Handbook of Coaching Psychology [2 ed.] 9781317636397

4,020 481 4MB

English Pages 631 Year 2019

Report DMCA / Copyright

DOWNLOAD FILE

Polecaj historie

Handbook of Coaching Psychology [2 ed.]
 9781317636397

Citation preview

“The Handbook of Coaching Psychology is an essential guide to the theory and practice of coaching, across settings. Its strength lies in the wide range of contemporary approaches described and their application to a number of contexts. The book is underpinned by evidence-based practice and research, thereby emphasising the psychology of coaching practice. This excellent book, edited by Stephen Palmer and Alison Whybrow, has contributions from leading practitioners and should be essential reading for coaching trainees and practitioners alike.” – Professor Robert Bor, Consultant Clinical & Aviation Psychologist, Dynamic Change Consultants Ltd, London, UK “I highly recommend this second edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology. This enormously useful update is a rigorous and complete compilation of a wide-range of models and approaches by excellent experienced professionals. Including issues such as the impact of new technologies in psychology coaching and the importance of supervision, it provides a current guide to the state-of-the-art and the latest trends of psychology coaching within an international framework.” – Victòria Conesa, Psychological Coach; Board of Directors of Psychology Coaching at the Official Psychology College of Catalonia; trainer and presenter on ‘The Culture of Healthy Companies’, ‘Well-being at work’ and ‘Stress Prevention’ “Stephen Palmer and Alison Whybrow have produced a seminal and very significant Handbook of Coaching Psychology. They have brought together leading figures in this growing and important field, highlighting the various forms of coaching and their impact. This is a ‘must buy’ for anybody interested in coaching psychology…it will become the coaching bible for the field.” – Professor Cary L. Cooper, Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University, UK “This handbook offers a comprehensive and integrative perspective over the field of coaching psychology. This new edition has significantly increased the substance and the range of contributors and contributions. It provides an overview to coaching psychology key concepts and addresses important issues relating to evidence-based knowledge in the coaching field, training, supervision and the profession of coaching. The reader is introduced to various approaches to coaching psychology, derived from both traditional psychotherapy and modern approaches in psychotherapy. The applications of coaching psychology explore features of an effective coaching practice in various contexts. An excellent resource for both students and coaching professionals seeking to understand the psychology of coaching.” – Dr Oana A. David, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of the International Coaching Institute at Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and President of the International Association of Cognitive Behavioral Coaching “This is a unique publication both in terms of depth and breadth. Whether you are new to the field, or an experienced practitioner, this second edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology gives you thorough guidance for an evidence-based practice, and inspiring examples to take your practice as a coach and coaching psychologist to the next level. Definitely a must-read to anyone interested in a field that only grows in both academia and industry, and that can do so much to ensure the continual development of individuals and teams in our contemporary society.” – Dr Gisele Dias PhD CPsychol; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, UK “Bringing together some of the world’s leading experts on coaching psychology this book provides a thorough and highly interesting exploration of the field as it stands today. Undoubtedly this is a book you must read if you’re interested in the subject and want to stay up to date with its latest developments.” – Per-Olof Eriksson, licensed psychologist, Sweden. Honorary Vice President of ISfCP and initiator and chair of the Swedish Association for Coaching Psychologists

“Looking for a framework to update your coaching practice? The long-awaited second edition of this milestone book offers inspiring ideas on how to improve the scientific foundation and enhance quality development in coaching. It holds great promise as a guide for critical evaluation and development and shows ways on how to link existing knowledge bases. The contributors highlight psychological processes and discuss perspectives to integrate approaches and techniques. This book will advance our understanding of applications and professional topics such as sustainability questions in coaching.” – Dr Lisbeth Hurni, certified Coaching Psychologist, Swiss Society for Coaching Psychology; Honorary Vice President, International Society for Coaching Psychology “The new edition is by far the most comprehensive and authoritative book on coaching psychology currently available. With 43 chapters written by prominent and respected experts in the field, the book provides rich insights and reports on new developments on different perspectives, approaches and applications in the field of coaching psychology. The book is indeed inspirational and an essential resource for both academic and coaching practitioners.” – Aletta Odendaal, Professor in Industrial Psychology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa; Past-President, Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology of South Africa; Founding Member, Interest Group of Coaching and Consulting Psychology “Being intimately involved in the emergence and the development of the Coaching Psychology profession in Ireland, and also in the development and teaching of the First Masters in Coaching Psychology to be delivered in an Irish University (University College Cork), the first edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology was ground-breaking and a necessary roadmap for teacher, scientist and practitioner. This second and more comprehensive edition is timely and will inform the ongoing and necessary conversation around the further development, teaching and practice of the subject area. I welcome that.” – Hugh O’Donovan CPsychol., P.s.S.I, Coaching Psychologist and Author of Mindful Walking “For anyone interested in the field of individual, team and organizational learning in contemporary business environments, the new edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners presents some of the most exciting developments in contemporary psychology. The expanded edition now includes chapters which highlight the fastest growing fields of today’s coaching, such as team coaching, coaching culture and the role of technology in coaching. Readers will find probably the most comprehensive answers to the questions about the research-based evidence, plurality of psychological perspectives and application contexts related to coaching. Finally, the Handbook fulfills a mission to grow the coaching profession by connecting it to the cutting edge thinking in psychological science.” – Jelena Pavlovic, PhD, senior research associate at the Institute of Educational Research, founder of Koučing Centar, Serbia, and developer of ISCP recognized and ICF accredited coach training programs “The first edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners provided a momentous and valuable resource for researchers, lecturers and practitioners. As the discipline has been growing expansively since 2008 we welcome this second edition with readiness and excitement. The increase in overall chapters plus the expansion of the approaches part into six sections highlights the range of potential ways that coaching psychologists can offer innovative and evidence-based methods in their coaching practices. We are seeing a focus on new areas for coaching such as neuroscience as well as separate chapters for ontological and somatic coaching. As a positive psychology coach I welcome additional chapters on mindfulness in coaching and compassion-focussed coaching. It is indeed the significant second edition we have been waiting for.” – Dr Ceri Sims, CPsychol. Programme leader for Leadership and Coaching courses and senior course lecturer on MSc Applied Positive Psychology, Buckinghamshire New University, UK; Director, Positive Minds Alliance ltd

“The Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners is an excellent resource of psychological theories and best practice for anybody interested in coaching psychology. The second edition of this fantastic book offers an extensive overview of the latest trends in coaching, psychology and management in a VUCA world. This is a must have for coaching psychologists, coaches and those working within related fields.” – Dr Anna Syrek-Kosowska, Executive Coach, Coaching Supervisor (CSA) and Honorary VP of the ISCP, Poland “As practitioner and teacher of coaching psychology I’m always looking for books that provide answer to the whys and hows of coaching. There are many “how to” coaching books on the market, but coaching psychologists deserve more. The second edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology is for us. It provides a clear overview of the most important psychological coaching theories and approaches. I’m especially enthusiastic about the pluralistic coaching approach. It gives new perspectives to the fundamental questions of coaching, including the boundaries between coaching and counselling and the success criteria of the coaching relationship. The second edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology is a must-have guide to being a coaching psychologist in today’s VUCA world, in which dealing with complexity and chaos is an unavoidable task and coaching goals could be achieved effectively when we consider bio-psycho-socio factors and their mutual interactions. The first edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology was the main reference of my university course. Now the second edition will be the first on the reference list.” – Dr Vince Szekely, PhD, coaching psychologist; President, Hungarian Association for Coaching Psychology “With a clear and practice-focused approach, this book provides a comprehensive and robust foundation for coaching psychology. It is essential reading for new researchers and graduate students who are interested in coaching psychology, and those who want to base their professional practice on the coaching approach.” – Dr Qing Wang, Associate Professor in Educational Psychology at School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University “A rich and exciting new text for all who are interested in expanding their knowledge, skills and vision of coaching and coaching psychology. This new edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners builds extensively and seamlessly on the original handbook. Retaining all that was excellent in the original it shares yet further breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding of theory, research and practice. In addition, there is a section focussing on those often tricky professional and ethical issues faced by practitioners. I recommend this comprehensive handbook as a core text for practitioners, trainers and trainees.” – Professor Mary Watts, PhD, CPsychol.; Emeritus Professor, City, University of London, UK; Director, Meyler Campbell Mastered (Business Coach) Programme

Handbook of Coaching Psychology

The Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners provides a clear and extensive guide to the theory, research and practice of coaching psychology. In this new and expanded edition, an international selection of leading coaching psychologists and coaches outlines recent developments from a broad spectrum of areas. Part One examines perspectives and research in coaching psychology, looking at both the past and the present as well as assessing future directions. Part Two presents a range of approaches to coaching psychology, including behavioural and cognitive behavioural, humanistic, existential, being-focused, constructive and systemic approaches. Part Three covers application, context and sustainability, focusing on themes including individual transitions in life and work, and complexity and system-level interventions. Finally, Part Four explores a range of topics within the professional and ethical practice of coaching psychology. The book also includes several appendices outlining the key professional bodies, publications, research centres and societies in coaching psychology, making this an indispensable resource. Unique in its scope, this key text will be essential reading for coaching psychologists and coaches, academics and students of coaching psychology, coaching and mentoring and business psychology. It will be an important text for anyone seeking to understand the psychology underpinning their coaching practice, including human resource, learning and development and management professionals, and executives in a coaching role. Stephen Palmer is a leading coaching psychologist and is president of the International Society for Coaching Psychology. He is professor of practice at the Wales Institute for Work Based Learning and was the first chair of the British Psychology Society Special Group in Coaching Psychology. Alison Whybrow has been involved in the development of the coaching psychology profession since the early 2000s. A past chair of the British Psychological Society Special Group in Coaching Psychology, Alison is now an honorary research fellow at the ISCP International Centre for Coaching Psychology Research. She runs her own coaching and consulting business.

Handbook of Coaching Psychology A Guide for Practitioners Second Edition

Edited by Stephen Palmer and Alison Whybrow

Second edition published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 selection and editorial matter, Stephen Palmer and Alison Whybrow; individual chapters, the contributors The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by Routledge 2008 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Palmer, Stephen, 1955– editor. | Whybrow, Alison, 1968– editor. Title: Handbook of coaching psychology : a guide for practitioners / edited by Stephen Palmer & Alison Palmer. Description: 2nd Edition. | New York : Routledge, 2018. | Revised edition of Handbook of coaching psychology, 2007. Identifiers: LCCN 2018029791 | ISBN 9781138775312 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138775329 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315758510 (Master) | ISBN 9781317636403 (Web) | ISBN 9781317636397 (epub) | ISBN 9781317636380 (mobipocket) Subjects: LCSH: Personal coaching. Classification: LCC BF637.P36 H36 2018 | DDC 158.3—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018029791 ISBN: 978-1-138-77531-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-77532-9 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-75851-0 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC

To Josh, Sam, Harry, Aniket, Tejal and Maggie, of course. (SP) To all those yet to dwell on this one beautiful earth. (AW) To all who have supported and continue to support the development of the theory, research, practice and profession of coaching psychology around the world. (AW and SP)

ix

Contents

List of illustrations Editors Contributors Foreword by Cary L. Cooper Preface and acknowledgements International Society for Coaching Psychology

xvi xix xx xxvi xxvii xxix

PART 1

Perspectives and research in coaching psychology Introduction 1 Past, present and future Alison Whybrow and Stephen Palmer 2 Coaching and neuroscience Patricia Riddell

1 3 5

14

3 Self-efficacy within coaching and coaching psychology: an integrated Self-efficacy Coaching Model Diana Aguiar Vieira and Stephen Palmer

25

4 Goals and coaching: an integrated evidence-based model of goal-focused coaching and coaching psychology Anthony M. Grant

34

5 From positive psychology to the development of positive psychology coaching Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green 6 Research and the practitioner: getting a perspective on evidence as a coaching psychologist Annette Fillery-Travis and Sarah Corrie

51

68

xi

Contents

7 Understanding evidence-based coaching through the analysis of coaching psychology research methodology Yi-Ling Lai and Stephen Palmer

80

PART 2

Coaching psychology approaches Introduction

91 93

SECTION 1

Behavioural and cognitive behavioural approaches 8 Behavioural coaching Jonathan Passmore 9 Cognitive behavioural coaching: an integrative approach Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska

97 99

108

SECTION 2

Humanistic approaches

129

10 Person-centred coaching psychology Stephen Joseph and Richard Bryant-Jefferies

131

11 Motivational interviewing: an approach for coaching psychologists Jonathan Passmore and Alison Whybrow

144

12 Pluralistic coaching Zsófia Anna Utry, Stephen Palmer, John McLeod and Mick Cooper

154

SECTION 3

Existential approaches

167

13 An existential approach to coaching psychology Ernesto Spinelli and Caroline Horner

169

14 Gestalt coaching Julie Allan and Alison Whybrow

180

15 Mindfulness in coaching: a self-determination theory perspective Gordon B. Spence

195

16 Compassion focused coaching Chris Irons, Stephen Palmer and Liz Hall

206

xii

Contents

SECTION 4

Being focused approaches

217

17 Ontological coaching Aboodi Shabi and Alison Whybrow

219

18 Somatic coaching Eunice Aquilina and Richard Strozzi-Heckler

229

SECTION 5

Constructive approaches

241

19 Coaching with personal construct psychology Kieran Duignan

243

20 Narrative coaching for all (adults, children, groups and communities) Ho Law

256

21 Solution-focused coaching Bill O’Connell and Stephen Palmer

270

22 Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching Bruce Grimley

282

SECTION 6

Systemic approaches

295

23 Transactional Analysis approaches to coaching Sandra Wilson

297

24 Systemic constellations approach to coaching and coaching psychology practice Jake Farr and Matt Shepheard

311

25 Psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamics coaching Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning

324

PART 3

Application, context and sustainability Introduction

341 343

SECTION 1

Individual transitions in life and work

345

26 Personal and life-coaching psychology Ole Michael Spaten

347

xiii

Contents

27 Developmental coaching across life transitions Sheila Panchal, Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer

358

28 Adult learning as an approach to coaching David Lane, Marc Simon Kahn and Lloyd Chapman

369

29 Career coaching Peter Fennah

381

30 Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching Helen Williams, Stephen Palmer and Kristina Gyllensten

395

SECTION 2

Coaching, complexity and system level interventions

411

31 Coaching at the edge of chaos: a complexity informed approach to coaching psychology Lesley Kuhn and Alison Whybrow

413

32 Developing coaching within organisations: moving towards a coaching culture Alison Whybrow and Ed Nottingham

424

33 Leadership and executive coaching Vicky Ellam-Dyson, Dasha Grajfoner, Alison Whybrow and Stephen Palmer

439

34 Team coaching Sandy Gordon and Doug MacKie

453

PART 4

The profession and ethical practice of coaching psychology Introduction

467 469

35 The coaching relationship: a key role in coaching processes and outcomes Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer

471

36 Revisiting the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling Tatiana Bachkirova and Sarah Baker

487

37 Coaching and diversity Helen Baron and Hannah Azizollah

500

38 Using psychometrics in coaching Alan Bourne and Alison Whybrow

512

xiv

Contents

39 The role of technology in coaching Alex Pascal, Brodie Gregory Riordan and Maggie Sass

527

40 Coachee mental health: practice implications for coaching psychologists Kasia Szymanska

537

41 A cognitive-developmental approach for coach development Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox

548

42 Coaching psychology supervision Michael Carroll

562

43 Global activity in the education and practice of coaching psychology Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer

573

Afterword Stephen Palmer and Alison Whybrow Appendix 1: Coaching and coaching psychology professional bodies Appendix 2: Coaching- and coaching psychology-related publications Appendix 3: University-based coaching psychology units and centres Appendix 4: International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP) Index

584 585 587 588 589 591

xv

Illustrations

Figures 1.1 3.1 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 5.1 5.2 6.1 7.1 7.2 9.1 12.1 12.2 14.1 16.1 16.2 18.1 18.2 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 23.1 23.2 xvi

Showing the top 16 responses to the question: Which approach do you most use in your coaching/coaching psychology practice? Choose ONLY one. Self-efficacy Coaching Model Generic model of goal-directed self-regulation The goal hierarchy framework The goal hierarchy framework illustrating the outcomes of goal neglect Integrative model of coach-facilitated goal attainment The RAW Model of flourishing Developmental coaching: INSIGHT framework Schematic of literature framework The number of different methodologies in these two SRs The transformation of coaching research focus SPACE model A pluralistic framework for coaching Coachee’s evaluation of coaching experience Patterns of perception Three types of affect regulation systems The attributes of compassion The core elements of somatic methodology Sites of shaping Dynamic outcomes of coaching through alignments Personal balance and momentum through alignment of a client with him/her Self The process of realising performance and strategic goals Summary profile given to Michael The learning wheel Giving feedback: the Johari window Re-authoring in the externalising conversations which shows that storylines have many possible alternative plots Soft systems (CATWOE) analysis of the client and stakeholders APET model TOTE The co-created boundary Characteristic ways of working The growing edge The multi-party contract

11 29 37 41 42 44 54 59 71 88 88 121 158 164 182 208 210 231 235 245 246 247 252 258 260 262 265 284 285 289 289 300 303

Illustrations

23.3 24.1 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 27.1 27.2 27.3 28.1 28.2 28.3 29.1 32.1 33.1 34.1 39.1 42.1

The OK Corral – ways of seeing ourselves in relation to others Positions of the markers and the coach Four models of coaching The primary task Management at the boundary Role The six domain model Developmental coaching: transitions continuum Developmental coaching: INSIGHT framework The transition triangle Wilber’s four-quadrant Integral Model Integrated Experiential Coaching Model Coaching on the Axis Life Stage or Rainbow Model Framework for mapping your vision of coaching Mapping the domains of LEC CAPP Realise2 4M Model Aspects of coaching impacted by technology A systemic overview of coaching psychology supervision

305 318 325 328 329 331 333 362 363 364 371 372 375 385 429 443 459 528 566

Tables 1.1 1.2 2.1 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 8.1 8.2 9.1 11.1 12.1 12.2 14.1 15.1 15.2 19.1 20.1 22.1 23.1 23.2 23.3 24.1 29.1

Coaching psychology interest groups around the globe Percentage of coaching psychologists and coaches who use different psychologically based coaching approaches Summary of parts of the brain with their function The hierarchy of evidence Coaching definitions Coaching psychology definitions Review process and initial findings of these two SRs A sample of open questions to facilitate the GROW process Four-stage model Performance enhancing form Change cycle The pluralistic framework for coaching in use Coachee preferences Blocks to awareness Varying levels of integration and ownership associated with extrinsic motivation Sample notes from a case conceptualization of Jake Risk ratings (chosen by a coachee) of his/her situation, at the outset and after coaching Analyses of variance Clinical scores at session 6 and also at session 12 Understanding the parties to the contract Formulating the contract for the work Surfacing the psychological level Example of key elements The five personal attributes

7 10 17 81 82 85 87 101 104 124 145 162 163 185 197 202 251 266 291 303 304 304 315 386 xvii

Illustrations

29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 30.1 34.1 34.2 39.1 41.1 41.2 43.1 43.2 43.3

Exploring coachee motivations for career coaching Example career coaching categories Guiding theory Four fundamental employability trends CLARITY coaching model case study Steps in strengths-based team coaching Six-step strengths-based team building model Technologies aligned to coaching activities Three stages of development for engagement in action Stages and developmental tasks for coaching Coaching psychology groups and societies Areas of activity for coaching psychology groups/societies Example CPD/E activities

387 388 389 389 405 461 462 535 553 555 575 577 581

Boxes 6.1 10.1 24.1 24.2 24.3 32.1

xviii

Questions for the practitioner-scholar The necessary and sufficient conditions of constructive personality change Rumi Reasons to create a physical map Summary of key points ‘Why coaching’ question checklist

75 132 315 316 319 428

Editors

Stephen Palmer Professor Stephen Palmer, PhD, is founder director of the Centre for Coaching, London, UK. In 2004 he became the first chair of the British Psychological Society Special Group in Coaching Psychology (BPS SGCP) and in 2005 he launched the Coaching Psychology Unit at City University, London (now City, University of London). In 2016 he became adjunct professor of coaching psychology at the Coaching Psychology Unit, Aalborg University, Denmark and in 2018, he became professor of practice at the Wales Institute for Work Based Learning, University of Wales Trinity Saint David. He is honorary consultant director of the Coaching Psychology Unit at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and co-ordinating director of the ISCP International Centre for Coaching Psychology Research. He is honorary president and fellow of both the International Society for Coaching Psychology and the International Stress Management Association. He has written or edited over 50 books on a range of topics and co-edits a number of journals in the field including the European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology. In 2008 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Recognition of Distinguished Contribution to Coaching Psychology from the BPS SGCP. His interests include jazz, astronomy, coastal walking and art.

Alison Whybrow Alison, together with colleagues in the UK and internationally, was at the forefront of the development of coaching psychology in the early 2000s. She has contributed papers, chapters and books on the subject of coaching psychology, led research into developing coaching culture and, for many years, directed accredited programmes in coaching practice with i-coach academy. As a consulting editor to coaching and coaching psychology journals and a contributor to the International Society for Coaching Psychology as well as university programmes across Europe, Alison maintains a keen focus on developments in the coaching psychology field whilst running a practice as a coach, consultant and coaching supervisor located in London, UK. Alison specialises in leadership coaching, senior team development and system change. She holds a degree and PhD in psychology from the University of Liverpool and a number of professional qualifications related to her work as a coach and consultant. Alison works across sectors with both large and small organisations. As a coach and facilitator, Alison integrates a range of psychological and philosophical underpinnings, leadership frameworks and an ecological world view. Alison’s interests continue to emerge as her family and community grow around her. She is deeply passionate about the possibilities for transforming our human-earth relationship.

xix

Contributors

Julie Allan MSc, CPsychol, AFBPsS, FRSA, is an experienced coaching psychologist (AFISCP), executive coach (APECS), supervisor and consultant. Formerly a magazine journalist with the BBC, her psychology writings encompass ethics, supervision, wisdom, metacognition and complexity. She also is the author of The Power of the Tale, a book about story in organisations. Her work draws on particular expertise in adult development and attention to the poetic imagination. Email: [email protected] Eunice Aquilina has spent 30 years in the field of organisation development, working with leaders across the globe. She has studied somatics for over a decade and is an accredited coach and coach supervisor. Eunice is the author of Embodying Authenticity: A Somatic Path to Transforming Self, Team and Organisation. Email: [email protected] Hannah Azizollah is a chartered occupational psychologist and has worked in the field of assessment, development, OD and change for many years. Most of her current work involves coaching individuals and teams through a wide range of changes or transitions. Tatiana Bachkirova MEd, MSc, PhD, CPsychol, AFBPsS, is professor of coaching psychology and director

of the International Centre for Coaching and Mentoring Studies at Oxford Brookes University. Her area of expertise is developmental coaching and coaching supervision. She is a recognised author, international speaker and convener and chair of the International Conference on Coaching Supervision. Sarah Baker PhD, is a chartered psychologist and coaching practitioner. She works as an academic at the University of Bedfordshire, where she teaches coaching psychology to undergraduate students. Her PhD research investigated coaching and counselling practitioners’ experiences of managing boundaries in practice. Helen Baron is a chartered psychologist. She has over 30 years experience in providing training and consultancy to organisations in formulating equal opportunities policy and promoting fairness in staff assessment and selection. In addition, she designs and develops assessment tools. Email: [email protected] Alan Bourne PhD, is an experienced Chartered Psychologist. He specialises in innovative assessment, devel-

opment and client-centred change management solutions. Previously, he has worked as a consultant with psychological consultancies, and as part of an internal consultant team for Royal Mail Group. He is CEO and founder of SOVA Assessment. Email: [email protected] Halina Brunning is a chartered clinical psychologist, freelance organizational consultant and accredited

executive coach. She has published extensively on clinical and organizational issues and edited several books for Karnac including Executive Coaching: Systems-Psychodynamic Perspective (2006), which was translated into Italian in 2009. Between 2010 and 2014 she conceived of and edited a trilogy of books which analyses the xx

Contributors

contemporary world through a psychoanalytic lens: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on a Turbulent World. Email: [email protected] Richard Bryant-Jefferies has worked as a primary care alcohol counsellor and counselling supervisor, managed substance misuse services and managed equality and diversity at a large NHS trust in London. He has written over 20 books on counselling themes including two novels, written in a style that draws the reader into the counselling experience. Michael Carroll PhD, has worked as a Counselling Psychologist, an Executive Coach and a Supervisor of Executive Coaches. He was Visiting Industrial Professor in the Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol and the winner of the 2001 British Psychological Society Award for Distinguished Contributions to Professional Psychology. He is now retired. Lloyd Chapman DProf, specializes in executive coaching, He has coached Executives and executive teams in Europe and Africa. For his doctoral thesis he developed and researched the Integrated Experiential Coaching Model. He lectures at the Stellenbosch Graduate Schools of Business in Coaching and on their Executive Development Program. Email: [email protected] Mick Cooper is professor of counselling psychology at the University of Roehampton, where he is director of the Centre for Research in Social and Psychological Transformation (CREST). Mick is a chartered psychologist, a UKCP-registered psychotherapist and a fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). Mick is the father of four children and lives in Brighton on the south coast of England. Email: [email protected] Sarah Corrie is a coaching psychologist, trainer and scholar. A visiting professor at Middlesex University, she was a founder member and former chair of the British Psychological Society’s Special Interest Group in Coaching Psychology. In 2016 Sarah was the recipient of the Achievement Award for Distinguished Contributions to Coaching Psychology from the British Psychological Society. Elaine Cox PhD, is principal lecturer and co-director of the International Centre for Coaching and Mentoring Studies at Oxford Brookes University, where she leads the Doctor of Coaching and Mentoring Programme and supervises doctoral students. She has published books including Coaching understood with SAGE and is the founding editor of The International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring. Kieran Duignan at Be Engaging! researches and coaches about leadership, managing and social networks that support accident prevention and post-incident learning at work. He is a chartered psychologist, chartered ergonomist, chartered safety and health practitioner and chartered fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Email: [email protected] Vicky Ellam-Dyson PhD, is a chartered psychologist and registered coaching psychologist with the British Psychological Society. She is a past chair of the Special Group in Coaching Psychology and a founder counsel member of the International Society of Coaching Psychology. Her doctoral research into the psychology of leadership and coaching explored how embedded core beliefs can influence leadership style. Jake Farr MSc, MA, CPsychol, is an experienced OD consultant and coaching psychologist. Her trainings and immersion in systemic constellations and gestalt psychotherapy enriches all of her work, whether it be with with leaders of private or public sector organisations, executives leading transition programmes, team development with executive boards or clients in long-term therapeutic work. Email: [email protected] Peter Fennah is the director of Career Synergy Limited, an international consultancy firm providing leader-

ship and career transition coaching services. He is the former founding director of the Career Development xxi

Contributors

Institute and co-chair of the Association of Career Professionals International UK Chapter. He has a passion for bringing professional career coaching to management transitions. Annette Fillery-Travis is a senior coach educator, researcher and author. Annette was head of the professional doctorate at Middlesex University and principal investigator for an EU-funded pan-European project before becoming head of the Wales Institute for Work-Based Learning at Trinity St David University of Wales. Email: [email protected] Sandy Gordon PhD, FAPS, is a professor of sport and exercise psychology at UWA, registered sport psy-

chologist (PsyBA) and fellow member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). He has consulted on sport and performance psychology for over 30 years in ten countries. His ongoing engagements include professional sport teams and high performing groups in both the public and private sectors. Dasha Grajfoner PhD, a chartered and accredited coaching psychologist, is the director of the Centre for

Business and Coaching Psychology and the director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes in Business and Coaching Psychology at Heriot Watt University Edinburgh, working both as an academic and as a practitioner in coaching, leadership development and animal assisted interventions. Email: [email protected] Anthony M. Grant PhD, is widely recognised as a key pioneer of coaching psychology and evidence-based

approaches to coaching. He is the director of the Coaching Psychology Unit at Sydney University and has received numerous national and international awards for his contributions to developing a scientific foundation to coaching. Suzy Green is a clinical and coaching psychologist and founder of The Positivity Institute. Suzy is a leader in the complementary fields of coaching psychology and positive psychology. Suzy holds various honorary academic positions in Australia, is an affiliate of the Institute for Well-Being, Cambridge University and is vice president of the ISCP. Bruce Grimley is managing director of Achieving Lives Ltd and specialises in the use of NLP within coaching and counselling contexts. His recent book, The Theory and Practice of NLP Coaching, published in 2013 by Sage, looks at NLP through the lens of psychology, and his PhD dissertation asked the question, what is NLP? Email: [email protected] Kristina Gyllensten works as a psychologist and researcher at Occupational Medicine at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her particular interests are workplace stress, stress management and cognitive behavioural therapy and coaching, about which she has co-authored a number of articles and chapters. Liz Hall is a senior practitioner coach; trained MBSR teacher; mindfulness/compassion trainer and published

author on mindfulness, compassion and coaching (including Mindful Coaching, Kogan Page, 2013). She is the editor of Coaching at Work and joint editor of The International Journal for Mindfulness & Compassion at Work. Caroline Horner DProf (coaching psychology), is an experienced executive coach, educator and organisa-

tion development consultant. As managing director of i-coach academy, she has created one of the UK’s most respected coaching programmes. An expert in her field, she helps organisations to develop working cultures that enable people to feel empowered and work at their best. Email: [email protected] Chris Irons PhD, is a clinical psychologist and director of Balanced Minds, an organisation set up to provide compassion-focused approaches for individuals, groups and organisations. He is an internationally recognised trainer and supervisor of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and the author of the forthcoming book The Compassionate Mind Workbook. xxii

Contributors

Stephen Joseph PhD, is a registered coaching psychologist and Meyler Campbell-trained business coach. Interested in the applications of positive psychology, he is editor of the groundbreaking book Positive Psychlogy in Practice: Promoting Human Flourishing in Work, Health, Education and Everyday Life. His most recent book is Authentic: How to Be Yourself and Why It Matters. Marc Simon Kahn is the author of Coaching on the Axis: Working with Complexity in Business and Executive

Coaching. He is a chartered business coach, clinical psychologist and the global head of Human Resources & Organisation Development for Investec Plc based in London. Lesley Kuhn PhD, has degrees in education, music, environmental science and philosophy and engages

with complexity thinking in philosophical and social inquiry and in teaching in the School of Business, Western Sydney University. With extensive publications, Lesley has led research projects for governments, corporations and universities. Her passion for protecting flexibility and freedom of mind and soul inform all of Lesley’s work. Yi-Ling Lai PhD, CPsychol, is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Portsmouth and has ten years

consultancy and academic experience in leadership development. Her main research focus includes common factors for effective coaching alliances and the psychological impact on the coaching supervision process. YiLing has published several journal papers and book chapters on the development of evidence-based coaching. David Lane has a wide range of organisational coaching experience across sectors at senior global and

national levels. He runs master’s degrees for experienced coaches and contributes to research and the development of the coaching profession. He is past chair of the BPS Register of Psychologists Specialising in Psychotherapy, convening the EFPA group on psychotherapy; David served on committees of the BPS, CIPD, WABC and EMCC. He is the recipient of the senior award of the BPS for Outstanding Scientific Contribution and was honoured by the BPS in 2010 for Distinguished Contribution to Professional Psychology. Ho Law PhD, CPsychol, CSci, AFISCP (Accred), AFBPsS, FHEA, is an internationally renowned practitioner

psychologist in coaching and consulting with over 30 years experience in research and practice. He is an honorary professor of research and psychology, Colombo Institute of Research & Psychology, a director of the International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP) and the founder of Empsy® Cambridge Coaching Psychology Group. Email: [email protected] Doug MacKie is a business psychologist, executive coach and director of CSA Consulting. He has over 25 years experience in the assessment and development of executive, leadership and team capability within top companies in Australia, Asia and the UK and has pioneered the development of strength-based approaches to developing transformational leaders with organisations. Email: [email protected] John McLeod holds professorial positions at the University of Oslo and the Institute for Integrative Coun-

selling and Psychotherapy, Dublin. He has published widely on many aspects of counselling and psychotherapy and is committed to the development of collaborative, flexible and research-informed approaches to therapeutic practice. Ed Nottingham PhD, is board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) in orga-

nizational and business consulting psychology, behavioral and cognitive psychology, and clinical psychology. He is also certified by the International Coach Federation (ICF) as a professional certified coach (PCC) and is a board certified coach (BCC). Alanna O’Broin PhD, is a chartered psychologist and practicing coaching psychologist, following a career

in fund management with 3i Group. Her research and practice reflects a particular focus on benefits of xxiii

Contributors

the coaching relationship and its bearing on coaching process and outcomes. Alanna is a past co-editor of Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice. Bill O’Connell who has recently retired, was the director of Training for Focus on Solutions. He also headed up the MA in solution focused therapy at the University of Birmingham. Bill is the author of Solution Focused Therapy (3rd edition, 2012) and co-authored and co-edited other books on the solution focused approach. Siobhain O’Riordan PhD, is a chartered psychologist and associate director of the Centre for Coaching

and Centre for Positive Transitions. She is chair and a fellow of the International Society for Coaching Psychology. Her professional interests are within the arenas of executive, health, well-being and developmental coaching psychology. Sheila Panchal is a chartered psychologist working as a maternity and leadership coach. She is co-author with Ellen Jackson of Turning 30: How to Get the Life You Really Want and co-editor with Stephen Palmer of Developmental Coaching: Life Transitions and Generational Perspectives. Alex Pascal is the founder and CEO of CoachLogix. Prior to this role he served as product marketing

manager for Coaching & Assessments at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). He is also an adjunct executive coach at CCL. Email: [email protected] Jonathan Passmore is a chartered psychologist, holds five degrees and is an accredited coach. He is the director of the Henley Centre for Coaching and Behavioural Change and holds a professorship at the University of Evora, Portugal. He has written widely with 30 books and over 100 scientific articles and book chapters. Patricia Riddell is professor of applied neuroscience at the University of Reading. She was awarded her

doctorate in psychological sciences from Oxford University. Patricia also teaches on the MSc in coaching and behavioural change at Henley Business School, where she brings her knowledge of applied neuroscience to the course. Her research areas include learning and memory, motivation and leadership. Email: [email protected] Brodie Gregory Riordan (formerly Jane Brodie Gregory) is an I/O psychologist, ICF certified coach and

feedback zealot whose career has included talent consulting with CEB (Corporate Executive Board) and global leadership development with Procter & Gamble. She has published over two dozen articles, books and book chapters on the topics of coaching, feedback and leadership development. Email: [email protected] Vega Zagier Roberts is an independent consultant and coach with a special interest in leadership and

culture change. She is a member of the faculty of the Tavistock/University of Essex MA, ‘Consulting and Leading in Organisations’, a supervisor on the professional doctorate in advanced practice and research and an associate of Tavistock Consulting. Email: [email protected] Maggie Sass PhD (consulting psychology), is an ICF certified executive coach and facilitator with leadership,

coaching and assessment expertise. Maggie has more than ten years research experience with a current emphasis on ethics in professional practice and the role of technology in coaching. She currently is a senior faculty and global portfolio manager at the Center for Creative Leadership, San Diego. Email: [email protected] Aboodi Shabi is a leading pioneer of the UK and European coaching communities and was a founding

co-president of the UK ICF. He has worked with thousands of coaches and leaders across the world. Aboodi writes regularly about coaching, sits on the editorial board for Coaching at Work magazine, speaks internationally at conferences and chapters and is an invited facilitator for various European coaching schools. Email: [email protected] xxiv

Contributors

Matt Shepheard has a background leading organisations in the Third Sector and works as a systemic coach,

facilitator and therapist. He is the programme director of an educational trust and works with systemic constellations in group workshops and one-to-one sessions, applying the work to organisational and family systemic issues. Ole Michael Spaten PhD, MA, MISCPAccred, is supervisor head of the psychology master program and director of the Coaching Psychology Unit, Aalborg University. A leading pioneer in Danish coaching psychology research, he conducted the first randomized control trial in Scandinavia evaluating the effectiveness of brief cognitive behavioral coaching. The founding editor-in-chief of the Danish Journal of Coaching Psychology, Ole’s research interests and publications relate to self and identity, social learning and experiencebased processes in coaching psychology. Gordon B. Spence is program director of the master’s of business coaching, Sydney Business School (University of Wollongong), with particular interests in coaching, mindfulness, leadership, employee engagement and workplace well-being. He has 15 years experience providing executive/workplace coaching, training and consulting services to a range of organisations, is past co-chair of the Science Advisory Council, Institute of Coaching (Harvard University) and is co-editor of the Sage Handbook of Coaching (2016). Ernesto Spinelli is internationally recognised as one of the leading contemporary trainers and theorists

of existential therapy and coaching. He is a fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), a founding member of the BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology and an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. Richard Strozzi-Heckler PhD, is founder of Strozzi Institute. For over four decades he has developed and taught somatics to business leaders, executive managers and teams. Richard is the author of eight books (including The Art of Somatic Coaching) and holds a PhD in psychology and a seventh degree black belt in Aikido. Email: [email protected] Kasia Szymanska is a chartered psychologist, accredited psychotherapist and associate fellow of the International Society for Coaching Psychology. She is a director of the International Academy of Professional Development and the past editor of The Coaching Psychologist. She has authored and co-authored a chapter and articles on different aspects of cognitive behavioural coaching. Email: [email protected] Zsófia Anna Utry MSc, is an associate member of the International Society for Coaching Psychology and an

honorary vice president representing the Hungarian Association for Coaching Psychology. In her research, she is interested in the application of the pluralistic approach to coaching practice and the evaluation of coaching effectiveness using a systematic and adjudicated case-based research design. Diana Aguiar Vieira PhD in psychology (University of Porto), is assistant professor at the Porto Account-

ing and Business School (ISCAP) of Polytechnic of Porto, Portugal. She teaches in the area of social and behavioral sciences and she has been responsible for career, alumni and coaching services in higher education institutions. Helen Williams is an HCPC registered and BPS chartered occupational psychologist working with Sten

10 Ltd and as an associate consultant for the Centre for Coaching, London. Following ten years with SHL delivering assessment and development consultancy, Helen qualified as a coaching psychologist and now specialises in solution-focused, cognitive behavioural coaching. Sandra Wilson DProf, is a teaching and supervising transactional analyst specialising in the organisational

application of TA. She works as a coaching strategist, coach, supervisor and coach trainer using TA to help individuals and teams develop an understanding of the unique role the unconscious plays in how human beings interact, communicate and build relationships. xxv

Foreword

The new millennium in coaching psychology I am really pleased to see in this volume the massive growth and development of the field of coaching psychology. In the first edition of this book there were only 22 chapters, setting out the newly created field of coaching psychology, whereas in this volume we have 43 chapters which now reflect the further development of concepts and research that has matured this important discipline. We now have a full range of coaching psychology approaches, from cognitive behavioural techniques to humanistic ones (e.g. personcentred therapy), from existential approaches (e.g. gestalt coaching, mindfulness) to constructive techniques (e.g. NLP coaching, personal construct psychology) and systemic approaches (e.g. Transactional Analysis, psychodynamic coaching). In addition, there is a section on ‘the profession and ethical practice of coaching psychology’, which explores issues of the boundaries between coaching and counselling, the use of psychometrics in coaching, the role of technology, coaching psychology supervision and diversity issues. In developing a new field, these are fundamental issues that need to be articulated, debated and consolidated in creating a vision and understanding of the field. This new edition has further solidified and defined the field of coaching psychology and provided a strengthened platform for helping people with their personal, work and relationship difficulties. Hopefully, this will help society resolve the issue laid out by Henry David Thoreau in 1853: “How prompt we are to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our bodies; how slow to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our souls”. Professor Sir Cary L. Cooper, CBE President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and president of the Institute of Welfare 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology & Health, ALLIANCE Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Booth Street East, Manchester M13 9SS

Reference Thoreau, H. D. (1906). Letter, February 27, 1853, to Harrison Blake. In The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, vol. 6, p. 213, Houghton Mifflin. See: www.gutenberg.org/files/43523/43523-h/43523-h.htm

xxvi

Preface and acknowledgements

Why has it been necessary to publish a second edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology? After the comprehensive first edition was published back in 2007 and became a key text on many coaching and coaching psychology programmes, is this revision valid and necessary? Between 2000, when Dr Anthony Grant announced that coaching psychology had come of age, and 2007, when the first edition of this handbook was published, the frameworks establishing coaching psychology as a psychological sub-discipline had rapidly emerged in the UK and in Australia. Since 2007, the pace of development within the field of coaching psychology has been maintained. These frameworks include: coaching psychology professional bodies; subgroups in the national representative professional psychology bodies; conferences; university programmes offering coaching psychology in undergraduate programmes through to PhD programmes of study; peer-reviewed publications; and professional practice qualifications and accredited status for coaching psychologists. There have been more countries establishing coaching psychology as a sub-discipline within their national frameworks. As a result of this continued focus on coaching psychology, the depth and breadth of coaching psychology programmes, practice and research has continued to grow with benefits for individual coachees and wider client stakeholders. The coaching and coaching psychology professions continue to inform each other and co-evolve, occupying similar and yet different aspects of the landscape. Although the questions of what is the same and what is different between these areas of the wider profession are less frequently a concern as both are more established and grounded in their own fields. The International Society for Coaching Psychology and the International Congress for Coaching Psychology forum have emerged as useful collaborative vehicles, connecting researchers, students, practitioners, academics and many national coaching psychology bodies in this ever-emerging global field. Some considerable thought has gone into the framework of this edition, the structure of each section and the content and flow of each chapter. The book is in four parts that cover a broad range of aspects and approaches that relate to the development of a professional area of practice such as this. They include: Perspectives and research in coaching psychology; Coaching psychology approaches; Application, context and sustainability; and The profession and ethical practice of coaching psychology. Each part is broken into relevant sections, grouping themes that sit together in the landscape of practice. Additionally, each chapter follows a clear flow to enable comparison across different approaches and frameworks. We have very specifically used the word ‘client’ to indicate organizational clients and ‘coachee’ to indicate the individual being coached. A book of this breadth and depth is the result of significant collaboration from colleagues across the globe, our clients and coachees and our publisher, each of whom had a pivotal role in enabling this volume to become a reality. We would like to thank each of our contributors for their inspirational partnership and the incredible work that they do that enables them to make the contributions that they have.

xxvii

Preface and acknowledgements

We would like to thank our contributors and our publisher for their patience in the production of this volume. In addition, this book would be nothing without the clients and coachees who have brought the practices to life through their stories and the sharing of applications in order that others, too, may learn and benefit from their insights. Finally, we would like to thank the ISCP for coming on board as a partner in placing this book as one of the way stations on the unfolding journey of coaching psychology on the international stage.

xxviii

International Society for Coaching Psychology Foreword The International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP) strives to further the discipline and profession of coaching psychology around the world. This includes encouraging the development of the theory, research and practice in coaching psychology and supporting coaching psychologists in their work. Thus, the opportunity to collaborate with this seminal publication aligns and resonates with our key objectives and strategy. In this second edition, the scope and diversity of topics now available in the 43 chapters of this timely contribution will not disappoint. The structure reflects what’s topical and of interest, the evidence base and practice base and the general patterns of coaching psychology observed internationally by the ISCP in the course of our activities such as publications, social media, events and conferences. Providing a significant contribution to the field, this second edition offers value, whether you are a qualified psychologist, coaching psychologist, coach, student or perhaps someone with a broader interest in the field. The areas covered set out coaching psychology perspectives and research as well as coaching approaches and explore more systemic interventions, professional aspects and ethical practice. Looking back to the emergence of the field of coaching psychology, I am left with a reflection that we might have thought at the time that many of the goals coaching psychology has actually achieved in recent years were aspirational, if not impossible. This new edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology symbolically represents the many milestones achieved during the development of the profession. The future is exciting, and we can now look forward to the potential influence of coaching psychology on the wider psychological profession. Siobhain O’Riordan Chair, International Society for Coaching Psychology

xxix

Part 1

Perspectives and research in coaching psychology

Introduction

In Part 1 the context is set with an overview from the editors of this handbook; ‘Past, present and future’ takes a view of the history, current state and future potential of the profession of coaching psychology. The wealth of development in the field of coaching and coaching psychology over the last decade and a half has been significant. Building forward, we see that coaching and coaching psychology is well placed as areas of practice challenge existing assumptions about how the world is and offer a full range of evidencebased methodologies to support the emergence of new narratives and ways of being as leaders, teams and whole organisations across the for-profit and not-for-profit landscape. This first part continues with a look at some of the more recent developments in the field of coaching psychology. We explore neuroscience (Chapter 2) and how that body of work might be used in coaching practice. In ‘Coaching and neuroscience’, Patricia Riddell explores how much we might need to know about the brain in order to contribute to an understanding of how coaching works, and how we might apply this with our coachees and clients. Diana Aguiar Vieira and Stephen Palmer take us into a more established area of psychological understanding in their chapter, ‘Self-efficacy within coaching and coaching psychology: an integrated Self-efficacy Coaching Model’ (Chapter 3). They note that the construct of self-efficacy has been capable of explaining and predicting human behaviour and/or change in several domains and that coaching psychology is not an exception. Goal-focused coaching, a mainstay of coaching practice for both coaches and coaching psychologists, is explored by Anthony Grant in ‘Goals and coaching: an integrated evidence-based model of goal-focused coaching and coaching psychology’ (Chapter 4). Considered by some as the forefather of modern-day coaching psychology, Anthony notes that although coaching is inherently a goal-focused activity, it is only of late that there has been interest in applying the considerable body of literature on goals and goal setting in the psychological literature to coaching practice. Through this chapter he aims to add further impetus to that trend. The growth and development of positive psychology has paralleled that of coaching psychology and has been an important influence in the growth and practice of coaching and coaching psychology. Positive psychology forms a significant thread in so many coaches’ practice. In their chapter ‘From positive psychology to the development of positive psychology coaching’ (Chapter 5), Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green bring together this rich framework and explore its application as a coaching approach. The final part of Part 1 is dedicated to understanding the research base underpinning practice, and how to evaluate emerging research to understand its application in practice. The attention to what works, with whom, and in what context is an ongoing quest for coaching psychology research as it is with other

3

Introduction

branches of psychological practice. This focus is also important in the wider coaching world. Whilst an exhaustive illustration is neither possible nor the goal of these two chapters, they do illuminate some key aspects and some ways of making sense of the current research landscape. In ‘Research and the practitioner: getting a perspective on evidence as a coaching psychologist’, Annette Fillery-Travis and Sarah Corrie bring to the fore the importance of the research evidence to facilitate the provision of excellent, sustainable and individually tailored services to coachees and their organisations (Chapter 6). Building on those principles, Yi-Ling Lai and Stephen Palmer (Chapter 7) bring us up to date with the evidence base of coaching psychology in ‘Understanding evidence-based coaching through the analysis of coaching psychology research methodology’.

