Judie M. Gannon ✉ (Oxford Brookes University)

Judie Gannon, International Centre for Coaching & Mentoring Studies, Oxford Brookes Business School, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK
Contact email: ijebcm@brookes.ac.uk

In this issue of the IJEBCM we are pleased to welcome researchers from South Africa, the UK, the USA and the Netherlands. We have seven peer reviewed papers, one reflections from the field paper and a book review. The papers address a range of coaching and mentoring research ranging from mentoring with doctors, talent coaching in a television talent competition as well as a study on virtual coaching and another on coaching using a chatbot AI (artificial intelligence) to coach. A huge thank you to all the reviewers and copy-editors, as well as the authors for working so assiduously on this edition.

Peer Reviewed Papers

The first paper in this issue is from Elena Auer and colleagues, based in San Francisco. This paper uses a pre and post quasi-experimental design to compare well-being, social behaviour and work outcomes for those coached virtually during Covid-19. They find that generally those coached experience positive gains in optimism, life satisfaction, authenticity and productivity, compared to those who were not coached virtually during the pandemic. The study contributes to the growing empirical evidence of the benefits of virtual coaching.

Our second paper comes from Nicky Terblanche and a group of international colleagues, and focuses on AI coaching through a chatbot called Vici. The team use a randomised controlled trial, longitudinal study to test the efficacy of Vici across eight measurements (goal attainment, resilience, psychological wellbeing, and perceived stress) with experimental and control groups. Their findings suggest AI coaching is effective in a narrow application and could be scalable to support the democratization of coaching, offering further indication of the potential of AI coaching.

The third paper in this issue is from Andrew JT George and advances a challenging and thoughtful analysis of how non-linear dynamics can help facilitate learning and development within groups in coaching. Andrew argues that non-linear dynamics, based on complexity theory, offers a valuable way of understanding and analysing complex interactions between group members and how they learn and develop. However, as yet, there has been little application of these ideas to coaching. Andrew offers a thoughtful worked example to explain how these theoretical insights may inform coaches thinking and practice.

The fourth paper is compiled by Carly Cousins and Andrea Giraldez-Hayes based upon their study of journaling in coaching. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) with clients, the team investigates the use of journal prompts in coaching and finds that such prompts overall enhance the coaching experience offering coaches and clients clearer ways to make use of journaling in coaching interactions.

The fifth paper in this issue is from Alison Steven and colleagues based in the North-East of England. This paper focuses upon mentoring and health and wellbeing for doctors, amidst high levels of stress and burnout. Using a Realistic evaluation, mixed method approach, they identify an ‘empowerer’ model of mentoring as a way forward to support doctors, incorporating formal and informal aspects of mentoring. They identify this model increases social capital, individual and group agency as well as resourcefulness and resilience amongst participants.

The sixth paper examines the use of coaching and mentoring in a television programme, The Voice of Holland (TVOH) to offer insights on talent coaching. Karin Manuel derives results from a two-year study of TVOH to identify how the performance of contestants is enhanced, developed and supported through talent coaching and the implications for similar settings and beyond.

Our final peer-reviewed paper centres on coaches’ experiences of using a values-based coaching approach to support clients in an international not-for-profit organisation. Bhavika Patel and Christian Van Nieuwerburgh explore coaches’ experiences using an interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA) to understand and highlight how values based coaching encourages coach self-reflections and empowerment in support of organisational coaching programmes.

Reflections from the field

Our reflections paper is from Yaw Owusu-Agyeman who is based in the South Africa. Yaw shares results from a study on mentoring for professional services staff in a university, spread across three campuses, and highlights the value of mentoring in supporting those in new jobs, building networks and understanding the culture of the university. Without mentoring professional services staff have to make sense of their own of the culture and work procedures that lead to success.

Finally our book review is of Mike McLaughlin and Elaine Cox’s Braver Leadership in Action: Personal and Professional Development for Principled Leadership completed by Liz Wright. Liz identifies how this book helps leaders, and those who support leaders, understand and rise courageously to the contemporary challenges they face.

Dr Judie Gannon
Oxford
1 September 2022