl-es requires deep work with an expert guide in a safe focussed space. This paper considers one aspect of that – the need for an expert guide and its implications – and the benefit this may bring at a time when the search for meaning is increasing.
This paper presents the benefits of coaching for clergy in the Church of England; using Constructivist Grounded Theory, underpinned by a critical realist ontology. What emerged from the research was a Benefit Matrix Theory, incorporating 21 distinct benefits of coaching. Represented as a Benefits Wheel, the central proposition of the theory is that coaching benefits are experienced in conjunction with one another, in any combination, to meet the needs of the ‘whole person’. This article focuses on one of the four conceptual findings: Reuniting the Divine and the Ordinary and explores what coaching can achieve by intersecting spiritual, personal and professional aspects of clergy life. The research produced findings of practical use for clergy, coaches, and the wider church, and contributes to coaching theory and practice.
This paper focuses on the usefulness of coaching training for nurse managers in the UK and the perceived barriers to using it in practice. There is very little empirical research on the impact and perceptions of coaching on nurse managers as coaches, so this gap is important to fill in order to know how to support managers carrying out this role. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis. I interviewed four nurse managers from one organisation who had all received coaching training, in order to reveal themes or trends. All participants found coaching useful when working with their staff to develop better relationships and increase self-confidence, empowerment and a sense of achievement. In contrast to existing research, participants felt that using coaching reduced their workload in the long term.