4

1 Past, present and future Alison Whybrow and Stephen Palmer

When we first edited this handbook in 2007, the world was a very different place. The global financial crash in 2008, the shift in global power, the Arab spring, the centrality of the digital world, Big Data, the imminent rise of machines, the changing nature of war, diabetes as a fully fledged global health crisis – these events had yet to happen. Prior to these changes, coaching and coaching psychology were flourishing. Now a decade later, we find that coaching and coaching psychology are still flourishing. Increasing complexity in the global landscape, future uncertainty and greater ambiguity mean the need for deeper self-awareness, psychological flexibility, deep collaboration, curious conversations and co-creation is growing. The need for coaching and the skills of coaches and coaching psychologists is certainly not diminishing, but it is changing. There is a maturity and confidence in the field that is reflected in the growth of coaching, its depth and its breadth in particular, moving coaching from a primarily 1:1 focus to a much more holistic and systems focus. A profession, however, is not merely defined by practice. Other aspects have also matured. The development of professional frameworks and standards, an evidence base to underpin practice and take us into new areas of thinking and robust learning and development pathways, including advanced degrees and doctorates, all combine to build the foundations of the professions of coaching and coaching psychology. Whilst coaching and coaching psychology maintain distinctions, their paths are aligned; walking together rather than divergently, each learns from and is informed by the other. And whilst a particular practitioner may have a preferred professional ‘home’, clients and coachees themselves benefit from a rich collaboration of which this handbook is an example. In this chapter we build from the first edition, sharing the historical roots of coaching psychology, key aspects of the current state of play and some exploration of the trends of the last decade with a view to useful assumptions we might make at this point in the evolution of this sub-discipline of psychological practice.

From Socrates to the twenty-first century It could be argued that Socrates’ dialectic method of inquiry, the Socratic method, was an early account of what we would now call a coaching technique being used. This method, stimulating critical thinking through logical questioning, has been used in different professions, including psychology and therapy, for

5

Alison Whybrow and Stephen Palmer

many years. In essence, psychologists have been practising coaching for decades (Filippi, 1968). If we look back, it was in the 1920s that the father of sports psychology in the United States, Coleman R. Griffith, associate professor of educational psychology at the Laboratory for Research in Athletics, University of Illinois, wrote his groundbreaking book, The Psychology of Coaching: A Study of Coaching Methods from the Point of View of Psychology (Griffith, 1926). The laboratory was established in order to look at three key areas which clearly reflected psychological principles: “a) toward the discovery of pure psychological fact and theory, b) toward the discovery of facts about human behaviour that have a bearing upon athletic skill and athletic mindedness, and c) toward increasing the effectiveness of coaching methods” (Griffith, 1930, p. vii). Griffith’s work focused on the psychology of coaching in the sports field. Griffith believed a coach was more than an instructor. “He is a teacher, in the ancient sense of the word . . . a character-builder; he molds personalities” (1926, p. 2). Griffith believed that the coach should be an athlete, a physiologist and a psychologist. In his book The Psychology of Coaching (Griffith, 1926), Griffith covered aspects of coaching such as handling spectators, sports stars and ‘jinxed’ players, the problems of over-coaching teams and the laws and principles of learning. Griffith was very productive academically. His publications and work in the field were rediscovered by the sports psychology fraternity in the 1960s as proponents attempted to establish sports psychology as a discipline of psychology in America. Griffith’s use of psychological theories emphasising the importance of psychology in coaching, which informed coaching practice based on his research, can be considered the springboard to coaching psychology many years later. Grant (2005, 2006) reviewed papers from the behavioural sciences and scholarly business databases, focusing on executive, workplace and life coaching papers. An early scholarly paper was by Gorby (1937), who described how newer employees were coached by older employees to reduce waste and thereby increase profits, which would maximise profit-sharing programme bonuses. Grant noted the exponential escalation in peer-reviewed research and studies from 1995 to 2005, indicating an emerging body of empirical support for the effectiveness of workplace and life coaching. The impact and effectiveness of psychological principles in coaching and coach training has not always been clearly considered. Some coach training courses may have been based on psychological principles, but more implicitly than explicitly (Linley & Harrington, 2007). Additionally, some proprietary models and frameworks developed by early coach training providers were not subject to rigorous research. Grant (2007) suggests influences on the emergence of coaching psychology as we know it today include: humanistic psychology (e.g. Maslow, 1968), the 1960s human potential movement (HPM) and, more latterly, the positive psychology movement (e.g. Seligman & Csikszentmilhalyi, 2000). The turn of the twenty-first century marked a pivotal period in the development of coaching psychology. The positive psychology paradigm, with its focus on well-being (rather than ill health) underpinned by research, provided psychologists who coached from a scientist practitioner background with an alternative perspective, differing at that time from clinical, counselling and organisational psychology. By 2005, there were coaching psychology interest groups established within the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the British Psychological Society (BPS).

A global movement We can now say that the development of coaching psychology theory and practice is global. There are at least 21 formal interest groups including those in the APS and BPS (see Table 1.1). In some countries, a separate coaching psychology group has not been formally developed, yet the interest exists within psychological bodies. For example, in the US, the American Psychological Association’s Division 13 has become actively involved in coaching psychology, although it currently does not have a specific interest group. The collaborative development of coaching psychology around the world has been intentional. In 2009, Peter Zarris (chair IGCP) and Stephen Palmer (past chair, SGCP), in conversation with colleagues, developed

6

Past, present and future Table 1.1 Coaching psychology interest groups around the globe The Australian Psychological Society, Interest Group in Coaching Psychology (APS IGCP)

Australia 2002

British Psychological Society, Special Group in Coaching Psychology (BPS SGCP)

United Kingdom 2004

Swiss Society for Coaching Psychology (SSCP)

Switzerland 2006

Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology of South Africa, Interest Group in Coaching and Consulting Psychology (SIOPSA IGCCP)

South Africa 2006

Danish Psychological Association, Society for Evidence-based Coaching (SEBC)

Denmark 2007

International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP) (Prior to 2011 known as Society for Coaching Psychology)

2008

Collegi Oficial de Psicologia de Catalunya, Section of Work and Organisational Psychology, Working Group in Coaching (COPC CGCOP WG) (The Psychology Coaching Section was formalised in 2012.)

Spain 2008

Psychological Society of Ireland, Division of Work and Organisational Psychology, Coaching Psychology Group (PSI DWOP CPG)

Ireland 2008

Hungarian Association for Coaching Psychology

Hungary 2008

International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP, Independent). Became ‘International’ in 2011

2008

New Zealand Psychological Society, Coaching Psychology Special Interest Group (CPSIG)

New Zealand 2009

Association of Coaching Psychologists* (Swedish Psych. Assoc. affiliated, 2018)

Sweden 2009

Israel Association for Coaching Psychology (IACP)

Israel 2010

Dutch Psychological Association, Work and Organisation Section, Coaching Psychology Group (DPA WO CPG) (The CPG ceased in 2015.)

Netherlands 2010–2015

Japan Society of Coaching Psychology (JCPA, Independent)

Japan 2011

Society for Coaching Psychology Italy (SCP, Independent)

Italy 2011

Korean Coaching Psychological Association (KCPA), Korean Psychological Association (KPA)

South Korea 2011

Society of Consulting Psychology (Division 13), American Psychological Association (APA)

USA 2012

Hungarian Psychological Association, Coaching Psychology Division

Hungary 2014

Coaching Psychology Special Interest Groups, Singapore Psychological Society.

Singapore 2016

Serbian Association for Coaching Psychlogy (Independent)

Serbia 2018

a proposal focusing on how coaching psychology could be further developed internationally. The International Congress of Coaching Psychology (ICCP, 2010) was set up to: • • • •

promote the development of the coaching psychology profession around the world; bring together the coaching psychology community; share within the psychology community the theory, research and practice of coaching and coaching psychology; engage all professionals interested in coaching and coaching psychology.

This collaboration has had a positive impact. Chapter 43 builds a rich picture of the development of coaching psychology around the globe.

7

Alison Whybrow and Stephen Palmer

Regulatory landscape The development of coaching psychology has been influenced by regulation of the practice of psychology and the legal use of the term ‘psychologist’ around the world, with the use of the term limited to those appropriately registered, licensed, accredited or chartered, depending on the country of practice. In the UK, there are nine protected psychology titles; in the US the situation is more complex as licensing differs between different states. In some countries there is no legislation over who can call themselves a ‘psychologist’. Coaching is not a legally defined profession, so whilst coaching professional bodies hold standards of practice for coaches, the term ‘coaching’ is not restricted. This situation has positive impacts as well as challenges for both coaches and coaching psychologists. The regulatory landscape for psychology has had a useful impact on the development of coaching psychology professional bodies. It is not possible for one professional body to govern at a global level; instead, collaborative development providing a holding global framework with local differentiation has been designed into the profession from the beginning. In this context, the International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP) has become a touch point for most coaching psychology groups around the globe, but it does not replace or otherwise overshadow any one professional group. This is a systemic difference between the professions of coaching and coaching psychology that is interesting to observe.

Defining coaching psychology There is no one definition of coaching psychology. Similar to consulting psychology, counselling psychology and clinical psychology, the definition of coaching psychology was developed by each national professional body based on its general policies, committees and expert input and with reference to the legislation relevant to psychologists in that context. The APS Interest Group in Coaching Psychology was established in 2002. Its definition highlights a link between positive psychology and coaching psychology: Coaching Psychology; as an applied positive psychology, draws on and develops established psychological approaches, and can be understood as being the systematic application of behavioural science in the enhancement of life experience, work performance and well-being for individuals, groups and organisations who do not have clinically significant mental health (sic) or abnormal levels of distress (APS, 2016). Not all coaching psychology groups make the link with positive psychology so explicitly. Key themes to note include: psychological approaches, enhancement of life experience, work performance and well-being. In addition, the focus is on working with coachees who do not have clinically significant mental health problems. However, in practice a coachee may be suffering from a disorder such as panic attacks, and the coaching psychologist or coach may still be assisting the coachee through the coaching process to, for example, update their CV and seek a new job. The coachee may be seeing a therapist or medical consultant in parallel for treatment of a mental health problem. Case by case consideration of such circumstances is important. The BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology (SGCP) was launched in December 2004. The definition of coaching psychology, based on and adapted from the work of Grant and Palmer (2002), became: Coaching psychology is for enhancing well-being and performance in personal life and work domains underpinned by models of coaching grounded in established adult learning or psychological approaches (Palmer & Whybrow, 2006, p. 8). The key themes relating to psychological approaches, enhanced well-being and performance are similar to the APS IGCP definition. The intention to be inclusive and to encourage membership from across the spectrum of psychological practice meant positive psychology was not explicitly stated in the definition by the BPS SGCP, although aspects of positive psychology informed the definition. From 2005, more coaching psychology groups were established (see Table 1.1), their definitions reflecting their interpretations of coaching psychology in their particular context. For example, the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology (SIOPSA), Interest Group in Coaching and Consulting Psychology (IGCCP), South Africa, defines coaching psychology, practiced by a registered practitioner, as: a conversational process of facilitating positive development and change towards optimal functioning, well-being and increased performance in the work and personal life domains, in the absence of clinically significant mental health issues, through the application of a 8

Past, present and future

wide range of psychological theories and principles. The intervention is action-orientated with measureable outcomes, and is also reflective towards creating greater self-awareness and meaning, and is directed at individuals, groups, organisations and communities within a culturally specific context (SIOPSA, IGCCP, 2016, p. 8). Comparing coaching psychology as defined by psychological professional bodies and coaching as defined by coaching professional bodies, the difference is the more likely the inclusion of psychology or psychological approaches on the one hand, and their absence on the other. This diversity of definitions of coaching psychology offers a richness to the field.

Research – shaping factors Coaching and coaching psychology research has flourished, with an increase in studies using randomised control trials (RCTs) and most research continuing to use a mix of qualitative and less stringent quantitative methodologies. Coaching research has increasingly started to unpack some of the mechanisms by which coaching is effective, providing insight, for example, into the nature of the working alliance that might be more important in a coaching relationship. Whilst certain psychological frameworks have been demonstrated to impact positively (e.g. Green, Oades, & Grant 2006), the working alliance is considered a key component in the effectiveness of coaching as it is in therapeutic settings. Interestingly, emerging research into the qualities of the relationship indicates an important distinction: the strength of the bond or emotional rapport appears more important in a therpeutic setting (Ackerman & Hilsenroth, 2003), whilst those aspects of the relationship that are associated with the goal and task appear more powerful in coaching settings (de Haan, Grant, Burger, & Eriksson, 2016). It seems that the working alliance or coaching relationship offers insight into how coaching techniques are transformed into effective interventions according to those most closely involved, yet it is by no means the whole story. Current research trends and themes are discussed further in Chapters 6 and 7.

The practice of coaches and coaching psychologists During 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006/2007, annual surveys were undertaken in the UK to explore the views and experiences of coaching psychologists as this fledging area of practice emerged (see Whybrow & Palmer, 2006a, 2006b). The early surveys were published, and, ongoing surveys by Whybrow and Palmer looking at the trends in practices have been undertaken on a regular basis over the past two decades. In the first edition of this handbook, Palmer and Whybrow (2007) reported more than 28 different psychological approaches used by coaching psychologists, of which 23 were used by at least 10% of those surveyed. A recent global survey of coaching psychologists (Palmer & Whybrow, 2017) identified more than 38 psychologically based approaches and ways of integrating approaches, 26 of which were reported used by more than 10% of coaching psychologists surveyed (see 1.2 below). Additionally, in a parallel survey, coaches (rather than coaching psychologists specifically) also reported using these psychological approaches in their practices. The prevalence of the different approaches among coaching and coaching psychology survey participants is shown in Table 1.2. Interestingly, the six most frequently used approaches were the same for both coaching psychologists and coaches in this survey, with positive psychology at the top of that list for both sets of practitioners. This reaffirms the links between positive psychology and coaching psychology; however, that link is not explicit for everyone. Compared with a similar type of survey a decade ago, mindfulness approaches have become much more mainstream in both coaching psychology (48%) and coaching (46%) practice. When forced to choose just one model as a core underpinning, 35 different psychologically based approaches and ways of integrating approaches were noted as core across the coaching psychologists who responded, with most respondents noting cognitive behavioural approaches (20%). Solution-focused cognitive behavioural (10%), positive psychology (8%) and solution-focused approaches (8%) were the next three most frequently cited core underpinnings. For coaches, 32 different approaches were noted as core, with solution focused (10%), cognitive behavioural approaches (9%) and positive psychology (9%) most frequently cited as the core model. Choosing one approach was not easy for everyone as this respondent 9

Alison Whybrow and Stephen Palmer Table 1.2 Percentage of coaching psychologists and coaches who use different psychologically based coaching approaches Approach

% Coaching Psychologists

% Coaches

Positive Psychology Cognitive Behavioural Mindfulness Solution Focused Strengths Based Goal Focused Adult Learning Behavioural Cognitive Solution Focused Cognitive Behavioural Person-centred Humanistic Action Focused Motivational Interviewing Developmental Narrative Systemic Existential Transactional Analysis Co-active Neurolinguistic Programming Problem Focused Psychodynamic Rational Emotive Behaviour Gestalt Approaches Compassion Focused

63 57 48 43 42 42 40 37 31 29 28 28 27 27 22 22 19 16 15 14 14 14 13 12 12 11

57 46 46 42 48 49 32 40 21 21 41 28 30 22 31 17 17 11 25 25 30 15 10 7 17 13

noted when asked to select just one underpinning: “Almost impossible to say, since it depends on the person, the role and the organisation as a whole”. These results are illustrated in Figure 1.1. What we can see is coaching psychologists and coaches alike have diverse underpinnings to their work and integrate a range of psychological approaches into their practice. Whilst this survey tells us how people choose to categorise their own practice, and that there may be more similarities than differences between the coaches and coaching psychologists who completed the survey, regardless of qualifications, what is not clear is what this apparent diversity means in practice. What practical impact does this diversity have for coachees and clients? Are the categorisations used by practitioners applied consistently? For example, what are people categorising as positive psychology or as mindfulness? Both of these are very broad terms. How do coaches and coaching psychologists construct their coaching practice? To explore these questions, an in-depth qualitative approach is required.

What of the future? This handbook details 24 of the 41 psychological approaches and ways of integrating approaches mentioned in the survey, providing a further step forward in sharing how to apply many of the approaches in 10

Co-active Person-centred

Goal Focused

Other

Coach Responses

Neurolinguistic Programming

Co-active

Ontological

Integrative

Gestalt

Behavioural

Narrative

Mindfulness

Goal Focused

Eclectic

5.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

Coaching Psychologist Responses

10.00%

Figure 1.1 Showing the top 16 responses to the question: Which approach do you most use in your coaching/coaching psychology practice? Choose ONLY one.

Humanistic

Gestalt

Solution Focused Cognitive Behavioural

Person-centred

Developmental

Adult Learning Model

Systemic

Ontological

Systemic

Solution Focused

Strengths

NLP

Positive Psychology

Cognitive Behavioural Solution Focused Cognitive Behavioural

0.00%

Positive Psychology

Cognitive Behavioural

Solution Focused

0.00% 2.00% 4.00% 6.00% 8.00% 10.00% 12.00%

Alison Whybrow and Stephen Palmer

coaching practice. In this edition of the handbook, we have consciously chosen to include approaches that can be applied to situations of growing complexity, strengthening the systemic awareness of practitioners, enabling hidden patterns to emerge with coachees and with clients. As a subset of wider psychological practice, coaching psychologists often arrive on their journey of coaching practice with systemic underpinnings, whether that is working with organisations, working as environmental psychologists, with forensic systems, or elsewhere; a wider lens and understanding of systems and system dynamics brings advantages. This attention to the detailed impact of specific approaches, together with holding emerging uncertainty in a complex world, offers something of a paradox to coaching psychologists. Whilst RCTs offer a specific type of evidence of impact that is useful, the in-the-moment reality of unfolding emergence in a coaching session, working with what is uncertain and complex to find a healthy way forward, requires awareness of robust techniques in general and personal and professional ways of knowing that go far beyond those techniques. As our way of living and working as a species on an earth with finite resources and a new age of human activity impacting earth’s evolution (the Anthropocene) comes into central focus, approaches that allow us to let go of what we have assumed to be true and allow hidden or ignored patterns to emerge, approaches that consider not just the individual coachee but explicitly consider the system that they are part of, are required. This brings with it some interesting questions: are we, as coaches or coaching psychologists, simply present to meet a coachee’s needs and expectations? What about the wider system stakeholders? How can we stretch the focus so that we are looking beyond what is immediate? What kind of leaders, community, society, businesses and life does the world need, and how are we stepping up to that bigger challenge as coaching psychologists? If coaching and coaching psychology were part of the rebalancing of the humanearth relationship, what research would we be commissioning? What questions would we be exploring? How would we be framing our intent? How can we enable coaching to achieve its potential as a positive component in the evolution of a healthy future? Holding that tension and still being able to dance is perhaps what we’re aiming for. As a reader of this handbook, you may be starting off on your journey to becoming a coach or a leaderas-coach, or you may have been working in this field for a significant number of years – whatever your starting point, our intention is that this handbook provides you with a challenge about the coach or coaching psychologist you are becoming. What do you need to stretch, what do you need to unlearn in order to move forward? How do you need to develop your skills in order to be able to hold your clients and facilitate their path to growth, greater psychological mindedness and systems awareness? What do you need to do to grow the ‘thinking space’ that your coachees think into?

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

How do you define both coaching and coaching psychology? In your experience, is the working alliance a key component in the effectiveness of coaching? How do you see the profession of coaching psychology progressing over the next decade? Is there any real difference between the practice of coaching and coaching psychology?

Suggested reading Allen, K. (2016). Theory, Research, and Practical Guidelines for Family Life Coaching. Basel: Springer International Publishing. Bachkirova, T., Spence, G., & Drake, D. (2017). The SAGE Handbook of Coaching. London: Sage Publications. Law, H. (2013). Coaching Psychology: A Practitioner’s Guide. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Passmore, J., Peterson, D.B., & Freire, T. (2013). The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. van Zyl, L.E., Stander, M.W., & Odendaal, A. (2016). Coaching Psychology: Meta-Theoretical Perspectives and Applications in Multicultural Contexts. Basel: Springer International Publishing.

12

Past, present and future

References Ackerman, S.J., & Hilsenroth, M.J. (2003). A review of therapist characteristics and techniques positively impacting the therapeutic alliance. Clinical Psychology Review, 23(1): 1–33. Australian Psychological Society (n.d.). Definition of Coaching Psychology. Retrieved on 5/9/2018 from www.groups. psychology.org.au/igcp/ de Haan, E., Grant, A.M., Burger, Y., & Eriksson, P.-O. (2016). A large scale study of executive and work place coaching: The relative contributions of relationship, personality match, and self-efficacy. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Researh, 68(3): 189–207. Filippi, R. (1968). Coaching: A therapy for people who do not seek help. Zeitschrift Fuer Psychotherapie und Dedizinische Psychologie, 18(6): 225–229. Gorby, C.B. (1937). Everyone gets a share of the profits. Factory Management & Maintenance, 95: 82–83. Grant, A.M. (2005). Workplace, Executive and Life Coaching: An Annotated Bibliography from the Behavioural Science Literature (March 2005). Unpublished paper, Coaching Psychology Unit, University of Sydney, Australia. Grant, A.M. (2006). Workplace and executive coaching: A bibliography from the literature scholarly business literature. In D.R. Stober & A.M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence-Based Coaching Handbook: Putting Best Practices to Work for Your Clients. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Grant, A.M. (2007). Past, present and future: The evolution of professional coaching and coaching psychology. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners. Hove: Routledge. Grant, A.M., & Palmer, S. (2002). Coaching Psychology workshop. Annual Conference of the Division of Counselling Psychology, British Psychological Society, Torquay, UK, 18th May. Green, L.S., Oades, L.G., & Grant, A.M. (2006). Cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused life coaching: Enhancing goal striving, well-being and hope. Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(3): 142–149. Griffith, C.R. (1926). Psychology of Coaching: A Study of Coaching Methods from the Point of View of Psychology. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. Griffith, C.R. (1930). A laboratory for research in athletics. Research Quarterly, 1: 34–40. International Congress of Coaching Psychology (ICCP). (2010). Aims of the International Congress of Coaching Psychology Forum. Retrieved on 5/9/2018 from https://www.coachingpsychologycongress.net/aims-of-congress/ Linley, P.A., & Harrington, S. (2007). Integrating positive psychology and coaching psychology: Shared assumptions and aspirations. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners. Hove: Routledge. Maslow, A.H. (1968). Towards a Psychology of Being. New York: Wiley-Blackwell. Palmer, S., & Whybrow, A. (2006). The coaching psychology movement and its development within the British Psychological Society. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(1): 5–11. Palmer, S., & Whybrow, A. (2007). Coaching psychology: An introduction. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners. Hove: Routledge. Palmer, S., & Whybrow, A. (2017). What do Coaching Psychologists and Coaches really do? Results from two international surveys. Invited paper at the 7th International Congress of Coaching Psychology October 18, . London. Seligman, M.E.P., & Csikszentmilhalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1): 5–14. Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology (SIOPSA), Interest Group in Coaching and Consulting Psychology (IGCCP). (2016). Code of Practice for Registered Psychology Practitioners in Coaching. Johannesburg: SIOPSA. Retrieved on September 9, 2018 from https://www.siopsa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IGCCP_Code-ofPractice-for-Registered-Psychology-Practitioners-in-Coaching_V1.1_2016-uploaded.pdf Whybrow, A., & Palmer, S. (2006a). Taking stock: A survey of coaching psychologists’ practices and perspectives. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(1): 56–70. Whybrow, A., & Palmer, S. (2006b). Shifting perspectives: One year into the development of the British Psychological Society Special Group in Coaching Society in the UK. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(2): 85.

13

2 Coaching and neuroscience Patricia Riddell

Our brains are the basis of every thought, emotion, action and behaviour that we experience. Since the essence of coaching involves changing thoughts, emotions, actions and behaviours, it is self-evident that coaching must depend on changes in networks of neurons in the brain. It might therefore follow that a greater understanding of the neural systems that are involved in our day-to-day behaviour, and how these can be changed, would provide useful insights into how coaching works. Further, since, coaching does not always create as much change as an individual might hope, a better understanding of the human brain might also provide a means to make behavioural change easier to obtain and more reliable to sustain. In this way, the promise of neuroscience is substantial and a goal worthy of pursuit. The unresolved question is, “how much do we need to know about the brain in order to contribute to an understanding of how coaching works?”. There are a wide range of views in the literature about the degree to which our current knowledge of neuroscience is sufficient, from those that are highly sceptical (Jarrett, 2014) to those that believe that the field is sufficiently advanced to provide useful information for coaches (Bossons, Riddell, and Sartain, 2015; Boyatzis, 2012; Boyatzis, Passarelli, Koenig, Lowe, Blessy, Stoller, and Phillips, 2012; Brann, 2014). As with most dilemmas of this kind, the answer to whether we know enough is probably somewhere in the middle – there are areas in which our current knowledge of neuroscience provides useful clues to indicate why some coaching techniques are successful, but we are a long way from a full understanding either of how the brain works or of how coaching works. The field of coaching is diverse and therefore it is important to start with a working definition for this chapter. Here, since we will be discussing coaching in relation to neuroscience, the definition that will be used is that coaching psychology is used to enhance well-being and performance both in personal life and work domains and is underpinned by models of coaching grounded in established adult learning or psychological approaches. In this chapter, a differentiation is made between evidence which provides suggestions for what might work in coaching based on our increasing understanding of the brain (evidence-supported coaching), and evidence which provides support for a particular coaching intervention based on research which has been designed specifically to test that intervention (evidence-based coaching: Stober, Wildflower, and Drake, 2006). By discriminating between these types of evidence, it will become clear that, while neuroscience has the potential to contribute to evidence-based coaching in the future, currently the evidence to support the efficacy of coaching interventions is extremely sparse. Considerable care is therefore required in interpreting the supporting neuroscience evidence that is available since this has not been designed to directly test

14

Coaching and neuroscience

the efficacy of coaching. Ways in which the reader can become more aware of the limitations of research through differentiating evidence from interpretation are discussed. Finally, some indications of directions for future research are also provided

Neuroscience Neuro-science Neuroscience is a general term which encompasses any or all of the sciences, such as neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, neurophysiology and experimental psychology, which deal with the structure and/or function of the brain and nervous system. Here, we will mainly be referring to neuroscience in terms of understanding the patterns of electrical activation that are associated with particular behaviours and that occur in systems (connected areas) within the brain. While this field is expanding exponentially, it is still in its relative infancy and is constrained by the techniques currently available to measure neural activity. None of these are perfect. For instance, we have techniques which provide excellent information on the timing of neural activity in relation to behaviour (electroencephalography: EEG; event related potentials: ERP; magnetoencephalography: MEG). These techniques can be used to test the order in which particular areas of the brain are activated to produce specific behaviours; however, they lack the ability to determine precisely where in the brain this activation arises. In contrast, we have techniques which are able to provide relatively accurate information about where in the brain activity is found (positron emission tomography: PET; functional magnetic resonance imaging: fMRI), but these techniques provide less accuracy in the timing of events. Therefore all imaging data is constrained in some manner. The most recent neural imaging combines two of these techniques (e.g. EEG and fMRI) to attempt to maximise information on both the timing and place of events in the brain.

Neuro-science Science is the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Scientists use existing evidence to create hypotheses about the world and then test these by designing experiments. Importantly, it is clearly understood in science that it is impossible to prove that something is true – a hypothesis is only a possible interpretation of the evidence to date, and the hypothesis is valid only until the first piece of evidence that proves it wrong. For this reason, scientists design experiments with the aim of disproving their hypotheses. They seek evidence that conclusively demonstrates that their ideas are wrong rather than providing evidence that can only continue to support the hypothesis without ever proving it. If a study which has been carefully designed to prove a hypothesis incorrect does not prove it wrong, the results provide some support for the hypothesis. It is therefore reasonable to think of science as an advanced form of metaphor – scientists provide their best guess at what is true about the world using the latest understanding. What makes science different from other types of metaphor is that the current metaphor is always being challenged and improved to reflect the latest research evidence. It is important to understand that there is no precise scientific truth about the way the brain works – only the scientists’ best guess based on evidence to date. So, when you read that scientists have “proved that . . .”, you can instantly imply that this is not a scientist’s viewpoint! This can act as a warning to be particularly sceptical about what follows. Additionally, any one theory reflects one scientist’s opinion of the current state at a single point in time. There are likely to be several interpretations of the evidence in a given field, any of which might be proven wrong. Reading widely in the literature can limit the tendency to treat opinion as definitive or one theory as truth. In addition, an unintended consequence of the scientific approach is that it results in many negative findings where scientists do not find evidence to disprove a particular theory but also do not provide conclusive evidence to support it either. Scientific journals accept papers that are conclusive in one direction or another, 15

Patricia Riddell

but they are reluctant to publish papers that are inconclusive. This results in what scientists call “the file drawer” phenomenon in which data that neither fully support nor disprove a theory, and therefore cannot be published, pile up awaiting some additional research that will make the data publishable (Rosenthal, 1979). As a result, what is in the literature is not a complete version of research findings. It is important therefore for coaches and coaching psychologists to be conservative in interpreting research findings that have not been replicated since this might be because the next study which was designed to test a particular finding was inconclusive. For these reasons, the best people to interpret neuroscience evidence are the neuroscientists themselves. When looking for reading material in this field, consider the credentials of the author(s) and choose to read articles and books that have been written by people who have a training in neuroscience rather than those who are interpreting the field from a non-neuroscientific point of view. It is always important to approach new ideas with a sceptical curiosity and to be aware of the difference between descriptions that are based on good research evidence and those that are based primarily on opinion. Be alert for where the neuroscience has come from (who is the expert) and what evidence has been provided to support the case (what research papers are being cited). The important question to ask is whether there is original data being cited from a peer-reviewed publication that you could read if you wanted to check the veracity of the claims being made. If not, then the strategy might be based more on opinion than on research. For further reading, see Dias, Palmer, O’Riordan, de Freitas, Habib, do Nascimento Bevilaqua, and Nardi (2015).

How can neuroscience be useful in coaching? Coaches can bring their expert knowledge to a coaching situation when the knowledge of the coach is greater than that of the coachee and the knowledge base is relevant to the coachee’s goals (Stober and Grant, 2006). It could therefore be argued that having expertise in how the brain works might be considered an appropriate form of expert knowledge for a coach. This expertise would certainly include knowledge of the areas of the brain and their function (see Table 2.1 for a brief summary of the function of some important brain areas). There are some excellent free apps which can be downloaded which provide easy access to this information (e.g. The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 3D Brain app). One way in which anatomical information could be used would be to provide an explanation for behaviour at the level of activation within the brain. For instance, neuroscience might be used to indicate that the level of activation of the amygdala is increased when we become aware of, and respond to, threats in our environment (Whalen and Phelps, 2009). To relate this to coaching, consider the increase in activity in the amygdala of a coachee who has a particularly negative reaction to a particular person in their workplace. This increased arousal might be sufficient to interfere with their ability to perform their job well. However, neuroscience also shows that the level of activation of the amygdala is reduced when the threat is re-evaluated and that this involves increased activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (Urry et al., 2006). While the amygdala treats all threats equally, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex can take context into account and therefore reduces the response in the amygdala when the threat is considered as part of a bigger picture. The coaching intervention might help them to understand their negative reaction, noting that it arises from evaluation of threat which increases activation of their amygdala. By providing them with choices about possible alternative behaviours, activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex can be increased thus decreasing amygdala activation and therefore the sense of threat. In this case, what neuroscience has added is a description of the changes in neural activity that would occur as a result of creating new options for their behaviour. Descriptions of this sort, however, only change the level at which the explanation is provided (from behavioural to neural) without necessarily providing any additional information that might enhance the coaching intervention per se. It does not provide any information on how to increase activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Put like this, neuroscience could almost be viewed as advanced phrenology (measuring the human skull to infer personality) – we are using neuroimaging techniques to describe the parts of the brain that are active from the inside of the head, rather than just from the bumps 16

Coaching and neuroscience Table 2.1 Summary of parts of the brain with their function Brain Area

Function

Frontal Cortex

Executive Function: Including Working Memory, Attention, Inhibition, Decision Making

Parietal Cortex

Association between Senses, Spatial Awareness

Temporal Cortex

Hearing and Memory

Occipital Cortex

Vision

Cingulate Cortex

Regulation of Emotions and Pain

Hippocampus

Long-term Memory

Insula

Integration of Visceral Information (heart rate, breathing rate, etc.) That Signals Emotional Response

Basal Ganglia

Habit Formation (substantia nigra) Threat Processing (amygdala) Motivation and Reward (ventral striatum, nucleus accumbens)

Thalamus

Sensory Perception and Attention

Hypothalamus Pituitary

Hormone Control and Production

Tectum

Visual and Auditory Maps of the World

Pons

Sleep, Body Functions, Sensation and Posture

Cerebellum

Movement Control, Motor Learning

Brain Stem

Breathing, Heart Rate, Blood Pressure

on the outside of our heads. Therefore, just knowing which parts of the brain drive our behaviour does not advance our understanding of coaching to any great extent. Displaying knowledge of the parts of the brain in this way can only be used in order to provide credibility to the field. Sometimes, coachees are more prepared to try a new way of thinking when they are provided with an understanding of how their brain is currently processing information and the new ways of processing that can be developed. As part of a deeper understanding of the neural mechanisms involved in the threat response and how these can be altered, it can have benefit. However, it is important to notice when neuroscience appears, as in this case, to stand as a proxy for expert knowledge without adding greater understanding (Weisberg, Keil, Goodstein, Rawson, and Gray, 2008). One reason to be cautious of explanations at this level is that they can sometimes result in too much credence being placed on the efficacy of any coaching strategy that is described in terms of activation of the brain. If neuroscience explanations go no further than to name the parts of the brain involved, there is the possibility that neuroscience might lose its credibility. It is important that we identify when neuroscientific terms are being used inappropriately by individuals who do not have a thorough understanding of the field, the complexities of the research techniques used to study it, the evidence that each technique can and cannot provide and the interpretation of the evidence. Use of neuroscience in this way can lead to neuro-myths which are sustained by being passed along in blogs and articles. Examples of these include that we only use 10% of our brains, that there are left brain and right brain people, or that the reptilian brain controls our emotional responses. There is very good evidence that each of these statements is false (e.g. Jarrett, 2014; della Chiesa, 2006). Communication between neuroscientists and the public is essential to dispel such myths and to keep neuroscience in the public arena up to date and accurate. The lack of any regulatory framework to determine who can claim to be a neuroscientist within the coaching field has the potential to lead to overuse of the term by unqualified practitioners. Thus, while it is not necessary for everyone who uses neuroscientific explanations in their practice to have 17

Patricia Riddell

a PhD in neuroscience, it is important that there is some distinction made between people who have real expert knowledge in this area and those who have a more superficial understanding. One way that this might be improved is through the introduction of courses that are carefully regulated. There are some coaching qualifications that are delivered by trained neuroscientists, but this is still extremely rare. With all of these caveats in place, it is now possible to consider what our current understanding of the brain might add to coaching practice.

