The application of coaching has moved beyond individuals towards teams and organisations, requiring practitioners to better understand themselves and their clients within systems and complex adaptive systems. The “Spiralling the field” model observes congruence between the complexity of the coaching work and the complexity of the reflective field. Based on systems theory, it is proposed that engaging with a broad range of reflective partners is critical to increasing reflective maturity and capacity. In so doing practitioners will both enhance the quality of systemic work and embrace the inevitability of uncertainty when working in a CAS.
To examine how coaching could support gay men with gay aspects of their professional lives, constructivist grounded-theory was used to identify that the key is creating conditions where being gay could (not should) be discussed. This requires a strong coaching relationship. The topics discussed may be offshoots of gay identity, rather than directly linked to it. The coachee might bring up their gay identity as a topic for discussion, or, depending of coach’s philosophy, purpose of the assignment, and contracting in place, the coach might broach the issue. Suggestions are made for best practice when coaching gay men at work.
In 2009 Kauffman & Bachkirova posed the question “Does the coaches’ background make a difference..?” (p.3). This paper outlines research conducted to explore how coaches’ prior career experiences can affect their relationships with clients. Data from reflections of four experienced executive coaches, all with senior executive prior careers, and of a client of each of the coaches was examined using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The findings indicate that coaches’ backgrounds can make a difference with coaches feeling more confident and better able to question, probe and challenge and clients feeling better understood and greater confidence in their coaches and their coaching.
To improve the social participation of newcomer immigrants, social mentoring programs for newcomers have gained in popularity. This paper attempts to bring some clarity to the practice of social mentoring for newcomers by focusing on an important step in the mentoring process: matching. Through insights from practice, this research provides an overview of the most common matching criteria in social mentoring programs for newcomers. Criteria include, participants’ needs, goals, skills, expectations, interests, language, age and gender. The findings provide important insights for policy and practice and offer a solid starting point for further empirical research into matching migrant newcomers.
This study investigates the supervision of workplace coaches and factors that may influence its use. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour and focusing on German-speaking countries, we conducted an online survey with open and closed questions to gather the experiences and perspectives of 121 coaching practitioners. Most coaches used supervision, though somewhat irregularly, in different forms and with different focuses, and less than what they thought ideal. A positive attitude impacted positively upon supervision use. Perceived time and cost involved, and prior experiences with supervision also appear to influence supervision use, while coaching association membership had no impact.
Inter-organizational mentoring (IOM) occurs whenever the mentor and mentee belong to different organisations. IOM has grown recently in the light of professional associations. This work proposes a model for implementing IOM programs based on a literature review on mentoring best practices and experts’ experience. The model, completed with a focus group with 20 experts in IOMPs, highlights differences to be considered in implementing IOMPs, compared to traditional mentoring programs. This paper fills the gap in implementing IOMPs and provides keys to mentors and program coordinators for their efficient implementation.
This pre-post exploratory feasibility study examined a 6-week, multifaceted, self-guided positive psychology intervention to support the well-being of health and wellness coaches during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 40% of 634 participants completed the post-intervention survey, using the interventions on 60% of possible days, a majority finding the intervention helpful or very helpful. Regressions demonstrated improvements post-intervention in anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction for participants whose initial scores were not optimal. The intervention appears well-received, feasible, and supportive of coach well-being. Future research might find this cost-effective, flexible, and convenient intervention useful in supporting well-being more broadly, including during future health crises.
This study aimed to explore how Muslims in the UK experience coaching using the Ershad framework. The data was derived from four semi-structured interviews that were conducted after a coaching intervention. The study adhered to interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) for data analysis. Four themes emerged from the data: “it aligned with our faith”; “I felt comfortable”; “an eye-opening experience”; and connected to deeper self. Findings highlighted that participants valued a culturally sensitive approach, grounded in the principles of effective coaching, and thus support the idea that culturally specific coaching approaches may be beneficial for certain groups of people.
Nurse leaders manage complex workplace demands. Coaching skills are a core leadership competency which can assist them in their roles. However, training alone may not always effect positive leadership change. This randomised trial sought to compare outcomes of leadership coaching training, with and without follow-up support, against waitlist control. Psychometric and professional achievement outcomes for 86 Australian nurse leaders were tracked for six months. Trial results provide empirical support for the hypothesis that leadership coaching training, paired with coaching follow-up, yields superior outcomes to a training only approach and, versus control, in terms of leadership and communication-related outcomes.
Emerging literature indicates the critical value of employee coachability for individual, coaching practice, and organisational effectiveness across contexts. To expand our understanding of coachability and maximize its application within organisations, we require a greater understanding of its antecedents. Thus, this paper explicates and examines trait, motivational, and behaviourally based individual differences underlying employees’ coachability. Findings from this investigation demonstrate feedback orientation, expressed humility, and the instrumental feedback motive significantly influence employees’ coachability. This research contributes to the growing body of coachability literature and provides a strong foundation for enhancing its identification and development in organisational settings.