Using neuroscience to support coaching interventions Understanding neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change over time. In order to be able to change behaviour, beliefs and thoughts quickly and efficiently, there needs to be some component in the brain that can change at the same rate. Thus, every time a new behaviour is generated, something needs to change in the brain in order for that new information to be stored (even temporarily). One component of the brain that is able to change rapidly is the connections between our neurones (Nowakowski, 1987). Neurones in the brain connect with thousands of other neurones at junctions called synapses. When we learn something new, new synapses between appropriate neurones are created to store this information. It might be tempting to think that once a synapse is created, it is permanent – so long as the connection between the two neurones is used sufficiently. However, this is not quite the case. Synapses appear to be more like skin cells – they are continually lost and replaced over time. Indeed, it has been estimated that 20% of synapses can change in a 24-hour period (Purves, Voyvodic, Magrassi, and Yawo, 1987). So, while the strength of a connection between two neurones can remain relatively constant over time, the actual synapses creating this connection will change regularly. Creating and destroying synapses is an energy-consuming process, but it is crucial to the function of the brain since this gives the brain its huge capacity for change or plasticity (Purves, White, and Riddle, 1996). If the brain made synapses but did not unmake them, we would have no means to unlearn facts or behaviours which are no longer useful to us. For instance, behaviours that we might have learnt as a toddler are unlikely to be as useful to us as adults, or we may have learnt a fact that was untrue (or that has been replaced by more recent evidence). Changing our representations of knowledge and behaviour in real time requires us both to build new synapses and remove outdated synapses. This requires a means to determine which information is still current and which is no longer needed. The synapses which connect two neurones are retained if the information represented is repeated or is marked as important (by emotional intensity, for instance). Connections between neurones which are inactive for some time are removed. This ability to build and remove synapses confers a fundamental evolutionary benefit since it provides us with a means of learning in new environments. We not only create new synapses, but it is now known that we can also create new neurones in some parts of the brain (e.g. hippocampus: e.g. Gross, 2000; Van Praag, Kemperman, and Gage, 2000). As our understanding of the creation of new neurones has increased, we have discovered contexts in which we make more neurones than average and contexts in which we make fewer. We make fewer new neurones when we are depressed or anxious, and we create more new neurones when we exercise and when we are in enriched environments (Van Praag, Kemperman, and Gage, 2000). Importantly, evidence suggests that more new neurones are created as we exercise than are lost through depression or anxiety. Indeed, evidence suggests that poorer mental health is related to lower neuroplasticity while increased cognitive flexibility is related to higher neuroplasticity (Kays, Hurley, and Taber, 2012). In addition, neuroplasticity, while greater in infancy, is evident across the lifespan and continues to be found in ageing populations (Gutchess, 2014). Thus our brains are created for a lifetime of learning, and learning keeps us mentally healthy and cognitively flexible. 18

Coaching and neuroscience

Implications for coaching One belief that can undermine motivation to engage with coaching interventions is if the coachee believes that they are unable to change for some reason. This might take the form of being too old, too stupid, too inexperienced or other similar limiting beliefs. In these cases, it is possible that an understanding of the fundamental nature of the human brain and the mechanism by which it creates new learning can help to overcome such beliefs.

Neuroplasticity and learning Individual differences have been found in the degree to which people believe that intelligence and personality can develop (incremental theory) compared to believing that intelligence and personality are fixed properties (entity theory: Dweck, 2006). A considerable body of research has demonstrated that children and adolescents have greater motivation to learn, and less fear of failure, if they hold the belief that intelligence (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, and Dweck, 2007) and personality (Yeager, Johnson, Spitzer, Trzesniewski, Powers, and Dweck, 2014) can change over time rather than being fixed. For instance, neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that beliefs about intelligence can affect how we process positive and negative feedback in learning situations (Mangels, Butterfield, Lamb, Good, and Dweck, 2006). Individuals who believed that intelligence is fixed showed greater activation in the frontal cortex to negative feedback than those who believed it can be developed. The size of this activation was positively related to their concern that errors in answering questions would make them look foolish in the eyes of others. This suggests that, in individuals with a belief that intelligence is fixed, the potential to feel foolish interferes with the processing information that might prevent future failure. In comparison, individuals who believe that intelligence can develop showed longer activation in brain areas associated with memory and so were better able to remember the correct responses when re-tested. If beliefs about whether intelligence is fixed or not can influence the way that we learn, it might be possible to increase motivation for, and approach to, learning by changing this belief. There is some evidence that this is possible. Yeager and Dweck (2012) taught students that intelligence and personality is not fixed but that it can change over time. In a series of studies, they demonstrated that this had a positive impact on academic achievement in maths and that it lowered aggressive responses and stress in situations in which students were being bullied. The authors concluded that learning how intelligence can develop can increase resilience in adolescents and young adults. In a related study, Blackwell, Trzesniewski, and Dweck (2007) taught secondary schools students about the structure of the brain followed by learning about either memory (control group) or about neuroplasticity (experimental group). There was a significant difference in maths grades between groups, with the experimental group scoring higher than the control group when tested after the intervention. This effect was mediated by change in motivation with significantly more children in the experimental group showing a positive change in motivation following the intervention. Teachers’ comments included that: M was [performing] far below grade level. During the past few weeks she has voluntarily asked for help during her lunch period in order to improve her test taking performance. Her grades drastically improved from a failing grade to an 84 in her recent exam. (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, and Dweck, 2007, p 256) This research suggests that motivation is influenced by the belief that intelligence and personality are not fixed; this belief can be installed through an understanding of neuroplasticity and of how the brain learns. From this, it would be tempting to speculate that whether individuals have an incremental or entity focus on intelligence and personality would impact on their willingness to engage in coaching and the effectiveness of coaching interventions. 19

Patricia Riddell

Implications for coaching This is an example of where the neuroscience literature can provide evidence which can be interpreted to give possible insights into how to increase the effectiveness of coaching. Knowing about the ability of the brain to change and the reasons that it has evolved this way can help to induce a growth mindset, thus increasing motivation and willingness to change. One way this can be used is by reminding coachees that the brain is sculpted through experience. New connections form in the areas of the brain that are being used for a new task. By seeking new experiences which provide opportunity to practice, over time, the brain will create the necessary pathways in order to make the new behaviour automatic. Neuroscience helps us to understand that learning is limited not by the ability to learn but by the lack of motivation to seek out relevant opportunities to practice new skills. While the research outlined here would suggest that helping coachees to understand how the brain learns should increase the belief that change is possible, to date, there is no research examining whether this knowledge can directly influence the outcome of coaching interventions. Further practitioner-based research is required to demonstrate that the benefits of coaching are increased when combined with an understanding of the synaptic mechanisms through which the brain learns and the degree of neuroplasticity that this engenders in the human brain.

Neuroscience of engagement Another way in which neuroscience might provide insights that are useful in coaching is when it can be used to reach conclusions that in some way extend, or are counter-intuitive to, our current beliefs. There are some things that we know and that appear intuitively true about how we engage with other people. For instance, at an individual level, imitation of behaviours through observation has long been known to be a mechanism used for learning – even in early childhood, as demonstrated in the classic experiments of Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1963). In these experiments, children observed the aggressive behaviour of adults after which they were given an opportunity to imitate this behaviour. Children were found to copy what the adults did after observing their behavior, but they did not produce aggressive behaviours of this sort if they had not observed them. From this research, we have learnt that imitation is a powerful learning tool for children and adults alike. One important system involved in imitating others is the mirror neuron system. Neurons in this system are active both when we observe someone else performing an action and when we perform the same action, thus enabling conversion of observed behaviour to action (Iacoboni, 2009). In addition to imitating behaviours, another recently evolved skill that enables social interaction in humans is the ability to read other people’s minds and to guess what they might be thinking or why they might be behaving in a certain way (also known as theory of mind: Frith and Frith, 2012). Children in the Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1963) study were more likely to imitate an aggressive act after seeing an adult rewarded and less likely to imitate after seeing an adult punished, suggesting that the children were able to hypothesise about the likely consequence of their own actions based on evidence from other people. Similarly, we can easily imagine the facial expressions, posture, tone of voice and even some of the thoughts of someone who has recently been promoted, and we can contrast this with the patterns we might expect for someone who has recently split up with their partner. When mind reading, we can use people’s behaviour to predict their emotional responses, and we also can use people’s emotional responses to predict their behaviour. The ability to predict other people’s behaviours develops in stages during childhood. As infants and younger children, we learn to understand our own physical and emotional responses to our environment. These experiences are then used to interpret other people’s responses to the environment by imagining what we would think, feel and do in the same situation and by noticing similar outward signs of these responses in others (Carpendale and Lewis, 2004). So, if we imagine that we would smile when we heard we had been promoted, and then we see someone else smile in the same situation, we hypothesise that they are feeling what we would feel. The process of imagining this experience can result in emotional contagion – we begin 20

Coaching and neuroscience

to feel what we imagine they feel (Decety and Svetlova, 2011). Studies have demonstrated using social networking data that emotions spread not only between individuals but also across wider networks (Fowler & Christakis, 2008). People who are friends with happy people are more likely to be happy in the future. Analysis showed that this was the result not just of happy people mixing with other happy people but that happiness actively spread across a network of people over time and distance. Thus, emotional contagion is not limited to individuals in close proximity but is a collective phenomenon. Later in childhood and as adults, we learn to understand people’s behaviours, and at this point, we no longer automatically feel the same emotions as they do (Decety and Svetlova, 2011). Emotional understanding allows separation of other people’s emotional responses from our own – an important ability when coaching people through difficult situations. Whether we use emotional contagion or emotional understanding to predict another person’s emotional response, if we guess correctly, the resulting shared experience can create a sense of rapport between individuals. It is worth noting here that our mind reading is not always correct. While we might feel excitement and pride when offered a promotion, another individual might feel anxiety that they might not have the skill set for the job, or they might feel loss since they will be moving away from a team of people with whom they have enjoyed working. It is important to check our predictions about other people’s emotional responses. These should be treated as working hypotheses only. Our social brain therefore allows us to imitate behaviours and to predict emotional responses in other individuals. A whole network of areas in the brain is activated in these abilities, including systems that control attention, interpretation and expression of emotions, and recognition of faces (Decety and Jackson, 2004). All of this happens subconsciously in our brains (Lakin and Chartrad, 2003). The effect of activation of this system can be observed when a group of close friends are talking – often their posture, emotions and voice tone become similar – they are acting in rapport by matching each other. This similarity is used as a measure of whether an individual is to be trusted as an in-group member or not, and so subconscious matching leads to greater trust between individuals (Singer, Seymour, O’Doherty, Stephan, Dolan, and Frith, 2006; Xu, Zuo, Wang, and Han, 2009). This trust helps to build co-operation between people in social groups. For instance, Jonas, Martens, Kayser, Fritsche, Sullivan, and Greenberg (2008) showed that witnessing someone else helping another person caused participants to engage in more helping behaviour in a subsequent task. The feeling that people can be trusted to behave well can be transmitted from one situation to another. This is easy to see in real life. If you are a driver, think about a time when someone has stopped to let you out of a turning, and consider how this affects your behaviour if you see another driver who is having trouble joining the road from a turning. While rapport can help to develop trust between individuals, there is also evidence to suggest that trust can operate at a cultural level. To show how prosocial contagion develops in networks of people, Fowler and Christakis (2010) reported the results of studies in which individuals played a series of rounds of a game with a new set of four participants each time. In each round, participants were asked to choose how much of their pot of money to share with the group. Results demonstrated that participants who were the recipients of generosity in one round increased their giving in the next round. Thus, a new set of participants were the beneficiaries of previous generosity. Effects were seen across three degrees of separation so that generosity in round one was still seen to benefit the new participants in round three. This suggests that differences in the level of prosocial behaviour within a culture can be contagious even across contexts. Recent imaging data has demonstrated that working together can activate the reward centres in the brain, providing strong motivation for co-operative behaviour (Krill and Platek, 2012). Beyond building a culture of trust, there is also research that suggests that gratitude for the generous behaviour of an individual in our group increases the likelihood that the group will share and therefore work towards the same goals within an organisational context (Jia, Tong, and Lee, 2014). This accumulated research supports the idea that prosocial contagion can form an important “glue” within social structures. An important group of prosocial emotions are those that are “other-praising”, including elevation (our response to moral excellence), gratitude and admiration. It is therefore of interest to determine how these emotions are represented in the brain. This might help us to better understand their effect on prosocial 21

Patricia Riddell

behaviour. Brain activity in response to stories eliciting admiration and compassion (Immordino-Yang, McColl, Damasio, and Damasio, 2009) and elevation and admiration (Englander, Haidt, and Morris, 2012) has been measured. These emotions are similar in that they all share the ability to produce a heightened sense of self-awareness, which creates a drive to be more virtuous ourselves. In both studies, participants read stories about the actions of real people which induced feelings of elevation, admiration or compassion. All of the stories resulted in appropriate emotional responses including increases in heart rate and respiration rate that would be expected for such emotional responses. Stories about elevation, admiration and compassion resulted in increases in activity in areas of the brain associated with determining our sense of self (e.g. ventromedial and medial prefrontal cortex). While common sense might predict that societies are held together by rewarding prosocial actions, our response to other-praising emotions is more counter-intuitive. What is being suggested by the neural activation is that when we feel elevation, admiration or compassion for others, we feel an increased sense of self. The shared emotional response, which might include an increased sense of pride, fulfilment, social engagement or self-worth, points us to potentially rewarding ways of acting. Thus, positive emotional contagion resulting from generosity can drive us to act in similar ways in the future, increasing the overall level of prosocial behaviour within the culture.

Implications for coaching When coaching, encouraging others to think of situations that evoke other-praising emotions has the potential to allow them to reflect on how they might improve their own behaviour while providing a sense of reward and activation of their sense of self-worth. This research also suggests that coaching as an activity will have its own rewards since assisting people to be the best version of themselves is likely to elicit “self-praising” emotions in us as coaches. No wonder coaching is so rewarding.

Which coachees benefit most A neuroscientific approach to coaching can be particularly beneficial when working with coachees who have a need for a clear understanding of why things work. Understanding that coaching is based on sound research evidence that demonstrates the ways in which the brain processes information can decrease resistance to suggested techniques. Neuroscientific approaches are also of potential benefit to coachees who have a strong need for autonomy. By providing an understanding of the way that their brain works, and the changes that they can elicit through new behaviours, the coach can provide a coachee with a choice over whether they want to change their brain in this way. The sense of potential loss that is associated with not taking action, and therefore not making these changes in neural processing, can provide the final incentive to commit to new behaviours.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

22

If you have been using ideas from neuroscience in your coaching, you might choose to reflect on the sources of the information that you cite to be sure that these are up to date and credible. When coaching, consider whether particular coachees might become less resistant to new ideas if they had a better understanding of the ways in which our brains are designed for change. Think about how you might use emotional contagion as a coach to help your coachees to be in the most resourceful state for coaching. Reflect on the effect of other-praising emotions both in the benefits these might have for your coachees and also in the benefits that your work as a coach might have in your own life.

Coaching and neuroscience

Suggested reading Bossons, P., Riddell, P., and Sartain, D. (2015). The Neuroscience of Leadership Coaching. London: Bloomsbury Press. Jarrett, C. (2014). Great Myths of the Brain. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Download the 3D Brain App (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) onto your tablet or smartphone. Sign up to Mindhacks.com for interesting blogs on the latest findings in Neuroscience.

References Bandura, A., Ross, D., and Ross, S.A. (1963). Vicarious reinforcement and imitative learning. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 67, 601–607. Blackwell, L.A., Trzesniewski, K.H., and Dweck, C.S. (2007). Theories of intelligence and achievement across the junior high school transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78, 246–263. Bossons, P., Riddell, P., and Sartain, D. (2015). The Neuroscience of Leadership Coaching. London: Bloomsbury Press. Boyatzis, R. (2012). Neuroscience and the link between inspirational leadership and resonant relationships. Ivey Business Journal,http://iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/leadership/neuroscience-and-the-link-between-inspirationalleadership-and-resonant-relationships-2#.VFZwfPSsV8M Boyatzis, R., Passarelli, A., Koenig, K., Lowe, M., Blessy, M., Stoller, J., and Phillips, M. (2012). Examination of the neural substrates activated in memories of experiences with resonant and dissonant leaders. The Leadership Quarterly, 23, 259–272. Brann, A. (2014). Neuroscience for Coaches. London: Kogan Page. Carpendale, J.I.M. and Lewis, C. (2004). Constructing an understanding of mind: The development of children’s social understanding within social interaction. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 27, 79–96. Decety, J. and Jackson, P.L. (2004). The functional architecture of human empathy. Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 3, 71–100. Decety, J. and Svetlova, M. (2011). Putting together phylogenetic and ontogenetic perspectives on empathy. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2, 1–24. Della Chiesa, B. (2006). Neuromyths. Monterey, CA: Monterey Institute of International Studies. Dias, G.P., Palmer, S., O’Riordan, S., de Freitas, S.B., Habib, L.R., do Nascimento Bevilaqua, M.C., and Nardi, A.E. (2015). Perspectives and challenges for the study of brain responses to coaching: Enhancing the dialogue between the fields of neuroscience and coaching psychology. The Coaching Psychologist, 11, 21–29. Dweck, C.S. (2006). Mindset. New York, NY: Random House. Englander, Z.A., Haidt, J., and Morris, J.P. (2012). Neural basis of moral elevation demonstrated through inter-subject synchronization of cortical activity during free-viewing. PLoS One, 7, e39384. Fowler, J. and Christakis, N. (2008). Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: Longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. British Medical Journal, 337, a2338. Fowler, J. and Christakis, N. (2010). Co-operative behaviour cascades in human social networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107, 5334–5338. Frith, C.D. and Frith, U. (2012). Mechanisms of social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 287–313. Gross, C.G. (2000). Neurogenesis in the adult brain: Death of a dogma. Nature Neuroscience Reviews, 1, 67–73. Gutchess, A. (2014). Plasticity of the aging brain: New direction in cognitive neuroscience. Science, 346, 579–582. Iacoboni, M. (2009). Imitation, empathy and mirror neurons. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 653–670. Immordino-Yang, M.H., McColl, A., Damasio, H., and Damasio, A. (2009). Neural correlates of admiration and compassion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106, 8021–8026. Jarrett, C. (2014). Great Myths of the Brain. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Jia, L., Tong, E., and Lee, L.N. (2014). Psychological “gel” to bind individuals’ goal pursuit: Gratitude facilitates goal contagion. Emotion, 14, 748–760. Jonas, E., Martens, A., Kayser, D., Fritsche, I., Sullivan, D., and Greenberg, J. (2008). Focus theory of normative conduct and Terror-Management Theory: The interactive impact of mortality salience and norm salience on social judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1239–1251. Kays, J.L., Hurley, R.A., and Taber, K.H. (2012). The dynamic brain: Neuroplasticity and mental health. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 24, 118–124. Krill, A.L. and Platek, S.M. (2012). Working together may be better: Activation of reward centres during a cooperative maze task. PLoS One, 7, e30613. Lakin, J.L. and Chartrad, T.L. (2003). Using nonconscious behavioural mimicry to create affiliation and rapport. Psychological Science, 14, 334–339. Mangels, J.A., Butterfield, B., Lamb, J., Good, C., and Dweck, C.S. (2006). Why do beliefs about intelligence influence learning success? A social cognitive neuroscience model. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 1, 75–86. Nowakowski, R.S. (1987). Basic concepts of CNS development. Child Development, 58, 568–595.

23

Patricia Riddell

Purves, D., Voyvodic, J.T., Magrassi, L., and Yawo, H. (1987). Nerve terminal remodelling visualized in living mice by repeated examination of the same neuron. Science, 238, 1122–1126. Purves, D., White, L., and Riddle, D. (1996). Is neural development Darwinian? Trends in Neuroscience, 19, 460–464. Rosenthal, R. (1979). The file drawer problem and tolerance for null results. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 638–641. Singer, T., Seymour, B., O’Doherty, J., Stephan, K., Dolan, R., and Frith, C.D. (2006). Empathic neural responses are modulated by the perceived fairness of others. Nature, 439, 466–469. Stober, D.R. and Grant, A.M. (2006). Evidence Based Coaching Handbook: Putting Best Practices to Work for Your Clients. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Stober, D.R., Wildflower, L., and Drake, D. (2006). Evidence-based practice: A potential approach for effective coaching. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 4, 1–8. Urry, H., van Reekum, C., Johnstone, I.T., Kalin, N., Thurow, M., Scaefer, H., Jackson, C., Frye, C., Greischar, L., Alexander, A., and Davidson, R. (2006). Amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex are inversely coupled during regulation of negative affect and predict the diurnal pattern of cortisol secretion among older adults. Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 4415–4425. Van Praag, H., Kempermann, G., and Gage, F. (2000). Neural consequences of environmental enrichment. Nature Reviews: Neuroscience, 1, 191–198. Weisberg, D.S., Keil, F.C., Goodstein, J., Rawson, E., and Gray, J.R. (2008) The seductive allure of neuroscience explanations. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20, 470–477. Whalen, P.J. and Phelps, E.A. (2009). The Human Amygdala. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Xu, X., Zuo, X., Wang, X., and Han, S. (2009). Do you feel my pain? Racial group membership modulates empathic neural responses. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 8525–8529. Yeager, D. and Dweck, C. (2012). Mindsets that promote resilience: When students believe that personal characteristics can be developed. Educational Psychologist, 47, 302–314. Yeager, D., Johnson, R., Spitzer, B., Trzesniewski, K., Powers, J., and Dweck, C. (2014). The far-reaching effects of believing people can change: Implicit theories of personality shape stress, health, and achievement during adolescence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 106, 867–884.

24

3 Self-efficacy within coaching and coaching psychology An integrated Self-efficacy Coaching Model Diana Aguiar Vieira and Stephen Palmer

Introduction Derived from the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986, 1997), self-efficacy may be defined as the perceived capability to be successful in performing certain actions. This psychological and prospective construct has been capable of explaining and predicting human behavior and/or change in several domains, and we propose that coaching psychology is not an exception. Subsequently, grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, the Self-efficacy Coaching Model (SEC) presented in this chapter aims to gather the coaching literature that apply the concept of self-efficacy and integrate it with the Social Cognitive Theory in order to provide an integrated model that contributes to explain and predict different self-efficacy angles within coaching and coaching psychology. The SEC model is focused on the self-efficacy beliefs of the coach relating to their skills to act as a coach, its determinants and consequences, the latter including the coachee’s perspective both in terms of benefits and evaluation of the coach’s skills. Finally, applications of the Selfefficacy Coaching Model to practice and research are discussed.

Development of the Self-efficacy Coaching Model Albert Bandura (1977) introduced the concept of self-efficacy referring to a person’s belief in their ability to achieve in a particular area. This perceived self-efficacy is “based on performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states” (Bandura, 1977:195). In addition to these sources, Bandura also explained the consequences of self-efficacy beliefs since they determine how much effort one will expend and how long one will persist in the face of obstacles or aversive experiences (Bandura, 1982). In 1986, Bandura incorporated the self-efficacy theory and his social learning theory in the Social Cognitive Theory. Since then, a great amount of research about this theory has been made in several domains of human action (Bandura, 2004). As far as we can ascertain, Popper and Lipshitz (1992) were the first authors to relate the work of Bandura (1977) to coaching (not sport-related), specifically in the area of leadership development. Since this first theoretical endeavor, several authors in coaching literature have explored the role of self-efficacy in coaching, mainly as an output variable (e.g. Baron & Morin, 2009, 2010; Evers, Brouwers, & Tomic, 2006; Grant, 2014; Gyllensten & Palmer, 2014; McDowall, Freeman, & Marshall, 2014; Moen & Allgood, 2009; Pousa & Mathieu, 2015; Stewart, Palmer, Wilkin, & Kerrin, 2008; Wakkee, Elfring, & Monaghan, 2010). A first

25

Diana Aguiar Vieira and Stephen Palmer

attempt to aggregate this knowledge into an integrated theoretical model was presented by Vieira (2013). Based on that previous endeavor, in this chapter we propose the Self-efficacy Coaching Model.

Theory and basic concepts Within Social Cognitive Theory, human functioning is the product of the interplay of three determinants: intrapersonal influences (e.g. cognitive internal states and emotional and physical attributes), environmental determinants (e.g. external and contextual factors), and behavior individuals engage in (Bandura, 2012). The Social Cognitive Theory postulates “an agentic perspective to self-development, adaptation and change” (Bandura, 2001:9) in which an individual is a contributor to her/his life circumstances and not just a product of them. Indeed, it is through one’s actions that an individual influences the situations that affect his/her thoughts, feelings and subsequent behavior (Bandura, 1982). In the light of this theory, individuals set themselves goals and anticipate likely outcomes of prospective actions to guide and motivate their efforts (Bandura, 2005), contributing to their self-regulatory capabilities.

Self-efficacy Albert Bandura defined perceived self-efficacy “as people’s beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that influence over events that affect their lives” (Bandura, 1994:71). The author postulated that self-efficacy beliefs help determine how an individual feels, thinks, motivates themselves and behaves, producing effects through cognitive, motivational, affective and selection processes. Perceived self-efficacy is related to judgments of how well one can execute actions required to deal with prospective situations. In short, “perceived self-efficacy is concerned not with the number of skills you have, but with what you believe you can do with what you have under a variety of circumstances” (Bandura, 1997:37). For Bandura (1986, 1997), self-efficacy beliefs are the main mechanism in human agency. A strong sense of efficacy enhances human accomplishment and personal well-being which contributes to maintain the performance even in situations that offer a high probability of rejection or failure (Bandura, 1986). In contrast, individuals who have weak self-efficacy beliefs and doubt their capabilities usually avoid difficult tasks which they view as personal threats, showing low aspirations and weak commitment to the goals they choose to pursue (Bandura, 1994). The Social Cognitive Theory suggests that self-efficacy beliefs that slightly exceed one’s current level of competence facilitate skills development (Bandura, 1986) because the individual feels encouraged to engage and commit to challenging tasks, promoting skills development. However, if the beliefs of self-efficacy are located too high above the current level of competence of the individual, they may provide failure.

Sources of self-efficacy According to the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1997), individuals’ beliefs about their efficacy can be developed by four main sources: 1) mastery experiences/successful past performance (which serve as capacity indicators); 2) vicarious experiences provided by social models; 3) verbal persuasion (and other social influences that inform the individual about the perception that others have of their abilities); and 4) psycho-physiological and emotional states (from which one infers his/her ability, strength and vulnerability to failure). Bandura (1994) postulates that the most effective way of creating a strong sense of efficacy is through mastery experiences because they are the source that provides authentic evidence about one’s ability to master – or not – what is needed to produce the expected results. Successes build a robust belief in one’s personal efficacy, while failures undermine it, especially when they occur before a firmly based sense of efficacy. Nevertheless, if individuals experience only easy successes, they will expect quick results, getting easily discouraged by failure. To develop efficacy, one must overcome obstacles through a perseverant effort; 26

Self-efficacy within coaching and coaching psychology

difficulties provide opportunities to learn how to turn failures into successes and how to persevere in face of adversity (Bandura, 1997). Vicarious experiences provided by social models are another way of strengthening self-beliefs of efficacy (Bandura, 1997). Observing individuals similar to oneself succeed raises the observer’s self-efficacy beliefs to master identical activities, but watching them fail lowers the observer’s judgments of their own efficacy. The impact of modeling on perceived self-efficacy is influenced by perceived similarity to the models, i.e. the greater the assumed similarity, the more persuasive are the model’s successes and failures (Bandura, 1994). Social persuasion and verbal encouragement may also have an important effect on self-efficacy beliefs. Individuals who are verbally persuaded that they possess the capabilities to master difficult situations are likely to mobilize a greater effort to succeed than those who don’t receive any social encouragement (Bandura, 1977). However, individuals who have been persuaded that they lack capabilities tend to avoid challenging activities and give up quickly in the face of difficulties. To raise perceived self-efficacy takes more than a compliment; it is necessary to develop activities that lead to success and avoid putting individuals in situations where they may experience failure (Bandura, 1997). Nevertheless, efficacy expectations induced by verbal encouragement are likely to be weaker than those arising from one’s own accomplishments since they do not provide an authentic experiential base for them (Bandura, 1994). Psycho-physiological and emotional states also influence perceived self-efficacy, since individuals interpret their stress reactions and tension as signs of vulnerability to poor performance while positive mood enhances perceived self-efficacy (Bandura, 1994). For example, indicators of anxiety or fatigue during the performance of an activity may decrease the perceived self-efficacy, while feelings of calm or excitement may increase the perceived proficiency of the task (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). The emotional state also “affects the judgment of events, the way the emotion is linked to the events, and how it is interpreted, organized cognitively and retained in memory” (Bandura, 1997:111).

Consequences of self-efficacy Self-efficacy beliefs have clear consequences on one’s behavior. The level and the persistence of one’s motivation, and one’s affective states, are affected by efficacy beliefs, contributing to different types of performance. People who doubt their capabilities in certain fields of activity turn away from difficult tasks in these same fields, finding it difficult to motivate themselves and giving up quickly in the face of obstacles (Bandura, 1997). Individuals who have strong beliefs about their capabilities usually approach difficult tasks as challenges that must be mastered rather than threats to avoid, increasing the interest and engagement in the activities. They set for themselves challenging goals and maintain a strong commitment to them, investing a high level of effort in what they do and increasing their efforts in the face of failures or setbacks (Bandura, 1997). Self-efficacy beliefs influence human self-development and change, having a pivotal role in selfmotivation and perseverance in the face of difficulties through the goals people set for themselves and their outcome expectations. People’s beliefs in their coping capabilities also play a key role in their emotional self-regulation, affecting the quality of their emotional life and their vulnerability to stress and depression. Finally, self-efficacy affects the choices people make by influencing the range of options people consider on decisional points of their lives. As stated by Bandura, “by their choices of activities and environments, people set the course of their life paths and what they become” (2012:13). Social Cognitive Theory also acknowledges that quality of performance is one of self-efficacy’s consequences, and a large body of research corroborates this idea in a wide range of performance areas such as work-related task performance (Bandura, 1997; Peterson, Luthans, Avolio, Walumbwa, & Zhang, 2011; Stajkovic & Luthans, 1998), team performance (e.g. Chen, Kanfer, DeShon, Mathieu, & Kozlowski, 2009) and academic achievement (Caprara, Vecchione, Alessandri, Gerbino, & Barbaranelli, 2011; Robbins, Lauver, Le, Davis, Langley, & Carlstron, 2004). 27

Diana Aguiar Vieira and Stephen Palmer

Goals and outcome expectations Along with self-efficacy, goals and outcome expectations are central self-referent variables within Social Cognitive Theory. Self-efficacy refers to “Am I able to do it?” Goals refer to “What do I want to do or achieve?” In fact, goals refer to one’s determination to engage in a given activity or to effect a particular outcome, such as completing a difficult task or getting a particular job (Lent, Hackett, & Brown, 1999). By setting goals, one organizes and directs one’s behavior, keeping behavioral efforts over long periods of time even in the absence of external incentives, increasing the probability of the desired outcome. Goalsetting is a critical mechanism through which people exercise personal control or agency (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), operating primarily through the individual’s ability to symbolically represent desired outcomes and to react in a self-evaluative way of one’s own behavior, based on internal performance standards. The Social Cognitive Theory identifies some properties of the goals that affect their likelihood to be implemented. Goals act as powerful guidelines for the behavior when they are clear, specific, subdivided into tasks, temporally close to the action to be developed, publicly established and maintained with a strong commitment (Bandura, 1986). When an individual asks, “If I do this, what will happen?”, the person is questioning themselves about their outcome expectations about something. That is, outcome expectations concern the consequences (i.e. outcomes) of behavioral efforts, and these can be positive (serving as incentives) or negative (acting as discouraging of certain behavior). Outcome expectations may influence behavior through results anticipation and can be distinguished in several classes: physical (e.g. sensory experiences of pleasure or physical discomfort), social (e.g. approval, recognition, monetary compensation) and self-evaluative (e.g. self-satisfaction, pride) (Bandura, 1986, 1997). Together with self-efficacy, both goals and outcome expectations have been found to play an important role in actually entering upon specific activities (Evers, Brouwers, & Tomic, 2006).

The Self-efficacy Coaching Model Self-efficacy is one of the most researched psychological constructs and, in our opinion, its unique constellation of features are a key contributory factor. First, self-efficacy is not a personality trait; it consists of self-judgements that focus on perceived capabilities to perform an activity such as “how well I can do this?” rather than on static personality characteristics such as “I am like this” (Zimmerman, 1995). Consequently, self-efficacy is domain specific since people vary in the way they evaluate their personal capability in regard to different activities and/or performance areas. For instance, one may perceive oneself as very capable to do sports but much less capable in regard to speaking foreign languages. This means that the self-efficacy concept can be applied to almost infinite areas of human functioning. Second, self-efficacy beliefs have a proactive impact on performance since they are typically assessed prior to engaging in a particular task or activity, being conceptualized as a forethought process (Zimmerman & Cleary, 2006). Together with a clear definition of its sources and of the processes by which perceived selfefficacy is built on, this psychological construct, embedded in Social Cognitive Theory, not only allows the understanding of human functioning in several domains but also provides clues to intervene in ways to enhance perceived self-efficacy and, consequently, people’s performance and/or well-being. Finally, Social Cognitive Theory provides the explanation of self-efficacy’s relationship with other selfreferent variables that are important to coaching, such as goals and outcome expectations. Based on the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986, 1997) in general and on the self-efficacy concept along with its determinants and consequences in particular, we propose the Self-efficacy Coaching Model (SEC). This model is focused on the self-efficacy perceptions of the coach relating to their skills as a coach, its determinants and consequences, the latter including the coachee’s perspective both in terms of benefits and evaluation of the coach’s skills. The SEC model aims to: 1) contribute to the understanding of the way a person develops his/her skills as a coach; 2) acknowledge the predictor role of self-efficacy in terms of 28

Self-efficacy within coaching and coaching psychology

DETERMINANTS

1

COACH SELF-EFFICACY

Training / Supervision Past performance Emotional Intelligence

2 4

COACHEES Benefits Evaluation of the coach

Figure 3.1

3

COACH PERFORMANCE

Self-efficacy Coaching Model

the coach performance; 3) provide a way to evaluate the quality of coaching courses; 4) provide guidelines/ strategies to improve the preparation/training and professional development of the coach. Additionally, the SEC model also addresses the benefits obtained by coachees as a result of the coaching process as well as the coachees’ evaluation of the coach’s skills. The Self-Efficacy Coaching (SEC) model is presented in Figure 3.1. The SEC model is composed of four elements: the coach’s self-efficacy, its determinants, the coach’s performance in coaching sessions and the coachee. The relationships amongst these four elements are represented by numbered arrows. Arrow 1 represents the determinants of the coach’s self-efficacy, which include the training and supervision received by the coach, his/her past experience as a coach and his/her emotional intelligence. As previously stated by Bandura (1986), past experience, observation of others, verbal encouragement and physiological and emotional states are self-efficacy sources. Consequently, in the SEC model training and supervision received by the coach are identified as two main sources of his/her self-efficacy. Coach training courses usually include exposure to experienced coaches (the trainers) as well as the opportunity to experiment and practice the coach role. Less structured learning experiences such as watching videos, reading books and/or discussing coaching practices with colleagues may also play a role in enhancing self-efficacy. Moreover, supervision context commonly includes verbal encouragement from the supervisor as well as social support towards the coach that is benefiting from supervision. Successful mastery experiences as a coach are represented in the SEC model as past experiences, representing another source of the coach’s self-efficacy. Although it has been suggested that coaching also has significant benefits to the coach (Rider, 2002; Sweeney, 2007), consideration of the process of coaching as an experience that may improve coaches’ levels of self-efficacy has not received extensive consideration within coaching literature. Indeed, from our literature review, only one study explored the possibility of coaches’ self-efficacy developing in this way (Leonard-Cross, 2010). In this study, the majority of the individuals who had undertaken a coaching role during the previous two years reported a perceived increase in personal self-efficacy. Finally, although emotional intelligence is a much broader concept than the physiological and emotional states identified as a source of self-efficacy by Bandura (1986), given the context of coaching and the importance of a clear understanding by the coach of their own and others’ emotions (e.g. Day, de Haan, Sills, Bertie, & Blass, 2008), emotional intelligence is proposed in the SEC model as an important source of coach self-efficacy. In this regard it is important to clarify that emotional intelligence in this model refers to Mayer and Salovey’s theorization (Mayer & Salovey, 1997; Salovey & Mayer, 1990), in which it is composed by four different skills: 1) the ability to perceive emotions in oneself and in others, 2) the ability to use emotion to facilitate thought, 3) the ability to understand emotions, and 4) the ability to manage emotions (Caruso & Salovey, 2004). 29

Diana Aguiar Vieira and Stephen Palmer

Arrow 2 represents the impact that a coach’s self-efficacy has on their performance during coaching sessions. A coach’s self-efficacy is the perceived capability the coach has in their ability in regard to the skills that characterize the coach role (Vieira & Palmer, 2012). The relationship between the coach’s self-efficacy and their performance is based not only on the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986) but also upon a body of research that highlights the influence of self-efficacy on performance in several areas of human functioning (e.g. Judge, Jackson, Shaw, Scott, & Rich, 2007; Raub & Liao, 2012). Within coaching literature there has been a lack of research on coaches’ self-efficacy. One study found that the coach’s self-efficacy in facilitating learning and results is a facilitator of the working alliance (Baron & Morin, 2009). In another study, a coach’s self-efficacy in coaching skills was related to the quality of the coach’s performance, the latter measured by the coachee’s reports about these skills at the end of the coaching process (Vieira, 2013). In Figure 3.1, Arrow 3 represents the influence of coach’s performance during coaching sessions on the coachees, who may be considered both as individuals or groups. This influence is expected to be in terms of benefits achieved by the coachee, and these may assume a wide range of content, depending also on the coachee’s goal for the coaching intervention. However, improvements in job performance or in psychological well-being have been reported in several studies (e.g. Crabb, 2011; Outhwaite & Bettridge, 2009). In the coaching literature, the most common reference to self-efficacy relates to the coachee, whether as an outcome from coaching (e.g. Baron & Morin, 2009, 2010; Evers, Brouwers, & Tomic, 2006; Grant, 2014; Gyllensten & Palmer, 2014; McDowall, Freeman, & Marshall, 2014; Leonard-Cross, 2010; Moen & Allgood, 2009; Pousa & Mathieu, 2015; Stewart, Palmer, Wilkin, & Kerrin, 2008; Wakkee, Elfring, & Monaghan, 2010) or as a previous coachee’s characteristic that may influence the coaching process (de Haan, Duckworth, Birch, & Jones, 2013; Stewart, Palmer, Wilkin, & Kerrin, 2008). On the other hand, the way the coachee evaluates the coach’s coaching skills may also be considered a direct result from the coach performance itself. The benefits obtained by the coachee and their evaluation of the coach will work as determinants of the coach’s self-efficacy (Arrow 4). Coachees’ evaluation about coach’s skills provides indirect information about the coach’s performance, and this information may help coaches further develop their skills, for instance, within a supervision context. This kind of information may work as important feedback not only to coaches themselves but also to the lead coach in case of corporate coaching offered by an organization. Finally, it is important to highlight the dynamic nature of the Self-efficacy Coaching Model since it represents an on-going process through which coaches’ self-efficacy, its determinants, coaches’ performance and coachees interact in an articulated manner.

Application of the Self-efficacy Model to practice and research As stated by Bandura, “the value of a psychological theory is judged not only by its explanatory and predictive power, but also ultimately by its operative power to promote changes in human functioning” (2005:12). Consequently, we start this section by illustrating how the Self-efficacy Coaching (SEC) Model may be useful to coaching practice. One implication for practice derived from the SEC model has to do with the coach’s self-efficacy and its determinants. Given the link between self-efficacy and performance, the coach’s self-efficacy in regard to coaching skills itself should be taken into consideration in training, supervision and mentoring contexts. Specifically, these contexts should be planned and structured in order to maximize the opportunities to work on self-efficacy sources. This implies that coaches-in-training should be exposed to modeling, should experience the coach’s role, should receive verbal incentives and should develop their emotional intelligence, at least as far as identifying one’s own and others’ emotions is concerned. Moreover, the evaluation of coaches’ self-efficacy in regard to coaching skills may be used to evaluate the quality of training and/or of supervision. Finally, although not explicitly shown in the SEC model, the coach should also have theoretical knowledge about self-efficacy, given its implications to coaching are straightforward since self-efficacy governs 30

Self-efficacy within coaching and coaching psychology

the “translation of thought into performance” (Bandura, 2005:12). Smither and Reilly (2001) assert that the coach’s efforts to enhance the coachee’s self-efficacy beliefs are critical for implementation of behavioral changes. Additionally, Malone (2001) suggests that executive coaching allows enhancement of self-efficacy because it naturally uses techniques aimed at its determinants – that is, self-thought, mastery experiences, modeling, social persuasion and psychological state management. During coaching sessions coachees have the opportunity to reflect upon their own experiences, both before and after achievement, while the coach is expected to improve the coachees’ ability to be realistic and constructive in this process. When coachees are exploring and analysing the task in focus, coaches should give special attention to the way coachees evaluate their own competence related to the task. This awareness by the coach enables, for instance, the coach to persuade coachees that the task is attainable in cases where this is relevant for coachees’ progress. Additionally, as goal-setting is an important coaching task, evaluating coachees’ self-efficacy in regard to goals is essential since low levels of self-efficacy may be blocking the coachees from setting goals that may be valued by them. As mastery experiences are the most robust source of self-efficacy, in order to enhance the coachees’ growth, the coach should encourage coachees to start from tasks that are within the limit of their capacity. By breaking a large task down into manageable sub-goals, the coach or coaching psychologist increases the coachees’ chances of experiencing success. Moen and Allgood (2009) explain the processes by which a coach may enhance a coachee’s self-efficacy, although this was within an executive coaching context. In our opinion, in order to be effective, it is important for the coach to be aware of the impact of self-efficacy on a coachee’s thought and behavior. Additionally, grounded in self-efficacy sources, the coach should act in order to enhance a coachee’s probability of strengthening his/her self-efficacy beliefs, regardless of the type of coaching. Other implications of the SEC model to practice relate to a coach’s performance during coaching sessions and the coachees who receive coaching interventions. Given the confidentiality involved in coaching sessions, it may be difficult to evaluate the coach’s performance directly, although audio and video recordings may be an option. However, without being intrusive to coaching sessions, the SEC model provides two ways for evaluating a coach’s performance: one relates to the benefits coachees obtained at the end of the coaching process, and the other has to do with the coachees’ evaluation of the coach’s skills. Although the former should be linked to the achievement of goals defined by the coachee in the beginning of the coaching process, the latter translates the coachees’ perceptions about the coach’s coaching skills. By their turn, both kinds of coachee-related information may be useful to the coaches by allowing access to feedback information important for their professional development as coaches, whether reflection upon this information is done by themselves or in supervision or mentoring contexts. Additionally, in cases where an institution provides coaching services to organizations using teams of coaches, the person responsible for the teams can also benefit from the information about each coach performance provided by evaluations made by the coachees who participated in coaching sessions. As for the research value of the Self-efficacy Coaching Model, we believe it offers several straightforward hypotheses to be investigated based on the four relationships represented by arrows. However, as stated by Bandura (1997), the predictive power of self-efficacy is enhanced when specific measures of the human domain under study are used. In that sense, we developed and validated the Coaching Skills Self-efficacy Scale (CSSES) (Vieira, 2011; Vieira & Palmer, 2012; Tokuyoshi, Iwasaki, Vieira, & Palmer, 2014) in order to evaluate a coach’s self-efficacy. In a previous study we tested the following hypothesis derived from Arrow 1 of the SEC model: “Training in coaching is a determinant of coaching self-efficacy”. We found that training in coaching enhances coaching skills self-efficacy in participants who attended those courses (Vieira, 2013). In a recent study, we adapted the CSSES items in order to construct an instrument that allows a coachee’s evaluation of the coach’s skills (CECSS – Coachee’s Evaluation of Coach Skills Scale; Vieira, 2013). The CECSS’s items are similar in nature to the content of the CSSES but were reworded to fit with the coachee’s perspective. Although further validation studies are needed, we believe that these two instruments may facilitate further investigation about the Self-efficacy Coaching Model. 31

Diana Aguiar Vieira and Stephen Palmer

In conclusion, self-efficacy is key to achieving professional growth and development and ultimately improving performance, both for the coach and coachee. Theory, research and practice are all parts of the same cycle that only makes sense when regarded in an articulated manner. We hope that the Self-efficacy Coaching Model may be useful to guide future research and to the understanding – both in theoretical and in practical terms – of the application of self-efficacy in the field of coaching and coaching psychology.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

How can the Self-efficacy Coaching (SEC) Model inform coaching training? The Self-efficacy Coaching (SEC) Model facilitates the development of research about coaching. Discuss. In what ways can the coach’s knowledge about self-efficacy and its sources be useful to the coaching process? Coaching supervision or mentoring can enhance coach self-efficacy. Discuss.

Suggested reading Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman. Bandura, A. (2005). The Evolution of Social Cognitive Theory. In K. G. Smith and M. A. Hitt (eds.) Great minds in management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Baron, L., & Morin, L. (2010). The Impact of Executive Coaching on Self-Efficacy Related to Management Soft-Skills. Leadership & Organization Development Journal 31(1): 18–38. Popper, M., & Lipshitz, R. (1992). Coaching on Leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal 13(7): 15–18.

References Bandura, A. (1977). Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change. Psychological Review 84(2): 191–215. Bandura, A. (1982). Self-Efficacy Mechanism in Human Agency. American Psychologist 37(2): 122–147. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Bandura, A. (1994). Self-Efficacy. In V.S. Ramachaudran (ed.) Encyclopedia of human behavior 4: 71–81. New York: Academic Press. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman. Bandura, A. (2001). Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective. Annual Review of Psychology 52: 1–26. Bandura, A. (2004). Swimming against the Mainstream: The Early Years from Chilly Tributary to Transformative Mainstream. Behaviour Research and Therapy 42: 613–630. Bandura, A. (2005). The Evolution of Social Cognitive Theory. In K. G. Smith and M. A. Hitt (eds.) Great minds in management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bandura, A. (2012). On the Functional Properties of Perceived Self-Efficacy Revisited. Journal of Management 38(1): 9–44. Baron, L., & Morin, L. (2009). The Coach-Coachee Relationship in Executive Coaching: A Field Study. Human Resource Development Quarterly 20(1): 85–106. Baron, L., & Morin, L. (2010). The Impact of Executive Coaching on Self-Efficacy Related to Management Soft-Skills. Leadership & Organization Development Journal 31(1): 18–38. Caprara, G. V., Vecchione, M., Alessandri, G., Gerbino, M., & Barbaranelli, C. (2011). The Contribution of Personality Traits and Self-Efficacy Beliefs to Academic Achievement: A Longitudinal Study. British Journal of Educational Psychology 81: 78–96. Caruso, D. R., & Salovey, P. (2004). The emotionally intelligent manager: How to develop and use the four key emotional skills of leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Chen, G., Kanfer, R., DeShon, R., Mathieu, J., & Kozlowski, S. (2009). The Motivating Potential of Teams: Test and Extension of Chen and Kanfer’s (2006) Cross-Level Model of Motivation in Teams. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 110: 45–55. Crabb, S. (2011). The Use of Coaching Principles to Foster Employee Engagement. The Coaching Psychologist 7(1): 27–34. Day, A., de Haan, E., Sills, C., Bertie, C., & Blass, E. (2008). Coaches’ Experience of Critical Moments. International Coaching Psychology Review 3(3): 207–218. de Haan, E., Duckworth, A., Birch, D., & Jones, C. (2013). Executive Coaching Outcome Research: The Contribution of Common Factors Such as Relationship, Personality Match, and Self-Efficacy. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 65(1): 40–57. 32

Self-efficacy within coaching and coaching psychology

Evers, W. J. G., Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2006). A Quasi-Experimental Study on Management Coaching Effectiveness. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 58(3): 174–182. Grant, A. M. (2014). The Efficacy of Executive Coaching in Times of Organizational Change. Journal of Change Management 14(2): 258–280. Gyllensten, K., & Palmer, S. (2014). Increased Employee Confidence: A Benefit of Coaching. The Coaching Psychologist 10(1): 35–38. Judge, T. A., Jackson, C. L., Shaw, J. C., Scott, B. A., & Rich, B. L. (2007). Self-Efficacy and Work-Related Performance: The Integral Role of Individual Differences. Journal of Applied Psychology 92(1): 107–127. Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a Unifying Social Cognitive Theory of Career and Academic Interest, Choice, and Performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior 45: 79–122. Lent, R. W., Hackett, G., & Brown, S. D. (1999). A Social Cognitive View of School-to-Work Transition. The Career Development Quarterly 47: 297–311. Leonard-Cross, E. (2010). Developmental Coaching: Business Benefit-Fact or Fad? An Evaluative Study to Explore the Impact of Coaching in the Workplace. International Coaching Psychology Review 5(1): 36–47. Malone, J. W. (2001). Shining a New Light on Organizational Change: Improving Self-Efficacy through Coaching. Organization Development Journal 19(2): 27–36. Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What Is Emotional Intelligence? In P. Salovey and D. Sluyter (eds.) Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Implications for educators. New York: Basic Books. McDowall, A., Freeman, K., & Marshall, S. (2014). Is Feedforward the Way Forward? A Comparison of the Effects of Feedforward Coaching and Feedback. International Coaching Psychology Review 19(2): 135–146. Moen, F., & Allgood, E. (2009). Coaching and the Effect on Self-Efficacy. Organization Development Journal 27(4): 69–82. Outhwaite, A., & Bettridge, N. (2009). From the Inside Out: Coaching’s Role in Transformation towards a Sustainable Society. The Coaching Psychologist 5(2): 76–89. Peterson, S. J., Luthans, F., Avolio, B. J., Walumbwa, F. O., & Zhang, Z. (2011). Psychological Capital and Employee Performance: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach. Personnel Psychology 64: 427–450. Popper, M., & Lipshitz, R. (1992). Coaching on Leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal 13(7): 15–18. Pousa, C., & Mathieu, A. (2015). Is Managerial Coaching a Source of Competitive Advantage? Promoting Employee Self-Regulation through Coaching. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice 8(1): 20–35. Raub, S., & Liao, H. (2012). Doing the Right Thing without Being Told: Joint Effects of Initiative Climate and General Self-Efficacy on Employee Proactive Customer Service Performance. Journal of Applied Psychology 97(3): 651–667. Rider, L. (2002). Coaching as a Strategic Intervention. Industrial and Commercial Training 34(6): 233–236. Robbins, S. B., Lauver, K., Le, H., Davis, J., Langley, R., & Carlstron, A. (2004). Do Psychosocial and Study Skills Predict College Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin 130: 261–288. Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional Intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality 9: 185–211. Smither, J. W., & Reilly, S. P. (2001). Coaching in Organizations: A Social Psychological Perspective. In M. London (ed.) How people evaluate others in organizations: 221–252. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Stajkovic, A. D., & Luthans, F. (1998). Self-Efficacy and Work-Related Performance: A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin 124: 240–261. Stewart, L. J., Palmer, S., Wilkin, H., & Kerrin, M. (2008). The Influence of Character: Does Personality Impact Coaching Success? International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring 6(1): 32–42. Sweeney, T. (2007). Coaching Your Way to the Top. Industrial and Commercial Training 39(3): 170–173. Tokuyoshi, Y., Iwasaki, S., Vieira, D. A., & Palmer, S. (2014). Development and Validation of the Coaching Skills SelfEfficacy Scale: Japanese Version (CSSES-J). The Coaching Psychologist 10(2): 59–66. Vieira, D. A. (2011). Evaluating coaching training: The development of Coaching Skills Self-Efficacy (CSSE) scale. Paper presented at 1st International Congress of Coaching Psychology, Barcelona, Spain 11th and 12th October. Vieira, D. A. (2013). Self-efficacy: Contributions to research and practice in coaching psychology. Paper presented at the 4th European Coaching Psychology Conference Hosted by the British Psychological Society, Special Group in Coaching Psychology. Edinburgh: Heriot-Watt University, 12–13 December. Vieira, D. A., & Palmer, S. (2012). The Coaching Skills Self-Efficacy Scale (CSSES): A Validation Study among a Portuguese Sample. The Coaching Psychologist 8(1): 6–11. Wakkee, I., Elfring, T., & Monaghan, S. (2010). Creating Entrepreneurial Employees in Traditional Service Sectors: The Role of Coaching and Self-Efficacy. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 6: 1–21. Zimmerman, B. J. (1995). Self-efficacy and educational development. In A. Bandura (ed.), Self-efficacy in changing societies (pp. 202–231). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Zimmerman, B. J., & Cleary, T. J. (2006). Adolescents’ development of personal agency. In F. Pajares, & T. Urdan (eds.), Adolescence and education (Vol. 5): Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (pp. 45–69). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

33

4 Goals and coaching An integrated evidence-based model of goalfocused coaching and coaching psychology1 Anthony M. Grant

Introduction Although coaching is inherently a goal-focused activity, it is only of late that there has been interest in applying the considerable body of literature on goals and goal setting in the psychological literature to coaching practice. This chapter aims to lend additional impetus to this development by drawing on the goal-setting literature from the behavioural sciences and presenting an evidence-based integrative framework for goalfocused coaching. It discusses a range of approaches to understanding the goal construct, presents a definition of goals relevant to coaching and details a new and comprehensive model of goal-focused coaching that can be helpful both in teaching and in applied coaching practice. It also outlines empirical research that highlights the vital role that coaches’ goal-focused coaching skills play in determining successful coaching outcomes. This research suggests that the use of a goal-focused coaching style is more effective than a “common factors” or person-centred coaching style in facilitating goal attainment in coaching. It is argued that, by understanding the different types of goals and their relationship to the process of change, professional coaches can work more efficiently with their clients, helping them to achieve insight and behavioural change that enhances their workplace performance, their professional working lives and, most importantly, their personal well-being and sense of self.

Goals in coaching can be controversial Strangely, the use of goals in coaching is somewhat controversial. Common arguments against the use of goal setting in coaching include the propositions that goal setting is an overly linear process that constricts the coaching conversation and acts as a barrier to working with emergent issues within the complex dynamic system that is the coaching conversation; or that goal setting is associated with coaches cajoling coachees in the blind pursuit of a previously set but inappropriate goal, leading to “lazy” join-the-dots mechanistic coaching; or even that goals typically focus on issues that may be easy to measure but are of little real importance (Clutterbuck, 2008, 2010). Some coaches say that they never use goals in coaching, rather they assert that as coaches their role is to help clients explore their values, clarify their intentions and then help them achieve their personal aspirations. Yet others seem to steadfastly avoid using the word “goal”, but talk about helping clients chart a course, navigate the waters of life, foster transformational change or re-author personal narratives. Goal setting has even gained a bad reputation in some sections of the academic psychology press, with some authors 34

Goals and coaching

asking if goal setting has gone wild and decrying the supposed over-prescription of goal setting (Ordóñez, Schweitzer, Galinsky, & Bazerman, 2009). Whilst some of these points have merit, goal theory per se has much to offer coaching research and practice. There is a considerable body of literature on goals and goal setting (Locke & Latham, 2013). Utilising this body of knowledge, this chapter utilises and extends previous work (e.g. Grant, 2002; Grant, 2006, 2012) and, utilising the goal-setting literature from the behavioural sciences, discusses the concept of goal, presents a definition of goals that can be helpful in coaching practice and describes a new model of goal-focused coaching and new preliminary research that highlights the vital role that coaches’ goal-focused skills play in determining successful coaching outcomes.

SMART goals can dumb-down coaching Goals and goal constructs have been extensively researched within academic psychology (Moskowitz & Grant, 2009), and sophisticated understandings of goals are evident within the broader psychological literature. This is not the case within the coaching-related literature. From an overview of the coaching literature it appears that many coaches’ understanding of goals is limited to acronyms such as SMART (originally delineated by Raia, 1965); typically goals are equated with being specific, measureable, attainable, relevant and time-framed action plans (note: the exact delineation of the SMART acronym varies between commentators). Whilst the ideas represented by the acronym SMART are indeed broadly supported by goal theory (e.g. Locke, 1996), and the acronym SMART may well be useful in some instances in coaching practice, the widespread belief that goals are synonymous with SMART action plans has done much to stifle the development of a more sophisticated understanding and use of goal theory within the coaching community, and this point has important implications for coaching research, teaching and practice. It is worth reflecting that acronyms such as SMART may provide useful mnemonics – mnemonics being memorable surface markers of deeper knowledge structures. However, the use of such mnemonics without a clear understanding of the deeper underpinning knowledge may well result in ill-informed decision making and the cultivation of inaccurate practice doctrines and mythologies about goals and goal theory. Unfortunately, such misconceptions may make it even more difficult for practitioners to engage with the broader knowledge-base. Clearly, there is a case here for coach educators and trainers to draw more extensively on the broader goal theory literature. My hope is that this chapter will make a contribution in encouraging this course of action.

What are goals? If this chapter is to make a meaningful contribution in terms of the more sophisticated use of goals and goal theory in coaching, it is important to develop a clear understanding of the goal construct. The term “goal” is generally understood as being “the purpose toward which an endeavour is directed; an objective or outcome” (see, for example, www.thefreedictionary.com). Although such understandings are adequate for everyday use, a far more nuanced understanding of the goal construct is needed in coaching. In attempting to develop more sophisticated understandings of the goal construct, a wide range of other terms have been used over the years, including the terms “reference values”(Carver & Scheier, 1998), “selfguides” (Higgins, 1987), “personal strivings” (Emmons, 1992), or “personal projects” (Little, 1993). However, although such broad linguistic repertoires can be useful, the lack of precision in such definitions makes it hard to distinguish between various aspects of the goal construct such as “aims”, “objectives”, “desires” or “outcomes”, and they also fail to capture the true essence of the goal construct. Goals are defined as playing a key role in transitions from an existing state to a desired state or outcome (e.g. Klinger, 1975; Spence, 2007). As such the goal construct has been variously defined in terms of cognitions (Locke, 2000), behaviour (Bargh, Gollwitzer, Lee-Chai, Barndollar, & Trötschel, 2001; Warshaw & 35

Anthony M. Grant

Davis, 1985) and affect (Pervin, 1982) (for further discussion on these points see Street, 2002). Three domains are of great relevance for coaching, and an understanding of goals for use in coaching should encompass all three domains. Cochran and Tesser (1996) present a comprehensive description of a goal as “a cognitive image of an ideal stored in memory for comparison to an actual state; a representation of the future that influences the present; a desire (pleasure and satisfaction are expected from goal success); a source of motivation, an incentive to action” (p. 100 as cited in Street, 2002). This understanding of goals is particularly useful for coaching because, as Street (2002) points out, it emphasises the role of cognition (in terms of cognitive imagery) as well as affect and behaviour, in addition to the notion that the purpose of a goal is as “a source of motivation and an incentive”. However, whilst this definition is more sophisticated than notions that situate goals as being synonymous with SMART action plans, it is still somewhat unwieldy as a working definition. One definition that is succinct, captures the essence of the above issues and is clearly applicable to coaching is Austin and Vancouver’s (1996) notion of goals as being “internal representations of desired states or outcomes” (p. 388).

Goals as “internal representations of desired states or outcomes” are central to coaching Although there are many definitions of coaching, all capture common themes. The Association for Coaching defines coaching as “A collaborative solution-focused, results-orientated and systematic process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of work performance, life experience, self-directed learning and personal growth of the coachee” (AC, 2012). The International Coach Federation defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential” (ICF, 2012). The World Association of Business Coaches defines business coaching as a structured conversation designed to “enhance the client’s awareness and behavior so as to achieve business objectives for both the client and their organization” (WABC, 2012). The European Mentoring and Coaching Council defines coaching (and mentoring) as “activities within the area of professional and personal development . . . to help clients . . . see and test alternative ways for improvement of competence, decision making and enhancement of quality of life . . . with the purpose of serving the clients to improve their performance or enhance their personal development or both . . .” (EMCC, 2011). It is clear that there is considerable agreement within professional coaching bodies about the nature of coaching. All of these definitions indicate that the process of coaching is essentially about helping individuals regulate and direct their interpersonal and intrapersonal resources in order to create purposeful and positive change in their personal or business lives. In short then, all coaching conversations are either explicitly or implicitly goal-focused and are about helping clients enhance their self-regulatory skills so as to better create purposeful positive change.

Goal-focused self-regulation sits at the core of the coaching process The core constructs of self-regulation are a series of processes in which the individual sets a goal, develops a plan of action, begins action, monitors their performance, evaluates their performance by comparison to a standard and, based on this evaluation, change their actions to further enhance their performance and better reach their goals (Carver & Scheier, 1998).The coach’s role is to facilitate the coachee’s movement through the self-regulatory cycle and onwards towards goal attainment. Figure 4.1 depicts a generic model of self-regulation. In practice, each stage overlaps with the next, and the coaching in each stage should aim to facilitate the process of the next. For example, goal setting should be done in such a way as to facilitate the development and implementation of an action plan. The action plan should be designed to motivate the individual into action and should also incorporate a means of monitoring and evaluating performance, thus providing 36

Goals and coaching Identify the issue

Set a Goal

Develop an Action Plan

Act

Change what’s not working Do more of what works

Monitor

Evaluate Success

Figure 4.1

Generic model of goal-directed self-regulation

information on which to base follow-up coaching sessions (Grant, 2006). This self-regulatory cycle sits at the core of the coaching process. Knowing how and when to set goals in coaching, knowing how to gauge the client’s readiness to engage in a robust and explicitly goal-focused conversation or when to work with more vaguely defined or more abstract goals are skill sets that distinguishes the novice or beginner coach from more advanced or expert practitioners (Grant, 2011; Peterson, 2011). Having a solid understanding of the multifaceted nature of goals is thus important in making the novice-expert shift and are thus of relevance for both the teaching and practice of coaching. It is to this issue that we now turn.

Goals are not monolithic entities If we are to understand coaching through the lens of goal theory, it is important to distinguish between different types of goals. There are over twenty types of goals that can be used in coaching. These include outcome goals, distal and proximal goals, approach and avoidance goals, performance and learning goals and higher and lower order goals, as well as the actual results which the coachee aims to achieve. These distinctions are important because different types of goals impact differently on coachees’ performance and their experience of the goal-striving process.

Time framing: distal and proximal goals The time framing of goals is an important part of the goal-setting process, and time frames can influence the coachee’s perception of the attainability of the goal (Karniol & Ross, 1996). Distal goals are longer term goals and are similar to the vision statements often referred to in business or management literature or the “broad fuzzy vision” referred to in the life-coaching literature (Grant & Green, 2004). Proximal goals are shorter term and tend to stimulate more detailed planning than distal goals (Manderlink & Harackiewicz, 1984), and hence they are important goals when used in action planning. In essence, the action steps typically derived in coaching sessions are a series of short-term proximal goals. Combining both distal with proximal goals in the coaching and action planning process can lead to enhanced strategy development and better long-term performance (Weldon & Yun, 2000). 37

Anthony M. Grant

Outcome goals Many coaching programmes focus entirely on setting outcome goals. Such goals tend to be a straightforward statement of some desired outcome (Hudson, 1999); for example, “to increase sales of widgets by 15% in the next 3 months”. This is a useful approach to goal setting, because for individuals who are committed and have the necessary ability and knowledge, outcome goals that are difficult and are specifically and explicitly defined allow performance to be precisely regulated and thus often lead to high performance (Locke, 1996). Indeed, many coaching programmes focus purely on the setting of specific “SMART” goals, and this approach is indeed supported by some of the goal-setting literature (Locke & Latham, 2002). However, there are times when overly specific outcome goals will alienate the coachee and may actually result in a decline in performance (Winters & Latham, 1996). For individuals who are in a highly deliberative mindset, it may be more useful to purposefully set more abstract or quite vague goals and focus on developing a broad “fuzzy vision” (Grant & Greene, 2004), rather than drilling down into specific details and setting more concrete goals. For individuals at this point in the change process, vague or abstract goals are often perceived as being less threatening and less demanding (Dewck, 1986).

Avoidance and approach goals Avoidance goals are expressed as a movement away from an undesirable state – for example, “to be less stressed about work”. Although this presents a desired outcome, as an avoidance goal it does not provide a specific outcome target or provide enough details from which to define those behaviours which might be most useful during the goal-striving process; there are almost an infinite number of ways one could become “less stressed”. In contrast, an approach goal is expressed as a movement towards a specific state or outcome – for example, “to enjoy a fulfilling balance between work demands and personal relaxation” – and these can indeed help define appropriate goal-striving behaviours. Not surprisingly, there are differential effects associated with avoidance or approach goals. Coats, JanoffBulman, and Alpert (1996) found that people who tended to set avoidance goals had higher levels of depression and lower levels of well-being. Other studies have found that the long-term pursuit of avoidance goals is associated with decreases in well-being (Elliot, Sheldon, & Church, 1997) and that approach goals are associated with both higher levels of academic performance and increased well-being (Elliot & McGregor, 2001). Based on such findings, the coaching practitioner literature typically recommends the use of approach rather than avoidance goals in coaching. However, there has been very little coaching-specific research in this area to date. In a randomised study, Braunstein and Grant (2016) explored the interactions between solution-focused and problem-focused coaching questions and approach/avoidance goals. Although the goal-setting literature has cautioned against the use of avoidance goals, Braunstein and Grant (2016) found that in coaching, avoidance goals did not produce worse outcomes than approach goals. A far more potent predicator of coaching “success” than goal orientation was the use of solution-focused rather than problem-focused coaching questions. Such research emphasises the need to explicitly test aspects of goal theory in coaching-specific contexts.

Performance and learning goals Performance goals focus on task execution and are typically expressed as being competitive in terms of performing very well on a specific task, receiving positive evaluations from others about one’s performance or outperforming others. Performance goals tend to focus the coachee’s attention on issues of personal ability and competence (Gresham, Evans, & Elliott, 1988). An example of a performance goal in executive or workplace coaching might be “to be the very best lawyer in my area of practice”. Performance goals can be very powerful motivators, especially where the individual experiences success early in the goal-attainment process. 38

Goals and coaching

However, it is not so well known that performance goals can in fact impede performance. This is particularly the case when the task is highly complex or the goal is perceived as very challenging, when the individual is not skilled or is low in self-efficacy or where resources are scarce. Furthermore, in highly competitive situations or when there are very high stakes, performance goals can foster cheating and a reluctance to cooperate with peers; the corporate and business world is replete with such examples (Midgley, Kaplan, & Middleton, 2001). In many cases learning goals may better facilitate task performance (Seijts & Latham, 2001). Learning goals (sometimes referred to as mastery goals) focus the coachee’s attention on the learning associated with task mastery rather than on the performance of the task itself. An example of a learning goal in executive or workplace coaching might be “learn how to be the best lawyer in my area of practice”. Learning goals tend to be associated with a range of positive cognitive and emotional processes including perception of a complex task as a positive challenge rather than a threat, greater absorption in the actual task performance (Deci & Ryan, 2002) and enhanced memory and well-being (Linnenbrink, Ryan, & Pintrich, 1999). Furthermore, individual performance can be enhanced in highly complex or challenging situations when team goals are primarily framed as being learning goals, and the use of team-level learning goals can foster enhanced cooperation between team members (Kristof-Brown & Stevens, 2001). One benefit of setting learning goals is that they tend to be associated with higher levels of intrinsic motivation which in turn is associated with performance (Sarrazin, Vallerand, Guillet, Pelletier, & Cury, 2002). The differences in the articulation of these different types of goals is more than a matter of mere semantics, because the way a goal is expressed has important implications for coachee engagement (Rawsthorne & Elliott, 1999), and coaches need to be attuned to such nuances if they are to work effectively within a goalfocused coaching paradigm.

Complementary and competing goals Coaches also need to be attuned to the existence of competing or conflicting goals. These occur when the pursuit of one goal interferes with the pursuit of another goal. Some goal conflict is easy to identify, such as in the case of the two goals “to spend more time with my family” and “to put more time into work in order to get a promotion”. However, goal conflict may not always be immediately evident. For example, the goal “to get my sales force to sell more products” may be in perceived conflict with the goal “to have a more hands-off leadership style” if the coachee (a sale manager) finds delegation difficult and is used to a more controlling management style in dealing with his/her sale force (Grant, 2006). The skill of the coach here is to help the coachee find ways to align seemingly conflicting goals and develop complementary goals. Sheldon and Kasser (1995) have argued that such congruence is important in facilitating goal attainment and well-being.

Unconscious goals? Human beings are goal-orientated organisms. Without goals we could not exist as conscious sentient beings. Indeed, Carver and Scheier (1998) argue that all human behaviour is a continual process of moving towards or away from mental goal representations. This is not to say that all goals are consciously held. Under many conditions, we enact complex outcome-directed behaviours even though we may not have consciously set specific goals. For example, I might be sitting at home writing an article on coaching and decide to walk to the corner store to buy some biscuits so I can enjoy afternoon tea and biscuits at home. I am aware that I have been sitting at the desk writing for some hours and that taking a walk will help maintain flexibility in my back, and I am keen to try to prevent the development of back problems as I get older. However, my overarching and consciously set goals are to get biscuits and then make and enjoy some afternoon tea. With this goal in mind, I put on my shoes, take my keys from the shelf, check my wallet, open the door and close and lock the 39

Anthony M. Grant

door (to maintain home security and avoid loss of personal property). I then walk to the store, taking care to look both ways as I cross the road (so as to avoid being knocked over by a car or other vehicles), find my way to the biscuit shelf, select my biscuits from a wide range of different biscuit products (some of which I don’t like), chat with the store keeper about Saturday’s football match, purchase my biscuits, return home safely (opening and then closing the front door behind me) and put the kettle on. All of these individual actions themselves involve a goal of some kind and all influenced my behaviour at any point in time, yet hardly any of these goals were consciously set. Because goal-states influence our behaviour even though we may not have consciously set specific goals, goal theory is particularly helpful in coaching contexts and as a means of understanding human behaviour. Goal theory can provide a framework from which to help clients explore, identify and then change unhelpful implicit goals in order to better facilitate purposeful positive change (for an informed discussion on how actions are initiated even though we are unconscious of the goals to be attained or their motivating effect on our behaviour see Custers & Aarts, 2010).

Self-concordant goals Self-concordance is important in goal setting because goals that are self-concordant and in alignment with the coachee’s core personal values or developing interests are more likely to be engaging and elicit greater effort. Self-concordance theory (Sheldon & Elliot, 1998) is a useful framework from which to understand and work with the reasons and motivations associated with goal selection and goal strivings. Self-concordance refers to the degree to which a goal is aligned with an individual’s intrinsic interests, motivations and values. Derived from self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1980), this can be a simple and powerful framework for understanding the link between values and goals. The self-concordance model emphasises the extent to which an individual perceives their goals as being determined by their authentic self rather than compelled by external forces. The self-concordance approach delineates the perceived locus of causality as varying on a continuum from controlled (external) factors to internal (autonomous) facets. A key point here is that it is the individual’s perception of the locus of causality that is the key in determining the extent to which the goals are deemed to be self-integrated and where they sit on the external-internal continuum. To maximise the probability of genuinely engaged and motivated action, and to increase the chances of goal satisfaction upon goal attainment, it is important that the coachee’s goals are as self-congruent as possible, and coaches may need to play quite an active role in helping their coachees align goals in order to make them personal and congruent. There are at least four factors from this perspective which may influence successful goal alignment (Sheldon & Elliot, 1999). First, the coachee needs to be able to identify enduring and authentic from transitory or superficial whims or desires. Second, the coachee needs the personal insight and self-awareness to be able to distinguish between goals that represent their own interests and goals that represent the interests of others (Sheldon, 2002). Given that there are significant individual variations in levels of self-awareness (Church, 1997), some coachees may find this quite challenging. Third, the goal content needs be expressed in a way that aligns the goals with the coachee’s internal needs and values. Fourth, the coach needs to have the ability to recognise when a goal is not self-concordant and then be able to re-language and reframe the goal so that it does align with the coachee’s needs and values.

Goal hierarchies: linking values, goals and action steps The relationships between values, goals and action steps are generally not well understood in coaching, yet they are central to coaching practice. Goal hierarchy frameworks are one way of making explicit the links between values, goals and specific action steps and are also a useful way of operationalising the notion of goal self-concordance (see Figure 4.2). 40

Goals and coaching

Values (Higher Order Goals)

Goals

Actions

Figure 4.2

Actions

Goals

Actions

Goals

Actions

Actions

The goal hierarchy framework

Goals can be considered as being ordered hierarchically, with concrete specific goals being subsumed under higher order and broader, more abstract goals (Chulef, Read, & Walsh, 2001) in a fashion similar to the “Big Five” personality traits (Costa & McCrae, 1992). Hence, higher order abstract goals such as “to be a great business leader” can be understood as being situated vertically higher than the lower order and more specific goal “to increase business profits by 25% in the next quarter”, and there is some empirical support for this notion (Chulef, Read, & Walsh, 2001; Oishi, Schimmack, Diener, & Suh, 1998). Higher order goals from this perspective equate to values. A valuable model for using goal theory in coaching involves thinking of values as higher order abstract goals that are superordinate to lower order, more specific goals, which in turn are superordinate to specific action steps. Indeed, visualising values, goals and actions as being part of a hierarchy in this way provides coaches with an extremely useful case conceptualisation framework for coaching practice, teaching and supervision and also makes the notion of values more tangible to many coaching clients. In using this model in coaching practice, it is important to try to ensure both vertical and horizontal congruency – that is, to ensure that goals are aligned with the client’s higher order values and that any actions designed to operationalise the goals are themselves similarly aligned (vertical alignment). It is also important to try to ensure horizontal alignment so that goals complement, support and energise each other rather than, as previously mentioned, competing or conflicting with each other, resulting in the pursuit of one goal interfering with the pursuit of another. Of course, such alignment may not always be possible. Nevertheless, simply drawing the coachee’s attention to the existence of any competing or conflicting goals and highlighting any disconnect between goals and values can provide the coachee with important insights and alterative perspectives which may in turn create more useful ways of facilitating change. In addition, in terms of teaching coaching and coaching psychology, this model can be used as a practical template to help student coaches develop more sophisticated understandings of the goal-alignment process.

Goal neglect The hierarchical model is also very useful to coaches as it can be used to illustrate the effect of goal neglect. The notion of goal neglect is not well known in the coaching literature, but it has very useful implications for coaching practice. 41

Anthony M. Grant

The tem goal neglect refers to the disregard of a goal or a task requirement despite the fact that it has been understood or is recognised as being important (Duncan, Emslie, Williams, Johnson, & Freer, 1996). In essence, goal neglect occurs when we fail to pay attention to a specific goal of importance but instead focus our attention on some other goal or task, resulting in a mismatch between the actions required to attain the original goal and the actions that are actually performed. Human beings are essentially goal-directed organisms. All our behaviour (behaviour here is broadly defined to include thoughts, feelings and physical actions) is shaped and given direction, purpose and meaning by the goals that we hold, and of course much of our behaviour is shaped and directed by goals and values which are outside of our immediate conscious awareness. In relation to the goal hierarchy model, it is the higher order (or superordinate) values that give direction, meaning and purpose to the lower order goals and actions. When self-regulation at the upper levels of a goal hierarchy has been suspended (for example, by not enough attention being paid to those values), the goals at a lower level become functionally superordinate in guiding overt behaviour and actions (Carver & Scheier, 1998). That is to say that the guidance of the human system defaults (regresses) to lower levels (see Figure 4.3). This seemingly technical psychological point has important implications for coaching practice. This is because, typically, lower order goals in the hierarchy are not in themselves relatively meaningful in comparison to the higher order values. In fact, in many cases the lower order goals and actions may not be pleasant activities at all. They are often made palatable by the notion that reaching those lower order goals activates the higher order value. When we fail to consistently pay attention to the higher order values in the goal hierarchy system and overly focus on attaining lower order goals, the lower order goals become the superordinate or dominant values in the cognitive system, and these lower order goals are often inherently dissatisfying in themselves. In the example, the higher order value is “to be an outstanding lawyer”, and many individuals may enter the law profession with the intention of becoming an outstanding lawyer and ensuring that their clients receive justice. In order to become an outstanding lawyer they would need to work hard, make explicit

Lack of Attention

To be an outstanding lawyer

Work hard

Read prior cases

Deal with admin

Contribute to the firm

Supervise juniors

Too Much Attention

Build revenue

Network & leverage

Functionally Superordinate

Document billing hrs

Figure 4.3 The goal hierarchy framework illustrating the outcomes of goal neglect

42

Goals and coaching

contributions to their firm or practice and build a revenue stream. The attainment of these mid-level goals are in turn made possible by the enactment of lower order goals and actions such as dealing with administration, documenting billing hours and the like. However, individuals frequently place their attention on the lower order goals (e.g. revenue building or documenting billing hours), over time neglecting their higher order values, and this can easily result in goal dissatisfaction and disengagement. The hierarchical framework can give coaches and their coachees very useful insights into the psychological mechanics underlying goal dissatisfaction and can be used to develop practical tools and techniques to help clients in the coaching processes. For example, by helping clients purposefully refocus their attention on their higher order values, we help them reconnect with the meaning inherent in those higher order values, redefining their goals if needed, with the result that they may well feel revitalised and re-engaged in the enactment of purposeful positive change.

Putting all this together: an integrated model for teaching and coaching practice As can be seen from this brief overview, goal theory has much to offer coaching practice. The question is, how can we organise this information in a way that makes this useful in coaching practice? It may be that goal theory has not been widely taught in coaching programmes because there is a vast amount of material on goals and the goal attainment process, and making explicit links between these bodies of knowledge and then relating this material to coaching practice is not easy. One way of integrating this diverse body of knowledge is to develop a visual representation or model of the various factors related to goal-focused coaching. Such a model is presented in Figure 4.4. This model may be useful for teaching coaching and the psychology of coaching because it attempts to capture the key aspects involved in the goal-focused approach to coaching and highlights some of the factors that a coach may consider during the coaching engagement. A word of caution: as with all models this is only a broad representation of some of the possible ways that these factors relate in the coaching process. This model represents my own personal experience and understanding, and I would encourage readers to explore the limitations of this model by referring to their own understanding and coaching experience and then adapting and extending this model in order to create their own frameworks. Indeed the development of such personalised models can be useful teaching aids. Examining this model, it can be seen that the coaching process is driven by needs (represented on the left-hand side of the model). Both individual and contextual/organisational factors play important roles in determining the perceived need for coaching, which gives rise to the individual’s intentions to participate in the goal-selection process. Individual factors at play here include perceived deficits and opportunities, psychological needs, personality characteristics and available resources (or lack thereof). Contextual or organisational factors include system complexity, the social and psychological contracts, rewards and punishments and available resources (or lack thereof). The goal-selection process is often not straightforward. Even where coaching has been mandated by an organisation with specific outcomes in mind, the goal-setting process can be convoluted and complex. The rush to seize and set a specific goal too early in the coaching process is a key derailer – a common trap for the novice. Certainly key issues and broad initial goals should be discussed quite early in the coaching process in order to give the conversation direction and purpose, but the coach should also be paying attention to a number of factors during the goal-selection process. These include the coachee’s understanding of, and engagement with, the coaching process. Some coachees arrive for their first coaching session with little idea of the nature of coaching. The suitability and clarity of the coaching agreement (be that formal or informal) will play an important role in engaging the coachee in the goal-selection process, as will the degree of autonomy the coachee has in goal selection.

43

Figure 4.4

• • • •

Set effective goals and facilitate action planning Ensure goal congruency and alignment Facilitate coachee’s goal-focused self-regulation Bring perceived value to the coaching session Develop strong working alliance Manage process and accountability Be solution focused & outcome focused

Coaching Session Moderators Coach’s knowledge, skills & ability to:

Integrative model of coach-facilitated goal attainment

• • • • • • •

Action Plans

• • • •

Feedback Commitment Ability Task complexity

Goal satisfaction

Preparedness for future challenges

Changes in well-being

© Anthony M Grant 2016

Goal Attainment

• Effort • Persistence • Task strategies

Goal Attainment Mechanisms

Goal Attainment Moderators

• Implementation intentions • Daily strivings

Goal Attainment Process

Goal Difficulty Goal Specificity Approach – Avoidance Distal – Proximal Performance – Learning Goal Congruency Goal Alignment

Self-regulation Cycle • Monitor, evaluate, change if necessary

Goal Choice

Change Readiness – Stage of Change Cognitive Hardiness / Resilience Mindfulness / Focus - Ability to focus on task Perceived Locus of Causality

Goal Selection Process

• • • •

• Coachee’s understanding & engagement • Suitability of coaching agreement • Degree of goal selection autonomy

Individual Factors Perceived deficits / opportunities Personal needs Personality style / characteristics Resources (or lack of)

Perceived need for coaching

System complexity Social & psychological contracts Rewards / punishments Resources (or lack of)

Contextual / Organisational Factors

• • • •

Goal Selection Moderators The Coachee’s:

• • • • • • •

Goal Choice and Action Plan Parameters

Goals and coaching

Goal selection moderators: the coachee’s characteristics There are a number of moderator variables that influence the strength of a relationship between coaching goals and the eventual outcomes of coaching. These include the coachee’s ability to focus on the tasks at hand, their ability to adapt in the face of adversity, and the perceived purpose of the goal and the extent to which they feel that they have agency and autonomy in the goal-selection process.

Readiness to change The coachee’s readiness to change is another factor that will impact on the goal-selection process. Coaches need to consider if the coachee is in the pre-contemplation, preparation or action stage of change (for a useful reference on applying the Transtheoretical Model of Change to a wide range of goals see Prochaska, Norcross, & DiClemente, 1994). The Transtheoretical Model of Change posits that change involves transition through a series of identifiable, although somewhat overlapping, stages. Five of these stages have direct relevance for goal setting in coaching. These stages are: 1 2 3 4 5

Pre-contemplation: No intention to change in the foreseeable future. Contemplation: Considering making stages, but have not yet made any changes. Preparation: Increased commitment to change, intend to make changes in the near future and often have started to make small changes. Action: Engaging in the new behaviours, but have made such changes for only a short period of time (usually less than six months). Maintenance: Consistently engaging in the new behaviour over a period of time (usually six months).

Stage-specific coaching strategies For individuals in the pre-contemplation stage, the general principle is to raise awareness, increasing the amount of information available to the coachee so that they can move forward into action. There are many ways of raising awareness including multi-rater feedback sales, qualitative feedback, sales or performance data, or other relevant information. The key characteristic of the contemplation stage is ambivalence; the conjoint holding of two or more conflicting desires, emotions, beliefs or opinions. The general principle for individuals in the contemplation stage is to help the coachee explore their ambivalence, rather than pushing them into setting a specific goal before they are ready. Setting specific or stretching goals too soon in this stage often results in the coachee disengaging from the goal-selection process. In the preparation stage, the coachee is getting ready to make change. Here the aim is to build commitment to change. In terms of goals, the coach should be helping the coachee focus on developing a clear vision of the future (abstract goals) and using goals that involve small, easily attainable but consistent action steps. Progress throughout this stage should be monitored closely and new desired behaviours positively reinforced by acknowledging and celebrating the attainment of small sub-goals. Clearly, there is a considerable art to the effective use of goals in coaching. In the action and maintenance stages, the key is to build on past successes and maximise self-directed change, working on using more stretching goals and developing strategies to sustain the change overtime.

Coaching session moderators: the coach’s skill set There are a number of other factors related to the coaching session itself that impact on the goal-selection process and act as moderator variables. This include the coach’s ability to set effective goals and facilitate action planning and the coach’s ability to maximise goal congruency and goal alignment whilst also facilitating the coachee’s goal-focused self-regulation. 45

Anthony M. Grant

The success of the above is also dependant on the coach’s ability to bring perceived value to the coaching session and develop a strong working alliance with the coachee (Gray, 2007). All the theoretical knowledge in the world about goal theory is of no importance unless the coach can put this theory into practice, managing the goal-striving process whilst holding the coachee accountable and being solution focused and outcome focused.

Goal choice and action planning Goal choice and action planning are outcomes of the goal-selection process. It is important to note that although the model represents these as linear processes, in reality these are iterative, with an amount of back and forth movement between stages. The goal choice and action planning parameters include goal difficulty and goal specificity, whether the goals are approach or avoidance goals, time framing (distal or proximal) or a performance or learning orientation. Goal choice is a necessary but not sufficient part of the coaching process – action plans must be developed and enacted. Action planning is the process of developing a systemic means of attaining goals and is particularly important for individuals who have low self-regulatory skills (Kirschenbaum, Humphrey, & Malett, 1981). The coach’s role here is to develop the coachee’s ability to create a realistic and workable plan of action and to help them define task strategies that will facilitate the goal-striving process whilst promoting persistence in the face of adversity – in this way clients can enhance their self-regulation abilities and build resilience (Grant, Curtayne & Burton, 2009). One key outcome of successful action planning is the coachee’s transition from a deliberative mindset to an implementational mindset (Gollwitzer, 1996; Heckhausen & Gollwitzer, 1987). The deliberative mindset is characterised by a weighing of the pros and cons of action and an examination of competing goals or courses of action (Carver & Scheier, 1998). The implementational mindset is engaged once the decision to act has been made. This mindset has a determined, focused quality and is biased in favour of thinking about success rather than failure – factors that are typically associated with higher levels of self-efficacy, self-regulation and goal attainment (Bandura, 1982).

The self-regulation cycle, feedback and goal satisfaction The monitoring and evaluation of actions and the generation of feedback as the coachee moves through the self-regulation cycle is a vital part of the coaching process. However, self-reflection does not come naturally to many people (Jordan & Troth, 2002), and so the coach may need to find ways to develop action plans that focus on observable, easily monitored behaviours. What is monitored will, of course, vary according to the coachee’s goals and context. Some behaviours will be easier to monitor than others. Exercise or physical activity-based actions can be relatively straightforward to monitor. Intrapersonal issues, interpersonal skills or communication patterns in the workplace may be more difficult to monitor, and the coach and coachee may have to be quite creative in devising means of monitoring and evaluating these. Care should be taken to set the kinds of goals that will generate useful feedback, because the right feedback is vital in providing information about how (or if) subsequent goals and associated actions should be modified, and this process, if done well, will eventuate in successful goal attainment (Locke & Latham, 2002). Goals that have been aligned with the coachee’s intrinsic interests or personal values are more likely to be personally satisfying when achieved, and the positive emotions associated with such goal satisfaction may well play an important part in priming the coachee for engagement in future challenges (Sheldon, 2002).

So what? Does goal theory matter in practice? Although it is clear from the above discussion that goal theory can inform what happens within coaching sessions and also has great relevance for the broader coaching process, the question arises: does goal theory 46

Goals and coaching

really matter in actual practice? Is the coach’s ability to be goal focused related to coaching outcomes? This is a key question for the further development of evidence-based coaching practice. A significant body of research within the psychotherapeutic literature holds that the most important factors in determining therapeutic outcomes are the so-called common factors – the ability of the therapist to develop a working alliance with the client that embodies trust, warmth and respect for the client’s autonomy (Lampropoulos, 2000). Not surprisingly, it is often assumed in the coaching literature that this is also the case for coaching (McKenna & Davis, 2009). However, coaching is not therapy. The aims and processes of coaching and therapy are different. Two key coaching-specific studies indicate that a strong goal-focused approach is more associated with coaching “success” than a supportive relationship. In a large-scale coaching study drawing on data from 1,895 coach-coachee pairs, de Haan, Grant, Burger, and Eriksson (in press) found that the “task” and “goal” aspects of the working alliance were stronger predictors of positive coaching outcome than the “bond” aspects, highlighting the importance of a task and goal focus in the coach-coachee relationship. Along similar lines, Grant (2014) found that the correlation between coaching success and a goal-focused coaching style remained significant even when statistically controlling for a “common factors” person-centred coaching style. These findings strongly suggest that the use of goals in coaching is indeed of practical importance in that the use of a goal-focused coaching style is more effective than a common factors person-centred coaching style in the coaching context. This is not to say that a person-centred relationship is not important. Rather, this reminds us that the coaching relationship is an inherently goal-focused one and that goals are indeed an integral part of coaching theory and practice.

Conclusion Coaches often use a range of metaphors such as helping clients chart a course, navigating the waters of life or re-authoring their lived narratives. Such metaphors are powerful vehicles for facilitating change. Other coaches prefer to talk about their role in terms of helping clients explore their values or clarify their intentions, rather than using the perceived jargon of goal theory. Clearly coaches should feel entirely free to express themselves and describe their work as they choose. However, we should not forget that at its core coaching is necessarily a goal-directed activity, regardless of linguistic gymnastics or variations in meaning-making perspectives. Consequently, goal theory can indeed provide a useful lens through which to understand coaching. The integrative goal-focused model presented here is a multifaceted evidence-based methodology for helping individuals and organisations create and sustain purposeful positive change. Because the coaching conversation is inherently iterative, and frequently unpredictable, the key issue for coaches is one of informed flexibility in using goal theory: goal use in coaching is far more than the simplistic SMART acronym implies. By understanding the different types of goals and their relationship to the process of change, and through facilitating the goal-alignment and goal-pursuit processes, skillful professional coaches can work more efficiently with their clients, helping them to achieve the insight and behavioural change necessary for enhancing, their professional working lives and, most importantly, increasing their personal well-being and sense of self – and that is surely the overarching goal of the coaching enterprise itself: our goal is to help our clients reach their goals.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

How do you use goals in your coaching practice? How do you observe the issues discussed in this chapter working in your own life? How can you extend your knowledge and use of goal theory? Are goals really that important in coaching? If so, why? If not, why not? 47

Anthony M. Grant

Note 1 Acknowledgements: This article utilises and extends previous articles and presentations given by the author at the 2012 International Congress of Coaching Psychology held at Sydney, Australia in May 2012, as well as the article Grant (2012) An integrated model of goal-focused coaching: An evidence-based framework for teaching and practice. International Coaching Psychology Review, 7(2), 146–165, and a chapter by the author in Clutterbuck, D.; Megginson, D.; David, S. (Eds.) (2013). Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies for Coaching and Mentoring. Gower Publishing, London.

Suggested reading David, S., Clutterbuck, D., & Megginson, D. (Eds.). (2013). Beyond goals: Effective strategies for coaching and mentoring. Surrey, UK: Gower. Gregory, J. B., & Levy, P. E. (2015). How feedback and goals drive behavior: Control theory. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; US. Locke, E. A. (Ed.). (2002). Setting goals for life and happiness. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Sheldon, K. M. (2002). The self-concordance model of healthy goal striving: When personal goals correctly represent the person. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 65–86). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.

References AC. (2012). Association of coaching definition of coaching. Retrieved 19th April 2012, from www.associationfor coaching.com/about/about03.htm Austin, J. T., & Vancouver, J. B. (1996). Goal constructs in psychology: Structure, process, and content. Psychological Bulletin, 120(3), 338–375. Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122–147. Bargh, J. A., Gollwitzer, P. M., Lee-Chai, A., Barndollar, K., & Trötschel, R. (2001). The automated will: Nonconscious activation and pursuit of behavioral goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(6), 1014. Braunstein, K., & Grant, A. M. (2016). Approaching solutions or avoiding problems? The differential effects of approach and avoidance goals with solution-focused and problem-focused coaching questions. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 9(2), 93–109. Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1998). On the self-regulation of behavior. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Chulef, A. S., Read, S. J., & Walsh, D. A. (2001). A hierarchical taxonomy of human goals. Motivation & Emotion, 25(3), 191–232. Church, A. H. (1997). Managerial self-awareness in high-performing individuals in organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(2), 281–292. Clutterbuck, D. (2008). What’s happening in coaching and mentoring? And what is the difference between them? Development and Learning in Organizations, 22(4), 8–10. Clutterbuck, D. (2010). Coaching reflection: The liberated coach. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 3(1), 73–81. Coats, E. J., Janoff-Bulman, R., & Alpert, N. (1996). Approach versus avoidance goals: Differences in self-evaluation and well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(10), 1057–1067. Cochran, W., & Tesser, A. (1996). The “what the hell” effect: Some effects of goal proximity and goal framing on performance. In L. Martin & A. Tesser (Eds.), Striving and feeling (pp. 99–123). Hoboken, NJ: LEA. Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO personality inventory and NEO five-factor inventory: Professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources. Custers, R., & Aarts, H. (2010). The unconscious will: How the pursuit of goals operates outside of conscious awareness. Science, 329(5987), 47. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1980). Self-determination theory: When mind mediates behavior. Journal of Mind & Behavior, 1(1), 33–43. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of self-determination research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. de Haan, E., Grant, A. M., Burger, Y. D., & Eriksson, P.-O. (in press). A large-scale study of executive and workplace coaching: The relative contributions of working relationship, personality match, and self-efficacy. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. Dewck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41(10), 1040–1048. Duncan, J., Emslie, H., Williams, P., Johnson, R., & Freer, C. (1996). Intelligence and the frontal lobe: The organization of goal-directed behavior. [doi: 10.1006/cogp.1996.0008]. Cognitive Psychology, 30(3), 257–303. 48

Goals and coaching

Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. A. (2001). A 2 X 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(3), 501–519. Elliot, A. J., Sheldon, K. M., & Church, M. A. (1997). Avoidance personal goals and subjective well-being. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(9), 915–927. EMCC. (2011). European mentoring and coaching council code of conduct for coaching and mentoring. Retrieved 19th April 2012, from www.emccouncil.org/src/ultimo/models/Download/4.pdf Emmons, R. A. (1992). Abstract versus concrete goals: Personalstriving level, physical illness and psychological wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 292–300. Gollwitzer, P. M. (1996). The volitional benefits of planning. In P. M. Gollwitzer & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), The psychology of action. New York, NY: Guilford. Grant, A. M. (2002). Towards a psychology of coaching: The impact of coaching on metacognition, mental health and goal attainment. [Emprical, PhD, outome, RC, BS, WS]. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 63(12), 6094 (June). Grant, A. M. (2006). An integrative goal-focused approach to executive coaching. In D. Stober & A. M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence based coaching handbook (pp. 153–192). New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell. Grant, A. M. (2011). Is it time to REGROW the GROW model? Issues related to teaching coaching session structures. The Coaching Psychologist, 7(2), 118–126. Grant, A. M. (2012). Making a real difference: Insights and applications from evidence-based coaching research in the lab, workplace and reality TV. Paper presented at the Second International Congress of Coaching Psychology, Sydney, Australia. Grant, A. M. (2014). Autonomy support, relationship satisfaction and goal focus in the coach-coachee relationship: Which best predicts coaching success? Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 7(1), 18–38. Grant, A. M., Curtayne, L., & Burton, G. (2009). Executive coaching enhances goal attainment, resilience and workplace well-being: A randomised controlled study. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(5), 396–407. Grant, A. M., & Greene, J. (2004). Coach yourself: Make real changes in your life (2nd ed.). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education Ltd. Gray, D. E. (2007). Towards a systemic model of coaching supervision: Some lessons from psychotherapeutic and counselling models. Australian Psychologist, 42(4), 300–309. Gresham, F. M., Evans, S., & Elliott, S. N. (1988). Academic and social self-efficacy scale: Development and initial validation. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 6(2), 125–138. Heckhausen, H., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (1987). Though content and cognitive functioning in motivational versus volitional states of mind. Motivation and Emotion, 11, 101–120. Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319–340. Hudson, F. M. (1999). The handbook of coaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. ICF. (2012). International coach federation code of ethics. Retrieved 19th April 2012, from www.coachfederation.org/ ethics/ Jordan, P. J., & Troth, A. C. (2002). Emotional intelligence and conflict resolution: Implications for human resource development. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 4(1), 62–79. Karniol, R., & Ross, M. (1996). The motivational impact of temporal focus: Thinking about the future and the past. Annual Review of Psychology, 47, 593–620. Kirschenbaum, D. S., Humphrey, L. L., & Malett, S. D. (1981). Specificity of planning in adult self-control: An applied investigation. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 40(5), 941–950. Klinger, E. (1975). Consequences of commitment to and disengagement from incentives. Psychological Review, 82, 1–25. Kristof-Brown, A. L., & Stevens, C. K. (2001). Goal congruence in project teams: Does the fit between members’ personal mastery and performance goals matter? Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(6), 1083–1095. Lampropoulos, G. K. (2000). Definitional and research issues in the common factors approach to psychotherapy integration: Misconceptions, clarifications, and proposals. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 10(4), 415–438. Linnenbrink, E. A., Ryan, A. M., & Pintrich, P. R. (1999). The role of goals and affect in working memory functioning. Learning & Individual Differences, 11(2), 213–230. Little, B. R. (1993). Personal projects: A rationale and method for investigation. Environment and Behavior, 15, 273–309. Locke, E. (2000). Motivation, cognition, and action: An analysis of studies of task goals and knowledge. Applied Psychology, 49(3), 408–429. Locke, E. A. (1996). Motivation through conscious goal setting. Applied & Preventive Psychology, 5(2), 117–124. Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717. Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2013). New developments in goal setting and task performance. New York, NY: Routledge. Manderlink, G., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (1984). Proximal versus distal goal setting and intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 47(4), 918–928. McKenna, D., & Davis, S. L. (2009). Hidden in plain sight: The active ingredients of executive coaching. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 2(3), 244–260. 49

Anthony M. Grant

Midgley, C., Kaplan, A., & Middleton, M. (2001). Performance-approach goals: Good for what, for whom, under what circumstances, and at what cost? Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 77–86. Moskowitz, G. B., & Grant, H. (Eds.). (2009). The psychology of goals. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Oishi, S., Schimmack, U., Diener, E., & Suh, E. M. (1998). The measurement of values and individualism-collectivism. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 24(11), 1177–1189. Ordóñez, L. D., Schweitzer, M. E., Galinsky, A. D., & Bazerman, M. H. (2009). Goals gone wild: The systematic side effects of over-prescribing goal setting. Academy of Management Perspectives, February, 6–16. Pervin, L. A. (1982). The stasis and flow of behavior: Toward a theory of goals. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. Peterson, D. B. (2011). Good to great coaching. In G. Hernez-Broome & L. A. Boyce (Eds.), Advancing executive coaching: Setting the course of successful leadership coaching (pp. 83–102). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Prochaska, J. O., Norcross, J. C., & DiClemente, C. C. (1994). Changing for good. New York, NY: Avon Books. Raia, A. P. (1965). Goal setting and self-control: An empirical study. Journal of Management Studies, 2(1), 34–53. Rawsthorne, L. J., & Elliott, A. J. (1999). Achievement goals and intrinsic motivation: A meta-analytic review. Personality & Social Psychology Review, 3(4), 326–344. Sarrazin, P., Vallerand, R., Guillet, E., Pelletier, L., & Cury, F. (2002). Motivation and dropout in female handballers: A 21-month prospective study. European Journal of Social Psychology, 32(3), 395–418. Seijts, G. H., & Latham, G. P. (2001). The effect of distal learning, outcome, and proximal goals on a moderately complex task. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(3), 291–307. Sheldon, K. M. (2002). The Self-concordance model of healthy goal striving: When personal goals correctly represent the person. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination reserach (pp. 65–86). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. Sheldon, K. M., & Elliot, A. J. (1998). Not all personal goals are personal: Comparing autonomous and controlled reasons for goals as predictors of effort and attainment. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 24(5), 546–557. Sheldon, K. M., & Elliot, A. J. (1999). Goal striving, need satisfaction and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(3), 482–497. Sheldon, K. M., & Kasser, T. (1995). Coherence and congruence: Two aspects of personality integration. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 68(3), 531–543. Spence, G. B. (2007). GAS powered coaching: Goal Attainment Scaling and its use in coaching research and practice. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2(2), 155–167. Street, H. (2002). Exploring relationships between goal setting, goal pursuit and depression: A review. Australian Psychologist, 37(2), 95–103. WABC. (2012). Worldwide Assoication of Business Coaches definition of business coaching. Retrieved 19th April 2012, from www.wabccoaches.com/includes/popups/definition.html Warshaw, P. R., & Davis, F. D. (1985). The accuracy of behavioral intention versus behavioral expectation for predicting behavioral goals. The Journal of Psychology, 119(6), 599–602. Weldon, E., & Yun, S. (2000). The effects of proximal and distal goals on goal level, strategy development, and group performance. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 36(3), 336–344. Winters, D., & Latham, G. P. (1996). The effect of learning versus outcome goals on a simple versus a complex task. Group & Organization Management, 21(2), 236–250.

50

5 From positive psychology to the development of positive psychology coaching Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green

Introduction Positive psychology has been described as “the science of the conditions and processes that lead to optimal human functioning” (Gable & Haidt, 2005:104). Positive psychology is an umbrella term (see Linley & Joseph, 2004) that covers many different areas from a wide range of disciplines including coaching. Positive psychology coaching (PPC) can be defined as “evidence-based coaching practice informed by the theories and research of positive psychology for the enhancement of resilience, achievement and well-being” (Green & Palmer, 2014). Positive psychology has become happy integrated with coaching psychology theory and practice over the past decade. This was highlighted in an international coaching psychology practice survey (Palmer & Whybrow, 2017). When asked the question, Which of the following approaches and underpinning models do you use within your coaching/coaching psychology practice? (Tick all that apply), positive psychology received the highest rating with 63.27% of respondents, followed by cognitive behavioural with 57.08%. Third was mindfulness with 47.79% and fourth was solution focused with 42.92% (see Chapter 1 for more details). Positive psychology and various versions of positive psychology coaching (PPC) are becoming a key approach for many coaches and coaching psychologists working across a range of settings and groups. In this chapter we cover the development of positive psychology and PPC, including theory and basic concepts, and a range of positive psychology techniques, interventions and approaches.

The development of positive psychology coaching: a positive and coaching psychology perspective As relatively new fields within psychology, positive psychology and coaching psychology have been closely aligned, with many synergies identified. Both fields are concerned with how to maximise optimal human functioning. Linley and Harrington (2005) described them as “natural partners in applied psychology”. Professional bodies also see the link between positive and coaching psychology. For example, the Australian Psychological Society has an Interest Group on Coaching Psychology (APS IGCP). It defined coaching psychology as “an applied positive psychology, draws on and develops established psychological approaches, and can be understood as being the systematic application of behavioural science, which is focused on the enhancement of life experience, work performance and wellbeing for individuals, groups and organisations with no clinically significant mental heath [sic] issues or abnormal levels of distress” (APS IGCP, 2003). However, Grant and Cavanagh (2007:240) have questioned if this definition of coaching psychology reflects practice as “Coaching psychology practitioners and 51

Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green

researchers are starting to develop and validate models of theory and practice that do more than simply draw from existing psychological literature”. Positive psychology coaching could be considered as a progression from the older theories with new techniques and models being developed over the past two decades informing practice. Robert Biswas-Diener and Ben Dean (2007) first used the term “Positive Psychology Coaching” in their introductory book with the same title, Positive psychology coaching: Putting the science of happiness to work for your clients. This seminal book set the scene for the development of positive psychology coaching. However, according to Biswas-Diener, he initially responded badly to a negative, in-depth book review on Amazon; later, on reflection, he realised that positive psychology theory and research needed to inform the practice of coaching in a clearer way. The review was a catalyst for change. As Biswas-Diener (2010: 2–3) stated in his following book, coaches “wanted tools, not concepts or ideas”. This book focused on strategies for assessment and how positive psychology can be applied within a coaching context. An increasingly integrated field of positive psychology coaching has emerged, although authors, researchers and ‘pracademics’ have used a range of definitions to describe it. Kauffman, Boniwell, and Silberman (2010, 2014) define positive psychology coaching as “a scientifically rooted approach to helping clients increase well-being, enhance and apply strengths, improve performance and achieve valued goals”. They emphasise that coaching has been described as a ‘natural home’ for positive psychology. A positive psychology approach can facilitate the change process implicit in any coaching by focusing on the positive and emphasising continuity, thus helping to minimise the natural resistance to change experienced by many. Oades and Passmore (2014:15) define positive psychology coaching as “coaching approaches that seek to improve short-term wellbeing (ie hedonic wellbeing) and sustainable wellbeing (ie eudaimonic wellbeing) using evidence-based approaches from positive psychology and the science of wellbeing and enable the person to do this in an on-going manner after coaching has completed”. Apart from the terms ‘coaching’ and ‘positive psychology’, the other important common factor with the Green and Palmer (2014); Kauffman, Boniwell, and Silberman (2014) and Oades and Passmore (2014) definitions is well-being which is generally considered to be a short- and long-term goal of positive psychology coaching, even if it is not an explicit goal of the coachee.

Positive psychology key theories Positive psychology was formally introduced by Professor Martin Seligman in 1998, and in his 2000 book Authentic happiness, he introduced a new paradigm for psychology focused on enhancing well-being rather than fixing illness. Seligman acknowledged the pioneering work by Rogers (1951); Maslow (1954, 1962); Jahoda (1958); Erikson (1963, 1982); Valiant (1977); Deci and Ryan (1985) and Ryff and Singer (1996) as early psychologists who also had enhanced our understanding of positive human functioning (Seligman, 2005). In the early stages of positive psychology, Seligman (2002) referred to three key pathways to a life well lived, i.e. pleasure, engagement and meaning. Since then there has been a flourishing field of work grounded in positive psychology. In a relatively recent review of the literature, Rusk and Waters (2013) found that the most densely concentrated positive psychology topics are life satisfaction/happiness, motivation/achievement, optimism and organisational citizenship/fairness. Whilst positive psychology’s research base continues to grow, it is very much an applied science. These types of applied interventions are referred to as “positive psychology interventions” (PPIs). PPIs have been defined as “treatment methods or intentional activities that aim to cultivate positive feelings, behaviors, or cognitions” (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). Types of PPIs include gratitude, kindness, strengths and coaching. To date, there have been two meta-analyses conducted on PPIs. Sin and Lyubomirsky (2009) conducted a meta-analysis of 51 PPIs with 4,266 individuals. The results revealed that positive psychology interventions do indeed significantly enhance well-being (mean r 5 .29) and decrease depressive symptoms (mean r 5 .31). In 2013, Bolier and associates completed another PPI and found that positive psychology interventions can be effective in the enhancement of subjective well-being and psychological well-being, as well as in helping to reduce depressive symptoms. In both of these meta-analyses, coaching interventions were included and identified as PPIs (Green, Oades, & Grant, 2006; Spence & Grant, 2007). 52

From positive psychology to the development of positive psychology coaching

It is also important to note that the uptake of positive psychology theory, research and practice has also grown rapidly in the education and workplace sectors (Seligman et al., 2009; Green, Dulagil, & Ahern, 2016).

Well-being Currently there are different theories and approaches to understanding what is meant by well-being. The terms ‘well-being’ and ‘flourishing’ are often used interchangeably. Early on in positive psychology there was a focus on hedonic well-being with ‘subjective wellbeing’ used as a conceptualisation and measure of ‘happiness’ (Diener, 2000). However, over time there has been a call for a broader conceptualisation of well-being that includes eudaimonic approaches, e.g. psychological well-being (Ryff, 1989). The debate continues, and science has offered many models to discuss well-being. We will review two key theories below: PERMA and Self-determination Theory.

PERMA In 2011, Seligman (2011a, 2011b) updated his initial theory and outlined the PERMA model. This model offers an overview of important aspects of flourishing: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Achievement. Positive Emotions refers to the past, present and future. Those that flourish look to the past with gratitude, to the future with hope and enjoy the present. Engagement alludes to being absorbed in the present moment and experiencing states of flow. Relationships acknowledges the important role of supportive others in life, whether family, friends, neighbours or colleagues. Meaning is about dedicating time to something greater than ourselves, such as charity work, religion or family. Finally, Achievement refers to the need to develop and pursue goals, an area which most evidence-based coaches are already aware of and actively engage in coaching practice. PERMA is a common model used in schools and organisations and can be used as a framework for coaching.

Self-determination Theory It may be argued that Self-determination Theory (SDT) is the key theory of flourishing. It has a long history, pre-dating positive psychology, and has been very influential in identifying factors that enhance motivation and well-being in such diverse areas as work, education, healthcare, sport, religion and psychotherapy (Baard, Deci, & Ryan, 2004; Deci & Ryan, 2008; Deci et al., 2001; Kasser, 2002; La Guardia & Patrick, 2008; Meyer & Gagné, 2008; Gagne & Deci, 2005; Williams et al., 2000). Spence and Oades (2011) have argued that SDT is both a relevant theoretical framework for coaching practice and a useful perspective from which to develop research questions that can advance the field (pg 37). SDT proposes that humans possess just three psychological needs – the need for competence, autonomy and relatedness – which are essential for well-being and health. Failure to meet these basic needs is said to lead to ill-being, sickness and possibly alienation (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Vansteenkiste & Ryan, 2013). SDT places great emphasis on the importance of social, work, educational, civic and political environments that make people feel competent, socially supported and autonomous.

Flourishing In his paper, Keyes (2002) attempted to define flourishing by outlining the mental health continuum, ranging from languishing to flourishing in life. Keyes argued that mental health is a “syndrome of symptoms of positive feelings and positive functioning in life . . . the presence of mental health is described as flourishing, the absence of mental health is characterized as languishing in life” (Keyes, 2002:207). Hupert and So (2011) suggested that well-being lies at the opposite end of a spectrum to the common mental disorders (depression, anxiety). They identified ten key features of positive well-being (flourishing) 53

Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green

The RAW Model of Flourishing ACHIEVEMENT

RESILIENCE

WELL-BEING

© Green & Palmer, 2014 Figure 5.1 The RAW Model of flourishing

which combine feeling and functioning, i.e. hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of well-being: competence, emotional stability, engagement, meaning, optimism, positive emotion, positive relationships, resilience, selfesteem and vitality. Seligman (2011a, 2011b) asserts that flourishing informs our understanding of happiness and well-being. This triad goes hand in hand.

RAW: a new model of flourishing As noted above, there are numerous theories, models and approaches to assist the coach in better understanding and developing well-being for themselves and their coachees. Whilst we the authors believe each has something to offer the positive psychology coach, we support a new model of flourishing that may provide an overarching model to positive psychology coaching practice. As noted earlier, there are several definitions of PPC. In this chapter the definition by Green and Palmer (2014) has been used, i.e. “evidence-based coaching practice informed by the theories and research of positive psychology for the enhancement of resilience, achievement and well-being” (Green & Palmer, 2014, 2018a, b). This is derived from their RAW model of flourishing (see Figure 5.1), which provides a framework for the integration of positive psychology and coaching psychology. The RAW model consists of three interactive core components, Resilience, Achievement and Well-being. Research from these three areas emphasises how they can contribute to the positive psychology concept of flourishing. Using the RAW model, the practitioner underpins their coaching practice with knowledge about what techniques, interventions and strategies can lead to flourishing drawn from resilience (drawing from clinical, health and sports psychology), achievement (drawing from coaching psychology) and wellbeing (drawing from positive psychology) research. The model can be discussed with the coachee. Green and Palmer (2014) described an alternative model, WAR (i.e. Withering, Achievement blocking and Wellbeing sabotaging), which can be discussed in coaching initially as a stepping stone to RAW if the coachee has a very negative view of their situation.

Positive psychology key concepts Mindfulness: the foundation of flourishing Mindfulness is increasingly being identified as the foundation of flourishing with the recognition that mindfulness contributes directly to well-being; however, it also impacts on the effectiveness of many other 54

From positive psychology to the development of positive psychology coaching

concepts of positive psychology. Whilst mindfulness has a long and ancient history, arising primarily from several of the Eastern contemplative traditions, especially Buddhism, it has become more widely recognised and reported in the West (Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007). There is a growing scientific literature to support the use of mindfulness practices in a variety of applied settings, particularly clinical settings for the treatment of depression, anxiety and pain and increasingly for the enhancement of general well-being (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). The relevance of mindfulness to coaching has received some scholarly attention (e.g. Cavanagh & Spence, 2013; Passmore & Marianetti, 2007), however, only a few empirical investigations have been reported to date (e.g. Spence, 2006; Spence, Cavanagh, & Grant, 2008). Passmore and Marianetti (2007) argue that mindfulness can be applied to coaching in a variety of ways but primarily from three key angles: the coach, the coachee and their relationship. They suggest that both the coach and the coachee can benefit from mindfulness by practicing it in their daily lives, leading to less stressed and happier lives. They also suggest that effective coaching requires that both the coach and coachee bring full focus and attention. As such, mindfulness can provide the opportunity for both to focus their attention to the session and to their learning, supporting personal development and self-actualisation.

Strengths One of the main tenets of positive psychology is that of the identification and application of strengths, which strongly links to the Engagement aspect of Seligman’s PERMA model, although strengths can also be utilised to enhance all other components of PERMA. He suggests that individuals can boost their wellbeing by understanding their particular strengths and applying them more in different areas of their lives. PERMA can be used to provide a useful framework in coaching. The Values In Action (VIA) classification of character strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) outlines 24 character strengths that exist cross-culturally. They are grouped into the categories of Wisdom, Transcendence, Justice, Humanity, Temperance and Courage. Use of strengths has been linked to enhanced happiness, confidence, self-esteem, vitality, resilience, goal achievement and performance (Linley, 2010; Linley et al., 2010; Niemiec, 2013). VIA is a useful tool that can be used within coaching to explore the coachee’s strengths. McQuaid et al. (2018) suggest that recent research has found that there is also value in assisting clients to find a ‘balanced expression’ of all of their strengths (Young, Kashdan, & Macatee, 2014). This can be done by helping coachees understand how their strengths can be overused and underused (Biswas-Diener, Kashdan, & Minhas, 2011; Grant & Schwartz, 2011; Linley, Willars, & Biswas-Diener, 2010); explore how strengths can be integrated to form strength constellations (e.g. the combination of curiosity and gratitude is probably more powerful than curiosity or gratitude alone) and develop their unrealised or lesser strengths (Linley, Willars, & Biswas-Diener, 2010). McQuaid et al. (2018) argue that coaches are required to deepen their understanding of strengths use in coaching from generic suggestions of ‘use strengths more’ to a more nuanced ‘strength development’ approach that integrates their client’s strengths with their unique personality and situational factors.

Optimism Optimism is another key concept that has been researched and built upon by the positive psychology movement. Whist there have been two primary approaches to the study of optimism (dispositional and explanatory style), Seligman’s early research on pessimism and optimism from an explanatory style perspective has underpinned much of his research on depression prevention (Seligman et al., 1979). This has also supported his push for the uptake of positive psychology more broadly. For example, the PRP (Penn Resilience Programme) has been used in schools and the US Army as part of a broader positive psychology approach. Seligman (2006) suggested that optimism is a learnable skill, and many researchers have found benefits of an optimistic explanatory style in terms of well-being and life satisfaction. For example, Yee Ho, Cheung, and 55

Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green

Cheung (2010) studied a group of adolescents in Hong Kong and found significant associations between both optimism and meaning and life satisfaction.

Positive emotions Another key and growing area of positive psychology research is on positive emotions, with significant evidence existing in regard to the numerous benefits of enhanced positive emotions (Green et al., 2016). Barbara Fredrickson’s (2001) ‘broaden and build’ theory suggests that positive emotions such as love, pride and interest broaden thought-action repertoires and build ongoing resources in physical, intellectual, social and psychological domains. As such, positive emotions boost an individual’s capacity to think creatively in any given situation and enhance their overall resilience, both critical in evidence-based coaching practice. Lyubomirsky and associates (2005) have also noted associations between positive emotions and greater income, fewer sick days, enhanced relationships with colleagues, better evaluations from managers and clients and a greater likelihood to stay with an organisation. Health benefits such as quicker cardiovascular recovery have also been documented.

Evidence-based coaching For the positive psychology coach, it is also important to note that coaching itself has been identified as a positive psychology intervention (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). The first published randomised controlled trial of life coaching showed that coaching can enhance goal striving, well-being and hope (Green, Oades, & Grant, 2006), and a subsequent study that compared professional and peer life coaching provided evidence for the enhancement of goal striving and well-being (Spence & Grant, 2007). We would argue then that whilst coaching-as-usual can lead to increases in both accomplishment and well-being, there is a great opportunity for positive psychology coaching (either on an individual or group basis) to utilise other positive psychology concepts such as gratitude, kindness, forgiveness, etc. within an evidence-based coaching context specifically to support coachee flourishing. We would also assert that coaching may allow an individual who has learned about the concepts of positive psychology to make greater meaning of them by practically applying them to their lives, drawing on the goal-setting and goal-striving methodologies of coaching. For example, in a relatively recent and innovative research study, Guzmán and associates (2016) found that positive psychology coaching with film and theatre elements could be used to train staff to improve communication with residents in care homes. In this study, due to the intervention, the residents observed how the staff interacted more with them and appeared to enjoy working as a team, whilst the staff reported an improved sense of teamwork. The staff also developed more positive attitudes towards the residents. More research is needed, but these tentative results highlight how positive psychology coaching can be used in a variety of settings. In this section we have included several theories, models and concepts. It is important to note that positive psychology and positive psychology coaching are still developing and are open to ideas and concepts, especially as new research is published. As such we would strongly encourage the positive psychology coach to commit to regular professional development.

Critique of positive psychology Kauffman, Boniwell, and Silberman (2010, 2014) noted two key critiques of positive psychology and positive psychology coaching. First, it could be argued that there is a potential lack of balance, with insufficient attention given to, and acceptance of, negative emotions and deeper underlying issues. Second, there is particular emphasis on the individual, which leads to the assumption that the individual is responsible for their own happiness. This means that broader, contextual factors affecting someone’s well-being may 56

From positive psychology to the development of positive psychology coaching

be disregarded. This can have the effect of individuals feeling inadequate if they are unable to ‘feel good’ through their actions alone. We would suggest that both these critiques are relevant to the positive psychology coach. First, whilst we would argue that the idea that positive psychology only focuses on the benefits of promoting positive emotions is a misperception, it is an important consideration for the positive psychology coach. Kashdan and Biswas-Diener (2014) in their book The Upside of Your Darkside provide a strong argument for the need to address the full range of human emotions. They suggest that too much positive emotion could potentially lead to an individual’s downfall, and they argue that negative emotions are a critical mechanism which helps an individual to enhance their distress tolerance (Kashdan & Biswas-Diener, 2014). This could lead to enhanced resilience and increased happiness. Likewise, proponents of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) assert that there is a societal discourse that reveres positive emotions. This can lead to people wanting ‘quick fixes’ to eliminate negative emotions. As Wegner (1997) highlighted, efforts to suppress disturbing internal events can intensify them. Strategies such as comfort eating and/or alcohol misuse to ameliorate the distressing symptoms can have longer term deleterious physical and mental health consequences. A key component of ACT and Acceptance and Commitment Coaching (Skews & Palmer, 2016) is observing, experiencing and acceptance of cognitions and emotions. Thus labelling cognitions and emotions either ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ becomes redundant. Second, in regard to the focus of positive psychology being too individualistic, we would draw attention to the initial objectives outlined in the seminal paper of Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) that positive psychology be considered at three levels: 1) the subjective level, e.g. well-being, contentment and satisfaction; 2) the individual level, e.g. love, courage, perseverance, forgiveness and 3) the group level, e.g. positive institutions that move individuals toward better citizenship, including civility, moderation, tolerance and work ethic. We would also suggest that the positive education movement (Seligman, 2009; Green, 2014) and Positive Organisational Scholarship (Cameron, Dutton, & Quinn, 2003) also reference the need to focus on broader systemic factors beyond a sole focus on the individual. Finally, there is one outstanding issue that needs to be covered in this section as it received much academic and media publicity. When the Losada ratio (or critical positivity ratio) was proposed by Fredrickson and Losada (2005) in a paper published in the American psychologist, it was received with high acclaim by the positive psychology community and beyond. By using a nonlinear dynamic model to interpret their data, the authors believed that they had found a ratio of positive to negative affect of 2.9 which separated people who were flourishing from people who were languishing. Their influential paper was cited hundreds of times. Their findings also became popular with the layperson, especially after the publication of Fredrickson’s (2009) book titled, Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3-to-1 Ratio that Will Change Your Life. However, the nonlinear dynamic model used to derive the critical positivity ratio was later found to be flawed (see Brown, Sokal, & Friedman, 2013), and subsequently a correction was published by Fredrickson and Losada (2013). The authors stated (2013:822), “As such, the modeling element of this article is formally withdrawn as invalid and, along with it, the model-based predictions about the particular positivity ratios of 2.9 and 11.6. Other elements of the article remain valid and are unaffected by this correction notice”. Whilst Brown, Sokal, and Friedman (2014) continued to comment on claims made about ratios, it’s worth noting, however, that there is support for P/N ratios at the dyad level. Gottman et al. have utilised P/N ratios to discriminate distressed from non-distressed couples (Gottman, Markman, & Notarius, 1977). They found that lower P/N ratios (1:1) predicted a significantly greater risk for marital dissolution and lower marital satisfaction (Gottman & Levenson, 1992), whereas successful marriages were characterised by positivity ratios of about 5:1 (Gottman, 1994). Fredrickson (2013) concludes “considerable empirical work remains to be done to better understand the dynamic and nonlinear properties of positivity ratios as well as the most appropriate algorithms for computing them” (p. 7). We would suggest that the positive psychology coaching practitioner needs to carefully reflect upon what research they use to inform their practice and maintain an up-to-date understanding of the literature, and if a coachee raises information about what they have read in books, articles and/or on the internet, 57

Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green

the explanation should include any doubts, if there are any, as the coachee may have not read any later corrections.

Practice As positive psychology is grounded in research, understandably, this has influenced the models, techniques and interventions applied within positive psychology coaching. The evidenced-based cognitive behavioural approach and models can inform practice. Specific positive psychology techniques and interventions have been well established and researched and can be utilised within coaching assignments. Kauffman, Boniwell, and Silberman (2010, 2014) note these key techniques as: • •

• • •

Three good things. This simple, yet effective, technique involves writing down three things that went well during the day. Gratitude visit. For this exercise, an individual is asked to think of someone they feel gratitude towards and to write a letter to them expressing what the person did and how it affected your life. The next step is to meet up with the person and read the letter to them. Savouring. This involves noticing and savouring daily pleasures. Best possible future self. Individuals are asked to imagine a future where life has turned out how they wanted. This can help promote optimism about the future and clarify goals. Using strengths in a new way. For this exercise, coachees consider one of their top strengths and apply it in a new way, every day, for one week. They could also consider how to apply one of their key strengths to resolve a challenging situation.

There is an increasing body of research providing evidence about the effectiveness of these interventions. A key finding demonstrates the value of three good things, the simplest of interventions where the individual writes down three things that went well that day. Seligman and associates (2005) found that this intervention increased happiness and decreased depressive symptoms for at least six months. Sin and Lyubormirsky (2009) conducted a meta-analysis of 51 positive psychology interventions and found them to both significantly increase well-being and decrease depressive symptoms. Leontopoulou (2015) assessed the impact of positive psychology interventions (including expressing gratitude and best possible selves) in a sample of young adults (aged 18–30). Notable changes in well-being were discovered, specifically elevated hope, perceptions of social support and the ability to effectively deal with social stress. Increased levels in three of the six character strengths (courage, humanity and transcendence) were also noted. In this section we also include two additional models, INSIGHT and PRACTICE, that we would recommend to the positive psychology coach. (We have not included PERMA as it was described in the theory section.)

INSIGHT model An increasing number of coaching models have been informed and/or underpinned by positive psychology. For example, the INSIGHT model (see Figure 5.2) was developed as a tool for coaches supporting coaches through life transitions (Palmer & Panchal, 2011a, b). They define life transition points as “. . . key turning points that many of us are likely to experience during the lifespan, with varying degrees of opportunity and challenge” (page 4). These transitions can range from events such as changing jobs to broader life transitions such as becoming a parent for the first time. This field of work has been informed by a range of theories, notably lifespan development theory. Significant theorists in this area include Erikson (1950) and Levinson and associates (1978), who have raised the idea of transition points during the lifespan as a period of reflection and re-evaluation. In their book, Palmer and Panchal (2011a) focused on the following key stages: childhood (Fox-Eades, 2011), teenage (Puri, 2011), twenties and thirties (Panchal, 2011), parenthood (Liston-Smith, 2011) and retirement 58

Discussion of developmental models (e.g. Erikson, 1950) or transition models (e.g. Bridges, 1995).

To counter feelings of isolation by creating awareness of life transitions as an integral aspect of development, and acknowledge range of associated emotions.

To enable sustainable change via goals, strategies and solutions.

To draw attention to broader influences and expectations impacting experience of transition.

To allow sufficient time and space to work through the process of transition.

To promote positive evaluations of the past, present and future.

Goal setting, solution-focused questioning, action plans, understanding the process of change and celebration of success.

Review relevant cultural and generational factors. Identify expectations of key individuals/society and surface coachee’s own expectations.

Mindfulness and acceptance & commitment techniques. Creating opportunities for reflection.

Gratitude exercises (past), taking stock/optimism (present) and vision/purpose (future). Discussion of possible selves, time orientations and life stories/links across transitions.

Strategies could include health (nutrition/exercise), social support, relaxation and cognitive re-assessment.

Exercises/psychometrics to surface values, strengths, motivators, drivers etc. Lifeline tools to promote learning from past transitions.

To gain greater self-insight and highlight the value of this as a basis for life decisions (vs external expectations).

To build effective coping strategies to deal with challenges of transition.

Example techniques

Aims

Developmental coaching: INSIGHT framework

Source: Palmer and Panchal, 2011b, p. 21

Figure 5.2

* Not all of these elements will be relevant for all transitions and individuals. Coaches can select the elements that may support their coachee most effectively.

Tailor solutions

Highlight broader context

Give time and space

future

I ntegrate past, present,

Support positive coping

N ormalise transitions

I ncrease self-knowledge

Element

Goal: To facilitate a positive experience of transition and enable self-management of future transitions

Developmental Coaching: INSIGHT Framework

Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green

(O’Riordan, 2011). Palmer and Panchal (2011a, b) are also cognisant of social, cultural and generational influences that may be impacting how these transitions may be experienced by the individual. The INSIGHT model combines perspectives and techniques from a number of different traditions, such as the cognitive behavioural approach, stress, resilience and coping. Positive psychology is central to the INSIGHT model, recognising that the discipline influences positive transitions through two key mechanisms. First, building more positive emotion into daily life can ease the stress associated with uncertainty during transitional times. In addition, an awareness of strengths and a focus on meaning can enable thoughtful decision making associated with transitions. INSIGHT represents a flexible model for coaches working with individuals to negotiate any type of transition. It refers to structured tools, such as psychometrics, as well as more general guidelines/advice, such as encouraging coaches to examine their own and others’ expectations. Coaches can select the relevant concepts and tools from INSIGHT depending on their coaching assignment. For example, they may decide to use VIA to ‘increase self-awareness’ or ask the coachee to reflect on how they effectively coped with past transitions to ‘normalise transitions’ and ‘support positive coping’. Exercises to promote gratitude (such as three good things), optimism and meaning can also ‘support positive coping’ as well as help to ‘integrate past, present and future’.

PRACTICE model Another coaching model which is based on a strengths focus is PRACTICE (Palmer, 2007a,b, 2008, 2011), which is an adaptation of Wasik’s (1984) seven-step problem-solving sequence and a development from Palmer’s earlier work (see Palmer & Burton, 1996; Palmer, 1997a, 1997b). The acronym PRACTICE represents seven steps: Problem identification; Realistic, relevant goals developed; Alternative solutions generated; Consideration of consequences; Target most feasible solution(s); Implementation of Chosen solution(s); Evaluation. Depending upon the coachee’s issues, the ‘P’ in the PRACTICE model can also represent ‘Presenting issues’ or ‘Purpose of coaching’ or ‘Preferred options’ or ‘Preferred outcome’ (Palmer, 2011). Palmer (2008:4) highlighted the strengths- and solution-focused aspect of PRACTICE: At the start of the first coaching meeting the coachee is given an opportunity to talk about him or herself without immediately focusing on their problem(s), issues or concerns thereby allowing the coach to learn more about them (O’Connell, 2003). During the coaching process, the coach will draw attention to the coachee any relevant examples of their competence, strengths and qualities and also build on ‘exceptions’ when the presenting problem or issue is less of a problem. Throughout the whole process of the coaching meeting, scaling questions are used to monitor where the coachee currently is, if progress is being made and what the coachee would need to do to improve the rating. The model has been used within coaching for issues relating to business and career development, executive training, leadership performance, stress, health and life/personal issues (Palmer, 2011; Palmer & Cooper, 2013). PRACTICE has also been used within the fields of counselling, therapy and stress management. The flexibility of the seven-step approach has enabled it to be adapted to different cultures and languages, including, Portuguese (Dias et al., 2011), Spanish (Sánchez-Mora García et al., 2012) and Danish (Spaten, Imer, & Palmer, 2012).

Additional tools Further positive psychology tools include the significant number of empirically validated assessment tools that measure levels of life satisfaction, meaning, optimism, etc. These can be a useful way to raise selfawareness and insight at the start of a coaching assignment and measure progress along the way. The PERMA-Profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016) is one such measure, based on Seligman’s PERMA model and offering a method of measuring flourishing across the five PERMA domains. The Centre for Applied Positive Psychology’s Strengths Profile model (Linley, 2010) can be used for strengths assessment and development. It assesses 60 attributes focusing on three dimensions of energy, 60

From positive psychology to the development of positive psychology coaching

performance and use and can determine if the attributes are realised strengths, unrealised strengths, learned behaviours or weaknesses (see Linley, Biswas-Diener, & Trenier, 2011:174).

Which coachees benefit most? Positive psychology coaching can be applied in a range of settings such as organisations, health and education. There is no coachee or client group that benefits most; in fact, this approach can be effectively used from childhood onwards. For example, Madden, Green, and Grant (2011) evaluated a strengths-based coaching programme in a group of primary school boys (aged 10–11). This involved using the Youth VIA questionnaire to enable the children to have a greater awareness of their strengths. They were asked to develop personally meaningful goals, use their strengths in novel ways and write a ‘letter from the future’ to view themselves at their best. The programme was associated with significant increases in the students’ self-rated measures of engagement and hope. Van Nieuwerburgh and Green (2014) suggest that coaching both students and teachers in mental toughness can aid students to achieve both greater academic success and enhanced well-being. Zareckey (2014) conducted a qualitative study of six military personnel transitioning to ‘civvy street’. A strengths intervention supported them to move from a collective military identity to an individual one and helped them to identify what they wanted from their next career and use a vocabulary to pursue it. Positive psychology models such as PERMA and INSIGHT can be beneficial at times of personal transition and assist in tackling the different stressors that can affect individuals across life stages from childhood until retirement (Panchal et al., 2017).

Case study Dawn came to coaching describing a sense of unease with her life and a lack of direction. She talked about high stress levels at work due to tight deadlines and a lack of resources, and she was concerned about approaching burnout. She was having trouble sleeping and finding little time for exercising or socialising. She felt as if her general mood was slowly deteriorating and felt as if she wanted to make some changes for the better. The coach based her approach on the INSIGHT model, using positive psychology coaching to help Dawn gain insight and focus.

Increase self-knowledge The coach initiated the coaching assignment with a strengths-based intervention. Use of the VIA Strengths Assessment allowed Dawn to understand her strengths. Her top five strengths were Curiosity, Social Intelligence, Kindness, Appreciation of Beauty and Love. She was initially sceptical about the approach, yet she found the discussion useful and commented that she had not previously considered these attributes as strengths. She also observed that some of her key strengths were not applied in her working life, notably the relationship-oriented strengths of Social Intelligence, Kindness and Love.

Integrate past, present and future Further positive psychology approaches allowed Dawn to positively review her past and look forward to her future. She had a feeling that she had ‘achieved nothing’ over the past decade. The coach asked her to list out her achievements, focusing on the ‘Achievement’ aspect of the PERMA model. This allowed Dawn to reflect on her career, friendships and travels and feel more positive about herself. She found the exercise challenging to start with, but once she focused on it she was able to come up with a comprehensive list. Rather than dwell on the areas of life she felt she hadn’t achieved in, she was reminded of her prior goals, hard work and resilience.

61

Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green

Then the coach asked Dawn to look forward and write herself a ‘Letter from the Future’ (Grant & Greene, 2008). This exercise demonstrated Barbara Fredrickson’s ‘broaden and build’ theory by asking Dawn to come up with multiple, creative ideas about how her future could look. She was able to shift from a perspective of ‘I have no direction’ to ‘my life could take many interesting turns’. Rather than fixating on one future plan she felt encouraged by a number of interesting and engaging options for the future, which opened up possibilities and allowed her to think beyond the conventional and the expectations that others may have of her, including her parents and close friends. Further future-focused questions were asked to foster a sense of purpose and meaning. Questions such as, ‘What do you want to be remembered for?’ and “Imagine you are 80 years old and looking back on your life. What would be important? What would you be most proud of?” Dawn was keen for her thinking to be challenged as much as possible, and these questions inspired her to think even more broadly than the ‘Letter from the Future’. The resulting discussion helped her to cement the fact that the relationships in her life were key and that she wanted to make a difference in the world through her interest in environmental matters. Connection to the community and leaving a legacy were new themes of value to Dawn.

Support positive coping The domain that was most challenging for Dawn was work. She found it tough to cope with her workload and maintain the balance that she wanted. She was finding meeting deadlines increasingly challenging and felt that resources were limited. She also felt unsettled by the number of structural changes that had taken place over the past few years. Dawn felt she had lost sight of the positive aspects of her work, and although she knew she was essentially valued by her managers, she felt demotivated. The coach asked Dawn to complete the ‘three good things’ exercise at work and to apply her strengths of Social Intelligence, Kindness and Love at work. At first Dawn found these tasks difficult, but over time they became easier. She found herself making more time for her colleagues rather than just ‘keeping her head down’ and, as a result, enjoying work more than she had in recent months. This focus on social intelligence also had the impact of improving her rapport with her manager and made it easier for her to raise her concerns about her workload and the type of support she needed. Her manager suggested organising a mentor for her, and this mentoring relationship proved to be an invaluable source of support for Dawn. Again, applying her relationship strengths, Dawn was able to quickly establish rapport and a sense of trust with her mentor.

Tailor solutions Dawn enjoyed the opportunities for reflection that the positive psychology exercises offered and felt that there were a number of themes that resonated with her. She decided to take things further and set herself a focus for action. Critically, she wanted to increase the sense of purpose in her life and increase her connections with others. With this in mind, she tasked herself with finding a local environmental group to join where she could meet like-minded people and engage in activities she was passionate about. This provided her with the balance with her working life that she was looking for. In addition, her efforts to apply her relationship strengths at work meant that some of her colleagues (and her new mentor) were fast becoming friends. By the end of the coaching relationship, Dawn felt a sense of renewed energy, focus and belonging.

Coach reflections Once the coaching assignment was complete, the coach reflected on both the process and the outcomes in a peer supervision context. He believed that a positive psychology coaching perspective had been a useful

62

From positive psychology to the development of positive psychology coaching

one with this coachee to lift her out of a cycle of focusing on problems and a lack of general balance. He was particularly pleased with his decisions to use the VIA Strengths Assessment and the purpose/meaning questions, noting that the coachee gained the most valuable insights from these exercises. He felt that the overall impact of the coaching was significant, both in terms of short-term actions and a sense of future direction. When challenged on what he could have done differently, he made two key observations. The first was whether he had allowed the coachee sufficient time and space to express her negative emotions at the start of the assignment. Secondly, he questioned the amount of time given to the VIA; perhaps a more sustained focus on strengths would have been more useful for the coachee to consider a broader range of ways her strengths could be applied further.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

Positive psychology is just about positive thinking. Discuss. Why is there a growing interest in positive psychology within the coaching and coaching psychology fields? Biswas-Diener (2010:2–3) stated that coaches “wanted tools, not concepts or ideas”. Discuss. There are a number of positive psychology coaching definitions. Which definition is nearest to your view of positive psychology coaching?

Suggested reading Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). Practicing positive psychology coaching: Assessment, activities, and strategies for success. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Driver, M. (2011). Coaching positively: Lessons for coaches from positive psychology. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Green, S., & Palmer, S. (2018). Positive psychology coaching in practice. Abingdon, Oxen.: Routledge. Kauffman, C., Boniwell, I., & Silberman, J. (2014). The positive psychology approach to coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (eds.), Sage handbook of coaching. London: Sage Publications.

References Australian Psychological Society, Interest Group in Coaching Psychology (APS IGCP) (2003). About us. Retrieved 5th September 2018 from www.groups.psychology.org.au/igcp/about_us/ Baard, P. P., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Intrinsic need satisfaction: A motivational basis of performance and wellbeing in two work settings. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34, 2045–2068. Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). Practicing positive psychology coaching: Assessment, activities, and strategies for success. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biswas-Diener, R., & Dean, B. (2007). Positive psychology coaching: Putting the science of happiness to work for your clients. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biswas-Diener, R., Kashdan, T. B., & Minhas, G. (2011). A dynamic approach to psychological strength development and intervention. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(2), 106–118. Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Westerhof, G. J., Riper, H., Smit, F., & Bohlmeijer, E. T. (2013). Positive psychology interventions: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 119. Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., & Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18(4), 211–237. Brown, N. J. L., Sokal, A. D., & Friedman, H. L. (2013). The complex dynamics of wishful thinking: The critical positivity ratio. American Psychologist, 68(9), 801–813. Brown, N. J. L., Sokal, A. D., & Friedman, H. L. (2014). The persistence of wishful thinking. American Psychologist, 69(6), 629–632. Butler, J., & Kern, M. L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3), 1–48. Cameron, K. S., Dutton, J. E., & Quinn, R. E. (2003). Positive organizational scholarship. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. 63

Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green

Cavanagh, M. J., & Spence, G. B. (2013). Mindfulness in coaching: philosophy, psychology, or just a useful skill?. In J. Passmore, D. Peterson & T. Freire (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of the psychology of coaching and mentoring (pp. 112–134). New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68. Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development and health. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 182–185. Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., Gagne, M., Leone, D. R., Usunov, J., & Bornazheva, B. P. (2001). Need satisfaction, motivation, and well-being in the work organisations of a former eastern block country: A cross-cultural study of self-determination. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 930–942. Dias, G., Gandos, L., Nardi, A. E., & Palmer, S. (2011). Towards the practice of coaching and coaching psychology in Brazil: The adaptation of the PRACTICE model to the Portuguese language. Coaching Psychology International, 4(1), 10–14. Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34–43. Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society (2nd ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. Fox-Eades, J. (2011). Childhood transitions and celebrating strengths. In S. Palmer & S. Panchal (eds.), Developmental coaching: Life transitions and generational perspectives. Hove: Routledge. Fredrickson, B. L. (1998). What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 300–319. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 30(3), 218–226. Fredrickson, B. L. (2009). Positivity: Top-notch research reveals the upward spiral that will change your life. New York: Harmony Books. Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Positive emotions broaden and build. In P. Devine & A. Plant (eds.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 47, pp. 1–53). Burlington: Academic Press. Fredrickson, B. L., & Losada, M. F. (2005). Positive affect and the complex dynamics of human flourishing. American Psychologist, 60(7), 678–686. Fredrickson, B. L., & Losada, M. F. (2013). “Positive affect and the complex dynamics of human flourishing”: Correction to Fredrickson and Losada (2005). American Psychologist, 68(9), 822. doi.org/10.1037/a0034435 Gable, S. L., & Haidt, J. (2005). What (and why) is positive psychology? Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 103–110. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.103 Gagne, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 331–362. Gottman, J. M. (1994). What predicts divorce? The relationship between marital processes and marital outcomes. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Gottman, J. M., & Levenson, R. W. (1992). Marital processes predictive of later dissolution: Behavior, physiology, and health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(2), 221–233. Gottman, J. M., Markman, J., & Notarius, C. (1977). The topography of marital conflict: A sequential analysis of verbal and nonverbal behavior. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 39, 461–477. Grant, A. M., & Cavanagh, M. J. (2007). Evidence-based coaching: Flourishing or languishing? Australian Psychologist, 42(4), 239–254. Grant, A. M., & Greene, J. (2008). Coach yourself: Make real change in your life. New York: Basic Books. Grant, A. M., & Schwartz, B. (2011). Too much of a good thing: The challenge and opportunity of the inverted u. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 61–76. Green, L. S. (2014). Positive education: An Australian perspective. In M. J. Furlong, R. Gilman & E. S. Huebner (eds.), Handbook of positive psychology in schools (2nd ed., pp. 401–415). New York, NY: Routledge. Green, L. S., Dulagil, A., & Ahern, M. (2016). Evidence-based coaching to enhance senior students’ wellbeing and academic striving. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3). Green, L. S., Oades, L. G., & Grant, A. M. (2006). Cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused life coaching: Enhancing goal striving, well-being, and hope. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(3), 142–149. Green, L. S., & Palmer, S. (2014). Positive psychology coaching: enhancing resilience, achievement & well-being. Workshop presented at the 4th International Congress of Coaching Psychology, Melbourne, Australia, 15 November. Green, L. S., & Palmer, S. (2018a). Positive psychology coaching in practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Green, L. S., & Palmer, S. (2018b). Positive psychology coaching: science into practice. In L.S. Green & S. Palmer (eds.), Positive psychology coaching in practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Guzmán, A., Wenborn, J., Ledgerd, R., & Orrell, M. (2016). Evaluation of a staff training programme using positive psychology coaching with film and theatre elements in care homes: Views and attitudes of residents, staff and relatives. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 12, e12126. doi:10.1111/opn.12126 Ho, M. Y., Cheung, F. M., & Cheung, S. F. (2010). The role of meaning in life and optimism in promoting well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 658–663. 64

From positive psychology to the development of positive psychology coaching

Hupert, F.A., & So, T.T.C. (2011). Flourishing across Europe: application of a new conceptual framework for defining well-being. Social Indicators Research. Published online 15 December. doi: 10.1007/s11205-011-9966-7 Jahoda, M. (1958). Current concepts of mental health. New York: Basic Books. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Full catastrophe living, revised edition: How to cope with stress, pain and illness using mindfulness meditation. London: Hachette. Kashdan, T., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2014). The upside of your dark side: Why being your whole self-not just your “good” self-drives success and fulfillment. New York: Penguin. Kasser, T. (2002). Sketches for a self-determination theory of values. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 123–140). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. Kauffman, C., Boniwell, I., & Silberman, J. (2010). The positive psychology approach to coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (eds.), The complete handbook of coaching. London: Sage Publications. Kauffman, C., Boniwell, I., & Silberman, J. (2014). The positive psychology approach to coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (eds.), The complete handbook of coaching (2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications. Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43(2), 207–222. La Guardia, J. G., & Patrick, H. (2008). Self-determination theory as a fundamental theory of close relationships. Canadian Psychology, 49, 201–209. Leontopoulou, S. (2015). A positive psychology intervention with emerging adults. The European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 3(2), 113–136. Levinson, D. J., Darrow, C. N., Klein, E. B., Levinson, M. H., & McKee, B. (1978). The Seasons in a Man’s Life. New York, NY: Knopf. Linley, P. A. (2010). Realise2: Technical report. Coventry, UK: CAPP Press. Linley, P. A., Biswas-Diener, R., & Trenier, E. (2011). Positive psychology and strengths coaching through transition. In S. Palmer & S. Panchal (eds.), Developmental coaching: Life transitions and generational perspectives. Hove: Routledge. Linley, P. A., & Harrington, S. (2005). Positive psychology and coaching psychology: Perspectives on integration. The Coaching Psychologist, 1(1), 13–14. Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2004). Applied positive psychology: A new perspective for professional practice. In P. A. Linley & S. Joseph (eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp. 3–12). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Linley, P. A., Nielsen, K. M., Wood, A. M., Gillett, R., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). Using signature strengths in pursuit of goals: Effects on goal progress, need satisfaction, and well-being, and implications for coaching psychologists. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(1), 8–17. Linley, P. A., Willars, J., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). The strengths book: What you can do, love to do, and find it hard to do-and why it matters. Coventry, UK: CAPP Press. Liston-Smith, J. (2011). Becoming a parent. In S. Palmer & S. Panchal (eds.), Developmental coaching: Life transitions and generational perspectives. Hove: Routledge. Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 803–855. Madden, W., Green, S., & Grant, A. M. (2011). A pilot study evaluating strengths-based coaching for primary school students: Enhancing engagement and hope. International Coaching Psychology Review, 6, 71–83. Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row. Maslow, A. H. (1962). Towards a psychology of being. Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Company. McQuaid et al. (2018). A character strengths-based approach to positive psychology coaching. In S. Green & S. Palmer (eds.), Positive psychology coaching in practice. London: Routledge. Meyer, J. P., & Gagné, M. (2008). Employee engagement from a self-determination theory perspective. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1, 60–62. Niemiec, R. M. (2013). VIA character strengths: Research and practice (The first 10 years). In H. H. Knoop & A. Delle Fave (eds.), Well-being and cultures: Perspectives on positive psychology (pp. 11–30). New York: Springer. Oades, L. G., & Passmore, J. (2014). Positive psychology coaching: A complete psychological toolkit for advanced coaching. In J. Passmore (ed.), Mastery in coaching. London: Kogan Page. O’Connell, B. (2003). Introduction to the solution-focused approach. In B. O’Connell & S. Palmer (eds.), Handbook of Solution-Focused Therapy. London: Sage. O’Riordan, S. (2011). Looking forward to retirement. In S. Palmer & S. Panchal (eds.), Developmental coaching: Life transitions and generational perspectives. Hove: Routledge. Palmer, S. (1997a). Problem-focused stress counselling and stress management training: An intrinsically brief integrative approach: Part 1. Stress News, 9(2), 7–12. Palmer, S. (1997b). Problem-focused stress counselling and stress management training: An intrinsically brief integrative approach: Part 2. Stress News, 9(3), 6–10. Palmer, S. (2007a). Cognitive Coaching in the Business World. Invited inaugural lecture of the Swedish Centre of WorkBased Learning, Gothenburg, Sweden, 8 February. 65

Sheila Panchal, Stephen Palmer and Suzy Green

Palmer, S. (2007b). PRACTICE: A model suitable for coaching, counselling, psychotherapy and stress management. The Coaching Psychologist, 3(2), 71–77. Palmer, S. (2008). The PRACTICE model of coaching: Towards a solution-focused approach. Coaching Psychology International, 1(1), 4–8. Palmer, S. (2011). Revisiting the P in the PRACTICE coaching model. The Coaching Psychologist, 7(2), 156–158. Palmer, S., & Burton, T. (1996). Dealing with people problems at work. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. Palmer, S., & Cooper, C. (2013). How to deal with stress (3nd ed.). London: Kogan Page. Palmer, S., & Panchal, S. (2011a). Developmental coaching: Life transitions and generational perspectives. Hove: Routledge. Palmer, S., & Panchal, S. (2011b). Life transitions and generational perspectives. In S. Palmer & S. Panchal (eds.), Developmental coaching: Life transitions and generational perspectives. Hove: Routledge. Palmer, S., & Whybrow, A. (2017). What do coaching psychologists and coaches really do? Results from two International Surveys. Invited paper at the 7th International Congress of Coaching Psychology 2017, London, 18 October. Panchal, S. (2011). From twenties to thirties. In S. Palmer & S. Panchal (eds.), Developmental coaching: Life transitions and generational perspectives. Hove: Routledge. Panchal, S., Palmer, S., O’Riordan, S., & Kelly, A. (2017). ‘Stress and wellbeing: A lifestage model‘. International Journal of Stress Prevention and Wellbeing, 1 (5), 1–3. Retrieved from: http://www.stressprevention.net/volume/volume-1-2017/ volume-1-article-5/ Passmore, J., & Marianetti, O. (2007). The role of mindfulness in coaching. The Coaching Psychologist, 3(3), 131–137. Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford University Press. Puri, A. (2011). Coaching through the teenage years. In S. Palmer & S. Panchal (eds.), Developmental coaching: Life transitions and generational perspectives. Hove: Routledge. Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. London: Constable. Rusk, R. D., & Waters, L. E. (2013). Tracing the size, reach, impact, and breadth of positive psychology. The Journal of Positive Psychology: Dedicated to Furthering Research and Promoting Good Practice, 8(3), 207–221. http://dx.doi.org/10. 1080/17439760.2013.777766 Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1996). Psychological well-being: Meaning, measurement, and implications for psychotherapy research. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 65, 14–23. Sánchez-Mora García, M., Ballabriga, J. J., Celaya, J. V., Dalmau, R. C., & Palmer, S. (2012). The PRACTICE coaching model adapted to the Spanish language: From PRACTICE to IDEACIÓN. Coaching Psychology International, 5(1), 2–6. Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfilment. New York, NY: Free Press. Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Positive psychology, positive prevention, and positive therapy. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (eds.), Handbook of positive psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. New York: Vintage Books. Seligman, M. E. P. (2009). What you can change . . . and what you can’t: The complete guide to self-improvement. New York, NY: Vintage Books. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011a). Flourish: A new understanding of happiness and well-being-and how to achieve them. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011b). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and wellbeing. New York: Free Press. Seligman, M. E. P., Abramson, L. Y., Semmel, A., & von Baeyer, C. (1979). Depressive attributional style. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 88, 242–247. Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5 Seligman, M. E. P., Ernst, R., Gillham, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 293–311. Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60, 410–421. Sin, N. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions. Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, May, 467–487. Skews, R., & Palmer, S. (2016). Acceptance and commitment coaching: Making the case for an ACT-based approach to coaching. Coaching Psychology International, 9(1), 24–28. Spaten, O. M., Imer, A., & Palmer, S. (2012). From PRACTICE to PRAKSIS: Models in Danish coaching psychology. Coaching Psychology International, 5(1), 7–12. Spence, G. B. (2006). New Directions in the Psychology of Coaching: The Integration of Mindfulness Training into Evidence-Based Coaching Practice. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis) School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. 66

From positive psychology to the development of positive psychology coaching

Spence, G. B., Cavanagh, M. J., & Grant, A. M. (2008). The integration of mindfulness training and health coaching: An exploratory study. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 1(2), 145–163. Spence, G. B., & Grant, A. M. (2007). Professional and peer life coaching and the enhancement of goal striving and well-being: An exploratory study. Journal of Positive Psychology, 2, 185–194. Spence, G. B., & Oades, L. G. (2011). Coaching with self-determination theory in mind: Using theory to advance evidence-based coaching practice. International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring, 9(2), 37–55. Suzy, G., & Palmer, S. (2018). Positive psychology coaching in practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Valiant, G. E. (1977). Adaptation to life. Boston: Little, Brown. Van Nieuwerburgh, C., & Green, S. (2014). Developing mental toughness in young people: Coaching as an applied positive psychology. In D. Strycharczyk & P. Clough (eds.), Developing mental toughness in young people: Approaches to achievement, well-being and positive behaviour (pp. 81–97). London: Karnac Books Ltd. Vansteenkiste, M., & Ryan, R. M. (2013). On psychological growth and vulnerability: Basic psychological need satisfaction and need frustration as a unifying principle. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 23, 263–280. Wasik, B. (1984). Teaching parents effective problem-solving: A handbook for professionals. Unpublished manuscript. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina. Wegner, D. M. (1997). When the antidote is the poison: Ironic mental control processes. Psychological Science, 8, 148–150. Williams, G. C., Cox, E. M., Hedberg, V., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Extrinsic life goals and health risk behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 1756–1771. Young, K., Kashdan, T.B., & Macatee, R. (2014). Strength balance and implicit strength measurement: New considerations for research on strengths of character. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10 (1), 17–24. Zareckey, A. (2014). How strengths-focussed coaching can help military personnel in their transition to “civvy street”. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching & Mentoring, Special Issue 8, 54–66. 13p.

67

6 Research and the practitioner Getting a perspective on evidence as a coaching psychologist Annette Fillery-Travis and Sarah Corrie

Introduction It has often been said that the practice of coaching surpasses coaching research. Such a claim is not unusual for emerging occupations, but a new area of practice needs to delineate itself from what has gone before, and one way to do this is through the development a body of knowledge that defines what work is (and is not) within its scope. Coaching psychology has been trying to do this for some time, seeking to separate its practice from the psychological therapies at one end of the spectrum and helping interventions and consulting at the other. A knowledge base that provides practitioners with the evidence for what works and for whom so they can provide an excellent, sustainable and individually tailored service to their clients and organisations is the gold standard, and it is research that provides this. The application of robust and coherent knowledge in context produces the evidence-based practice that allows standards of accreditation, training and practice to be developed. Research can thus be considered an essential part of the professionalisation of any practice. For other professions and disciplines – medicine, chemistry and law, for example – such a body of knowledge is developed by practitioners in the field and through research by academics. If we were to design the optimum process of knowledge development, we might envisage a collaborative engagement of both communities to produce robust research outcomes that are of direct uses to practitioners. However, as authors whose own work spans both practice and academia, we do not see such seamless collaboration. Instead we identify a distinct narrative operating between academics and practitioners that illustrates the dilemmas inherent in reconciling these two quite different communities. The narrative suggests that for practitioners, robust theory is not practical and for academics, knowledge must be generalisable; there is no interest in the individual case but only in predictable patterns. This is of course very simplistic, and there have been impactful attempts to reconcile the two (see, for example, the UK government’s initiative for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies; Department of Health, 1999). Nonetheless, this narrative taints the interaction. Such an ‘academic-practice divide’ has been a common critique of management and business science since the first business schools appeared within universities (Van de Ven, 2007). Within coaching specifically, development of the field has been led by pioneers of practice with researchers lagging behind both in terms of the issues they seek to address and the context in which they investigate. Conversely, coaching has also been criticised for making statements about effectiveness that exceed the evidence available to support such claims (Briner, 2012). Can we do better with the development of our body of knowledge? In particular, can we be clear about what we want from our literature and how we can use it? To answer these questions, we need to consider 68

Research and the practitioner

what evidence is and what has been produced. In this chapter we explore these questions by identifying some criteria to consider when reviewing the evidence. The first criterion concerns some reflections on the persuasiveness of the work as illuminated by Aristotle’s rule of rhetoric (Roberts & Bywater, 1954). The second, more modern, criterion is the categorisation of evidence commonly used by psychology and other disciplines. As preparation we invite you to consider the sources of evidence you currently use in your own practice, using the following questions to guide you: 1 2 3 4

When was the last time you changed your practice as a coach? What sources of evidence (articles, presentations, training, supervision, observations, etc.) led you to change that practice? What were the characteristics of that evidence that allowed you to trust it to such an extent as to change what you do with clients? What source of evidence would be so compelling to you that it would lead you to change your coaching practice tomorrow?

When we ask coaching professionals these questions, their feedback has followed a pattern that mirrors one found by Bartunek (2007). Using the categorisation of rhetoric derived by Aristotle (Roberts & Bywater, 1954), Bartunek identifies academic writing as operating in the arena of logos which emphasises logic and clarity of argument. Pathos is generally associated with emotional appeal to values, beliefs and affect in a way that moves the reader to action. Ethos refers to credibility and trustworthiness. Aristotle argued that all three were required within a persuasive text; however, different dissemination routes may favour one element over the other. Bartunek (2007) identifies the need for pathos to appeal to a practitioner audience, and our own experience would confirm such a view. Practitioners value ‘resonance’ with their own practice which will include their emotional involvement with that practice. This is reinforced by several studies which identify that individuals seek and interpret information in ways which preserve their self-image (Dunning et al., 1991). If we have such multi-perspective requirements from research, how do we know what is useful and evidenced and what is ‘mere’ opinion? What evidence-based practice is suitable for our coaching and our clients? In order to address these questions, we need to consider what exactly is meant by ‘evidence’ and ‘evidence-based practice’. These terms are neither objective nor neutral in their implications and we need to position ourselves – individually and collectively – within the range of interpretations in use. We then take a quick look at the current state of coaching knowledge to identify what type of evidence is currently available. We include coaching conducted by managers and internal coaches as well as external coaches but do not include the modes of coaching undertaken within healthcare provision or sports environments.1

The nature of evidence: taking a closer look Since its inception (see Sackett et al., 1996) evidence-based practice has become the foundation for a wide variety of services. This has two main implications: 1) that services are increasingly organised around providing empirically supported interventions and 2) that services provide evidence of effectiveness at the local level. Although originating in, and implemented particularly vigorously within, healthcare, evidence-based practice has been embraced more widely, including within coaching (see, for example, Jarvis et al., 2006). The claim to be ‘evidence-based’ is a claim to legitimacy in a climate where professionals are increasingly required to justify their practice and the outcomes obtained (Plath, 2006; Corrie, 2010; Palmer & Corrie, 2013). At the core of the quest for evidence-based practice lies the ethical responsibility that practitioners have in ensuring that the interventions they deliver are optimally beneficial for the intended recipients of those services. Other stated benefits have been noted (see Corrie, 2003, 2010; O’Donohue & Henderson, 1999) to include: 69

Annette Fillery-Travis and Sarah Corrie

• • • • •

Ensuring that we keep our knowledge up to date and that practice-based decision-making is grounded in the most up to date knowledge; Maintaining standards, thus enabling more consistently effective results for our clients; Enhancing confidence in the services we deliver (both amongst ourselves and amongst buyers of coaching) through providing a hallmark of credibility; Protecting clients against the uncritical application of technique through subjecting professional practice to something more rigorous than decision-making derived from experience and intuition; Providing an ethical basis for delivering a service for which we take people’s money.

On the surface at least, it is difficult to take issue with the notion that practitioners’ services should be based on the very best and most recent knowledge. However, several implications follow this position. First, evidence-based practice relies on collaboration between both researcher and practitioner communities whereas, as already noted, such collaborations are often lacking. Faced with this hiatus, how, then, can the conscientious practitioner develop a ‘critical lens’ for evaluating and integrating novel approaches into their practice? Second, establishing the extent to which evidence-based practice can deliver the espoused aims relies on how ‘evidence’ is defined. Categorisation of sources of knowledge into hierarchies has become a widely accepted practice. The five levels of evidence identified by the Department of Health (1999) are: • • • • •

Type I: at least one good systematic review including a minimum of one RCT Type II: minimum of one good randomised controlled trial Type III: at least one well-designed study without randomisation Type IV: minimum of one well-designed observational study Type V: opinion of experts, service users and carers.

It is important to note that there is a place for all research methods and the ‘optimum choice’ will depend on the type of question being asked. As such, evidence cannot be understood as taking the form of any single type of data, and hierarchical position should not be confused with usefulness (Roth & Fonagy, 2005). Nonetheless, built into this hierarchy is a privileging of the scientific method over other forms of knowing; a prizing of logos and an implicit assumption that the knowledge thus obtained provides outcomes which can be unproblematically translated into professional practice settings. As identified previously, this may not resonate with the kind of ‘evidence’ prized by practitioners and their clients and may prevent the dissemination of research findings into practice settings.

Implications for coaching: current state of knowledge Let us look now at how coaching stands in relation to this hierarchy. To what extent can it claim to be evidence-based? The body of knowledge of coaching has developed significantly in the last two decades and now comprises many hundreds of journal articles and books. A simple framework to make sense of this burgeoning literature has been provided by Jarvis et al. (2006) (Figure 6.1 below): We approach the question of the extent to which coaching psychology is evidence-based through drawing on the literature in three key areas. First, we consider the question that has been the focus of a significant amount of work – what are the outcomes of coaching? This will then lead us to consider what actually happens within the coaching sessions, as well as the factors that are important to their design and conduct, through reviewing process studies. Finally, we consider the most recent area of research interest which is the coaching interaction itself – the interplay between the coach and client that occurs as the process of coaching is enacted.

70

Research and the practitioner

PROCESS

Coach Specific attributes? Background? Training?

OUTCOMES

Coaching Duration? Elements? Choice of coach? Modality/agenda? Underpinning perspective? Associated with assessment? Associated with performance review?

Do coachees like it? What is learned? Does it produce behaviour change? Is that change sustained? Is the behaviour change identified with an impact on the organisation? What impact? Is it beneficial? Coachee Readiness for change? Any performance issues? Work culture? Org. buy-in?

Figure 6.1

Schematic of literature framework

Source: (after Jarvis et al., 2006).

As we progress in this review it is instructive to consider where the evidence presented is placed within the hierarchy and how it is positioned in terms of logos, pathos and ethos. Do specific question types lend themselves to specific types of evidence, and does that evidence convince?

Coaching outcomes The last two decades have seen the hunt for a return on investment (ROI) number for coaching that is quotable for marketing and procurement (Bennett, 2006). The first studies used measures such as client satisfaction surveys. These consistently identified high levels of satisfaction (>90%) (Fillery-Travis & Lane, 2006) and large estimates of ROI figures (e.g. 400%; McGovern et al., 2001). There was, however, little discrimination within such studies. Specifically, no account was made of the influence of potential bias such as the Hawthorne effect (influence of being studied) or Pygmalion effect (the expectancy advantage). One method of eliminating such effects and producing a generalisable finding is to undertake larger randomised uncontrolled and controlled trials (RCTs) – an example of Type II evidence – but the numbers of such studies remain small. Of the over 700 scholarly articles and dissertations published in the last five years (as identified by a PsyINFO search in December 2014), only a couple of hundred were empirical studies and of these only 11 were of a randomised controlled design seeking to test the hypothesis that some performance indicator had improved as a result of coaching.2 The main issues restricting such studies are access, cost (both resources and time) and the difficulty of designing such studies to control the multitude of factors in operation. Grant (2001) identified only two studies which met RCT criteria (Deviney, 1994; Duijts; van den Brandt & Swaen, 2008), but the results were complex with no significant improvement on the primary measure. Interestingly, as the studies become more identified with

71

Annette Fillery-Travis and Sarah Corrie

Type III evidence they display more pathos and become more persuasive (de Haan et al., 2011). Examples here include Levenson (2009); Evers et al. (2006); Orenstein (2006) and Wasylyshyn et al. (2006). The instruments most commonly used to collect information on perceived effectiveness are customised surveys involving multi-rater feedback (Thach, 2002; Smither et al., 2003; Kombarakaran et al., 2008), although Nowack (2009) provides a word of caution about the potential negative impact of the use of these surveys on emotions and sustained behaviour change. The use of validated instruments such as leadership style assessments, as used by Duijts et al. (2008), and goal attainment scaling (Sinclair, 2003) is rare. An example of a study using the ‘hard’ measure of productivity is that of the oft-quoted Olivero et al. (1997), who identified a positive impact on productivity of public sector managers of the use of coaching in addition to training-only provision in a management development programme. The construction of the study to investigate coaching within a common scenario (embedding behaviour change after training) lends it to a high level of pathos for the reader. But trying to formalise such measures into an ROI figure is inherently difficult in human interventions as a significant number of potentially impactful factors are unquantified or unknown. The standard method of circumventing this is to undertake a meta-analysis to ‘elevate’ the evidence to Type I. The first attempt at this was conducted by De Meuse, Dai, & Lee (2009), but they were able to draw upon only six studies in total (Evers et al., 2006; Luthans & Peterson, 2003; Peterson, 1993; Smither et al., 2003; Togel & Nicholson, 2005; Lew, et al. (2003). The reader is directed to their paper for the full analysis, but in summary a ROI of 1.27 was identified – a small positive return in real terms. This does not resonate with the experience of coaches and leads to a low perceived credibility with the reader, although the methods employed are robust and the claims of the results suitably restrained. In summary, the literature on coaching outcomes has not yet reached a point where real claims can be made from either a practitioner or academic perspective. Nonetheless, outcomes are not the whole story. Moreover, measuring outcome depends upon (1) a clear, operational definition of what is being measured and (2) a consensual definition of what is a good outcome (Corrie, 2010; Fillery-Travis & Lane, 2006). However, the extreme heterogeneity of issues that can be identified as the focus of a coaching intervention means that there are multiple possible outcomes that may be evaluated depending on the needs of the researcher, the practitioner, the coachee and other stakeholders who have an investment in the process. Coaching comprises multiple genres and is delivered in a rapidly expanding variety of contexts. Taking these factors into consideration, it would be difficult to identify outcome measures that are applicable to the entire range of coaching interventions (Greif, 2007). Yet clearly every practitioner has their own real identification of benefits for their own clients. We will return to this conundrum after we have considered the literature that deals with the process of coaching.

Process studies So far we have identified a paucity of information concerning the factors that need to be controlled in an experimental Type III or II study. It is these factors of an intervention that have impact on the process of coaching. There has been a growing interest in researching this arena where essentially the question being asked is ‘what is happening here?’ Such questions are not suitably addressed by quantitative studies and instead require the in-depth case analyses inherent in the use of mixed methods or purely qualitative methods – Type III and IV evidence. We identify that although qualitative methods cannot give generalisable results, this is NOT the only criterion for usefulness. Even though logos may be dominant, pathos can provide sufficient persuasiveness. As practitioners we may find a study of team coaching (Peters & Carr, 2013) using two very different cases (one team in the public sector and one in the private sector) equally useful in terms of providing us with ‘good practice’ models. The criteria for robustness in these instances are authenticity, dependability, goodness and credibility; that is, does the study explore a phenomenon in a well-structured, clear and transparent way that is appropriate to the question asked, and does it make appropriate claims of the findings (Peters & Carr, 2013)? These criteria operate most effectively within the arena of pathos as practitioners use their experience as a lens through which to determine credibility. 72

Research and the practitioner

As a useful framework for considering the factors operating in the coaching interaction, one of us has clustered the potential factors in the following themes: (a) coach attributes, (b) client attributes, (c) the coaching practice itself and (d) context (Fillery-Travis & Lane, 2006). Below we address each of these themes in turn. The concept of coach attributes is important when seeking to engage with a coach or looking to accredit a coach. Most professional bodies have considered this in terms of competence frameworks building on the work of Dingman (2004) and Morgan et al. (2006), who included interpersonal skills, communication skills and instrumental support as necessary for external coaches and relationship building. Studies of the requirements for manager coaches identified empowering, facilitating and courageous leading as additional specific elements (Wenzel, 2001; Graham et al., 1993; Ellinger & Bostrom, 1998; Ellinger, 2003; Ellinger et al., 2008). None of these studies identified the style or model of coaching used. At the time of writing, a recent review by EMCC is due to be published to members identifying the evidence-base for the full competency listing, and the interested reader is referred to their website. The attributes of the coachee have also been explored; specifically the need for an absence of psychopathology and the coachee’s readiness for change (Carey et al., 2011; Seamons, 2006; Wasylyshyn, 2003). One of the early writers on coaching, Kilburg (2001), explored the issue of compliance and presented a model of factors in the process, drawing heavily upon the psychotherapy literature. Although it is readily agreed that most coaching models fit well into a staged process (including elements such as relationship building, assessment, formulation, action planning and monitoring) no systematic study of the relative impact of each or their combinations has been undertaken. There are studies on: (1) the coach-client relationship, (2) duration of the process and (3) an identification of both purpose and model of practice. The coach-client relationship was identified as critical in Kampa-Kokesch & Anderson’s (2001) seminal review. De Haan explored this extensively using critical incident methodology (de Haan, 2008a, 2008b; de Haan & Stewart, 2011). Baron and Morin (2009) explored its similarity with the concept of the ‘working alliance’ from the therapeutic literature, and in their later work they explored this relationship in relation to self-efficacy using a pre-post-test study design of 30 coachees and their internal coaches. Manager-as-coach interactions were discussed by Gregory & Levy (2011). More recently De Haan and Page’s preliminary findings from what they have termed ‘The Greatest Ever’ Coaching Outcome Project (2014 have provided significant evidence that the coaching relationship remains the best predictor of the coaching outcome. Their study (of which the preliminary findings represent approximately 75% of the final study) has collated data from over 1,100 coaches, 1,800 coaching clients and 82 organisational sponsors (line managers or directors) from more than 34 different countries. The strong finding is that the coaching relationship is the most powerful determinant of coaching outcomes. Further analysis is needed to identify the ‘quality’ in the coaching relationship to which this can be attributed. The influence is so great it can outweigh factors such as the model of coaching itself (de Haan et al., 2011). The duration of the coaching relationship and the process of its ending (Cox, 2010) is often assumed within studies with an often seemingly arbitrary selection of length of coaching (ranging from one phone call to 12 months of structured work). There are only a few studies exploring either the sustainability of behaviour change after coaching (Grant et al., 2010) or the duration of coaching for optimal impact (Research, 2003), and these were again small scale.

Coaching interaction The final theme within the literature has emerged only in the last few years. It is the exploration of the coaching interaction itself. The work of Elaine Cox is particularly pertinent here (Cox, 2013) as she has identified the glaring lack of research in this area. Specifically she identifies that reviewers have consistently overlooked the relational elements of the intervention in preference for the more tangible process elements. Exploring the way the relationship develops and how it enables the process of coaching and contributes to outcome is critical. However, research in this area has not been forthcoming. One reason as she argues is 73

Annette Fillery-Travis and Sarah Corrie

the need for novel methodologies and ethical practice to explore this interaction without significant disturbance of the phenomena under investigation. New doctorate work on the use of feedback within the interaction (Lewis, 2014) is an example of this type of study being undertaken. This practitioner research uses the description of the coaching practitioner’s lived experience of their work to build a model of the conditions for delivering appropriate feedback within a coaching engagement. Such work begs the question as to whether it is necessary for the researcher to be a coach to fully explore such phenomena.

Defining and creating an evidence-base that is fit for purpose: further points to consider Although the knowledge-base of coaching and coaching psychology is increasing, fundamental questions about coaching remain unanswered, including whether coaching actually ‘works’, for whom and for what type of issues. But it is also important to locate evidence-gathering in a broader context. Sturdee (2001) has emphasised the importance of recognising that evidence is a social phenomenon that has emerged in a specific political, economic and professional context. In consequence, apparently straightforward questions (such as ‘does coaching work?’) can serve complex and unarticulated agendas. Evidence is a marketable product and has an investment value to those who produce and disseminate it. Much of what coaches do is complex, reflecting multi-layered priorities and concerns. In this context, evidence is far from being unambiguous and must be constructed, interpreted and even crafted from a range of available data (Newnes, 2001). The decision-making of the coaching practitioner will, of necessity, encompass a wide range of considerations that span context and stakeholder interests, the values of the coachee and the organisation, pragmatic concerns such as time constraints and cost and coachee preferences and goals. How we define, collect and disseminate our evidence are questions to which the coaching community must give serious consideration. Although coaching needs to establish and differentiate itself in a climate preoccupied with justification, as an emerging profession it is also uniquely placed to question, critique and challenge what has gone before. In pursuit of an evidence-base, and the identification of research methodologies that are fit for purpose, it is necessary to consider carefully what we want our evidence to do for us. Coaching practitioners have the opportunity (and responsibility) to approach the task of knowledge production through fresh eyes. Just as in coaching itself, where we seek to encourage a mature understanding and identify novel solutions to the challenges of life and work through drawing on our skills in critical analysis and reflection, so these same skills can be usefully applied to a mature debate on the nature of evidence-based practice and its role in developing coaching psychology. Through doing so, it is also possible that the field can support other disciplines in reviewing their approaches to the development of knowledge. Macdonald (2001) has argued that for evidence-based practice to achieve its potential a number of criteria must be fulfilled. These include investment in high quality research, access to the latest research and the ability to apply evidence in practice. However, after Shaw and Shaw (1997) it is also the case that practitioners use a variety of sources of evidence in complex ways to guide their decision-making. Coaching practitioners’ relationship to research – as contributors to, consumers of and critics of the evidence-base – is as yet an ill-considered aspect of the debate and worthy of investigation in its own right. Arguably, we need to understand how coaches and other stakeholders understand the relevance of the emerging body of research and how (if at all) their practice is shaped by this. How, and to what extent, practitioners approach the task of synthesising the arenas of logos, pathos and ethos is important in building our understanding of what makes coaching effective alongside our emerging knowledge of coaching outcomes, process studies and coaching interactions. In the spirit of supporting the practitioner-scholar in navigating the research literature, encouraging the forging of a closer partnership between research and practice and asking important questions about what types of evidence we need for the future, Box 6.1 offers some questions that we hope might encourage a reflective engagement with both the current research and the sometimes complex contexts in which a search for evidence is undertaken. 74

Research and the practitioner

Box 6.1 Questions for the practitioner-scholar For the coaching practitioner as a consumer of research: Questions to support a personal engagement with the evidence-base: •

What does evidence mean for you? How do you define this in the coaching contexts in which you practice?



What are the questions about coaching generally and your practice specifically for which you are seeking answers?



To what extent do you have access to the range of evidence that you would like and that you believe is necessary to support the delivery and development of your practice?



How will you identify what is, and is not, credible from the wide variety of information and sources of ‘evidence’ available to you? What will be your knowledge-management and decision-making criteria?

For the coaching practitioner as a producer of research: Questions to support us in shaping the field: •

To what questions are you interested in obtaining answers?



For what purpose is your research conducted? Is it to hone your contribution through advancing your knowledge and skills as a practitioner? To investigate the effectiveness of an approach taken with a specific coachee? To justify your practice in a particular context? To compete effectively with other service providers?



For whom is your evidence good news?



For whom is your evidence bad news?

For the community of those practicing and/or researching coaching services: Questions about how to develop and finesse our research agenda: •

Why are we seeking evidence? After Sturdee, what are some of the different agendas being served and who is driving these?



What do we want and need our data to do for us? What are the messages we most want and need to communicate to our stakeholders?



What types of questions do we most need to ask at this time?



What types of coaching activities need prioritising in our evidence-gathering endeavours?

For the community of those practicing or researching coaching services: Questions concerned with how we encourage wider engagement with coaching research: •

How best can we disseminate our research?



To whom does our evidence need to be accessible?



What kind of engagement with the research literature do we want to encourage in buyers of coaching services? What resources, knowledge and skills are necessary to achieve this engagement?



For what purposes are our different stakeholders seeking evidence? In what ways are they using it?

Conclusion In this chapter we have sought to provide an overview of the research underpinning coaching psychology and encourage engagement with some of the critical challenges facing the field at this time. We have also sought to encourage reflection on the varied and complex reasons for which research is undertaken and 75

Annette Fillery-Travis and Sarah Corrie

how notions of evidence-based practice are shaping the development of coaching psychology as a distinct domain of scholarly activity. While recognising that fundamental questions about efficacy remain unanswered, this is to some extent inevitable given the rapid expansion of coaching within the marketplace. There is always the need for emerging domains of professional practice to differentiate themselves from other, related disciplines, and as outlined at the start of the chapter, one of the principal ways of doing this is to develop a body of disciplinespecific knowledge and a robust evidence-base to underpin claims of effectiveness. Nonetheless, it is also important to avoid the pitfalls of attempting to seek respectability by replicating what has gone before. The field of coaching psychology is in a prime position to bring fresh perspectives to the vital endeavour of investigating practice and disseminating new and creative methodologies for investigating what we do. As a community of coaching practitioners, researchers and stakeholders need to work collaboratively to identify appropriate priorities for investigation. The ability to respond to these priorities will, in turn, depend upon the judicious use of a wide variety of methods of enquiry. Practitioners and researchers need to be skilled and confident in understanding the relative contributions of different methods and be able to select amongst them in order to optimally address the questions that are most pressing for themselves and their stakeholders. As Philips (1993) warned, as long as science is narrowly defined researchers will “. . . tend to confine themselves to a limited class of problems, using research approaches that are not well suited to the examination of actual practice problems and the uncertain contexts of practice” (p. 29). If we heed this warning, we may ultimately be able to bring together the worlds of academia and practice for the benefit of all concerned.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

What are your beliefs about the role of research in coaching psychology practice? To what extent is your work as a practitioner shaped by the research literature, and why? Using the hierarchical categorization of sources of knowledge, which level/s of evidence have been most influential in informing the development of your practice, and why? Consider your responses to the questions posed at the start and the end of this chapter. How might your responses support you in critiquing and developing your work more effectively?

Notes 1 Our review will not be comprehensive given the space restrictions here but we will highlight more in-depth reviews such as Fillery-Travis and Passmore (2011); Passmore and Gibbes (2007); and Grant and Cavanagh (2007). 2 We do note that there are a number of studies concerned with motivational interviewing in healthcare settings – 197 in 2011 alone (Billett et al., 1998; Allen & Eby, 2011; Underhill, 2006), but we are concerned here with coaching occurring in workplace.

Suggested reading Corrie, S. (2010). What is evidence? In R. Woolfe, S. Strawbridge, B. Douglas & W. Dryden (Eds.) Handbook of Counselling Psychology, 3rd Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Fillery-Travis, A., & Passmore, J. (2011).A critical review of executive coaching research: A decade of profess and what’s to come. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 4(2), 70–88. Jarvis, J., Lane, D., & Fillery-Travis, A. (2006). The Case for Coaching: Making Evidence-Based Decisions on Coaching. London UK: CIPD. Nutley, S.M., Walter, I., & Davies, H.T.O. (2007).Using Evidence: How Research Can Inform Public Services. Chicago, IL: Policy Press.

References Allen, T.D., & Eby, L.T. (2011). The Blackwell Handbook of Mentoring: A Multiple Perspectives Approach. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. 76

Research and the practitioner

Baron, L., & Morin, L. (2009). The coach-coachee relationship in executive coaching: A field study. Human Resource Development Review 20: 85–106. Bartunek, J.M. (2007). Academic-practitioner collaboration need not require joint or relevant research: Toward a relational scholarship of integration. The Academy of Management Journal 50: 1223–1333. Bennett, J.J. (2006). An agenda for coaching-related research: A challenge for researchers. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 58, 240–249. doi:10.1037/1065-9293.58.4.240 Billett, S., McCann, A., & Scott, K. (1998). Workplace Mentoring: Organising and Managing Effective Practice. Brisbane: Griffith University. Briner, R.B. (2012). Does coaching work? OP Matters 16: 4–11. Carey, W., Philippon, D.J., & Cummings, G.G. (2011). Coaching models for leadership development: An integrative review. Journal of Leadership Studies 5: 51–69. Corrie, S. (2003). Keynote paper: Information, innovation and the quest for legitimate knowledge. Counselling Psychology Review 18(3): 5–13. Corrie, S. (2010). What is evidence? In R. Woolfe, S. Strawbridge, B. Douglas, & W. Dryden (Eds.) Handbook of Counselling Psychology, 3rd Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Cox, E. (2010). Last things first: Ending well in the coaching relationship. The Coaching Relationship: Putting People First: 159. Cox, E. (2013). Coaching Understood: A Pragmatic Inquiry into the Coaching Process. London: Sage Publications. de Haan, E. (2008a). I doubt therefore I coach: Critical moments in coaching practice. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 60(1) March: 91–105. de Haan, E. (2008b). I struggle and emerge: Critical moments of experienced coaches. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 60: 106. de Haan, E., Culpin, V., & Curd, J. (2011). Executive coaching in practice: What determines helpfulness for clients of coaching? Personnel Review 40: 24–44. de Haan, E., & Stewart, S. (2011). Relational Coaching: Journeys towards Mastering One-to-One Learning. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. de Meuse, K. P., Dai, G., & Lee, R. J. (2009). Evaluating the effectiveness of executive coaching: Beyond ROI? Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2(2): 117–134. Department of Health. (1999). National Service Frameworks for Mental Health: Modern Standards and Service Models. London: Department of Health. Deviney, D. E. (1994). The effect of coaching using multiple rater feedback to change supervisor behavior. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A,55, 114. Dingman, M. (2004). The effects of executive coaching on job-related outcomes (Doctoral Dissertation, Regent University London UK, 2004). Dissertation Abstracts International, AAT 3141539. Duijts, S.F., Kant, I., van den Brandt, P.A., et al. (2008). Effectiveness of a preventive coaching intervention for employees at risk for sickness absence due to psychosocial health complaints: Results of a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 50: 765–776. Dunning, D., Perie, M., & Story, A.L. (1991). Self-serving prototypes of social categories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 61: 957–968. Ellinger, A.D. (2003). Antecedents and consequences of coaching behaviour. Performance Improvement Quarterly 16: 5–28. Ellinger, A.D., & Bostrom, R. (1998). Managerial coaching behaviours in learning organisations. Journal of Management Development 18. Ellinger, A.D., Hamlin, R.G., & Beattie, R.S. (2008). Behavioural indicators of ineffective managerial coaching. Journal of European Industrial Training 32: 240. Evers, W.J., Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2006). A quasi-experimental study on management coaching effectiveness. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 58: 174–182. Fillery-Travis, A., & Lane, D. (2006). Does coaching work or are we asking the wrong question? International Coaching Psychology Review 1: 23–36. Fillery-Travis, A., & Passmore, J. (2011). A critical review of executive coaching research: A decade of profess and what’s to come. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice 4(2): 70–88. Graham, S., Wedman, J.F., & Kester, B.G. (1993). Manager coaching ckills: Development and application. Performance Improvement Quarterly 6: 2–13. Grant, A. M. (2003). The impact of life coaching on goal attainment, metacognition and mental health. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 31(3), 253–263. Grant, A.M., & Cavanagh, M.J. (2007). Evidence-based coaching: Flourishing or languishing? Australian Psychologist 42: 239–254. Grant, A.M., Green, L., & Rynsaardt, J. (2010). Developmental coaching for high school teachers: Executive coaching goes to school. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 62: 151–168. Gregory, J.B., & Levy, P.E. (2011). It’s not me, it’s you: A multilevel examination of variables that impact employee coaching relationships. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 63: 67–88. 77

Annette Fillery-Travis and Sarah Corrie

Grief, S. (2007). Advances in research on coaching outcomes. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2(3), 222–249. Jarvis, J., Lane, D., & Fillery-Travis, A. (2006). The Case for Coaching: Making Evidence-Based Decisions on Coaching. London UK: CIPD. Kampa Kokesch, S., & Anderson, M.Z. (2001). Executive coaching: A comprehensive review of the literature. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 53: 205–228. Kilburg, R.R. (2001). Facilitating intervention adherence in executive coaching: A model and methods. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 53: 251–267. Kombarakaran, F.A., Yang, J.A., Baker, M.N., et al. (2008). Executive coaching: It works! Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 60: 78–90. Levenson, A. (2009). Measuring and maximizing the business impact of executive coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 61: 103–121. Lew, S., Wolfred, T., Gislason, M., & Coan, D. (2003). Executive coaching project: evaluation of findings. In Proceedings of the First ICF Coaching Research Symposium (pp. 62–69). Lewis, L. (2014). Feedback in coaching (Doctoral Dissertation Institute for Work Based Learning). Middlesex University, London, UK. Luthans, F., & Peterson, S.J. (2003). 360 degree feedback with systematic coaching: Empirical analysis suggests a winning combination. Human Resource Management 42: 243–256. Macdonald, G. (2001). Effective Interventions for Child Abuse and Neglect: An Evidence-Based Approach to Planning and Evaluting Interventions. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. McGovern, J., Lindemann, M., Vergara, M., et al. (2001). Maximizing the impact of executive coaching. Manchester Review 6: 1–9. Morgan, H., Harkins, P., & Goldsmith, M. (2006). The right coach. In J. V. Gallos (Ed.) Organization Development.San Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass. Newnes, C. (2001). On evidence. Clinical Psychology 1: 6–12. Nowack, K.M. (2009). Leveraging multirater feedback to facilitate successful behavioral change. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 61: 280–297. O’Donohue, W., & Henderson, D. (1999). Epistemic and ethical duties in clinical decision-making. Behaviour Change 16(1): 10–19. Olivero, G., Bane, K., & Kopelman, R.E. (1997). Executive coaching as a transfer of training tool: Effects on productivity in a public agency. Public Personnel Management 26: 461–469. Orenstein, R.L. (2006). Measuring executive coaching efficacy? The answer was right here all the time. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 58: 106. Page, N., & de Haan, E. (2014). Does executive coaching work? Psychologist, 27(8): 582–586. Palmer, S., & Corrie, S. (2013). An international perspective on the development of coaching psychology as a profession and evidence-based discipline. Keynote at 3rd International Congress of Coaching Psychology, Rome. Passmore, J., & Gibbes, C. (2007). The state of executive coaching research: What does the current literature tell us and what’s next for coaching research? International Coaching Psychology Review 2(2), Jul: 116–128. Peters, J., & Carr, C. (2013). Team coaching. Doctoral Disseration In Institute for Work Based Learning. London: Middlesex. Peterson, D.B. (1993). Measuring change: A psychometric approach to evaluating individual coaching outcomes. Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Francisco, CA. Philips, B. N. (1993). Challenging the stultifying bonds of tradition: Some philosophical, conceptual and methodological issues in applying the scientist-practitioner model. School Counseling Quarterly 8: 27–37. Plath, D. (2006). Evidence-based practice: Current issues and future directions. Australian Social Work 59(1): 56–72. Harder+Company Community Research (2003). Executive coaching project: Evaluation of findings. Report. Retreived from https://www.performanceconsultants.com/wp-content/uploads/maximizing-the-impact-of-executivecoaching.pdf 21 August 2018. Roberts, W.R., & Bywater, I. (1954). The Rhetoric and the Poetics of Aristotle. New York, NY: Modern Library. Roth, A., & Fonagy, P. (2005). What Works for Whom? A Critical Review of Psychotherapy Research. New York: Guilford Press. Sackett, D.L., Rosenberg, W.M.C., Gray, J.A.M., Haynes, R.B., & Richardson, W.S. (1996). Evidence-based medicine: What it is and what it isn’t. British Medical Journal 312: 71–72. Seamons, B.L. (2006). The Most Effective Factors in Executive Coaching Engagements According to the Coach, the Client, and the Client’s Boss. Oakland, CA: Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. Shaw, I., & Shaw, A. (1997). Keeping social work honest: Evaluating as profession and practice. British Journal of Social Work 27: 847–869. Sinclair, C. (2003). Mentoring online about mentoring: Possibilities and practice. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning 11: 79–94. Smither, J.W., London, M., Flautt, R., et al. (2003). Can working with an executive coach improve multisource feedback ratings over time? A quasi-experimental field study. Personnel Psychology 56: 23. 78

Research and the practitioner

Sturdee, P. (2001). Evidence, influence or evaluation? Fact and value in clinical science. In C. Mace, S. Moorey, & B. Roberts (Eds.) Evidence in the Psychological Therapies: A Critical Guide for Practitioners. Hove, East Sussex: Routledge. Thach, E.C. (2002). The impact of executive coaching and 360 feedback on leadership effectiveness. Leadership and Organization Development Journal 23: 205–214(210). Toegel, G., & Nicholson, N. (2005, August). Multisource feedback, coaching, and leadership development: Gender homophily in coaching dyads. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2005, No. 1, pp. F1–F6). Briarcliff Manor, NY: Academy of Management. Underhill, C.M. (2006). The effectiveness of mentoring programs in corporate settings: A meta-analytical review of the literature. Journal of Vocational Behavior 68: 292–307. Van de Ven, A.H. (2007). Engaged Scholarship: A Guide for Organizational and Social Research. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. Wasylyshyn, K.M. (2003). Executive coaching: An outcome study. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 55: 94–106. Wasylyshyn, K.M., Gronsky, B., & Haas, J. (2006). Tigers, stripes, and behavior change: Survey results of a commissioned coaching program. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research 58: 65–81. Wenzel, L.H. (2001). Understanding Managerial Coaching: The Role of Manager Attributes and Skills in Effective Coaching. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University.

79

7 Understanding evidencebased coaching through the analysis of coaching psychology research methodology Yi-Ling Lai and Stephen Palmer

Introduction The interest in evidence-based coaching practice has been awakened since the beginning of this millennium; Grant’s literature review on coaching (Grant, 2001) was one of the pioneering studies to highlight the importance of psychological principles in coaching practice. Unlike other similar helping interventions (e.g. counselling and therapy), coaching is recognised as a cross-disciplinary intervention (such as management, psychology, social science, etc.). Therefore it is a big challenge to integrate the best available knowledge for evidence-based coaching practice. Several coaching related professional bodies (e.g. British Psychological Society, European Mentoring and Coaching Council, etc.) started to focus on defining the distinctions between coaching and other similar interventions because this is an essential step to identifying the most fitting principles for evidence-based coaching practice (Briner & Rousseau, 2011). Some special interest groups of coaching psychology were established (e.g. Interest Group Coaching Psychology by the Australian Psychological Society in 2002 and Special Group of Coaching Psychology by the British Psychological Society in 2004) to promote and strengthen psychological principles in coaching and coaching psychology practice. After more than a decade’s endeavour on the development of evidence-based coaching,the psychological standing in the coaching field was assured through three metaanalysis studies and four systematic reviews (Theeboom, Beersma, & van Vianen, 2014; Lai & McDowall, 2014; Jones, Woods, & Guillaume, 2015; Sonesh et al., 2015; Grover, & Furnham, 2016; Athanasopoulou, & Dopson, 2018; Bozer, & Jones, 2018). However, some evidence-based practice advocates still have doubts on the effectiveness of coaching interventions because the quality of the evidence is questioned (Briner, 2012). For instance, the majority of the coaching studies relied on qualitative research methods. However, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are regarded as the most appropriate methodology to examine the effectiveness of interventions (Guyatt et al., 1995; Guyatt et al., 2000). Thus, the numbers of solid quantitative studies (e.g. trials with definite results) are expected to increase. According to Briner and Rousseau (2011), a systematic review (SR) which assesses all available evidence is identified as the most rigorous methodology for the evolution of evidence-based practice. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide an overview of up-to-date coaching psychology research evidence through synthesising two SRs on coaching psychology (Lai & McDowall, 2014; Lai, 2016). This analysis mainly scrutinises contemporary coaching research methodologies (1995–2016) and makes a comparison between two reviews. This will provide an in-depth understanding of the journey of evidence-based coaching in the past decade and identify future areas of research. 80

Understanding evidence-based coaching

What is evidence-based practice? Prior to the further discussion on the evolution of evidence-based practice, it is crucial to define its dimensions. Summarising from the beginning of this chapter, the awareness of evidence-based coaching practice was raised in 2001 (Grant, 2001), and several advocates of this approach have discussed best practice principles (Rousseau, Manning, & Denyer, 2008; Briner & Rousseau, 2011). Some key features of evidence-based practice are outlined below and will serve as a guideline for the analysis of contemporary coaching evidence later in this chapter. Evidence-based practice is a decision making process through the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of four sources of information: practitioner expertise and judgement, evidence from the local context, a critical evaluation of the best available research evidence, and the perspectives of those people who might be affected by the decision (Sackett et al., 1996, p. 71). Briner and Rousseau (2011) identified three features of evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice: (1) integrates the practitioner’s expertise and external evidence from research. (2) is an active process to obtain and use the best available evidence through involving all scholars, educators and practitioners. (3) uses systematic reviews (SR) to assess all available and relevant evidence rather than relying on singular studies. Systematic review (SR) is a specific methodology that locates existing studies, selects and evaluates contributions, analyses and synthesises data and reports on the evidence in a rigorous and transparent way that shows reasonably clear conclusions reached by what is and what is not known (Denyer & Tranfield, 2011). “Hierarchy of evidence” (the quality of study) has been used to appraise studies in systematic review methodology; it ranks studies by means of examining the appropriateness of research methods (also called methodological quality) for their research questions/hypotheses. The concept of hierarchy of evidence is usually applied to assess the “effectiveness of interventions”. Therefore, the choice and rigour of coaching research methodology is considered as a crucial benchmark to assess whether the coaching research design met the standard of evidence-based practice. Table 7.1 is a general guideline of hierarchy of research methodology in clinical research; however, it has been adopted more widely. This is not a definitive hierarchy; different types of hierarchy would be used according to the research aims. For example, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) may not be the most appropriate research method to answer questions about processes or the meaning of interventions (Petticrew & Roberts, 2006). Accordingly, the evaluation of these two SRs in this chapter focuses on the analysis of their choice of research methodology. Both qualitative and quantitative papers were included in these reviews because they not only examine the effectiveness of psychological coaching interventions but also identify what the common factors are for a constructive coaching relationship.

Table 7.1 The hierarchy of evidence For the effectiveness of interventions • • • • • • •

Systematic review and meta-analysis Randomised controlled trials with definitive results Randomised controlled trials without definitive results Cohort studies/cross-sectional (observational) studies Case-control studies Cross-sectional surveys Case reports

(Guyatt et al., 1995; Guyatt et al., 2000)

81

Yi-Ling Lai and Stephen Palmer

Dilemmas in the development of evidence-based coaching Challenges to promoting evidence-based coaching have been broadly discussed (Briner, 2012). This section consolidates previous discussions and summarises the dilemmas that obstruct coaching interventions from meeting the standard of evidence-based practice. This analysis can provide us a clearer direction for future research focus.

Coaching is a cross-disciplinary intervention The fundamental challenge to accelerating the development of evidence-based coaching is rooted in the nature of coaching interventions. If we review the key coaching definitions listed below (Table 7.2), the field of studies in coaching interventions is varied but can be clustered into four disciplines: management, education/adult learning, philosophy and psychology. First, most of these coaching definitions indicate the improvement of “work performance”, “professional outcomes”, “leadership” or “executive awareness” is one of the ultimate outcomes of coaching (Parsloe, 1999; Grant, 2000; Kampa-Kokesch & Anderson, 2001; Crane & Patrick, 2007; Smither, 2011; Lai, 2014). Indeed, coaching engagements are essentially commissioned by the coachees’ employers; therefore achieving better work performance and organisational productivity are usually what stakeholders anticipate from an effective coaching programme. However, some important antecedents, active ingredients in the coaching process (coaching relationship) and proximal outcomes (coachee’s attitude and behavioural

Table 7.2 Coaching definitions References

Definition

Kilburg (1996)

Coaching is a helping relationship between a coachee who exercises managerial responsibilities within an organisation and a consultant who applies a range of behavioural strategies to help achieve a collaboratively defined set of goals.

Parsloe (1999)

Coaching is an intervention to enhance both personal and professional well-being and performance, underpinned by models of coaching grounded in established adult learning or psychological approaches.

Grant (2000)

Coaching is a solution- and results-focused collaborative process by which a coach seeks to facilitate the enhancement of work performance, self-directed learning, life enrichment and personal growth of the coachee.

Greene and Grant (2006)

Coaching is an outcome-focused activity which seeks to encourage self-directed learning through collaboratively setting goals, brainstorming and action planning.

Hamlin et al. (2008)

Coaching is an explicit and implicit intention of helping individuals to improve their performance in various domains and to enhance personal effectiveness, personal development and personal growth.

Passmore and Fillery-Travis (2011)

Coaching is a Socratic-based future-focused dialogue between a facilitator (coach) and a participant (coachee/client); the purpose is to stimulate the self-awareness and personal responsibility of the participant.

de Hann and Duckworth (2012)

Coaching is “a form of leadership development that takes place through a series of contracted one-to-one conversations with a qualified coach”, resulting in a relevant, actionable and timely outcomes for the coachee.

Lai (2014)

Coaching is a reflective process between coaches and coachees which helps or facilitates coachees to experience positive behavioural changes through continuous dialogue and negotiations with coaches to meet coachees’ personal or work goals.

82

Understanding evidence-based coaching

change), are the effective factors that facilitate distal outcomes, such as company productivity (Greif, 2013). Accordingly, “personal development”, “self-directed learning” and “self-awareness and personal responsibility” are also highlighted in these definitions (Parsloe, 1999; Grant, 2000; Greene & Grant, 2006;Passmore & Fillery-Travis, 2011; Lai, 2014) because learning is required before performance can be achieved (Seijts & Latham, 2012; Greif, 2013). This also indicates adult learning theories are drawn on to facilitate an effective learning process in the coaching journey. Briefly summarising from the discussion above: personal development and organisational performance/productivity are the crucial outcomes of coaching engagements, and both anticipated outcomes rely on the coaching participants making some change (e.g. attitude, motivation, self-confidence and behaviours). Therefore, “behavioural changes and strategies” or “self-awareness and self-efficacy” which are usually tied in with psychological principles were outlined in some definitions as a preliminary for positive coaching outcomes (Parsloe, 1999; Passmore & Fillery-Travis, 2011; Lai, 2014). Regardless of which anticipated outcome is demanded or which discipline is applied, an effective coaching process is carried out through dialogues and interactions between the coach and coachee (Passmore & Fillery-Travis, 2011; Lai, 2014). Passmore and Fillery-Travis (2011) defined the coaching process as a Socratic-based future-focused dialogue which stimulates the coachee’s self-awareness and reflection toward a positive change. This definition indeed articulates a philosophical standing in coaching practice. To sum up the analysis above, coaching unquestionably is a cross-disciplinary intervention comprising management, adult learning, philosophy and psychology at a minimum. This resulting diversity of coaching interventions increases the difficulty in integrating relevant evidence to build a body of theoretical knowledge for evidence-based practice. It also explains the challenge to promote coaching towards a standardised profession.

Research methodologies and evaluation approaches in coaching research are diverse The diversity of coaching disciplines also results in varied research methodologies and evaluation approaches in coaching studies. In line with the best practices of evidence-based coaching systematic review (SR) is identified as the most rigorous method to synthesise relevant evidence and provide the best available knowledge to practitioners. In the SR process, research methodology design is one of the key factors to determine the quality of the evidence. For a very long time, advocates of evidence-based practice (Briner, 2012) were sceptical about the effectiveness of coaching intervention because they questioned the number of RTCs in coaching research as not being sufficient to assert that coaching helps people’s learning and organisational performance. Though RCT is ranked as the best methodology to examine the effectiveness of interventions (Guyatt et al., 1995; Guyatt et al., 2000), this methodology may not be appropriate to investigate the processes or the meaning of interventions (Petticrew & Roberts, 2006). The SR on coaching psychology (Lai & McDowall, 2014) identified ten RCT studies (between 1995 and 2010) and a semi-SR conducted in 2016 based on the same search terms outlined 14 RCTs (between 2011and 2016). However, the progress was relatively slow compared to other similar helping interventions. The explanation on the inadequate RCTs in the coaching research field can be summarised as below: •

Coaching researchers’ and practitioners’ backgrounds are varied; they tend to conduct practice and research within their domains. For example, journals focused on social science or management studies usually prefer to publish qualitative methodology (e.g. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, also called IPA and case studies) to understand personal experience or perceptions in a given context and identify in-depth information to explain phenomena emerging in the coaching process. On the other hand, in our experience, psychology-related journals are more likely to report quantitative studies which examined certain coaching approaches with definitive results through RCTs or experiments. 83

Yi-Ling Lai and Stephen Palmer



The stakeholders and context of coaching engagements are much more complex and diverse than other similar professional helping interventions (e.g. counselling and therapy). Most coaching engagements are commissioned by the coachees’ employers, thus the topics of coaching and anticipated outcomes are combined between personal development and organisational objectives. These reasons make it challenging to conduct scientific experiments and reduce all potential factors and bias to examine definite results in a particular coaching context.

To conclude, the wide ranges of coaching professionals’ backgrounds create a diversity of research focus and choice of methodology. In addition, a more complex context and diversity of stakeholders increases the difficulty of diminishing potential impact factors for a longitudinal experimental study.

The role of psychology in contemporary coaching practice Several coaching reviews and book chapters (Bachkirova, 2008; Grant, 2001; Passmore & Fillery-Travis, 2011; Whybrow, 2008) have addressed the role of psychological principles in coaching. Indeed, psychologists have increasingly and more publicly become involved in the coaching industry since the 1990s; in part, this may be due to the aim of executive or life coaching being about facilitating sustained cognitive, emotional and behavioural change (Douglas & McCauley, 1999). Applying psychological principles in coaching sessions is considered as one of the key elements for the enhancement of evidence-based practice (Grant, 2008). This is in part because: first, psychology is a theoretically grounded science that underpins the processes and understanding of human change. The evidence-based coaching interventions (often adopted from therapeutic models) fulfil the essential purpose of coaching, which is to facilitate a coachee’s continuous learning and growth in the workplace through motivation and attitude change (Whybrow, 2008). For example, Simons and Cleary (2006) suggested that a high degree of self-knowledge is essential for successful leadership; coaching practitioners would therefore benefit by integrating elements of counselling to address the influences of the coachee’s past and consequent attitudes, feelings and beliefs that underpin behaviour. Second, psychology is a recognised academic domain and profession, thus coaches who have professional training in psychology can ensure that a coaching process is based on ethical codes and supervised by relevant governing associations such as the appropriate registration or licensing authority. In addition, having professional training in psychology and mental health assists the professional coach to minimise causing harm to a coachee with so far unrecognised mental health problems (Berglas, 2002; Cavanagh, 2006; Naughton, 2002). Though the general aim of coaching is to facilitate an individual’s behavioural change and improve performance in the workplace, studies indicated between 25% and 50% of individuals who attend lifecoaching programmes may have mental health issues (Green, Oades, & Grant, 2005; Spence & Grant, 2005). Therefore these studies implied having a background in psychology or acquiring fundamental psychological knowledge is crucial to be able to identify whether a coachee has any underlying mental health issues and offer appropriate referral support. A SR on coaching psychology research literature was conducted (Lai & McDowall, 2014) to synthesise relevant evidence between 1995 and 2010. The application of psychological coaching principles was emphasised as an essential factor for a professional coach to be able to identify and manage coachees’ emotional difficulties, facilitating a better relationship in the coaching process (de Haan2008; Day, 2010; Freedman & Perry, 2010;Gregory & Levy, 2010). Furthermore, the coaching relationship was identified as the key indicator for positive coaching outcomes, mirroring the importance of the working alliance in counselling and therapeutic research. However, most (70%) of the included studies were undertaken through qualitative research methods (e.g. case reports and interviews). Therefore this SR initially concluded that future coaching psychology research would benefit from continued investigation into the effective attributes for a professional coach. Further, exploration and rigorous research needs to continue to illustrate what sort of psychological interventions or concepts might be included in professional coaching training programmes. 84

Understanding evidence-based coaching

In order to evaluate the quality of coaching psychology research after 2010, a semi-SR was carried out in 2016 to investigate whether research methodology adopted in coaching studies (between 2011 and 2016) has progressed closer to the standards for evidence-based practice.

The evolution of evidence-based coaching practice? How close are we now? This section summarises two SRs on coaching psychology and draws a comparison to assess whether there is any increase in coaching study numbers and evolution in terms of research design. Table 7.3 outlines the review process and initial findings of these two SRs.

The first systematic review on coaching psychology (1995–2010) The first SR on coaching psychology was conducted in 2010. A total of 58 search terms (e.g. individual difference* and coaching) were used to explore nine electronic databases (e.g. PsyINFO and Business Source Complete). This SR included 141 papers (both qualitative and quantitative studies published between 1995

Table 7.3 Coaching psychology definitions References

Definition

Grant and Palmer (2002)

Enhances personal and professional performance in normal people within the general population, underpinned by models of coaching grounded in established therapeutic approaches

Special Group of Coaching Psychology British Psychological Society (2002)

Enhances both personal and professional well-being and performance, underpinned by models of coaching grounded in established adult learning or psychological approaches

Interest Group in Coaching Psychology Australian Psychological Society (2003)

Coaching psychology, as an applied positive psychology, draws on and develops established psychological approaches and 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 (sic) issues or abnormal levels of distress.

International Society for Coaching Psychology Australian (formerly Society for Coaching Psychology) (2008)

The practice of coaching psychology may be described as a process for enhancing well-being and performance in personal life and work domains underpinned by models of coaching grounded in established adult and child learning or psychological theories and approaches. It is practised by qualified coaching psychologists who have a graduate degree in psychology, relevant post-graduate qualifications, and have undertaken suitable continuing professional development and supervised practice. Coaching psychologists provide services for individuals, teams, organisations and the community. The scientific study of behaviour, cognition and emotion within coaching practice to deepen our understanding and enhance our practice within coaching.

Passmore (2010) Lai (2014)

Coaching psychology aims to help or facilitate non-clinical populations for sustained behavioural changes through psychological evidence-based interventions and process. These interventions will help the coach to obtain a deeper and richer picture of the coachee’s behaviours, motivations, values and beliefs during the coaching process and facilitate the coachee to achieve their goals.

85

Yi-Ling Lai and Stephen Palmer

and 2010) for final analysis. The details of the review process and results were presented in International Coaching Psychology Review in 2014 (Lai & McDowall, 2014). More than half of the studies (57%) included in the final review had been published in psychologyfocused journals (81 of 141 papers) such as International Coaching Psychology Review (ICPR), and 44 were from business and management journals. In terms of research methodologies employed in these studies, most of the studies were conducted through qualitative methods (45 case studies and 23 interview-based researches); only 23% (10 RCTs, 10 between-subject and 13 within-subject studies) of the included studies used experimental design methods. The majority of the studies (69%) examined the effectiveness of certain psychological coaching approaches and psychometric measurements in facilitating positive coaching outcomes. The top three most frequently examined psychological coaching approaches or models identified in this review included: cognitive behavioural coaching (CBC), the GROW model and solution-focused coaching (SF). However, only a few studies were conducted through rigorous experimental design methods. In line with the hierarchy of evidence in SR methodology, RCTs and quasi-experiments are considered as the most appropriate research methods to examine the effectiveness of interventions (Guyatt et al., 1995; Guyatt et al., 2000); this analysis indicates there was still a considerable gap between the coaching evidence included in this SR (1995–2010) and the standard evidence-based practice requirements. Therefore, the SR indicated more rigorous studies are required to robustly determine the effectiveness of certain psychological approaches in coaching practice.

The semi-systematic review on coaching psychology (2011–2016) Following from the discussion above, the first author decided to investigate to what extent research methodology adopted in recent coaching research (2011–2016) met the standard of evidence-based practice. Therefore, a semi-SR based on the same 58 search terms and inclusive criteria but only exploring three main related databases (PsyINFO, Business Source Complete and ISI Web of Knowledge) was conducted. There were 140 papers (113 external and 27 internal coaching-related studies) included in this semi-SR for final review. This section mainly focuses on the 113 papers investigating the effectiveness of external coaching engagements (contracted with external professional coaching practitioners). The majority (64%) of the included papers were published in psychology-focused journals and books, and 34 papers were from management-related journals. In relation to the methodology applied in these studies, two meta-analysis and one SR were identified and more than one-third (34 of 113 papers) of the included studies were conducted by experimental design methods (RCTs and quasi-experiments). Qualitative studies such as interviews and case studies still occupied more than one-third (37 papers) of these included studies. More than half of these studies (69 of 113 papers) conducted an investigation or examination of more tangible elements in the coaching process, such as interventions, tools and models. In addition, the number of coaching relationship-related researches in this semi-SR was greater, nearly a quarter (25 of 113 papers) of the included papers studied the elements between the coach’s and coachee’s interaction. The top three most frequently examined psychological coaching approaches were also outlined in this semi-SR: cognitive behavioural coaching (CBC), solution-focused Coaching (SF) and strength-based Coaching. The psychological coaching approaches listed above were mainly examined through RCTs and between and within subject experiments. Table 7.4 outlines the methodologies used to examine these three approaches. The initial findings of this semi-SR indicated coaching researchers have had a stronger awareness and better understanding of evidence-based practice; the rigour of research methodology has become the key consideration in their research design. However, different types of hierarchy would be used according to the research aims. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) may not be the most appropriate research method to answer questions about processes or the meaning of interventions (e.g. the coaching relationship). Therefore, a more in-depth analysis of these included studies is necessary. 86

Understanding evidence-based coaching Table 7.4 Review process and initial findings of these two SRs Systematic Review in 2010 Paper Published Year No. of Search Terms No. of Databases Included Paper No.

1995–2010 58 9 141

Distribution of Published • Journals • SR/Meta-analysis Overview of Research Methodology

Top 3 Psychological Approaches

Semi-Systematic Review in 2016

0 • • • • • • •

2011–2016 (April) 58 3 113 (external coaching) + 27 (internal coaching) = 140 81: Psychology-focused journal External Coaching-Related 44: Business/Management-related • 73: Psychology-focused journal journals • 34: Business/Management related journals 3 (1SR, 2 Meta-analysis) RCT:10 • RCT:14 Between Subject: 10 • Between Subject: 13 Within Subject: 13 • Within Subject: 7 Majority: Case Studies • Majority: Interviews Cognitive Behavioural Coaching (CBC) • Cognitive Behavioural Coaching (CBC) GROW Model • Strength-based Coaching Solution-focused Coaching (SF) • Solution-focused Coaching (SF)

A comparison between two systematic reviews on coaching psychology The number of coaching psychology studies has considerably increased in the past five years, though the semi-systematic (2011–2016) review only used three main databases to search coaching studies (PsyINFO, Business Source Complete and ISI Web of Knowledge). There were on average 9.4 primary studies meeting the inclusive criteria per year between 1995 and 2010; however, this increased by 30% between 2011 and 2016. In the past five and a half years, on average 25.4 primary studies focusing on coaching psychology were published annually that met this SR’s inclusive criteria. Figure 7.1 shows the comparison of the number of different methodologies between two SRs. It is interesting to note that coaching-related issues have received more attention from psychologists: 57% of the studies in the first SR were published in psychology-focused journals; this rose to 64% in the semi-SR. Therefore, this finding may indicate that more coaching academics and practitioners are undertaking research as part of their post-graduate studies and/or they perceive a benefit in underpinning research with psychological principles. Overall, the number of experimental design studies (RCTs, between and within subject studies) has grown in the semi-SR. It was 23% in the first SR but rose to 31% in the semi-SR. Moreover, the focus of the research has slightly shifted to include greater exploration of the factors influencing the coaching process and relationship in the past five years. Figure 7.2 summarises the transformation of coaching research focus in the past decade on the basis of four dimensions of coaching (Bachkirova, Cox & Clutterbuck, 2014). To summarise, the quality of coaching evidence has improved along with the growth of RCTs and quasi-experiments in the past five years. In addition, in spite of the diversity of disciplines in which coaching is practiced, such as management and health, an increasing number of coaching professionals recognise psychology has a strong impact on effective coaching outcomes. Nevertheless, unlike other similar helping interventions, the progress of evidence-based coaching practice is relatively slow and more challenging due to the complexity of relevant stakeholders, goal setting and external factors. So, we are closer to the standard of evidence-based practice, but there is much more we need to improve in coaching and coaching psychology research to consistently reach this standard. 87

Yi-Ling Lai and Stephen Palmer

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

1995–2010

s

w

ud

ie

St

rv C

as

e

te In

Su

ie

s

ey rv

na s/ re ai nn

ro

io

C

M

ss

et

-s

ho

ec

do

tio

lo

je ub -S

Q

ue

st

ix

ed

l

gy

ct

t ec bj in ith W

tw

M

SR

Be

/M

et

ee

a-

n-

an

Su

al

R

ys

C

is

T

2011–2016

Figure 7.1 The number of different methodologies in these two SRs

I Coach and coachee as individual Subjective

19 25 +9%

It Behaviours, process, models, techniques Objective

108 69 –10%

Coaching Research 15

0

We Coaching relationships, culture, language Intersubjective

16 +4%

Its Systems: organizations, families, societies Interobjective

2 !!

Adopted from Clutterbuck et al., 2014 1995–2010 2011–2016

Figure 7.2 The transformation of coaching research focus

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

88

What do you need to consider when you are reviewing coaching evidence and studies prior to applying them to your practice? Is a systematic review the most rigorous methodology for the evolution of evidence-based coaching psychology practice? Does coaching research methodology matter in terms of evidence-based practice? Why? In recent years research has focused more on the study of the factors influencing the coaching process and relationship. Discuss.

Understanding evidence-based coaching

Suggested reading Breakwell, G. M., Smith, J. A., & Wright, D. B. (2012). Research Methods in Psychology (4th ed.). London: Sage Publications. Grant, A. M. (2008). Past, present and future: The evolution of professional coaching and coaching psychology. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (eds.), Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners. New York, NY: Routledge/ Taylor & Francis Group. Lai,Y., & McDowall, A. (2014). A systematic review (SR) of coaching psychology: Focusing on the attributes of effective coaching psychologists. International Coaching Psychology Review, 9(2), 118–134. Rousseau, D. M., & Gunia, B. C. (2016). Evidence-based practice: The psychology of EBP implementation. Annual Review of Psychology, 67, 667–692.

References Athanasopoulou, A., & Dopson, S. (2018). A systematic review of executive coaching outcomes: Is it the journey or the destination that matters the most? The Leadership Quarterly. Australian Psychological Society (2007). Definition of coaching psychology. Retrieved 5/9/2018 from www.groups. psychology.org.au/igcp/ Bachkirova, T. (2008). Role of coaching psychology in defining boundaries between counselling and coaching. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners (pp. 351–366). Hove: Routledge. Bachkirova, T., Cox, E., & Clutterbuck, D. A. (2014). Introduction. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova, & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The Complete Handbook of Coaching (p. 5). London: Sage. Berglas, S. (2002). The very real dangers of executive coaching. Harvard Business Review, 80(6), 86–93. Bozer, G., & Jones, R. J. (2018). Understanding the factors that determine workplace coaching effectiveness: A systematic literature review. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 27(3), 342–361. Briner, R. B. (2012). Does coaching work and does anyone really care. OP Matters, 17, 4–12. Briner, R. B., & Rousseau, D. M. (2011). Evidence-based I-O psychology: Not there yet. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 4(1), 3–22. British Psychological Society (2007). The aims of the special group in coaching psychology. Retreived from www.sgcp. org.uk/coachingpsy/rules.cfm. Cavanagh, M. (2006). Coaching from a systematic perspective: A complex adaptive conversation. In D. R. Stober & A. M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence Based Coaching Handbook: Putting Best Practices to Work for Your Clients. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Crane, T., & Patrick, L. (2007). The Heart of Coaching: Using Transformational Coaching to Create a High Performance Coaching Culture (2nd ed.). San Diego: FTA Press. Day, A. (2010). Coaching at relational depth: A case study. Journal of Management Development, 29(10), 864–876. de Haan, E. (2008). Relational Coaching: Journeys towards Mastering One-to-One Learning. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. de Haan, E., & Duckworth, A. (2012). The coaching relationship and other ‘common factors’ in executive coaching outcome. In E. de Haan & C. Sills (Eds.), Coaching Relationships: The Relational Coaching Field Book (pp. 185–196). Oxfordshire: Libri. Denyer, D., & Tranfield, D. (2011). Producing a systematic review. In D. Buchanan & A. Bryman (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Organisational Research Methods (2nd ed., pp. 671–689). London: Sage Publications. Douglas, C. A., & McCauley, C. D. (1999). Formal developmental relationships: A survey of organizational practices. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 10(3), 203–220. Freedman, A. M., & Perry, J. A. (2010). Executive consulting under pressure: A case study. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 62(3), 189–202. Grant, A. M. (2000). Coaching psychology comes of age. PsychNews, 4(4), 12–14. Grant, A. M. (2001). Toward a Psychology of Coaching: The Impact of Coaching on Metacognition, Mental Health and Goal Attainment. Sydney: Coaching Psychology Unit, University of Sydney. Grant, A. M. (2008). Past, present and future: The evolution of professional coaching and coaching psychology. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners (pp. 23–39). Hove: Routledge. Grant, A. M., & Palmer, S. (2002). Coaching psychology workshop. Annual conference of the Division of Counselling Psychology, BPS, Torquay, May. Green, S., Oades, L. G., & Grant, A. M. (2005). An evaluation of a life-coaching group program: Initial findings from a waitlist control study. In M. Cavanagh, A. Grant & T. Kemp (Eds.), Evidence-Based Coaching (pp. 127–142). Bowen Hills, Qld, Australia: Australian Academic Press. Greene, J., & Grant, A. (2006). Solution-Focused Coaching: Managing People in a Complex World (2nd ed.). London: Pearson Education Ltd.

89

Yi-Ling Lai and Stephen Palmer

Gregory, J. B., & Levy, P. E. (2010). Employee coaching relationships: Enhancing construct clarity and measurement. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 3(2), 109–123. Greif, S. (2013). Conducting organizational-based evaluations of coaching and mentoring programs. In J. Passmore, D. B. Peterson & T. Freire (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of the psychology of coaching and menoring (pp. 443–470). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Grover, S., & Furnham, A. (2016). Coaching as a developmental intervention in organisations: A systematic review of its effectiveness and the mechanisms underlying it. PloS One, 11(7), e0159137. Guyatt, G. H., Haynes, R. B., Jaeschke, R. Z., Cook, D. J., Green, L., Naylor, C. D., Wilson, M. C., & Richardson, W. S. (2000). Users guide to the medical literature XXV: Evidence-based medicine: Principles for applying the users guides to patient care. JAMA, 284, 1290–1296. Guyatt, G. H., Sackett, D. L., Sinclair, J. C., Hayward, R., Cook, D. J., & Cook, R. J. (1995). Users’ guide to the medical literature: IX. A method for grading healthcare recommendations. JAMA, 274, 1800–1804. Hamlin, R. G., Ellinger, A. D., & Beattie, R. S. (2008). The emergent ‘coaching industry’: A wake-up call for HRD professionals. Human Resource Development International, 11(3), 287–305. Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., & Guillaume, Y.R. (2015). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes. Coaching: Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), 249–277. Kampa-Kokesch, S., & Anderson, M. (2001). Executive coaching: A comprehensive review of the literature. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice & Research, 53(4), 205–228. Kilburg, R. (1996). Toward a conceptual understanding and definition of executive coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 48(2), 134–144. Lai, Y. (2014). Enhancing Evidence-Based Coaching through the Development of a Coaching Psychology Competency Framework: Focus on the Coaching Relationship. Guildford, UK: School of Psychology, University of Surrey. Lai,Y. (2016, December 8–9). Five years after the systematic review on Coaching Psychology: Evidence-based coaching? Where are we now? British Psychological Society, Special Group of Coaching Psychology Conference, London, UK Lai, Y., & McDowall, A. (2014). A Systematic Review (SR) of coaching psychology: Focusing on the attributes of effective coaching psychologists. International Coaching Psychology Review, 9(2), 118–134. Naughton, J. (2002). The coaching boom: Is it the long-awaited alternative to the medical model? Psychotherapy Networker, 42, July/August, 1–10. Parsloe, E. (1999). The Manager as Coach and Mentor. London: CIPD. Passmore, J. (2010). A grounded theory study of the coachee experience: The implications for training and practice in coaching psychology. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(1), 48–62. Passmore, J., & Fillery-Travis. A. (2011). A critical review of executive coaching research: A decade of progress and what’s to come. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 4(2), 70–88. Petticrew, M., & Roberts, H. (2006). Systematic Review in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Rousseau, D. M., Manning, J., & Denyer, D. (2008). Evidence in management and organizational science: Assembling the field’s full weight of scientific knowledge through syntheses. The Academy of Management Annals, 2(1), 475–515. Sackett, D. L., Rosenberg, W. M., Gray, J. M., Haynes, R. B., & Richardson, W. S. (1996). Evidence based medicine: What it is and what it isn’t. London: The Association. Seijts, G. H., & Latham, G. P. (2012). Knowing when to set learning versus performance goals. Organisational Dynamics, 41, 1–6. Simons, L., & Cleary, B. (2006). The influence of service learning on students’ personal and social development. College Teaching, 54(4), 307–319. Smither, J. (2011). Can psychotherapy research serve as a guide for research about executive coaching? An agenda for the next decade. Journal of Business Psychology, 26(2), 135–145. Sonesh, S. C., Coultas, C. W., Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Benishek, L. E., & Salas, E. (2015). The power of coaching: A meta-analytic investigation. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 8(2), 73–95. Spence, G. B., & Grant, A. M. (2005). Individual and group life-coaching: Initial findings from a randomised, controlled trial. Evidence-Based Coaching, 1, 143–158. Theeboom, T., Beersma, B., & van Vianen, A. E. (2014). Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual level outcomes in an organizational context. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(1), 1–18. Whybrow, A. (2008). Coaching psychology: Coming of age? International Coaching Psychology Review, 3(3), 219–240.

90

Part 2

Coaching psychology approaches

Introduction

Part 2 introduces a number of psychological theories and frameworks that are applied by coaching psychologists and coaches who use psychological techniques in their coaching practice. This collection of approaches is not exhaustive. However, some of the more popular approaches are represented, such as cognitive behavioural, behavioural and solution-focused coaching (Palmer & Whybrow, 2017). In addition, some of the less frequently practiced approaches are also included, such as narrative coaching, existential and gestalt coaching (Palmer & Whybrow, 2017). The psychological models and frameworks (Chapters 8 to 25) are grouped loosely according to their philosophical roots as viewed by the authors.

Behavioural and cognitive behavioural approaches ‘Behavioural coaching’ (Chapter 8), introduced by Jonathan Passmore, builds on the work of psychologists such as Pavlov, Skinner and Bandura. This chapter highlights that using this approach, coachees are ultimately creating their own motivating, self-rewarding system of behaviours in much the same way that organisational systems are explicitly designed. Developing from this purely behavioural perspective of human activity, cognitive behavioural approaches are one of the most frequent underpinnings to practice for both coaches and coaching psychologists. The term ‘cognitive behavioural approaches’ covers a wide range of techniques and models; indeed, Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska introduce ‘Cognitive behavioural coaching: An integrative approach’ (Chapter 9). Here, a number of different frameworks and core concepts underpinning this approach are discussed alongside the very practical methods for appropriate application.

Humanistic approaches Stephen Joseph and Richard Bryant-Jeffries start this section with a focus on the simple, yet profound, personcentred coaching approach in their chapter: ‘Person-centred coaching psychology’ (Chapter 10), an approach that has a purely facilitational orientation. The assertion that people are their own best experts will come as no surprise to the coaching practitioner. However, the philosophical and theoretical depth of this assertion may be surprising to those who have unquestioningly accepted this rhetoric as part of the territory of coaching. ‘Motivational interviewing: An approach for coaching psychologists’ (Chapter 11) follows as a collaborative

93

Introduction

person-centred form of guiding to elicit and strengthen motivation for change. Jonathan Passmore and Alison Whybrow share this collaborative approach that is designed to enhance the coachees’ own intrinsic motivation towards personal behavioural change. Mapping onto the change cycle, the dialogue that indicates movement through the cycle is discussed alongside specific techniques to augment and open a person to engage with the coaching process. The final chapter in this grouping: ‘Pluralistic coaching’ (Chapter 12), is an approach to supporting coachees that works from an integrated set of approaches, drawing on the coaching interventions that are most likely to be effective in service of a coachee’s goals. In this approach, as Zsófia Utry, Stephen Palmer, John McLeod and Mick Cooper illustrate, the depth of collaboration in the coaching partnership includes what might be the best coaching approach as well as all other aspects of the coaching process. There is a view that this coachee-centric approach may lead to better engagement and outcomes.

Existential approaches Existential coaching is introduced by Ernesto Spinelli and Caroline Horner in their chapter: ‘An existential approach to coaching psychology’ (Chapter 13). As an approach that explicitly acknowledges and utilises its foundational philosophical assumptions, existentialism stands apart from other approaches. As ever, the authors provide an accessible and practical introduction to this potentially complex, phenomelogical approach to practice. Building from this, Julie Allan and Alison Whybrow share a second existential area of coaching practice, ‘Gestalt coaching’ (Chapter 14). This chapter draws on the gestalt therapy philosophy of which Fritz Perls is perhaps one of the better known figures and provides insight into foundational assumptions and lens that further builds on the phenomenological approach, particularly in the context of relationships and patterns. Mindfulness is introduced by Gordon Spence in: ‘Mindfulness in coaching: A self-determination theory perspective’ (Chapter 15). Spence notes mindfulness is not an approach per se but rather describes a particular quality of consciousness. Most psychological approaches consider enhanced attention awareness an important outcome; mindfulness might be considered a common factor that is almost inherent in the nature of coaching. This grounding offers a useful insight into the explosion and value of mindfulness and mindfulness practice. The chapter also indicates the multifaceted and broad landscape of mindfulness-based practices. Chris Irons, Stephen Palmer and Liz Hall deepen the focus a little further with ‘Compassion focused coaching’ (Chapter 16). This is an integrated approach that draws on numerous branches of psychological science and may be particularly useful for those who face work contexts dealing with high levels of suffering and distress or who have particularly challenging internal struggles with self-criticism, fear of failure and high levels of worry.

Being focused approaches The two chapters in this section are both new to this handbook. The first chapter in this grouping is ‘Ontological coaching’ (Chapter 17). Aboodi Shabi and Alison Whybrow share this approach that is based in an exploration of the coachee’s interpretations of the world and their way of being. Ontology is the study of being. Ontological coaching aims to get at the heart of the coachee’s being through how the coachee uses language, what emotions are shaping their interpretation of the world, how they move through space and what they might become. The aim is to facilitate transformation through generating new possibilities that were previously unavailable or invisible. We follow with ‘Somatic coaching’ (Chapter 18), an integrated holistic approach that is eloquently described by Eunice Aquilina and Richard Strozzi-Heckler. Similar in focus to ontological coaching, somatic coaching focuses more on a person’s way of being, seeing sustainable change occurring when the “being” of the person is addressed. This rich approach works with embodied patterns, and interventions are often at the physical rather than the dialogical level. 94

Introduction

Constructive approaches ‘Coaching with personal construct psychology’ (PCP) is presented by Kieran Duignan (Chapter 19). PCP interweaves themes of constructivist, humanistic and contextual psychology with techniques of psychological measurement, soft systems methodology and behavioural reinforcement. This systemic coaching approach is discussed from a very practical perspective. ‘Narrative coaching for all’ is introduced by Ho Law (Chapter 20). Narrative coaching is seen as particularly appropriate within a multicultural context. Based on storytelling, this approach raises individual and community awareness of the strengths, knowledge and skills that they possess through a process of active listening. The third chapter in this grouping, ‘Solution-focused coaching’, is unashamedly outcome oriented and competency based (Chapter 21). Bill O’Connell and Stephen Palmer note this approach fits well within the current and pervasive positive psychology paradigm. This approach gives centre stage to the existing skills, strengths, knowledge and experience of the coachee and invites the coachee to really extend their sense of growth along a future dimension. The final chapter in this grouping is ‘Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching’ (Chapter 22). Articulated clearly and pragmatically by Bruce Grimley, NLP has strong roots in existential phenomenology and gestalt psychology. Whilst some of the core constructs may be familiar to coaches and practitioners, the deeper existential frame that frames our way of interpreting the world may be less so.

Systemic approaches Come with a particular lens. In many ways, each of the approaches in Part 2 brings a systems lens; however, the approaches detailed here are very purposefully systemic. Sandra Wilson shares ‘Transactional analysis approaches to coaching’ (Chapter 23). Transactional analysis (TA) is a powerful systemic coaching approach, providing insight and understanding regarding the links between human needs and behaviours and how these impact on the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of people in organisations when establishing relationships, solving problems together and achieving their goals. Systemic coaching, or more specifically, ‘Systemic constellations approach to coaching and coaching psychology practice’ (Chapter 24) is introduced by Jake Farr and Matt Shepheard. This approach views the coachee and what they bring in the context of the systems to which they belong, using mapping methodology that illuminates underlying dynamics, information and resources that are often not seen (or available) using more linear methods. This can reveal more complex, entangled patterns that might sit at the root of some more surface experiences. Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning provide a great insight into ‘Psychodynamic and systemspsychodynamics coaching’ (Chapter 25). Psychodynamic coaching is based on a way of understanding how the mental forces operating in and between individuals and groups affect their thinking and behaviour. The systems-psychodynamics approach incorporates elements of open systems theory with its focus on role, authority and the design of work systems and processes. This integration lends itself to a very practical and useful coaching approach that is aimed at providing deeper insight for the coachee. Each contributor in Part 2 brings their integrated expertise; this is evident in the way that the conceptual and theoretical backgrounds are made accessible for the reader and by the ease with which the central concepts of each approach are brought to life in the case study material presented. Each of these chapters offers a gift to the reader, whether the approach is one that is congruent with their individual practice or not. The clarity with which the approach is highlighted provides the reader with an invaluable insight into what might or might not be interesting to pursue as a coaching practitioner.

Reference Palmer, S., & Whybrow, A. (2017). What do Coaching Psychologists and Coaches really do? Results from two international surveys. Invited paper at the 7th International Congress of Coaching Psychology 2017. Theme: Positive and Coaching Psychology: Enhancing Performance, Resilience, and Well-being. Presented on 18 October in London. 95

Section 1

Behavioural and cognitive behavioural approaches

8 Behavioural coaching Jonathan Passmore

Introduction Behavioural coaching is a structured, process-driven relationship between a coach and coachee or group which includes: assessment, examining values and motivation, setting measurable goals, defining focused action plans and using validated tools and techniques to help coachees develop competencies and remove blocks to achieve valuable and sustainable changes in their professional and personal lives (Skiffington & Zeus, 2003, p. 6). Behavioural-based coaching is possibly the most popular of the coaching models used by UK coaches in the form of the GROW (Whitmore, 2009; Alexander, 2016). While GROW, and its flood of associated behavioural models (Macintosh, 2003; Caplan, 2003; Hardingham, Brearley, Moorhouse, & Venter, 2004; Peltier, 2009) has become the dominant model, few coaches recognise the behavioural-based roots of the model or reflect on the implications of this for their practice. In this chapter the foundation stones contributing towards behavioural coaching models are illustrated and they ways that practitioners, both psychologists and coaching practitioners, can use these as building blocks in their practice is discussed.

Development of behavioural coaching The development of behavioural coaching has its roots in the work of Pavlov, Watson, Skinner and Bandura. Unfortunately, these genetic roots have almost been lost to some of what are now considered ‘nonpsychological’ coaching models. These behavioural-based models, based on rewards and punishment, form the core of business practice. As coaching has developed within organisations, it too has followed this behavioural-based approach. The most popular of the behavioural coaching models is the GROW coaching model. GROW is a fourstage coaching model developed by Graham Alexander in the 1980s. Coaches work through four stages: identifying the coachee’s Goals, reviewing the Reality, generating Options and agreeing on a Way forward. The approach has spawned a host of similar models, which at their heart is a focus on incremental performance improvement through new learning and adjustments to individual behaviour. Alongside these simple models are more sophisticated behavioural coaching frameworks (Skiffington & Zeus, 2003) which take many of the GROW concepts and integrate these with the evidence-based research from behaviourist traditions around human learning and behaviour. 99

Jonathan Passmore

Theory and basic concepts Behaviourism’s popularity is rooted in the 1920s with the work of Pavlov (1927). Pavlov uncovered the concept of conditioned reflex – a response to a situation which is an adaptation to environmental conditions. In Pavlov’s classic experiment the salivation of a dog was produced not by food but by the sound of a ringing bell. The dog was initially observed salivating at food (the unconditioned stimulus). A neutral stimulus (in this case a bell ringing) is then associated with the food. At first the bell had no effect on the dog. After consistently ringing the bell every time food appeared, the dog learned to associate the ringing bell with food. The association between the food and the bell ringing was so strong that the ringing bell alone would make the dog salivate even without the production of food. Pavlov concluded that conditioned responses could be produced in dogs or humans by creating similar kinds of associations between behaviour and rewards or punishment. This view informed much of subsequent management writing during the pre- and post-war period, with a belief that with an appropriate stimulus, behavioural change could be brought about. Much of this writing has not acknowledged its behavioural basis. Behaviourism remained the dominant force in psychology during the 1960s and into the 1970s, developing through the work of Skinner (1974). Skinner distinguished between two types of behaviour. One he called respondent behaviour. This followed Pavlov’s classical conditioning model, in which the dog or person learns to associate a new response (such as salivation) to an existing stimulus (a ringing bell). The second type he called operant behaviour. In this learning the individual tries a new behaviour, possibly through trial and error, and the behaviour is reinforced through a successful outcome. From this, Skinner argued that both reinforcement (reward) and punishment could be used to encourage learning. The reinforcement such as a reward for behaviour would encourage repetition of that behaviour. Punishment could also be used to produce a desired behaviour. This could take the form of punishment by application of a sanction immediately after the behaviour. It could also be through removal of a positive reinforcement, such as withholding a performance bonus payment. Skinner’s ideas have been instrumental in organisational development. In management today, the growth of performance-related pay and appraisals are a direct link back to a belief that individual behaviour can be modified through reward and punishment, whether financial or psychological, such as praise. Additionally, performance management, goal setting and the use of competency frameworks all have links back to behavioural thinking. Bandura (1969) work took behavioural thinking into a new arena by adding social learning to the mix. He argued that behaviourism, as observed by Pavlov and Skinner, may be appropriate for lower order species, but for humans with the powers of abstract thought, learning can also take place without reinforcement. In the work of Pavlov and Skinner, the individual had to experience the stimulus or response. They had to gain the reward or punishment and recognise its clear relationship to the behaviour. Bandura argued that learning could also take place by observing others’ successes and failures. This learning, he argued, occurs in two ways. First, through observing behaviour and imitating it; for example, seeing that when other employees smile at customers a sale is a likely outcome, a person copies that behaviour. Second, the behaviour can be observed and learned and only displayed when a reward is linked to the display of the behaviour. For example, an individual may know that smiling increases sales but will only smile when sales targets are linked to a sales bonus. Additionally, Bandura argued, individuals were able to observe and learn from others’ mistakes; they might learn, for example, that arguing with the boss leads to an increased likelihood of personal negative outcomes at work. Perhaps the most interesting concept Bandura proposed is that of self-efficacy – a person’s belief in their own abilities. The concept is based on self-perception and considers how well people perceive they perform a task. Bandura argued that people with high self-efficacy perform better as they are able to persevere longer without corresponding increases in stress. Subsequent research (Locke & Latham, 1990; Gist & Mitchell, 1992) has shown a strong relationship between high self-efficacy and high work performance.

100

Behavioural coaching

The behavioural concepts above have contributed considerably to our thinking and practice in management, human learning and, more recently, coaching. Most often the behavioural underpinnings of our thinking go unquestioned as they are so integrated into our cultural approach.

Practice How have coaching models been influenced by behavioural concepts? The behaviourist roots of much of the current management thinking about learning and development have led us towards using ‘carrot and stick’ management techniques. First, we focus on observing behaviours and, more recently, on measuring these through competencies. Second, subsequent performance is then rewarded (or punished) through pay and appraisal schemes. Third, learning is encouraged through mentoring and role modelling. Behavioural-based coaching models encourage the coachee to design their own ways of operating to create learning and growth. Coachees are encouraged to design their own performance assessment systems and observe the impact of their behaviour on achieving their targets. Aspects that most people find satisfying, such as achievement, control and growth, are embedded within the behavioural-based coaching models. Thus, coachees are ultimately creating their own motivating, self-rewarding system of behaviours.

GROW model The GROW model is perhaps the most well-known coaching model. GROW has four stages and is traditionally viewed as a non-psychological model, suitable for coaches without psychological training. Using this approach, the coach adopts a Socratic learning style. Open questions help the coachee move through the four action-focused stages (see Table 8.1). The four stages are designed to help the coachee identify the specific behaviours that will lead to improved performance or achievement of a specific, stated goal. Table 8.1 A sample of open questions to facilitate the GROW process Stage

Possible questions

Goal

• • •

What do you want to achieve? What do you want from this meeting? What do you need to know about . . .?

Reality

• • • • •

What is happening? Why is it a problem? What do you mean by that? . . . Can you give me an example? What have you tried? . . . What happened? How do you feel about that?

Options

• • • •

What options do you think there are? What have you tried? What are the pros and cons of this? Is there anything else you could do?

Way forward

• • • • • •

Can you summarise what you going to do and by when? What obstacles and objections do you expect? How will you overcome them? Who will you get support from? What resources do you need? When should we review progress?

101

Jonathan Passmore

Identifying the goals The first stage in GROW involves the identification of a goal. If the aim of the coaching relationship is to both develop the individual and assist them in enhancing their work performance, what types of goals are most effective for realising these aims? Evidence from a wide range of workplace studies gives us clear guidance in this area. First, the goal should be as challenging as possible while remaining realisable (Locke & Latham, 1990). In practical terms goals can be made highly challenging as long as the coachee is committed to achieving them and they have the ability to do so. Second, the goal set should be highly specific (Locke & Latham, 1990). The more precisely the goal is defined the more effectively the coachee can assess their capability to achieve the goal and to know when it has been achieved. The level of specificity that is helpful is a quantifiable measure of performance on a specific task by a due date. Additionally, greater clarity enables a better understanding between coach and coachee. Third, the coachee has to be committed to the goal. Goals should have meaning and be motivating for the coachee. If goal commitment is not evident, the coach can work to support the coachee to tease out the likely benefits of the goal. This process of discussion within the coaching session leads to more intense cognitive processing, which in turn results in a higher likelihood of the goal being realised (Gollwitzer, Heckhausen, & Ratajczak, 1990). Fourth, the coachee has to believe in their ability to achieve the goals they set. This belief needs to be realistic based on: an understanding of the coachee’s past performance, their awareness of their own ability, an understanding of the skills required for successful completion of the task and an understanding of the time required to develop any necessary new skills. Clarity regarding the dynamics of the wider the business/ personal environment is also important. Fifth, short- and long-term achievements need to be built into the coaching goals. Long-range goals impact on the degree of commitment over time (Lerner & Locke, 1995). By establishing goals with milestones at medium-term intervals, progress can be tracked and the system of self-motivating self-rewarding behaviours can be maintained. Short- and medium-term goals need to be weaved together to create a long-term vision.

Reviewing the reality The next step in the process is exploring the reality for the coachee and how their goals fit within this. The reality of a situation is tested by drawing on current performance, coachee capability and the personal and work dynamics that impact on the current context. This process may involve self-reflection by the coachee, gathering quantitative data from the coachee on their performance or inviting the coachee to complete a 360-degree competency questionnaire or other such assessment (for example, a psychometric test). The output from these activities provides a useful framework for discussion about the reality of achieving a particular goal. The output encourages reflection about different behaviours and whether these different behaviours could support the achievement of the stated goal. Once a clear view is held about current performance and how this is informed by behaviour, the gap between the desired performance and current performance can be seen. Using this information, the coach and coachee can together explore whether the goal is indeed realistic, especially where the gap between desired and current performance is more significant. This may result in adjusting the time frame for achieving the goal. The outcome may be a restatement of the goal or the creation of a series of sub-goals that build towards the final goal.

Generating options The behaviours that can be pursued to achieve the goals and sub-goals identified are explored as part of the GROW process. The coach will draw on problem-solving skills and creative techniques to encourage the 102

Behavioural coaching

generation of multiple ideas and options to achieve the goals. The more realistic options are then identified through critical evaluation. The coach may encourage the coachee to generate clear criteria against which to evaluate the different options. The range of options is likely to include behavioural adjustments that lead to alternative ways of managing and alignment with the required organisational/cultural behaviours or personal values. Through careful questioning, the coach works with the coachee to ensure a balanced evaluation of the options and full exploration of the possible consequences associated with a particular course of action.

Facilitating action The final element is to identify a way forward. This maybe a single course of action but is more likely to be a series of elements which will be tested and reviewed by the coachee. The trial and error nature of testing what works has echoes of Skinner’s work, but it is embedded in the complexity of our work and personal lives, where in one context a behavioural adjustment may work and in another it may not. The coachee, rather than the coach, summarises the future action plan and agrees with their coach on a time when progress can be reviewed. Through subsequent coaching sessions, progress is reviewed. What worked and why? What has not worked? Why not? The coachee is then able to identify further actions to test and to continue behaviours which appear to have a positive impact on goal achievement. The GROW model thus moves the coachee forward towards their goals. It uses a trial and error testing of behaviours to see what works. The coachee may draw their learning from personal previous experience, observation of others or simple here and now testing. A competency framework or any other relevant behavioural framework may be used to identify desirable behaviours. Whilst a sequential description of the elements of GROW has been presented, in reality the coach and coachee will move backwards and forwards through the elements of GROW as the focus of the session requires. At the core of GROW remains the belief that the coachee can attain their goal through developing and deploying the right behaviours.

Behavioural four-stage coaching model Building on the GROW process, other behavioural writers have developed their own behavioural coaching models. The four-stage behavioural model is a good example (Skiffington & Zeus, 2003); others include the development of T-GROW and I-GROW adaptions of the approach. In T-GROW the focus of the conversation, or Topic, is more explicitly included. In I-GROW, the ‘I’ relates to Issue. In reality, neither model makes any significant change to practice. A more important set would be the need to break the Option stage into two stages, Option Generation and Option Evaluation, making these clearer for less experienced coaches. Skeffington and Zeus use four stages and seven steps in their coaching model (see Table 8.2). The stages of reflection, preparation and action echo much of GROW. A preliminary step is added that includes the contracting element of the coaching relationship and the initial scoping of the coaching assignment. Further, a formal maintenance stage is included, which is an important but missing element from GROW. Their model integrates the aspects of goal setting, reality testing, option generation and action, creating a linear behavioural coaching process that can be more easily accessed by less experienced coachees. The model presented by Skiffington & Zeus (2003) has elements that might be considered cognitive elements by more traditional behaviourists. It encourages coachees to not only reflect on behaviour but to enter the ‘black box’ of beliefs and emotions. It can be argued that coaching practice in reality integrates a range of different models and processes. Thus, the behaviourist coach uses humanistic elements to build rapport, create empathy and operate nonjudgementally towards their coachee. They may equally draw on cognitive coaching elements; encouraging the coachee to reflect on the beliefs which enhance or inhibit their performance. The coach may also challenge coachee motivation or encourage reflection on past experiences and bring into conscious awareness issues from the unconscious. 103

Jonathan Passmore Table 8.2 Four-stage model Stage

Step

Possible questions

1 Reflection

a. Education

• • • • •

2 Preparation

3 Action

Tell me about the change model which you use. Are you aware of the processes boundaries and benefits of coaching? What are your organisation’s and your personal objectives? What forces are supportive and which stand in your way to achieving you objectives? What would a success look like at the end of this coaching intervention?

b. Data collection

• • •

What information have you obtained from key stakeholders? What competencies would help you address this goal? What feedback have you received from others on your performance (behaviour) at work?

c. Planning

• • • • • •

What behaviours will help you most achieve your goal? What other behaviours might support this? What events trigger the reported behaviour? What are the consequences of the behaviour? Who do you consider is successful in achieving this goal (acting this way)? How do you plan to monitor your progress?

d. Behavioural change



How can you acquire the skills in this new behaviour?

e. Measurement



What evidence are you collecting to measure the impact of the new behaviour?

f. Evaluation



How does the new behaviour/s impact on the initial goal which you set?

• • •

How can you make this new skill part of your day-to-day behaviour? What action will you take to continue to develop these skills? What action will you take if this behaviour does not continue to achieve the goal you set?

4 Maintenance g. Maintenance

(Note: Adapted from Skiffington and Zeus, 2003)

Which coachees benefit most? Behavioural-based coaching offers a positive and, on the surface, simple framework which fits intuitively with the Western philosophy of development held by managers in the workplace and most people in their lives. Managers respond to its no-nonsense, process-based, pseudo-scientific framework (Dembkowski & Eldridge, 2013). There are several elements that are particularly appealing, including: • • • •

Setting goals to inspire high performance. Reviewing current and past performance using behavioural frameworks to identify gaps for improvement. Brainstorming ideas, and drawing on the successes and failures of others’ experiences as well as their own. Evaluating options against a set of criteria, agreeing to an experimental action plan and reviewing how this has worked out.

In coachee terms, behavioural-based coaching approaches fit well with the already dominant behavioural traditions in Western organisations. The goal-setting element of behavioural-based coaching supports the drive for planning, performance targets and continuous improvement. These themes reflect everyday aspects 104

Behavioural coaching

of current management practice. Almost all managers have personal targets that are integrated into wider business and organisational goals and strategies. For the manager concerned about making positive improvements in performance, behavioural coaching offers a ready-made framework. The behavioural models have a strong and explicit learning component. This focus is supported by the on-going learning debates about creating learning organisations (Senge, 1994). For the manager, the model offers a space to reflect and learn through observing others. In summary, behavioural-based coaching models not only feel right to those operating within the dominant Western organisational culture, they also echo much of what managers do on a day-to-day basis. Behavioural coaching approaches alone may be less suitable for working with managers with more complex issues, such as where belief systems adversely impact on behaviour or where managers lack the motivation to make a change. It is not always possible to assume that the manager is aware of the issue, acknowledges the issue as an impediment to their performance or is motivated to do something about it. In these cases, coaching psychology approaches that enable exploration of the underpinning beliefs and values that drive an individual’s behaviour may provide a more effective coaching intervention.

Case study Christine is a high-performing local authority education director. At the time of our first meeting she was new to the role. I was invited in to coach Christine following her appointment as part of the organisation’s commitment to support new senior manager appointments. The organisation’s HR department contracted for six two-hour sessions, spaced at four- to six-week intervals, to support Christine through her first six months in her post. The HR client agreed to a confidentiality clause ensuring confidentiality of the issues discussed in the coaching relationship. Prior to her appointment, Christine had worked as assistant director in a neighbouring council and was credited with turning round the education service over a six-year period. In her new role, the education service was failing and the council had been severely criticised by inspectors. Christine’s appointment was seen as a step towards redressing the problems. Session one was a fact-finding and relationship-building session. Could I establish a trusting working relationship with the coachee? Was the coachee willing to disclose information? What were the key issues from the coachee’s perspective? What help could I as a coach offer them? What were the consistencies/ inconsistencies with their assessment of the situation? What supporting evidence was there to confirm or challenge their view? In the first meeting with Christine, we focused on building our relationship. I invited Christine to tell me about her career to date, its successes and low points, the appointment process and her first 40 days since taking up the post. The message was consistently positive. A track record of success, starting with a background in teaching, progressing into education policy and then senior management positions. Christine had spent six years as assistant director in her last council role, and her move was stimulated by a head-hunter’s telephone call pointing her to the job advertisement. Christine had also had some challenging times, with difficult politicians and managers, but she had survived these experiences by delivering her objectives and staying focused on the task. Christine was keen to make an impact in the post and at 51 saw this as her last job, with a desire to be in post seven to ten years. She recognised that senior posts were exposed and that on occasion, changes in politics or a chief executive led to changes across the top team, however effective individuals may be. Christine’s main concerns were about resolving a staffing issue in her team and managing her time demands more effectively. Christine reported that she was working a 75-hour week, arriving at 7 a.m. and

105

Jonathan Passmore

working through until 8 p.m. before travelling home. She had periodic late meetings which would finish at around 11 p.m. On nights when she was home by 8 p.m., she would eat dinner and then may do a further work, reading council papers before bed. She worked at weekends, for four to five hours each day. As a woman with children, this had implications for both her partner and her home life. Christine had completed a personality profile as part of the selection process. I reviewed this as part of our initial discussion and explored relationships with key stakeholders and her team. This initial phase of the discussion took about 50 minutes. It provided good background data and meant that we had a common story which could be referred to during subsequent sessions. I summarised the issues raised by Christine and offered an agenda for the first discussion focused around three items; staffing, time management and work-life balance. The staff issue was urgent as a probation interview was due the following week. It was clear that the time-management and work-life balance issues were related and would run throughout our six sessions. I have focused on the time-management issue below as one example of how we explored issues using the behavioural coaching framework. I invited Christine to tell me about the issue as she perceived it. Christine described how, due to work pressure, she was working long hours. She had started to make some changes such as shortening the weekly departmental management team meeting but these had had a limited affect. I asked Christine what she wanted to achieve. How would she know when she had improved time management? What would success look like? Christine defined this as feeling as if she was not wasting time. My challenge was then around the worklife balance; would this look different too? Christine felt that in her job she should be working about 60 hours on an average week. Again I challenged what this was based on. Christine drew on her previous experience of the hours worked by her last director. I challenged what the effect of this might be on her home life and long-term sustainability. Christine felt this was ok. Lastly, I encouraged Christine to gather evidence around this time goal; what did her partner think? What did her children feel about it? We moved on to reflect on the behaviours which she was currently working on and how successful had they been. I challenged Christine, encouraging her to reflect on the implications of these behaviours; how might others perceive her when she took work to a meeting? I invited Christine to generate other options for creating more time in her day and to reflect on what would be an appropriate investment of time in the role and what time would be appropriate at home with family. One of the issues that had emerged from the initial discussion and review of Christine’s personality profile was her lack of reflection about her behaviour and the behaviours of others. She was strongly task focused and rarely thought about the behaviours of others. I encouraged her to think about how others perceived her behaviour. What message was she sending to her staff? What message to her family? What discussions had she had with either about the current working hours and how this might change in the months ahead? Christine identified a selection of new behaviours to test out – more delegation of work and adopting more of a quality-assurance role on some elements. She would attend meetings where she had something to contribute and prioritise activities each day, spending some time to create a long-term plan which assisted with assigning priority. She identified the consequences of not undertaking tasks and let the less important tasks go. From this, Christine created an action plan. My objective during the session had been, first, to build a relationship, and second, to gain an understanding about Christine as a person and as a manager. With these building blocks in place, I had moved in to address Christine’s priorities as she saw them. I was keen to create some time for reflection and to review the output from the reflection, particularly given Christine’s behavioural bias towards action. Towards the end of the session, I invited Christine to summarise the action plan she had developed. I made some notes on the plan of action to form the basis for a review at our next meeting. The final step was an invitation to Christine to evaluate the session and her learning.

106

Behavioural coaching

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

Due to its no-nonsense approach, behavioural coaching is ideal for commercial settings. Discuss. Does the GROW model lack sophistication? Behavioural coaching is not suited for coachees who are unable to develop clear goals. Discuss. Is the GROW model really a framework for having a coaching conversation with a coachee?

Suggested reading Alexander, G. (2016). Behavioural coaching: GROW model. Chapter 5. In J. Passmore (ed.) Excellence in Coaching: The Industry Guide (3rd edition). London: Kogan Page. Dembkowski, S., & Eldridge, F. (2013). Behavioural coaching. Chapter 18. In J. Passmore, D. Peterson, & T. Freire (eds.) The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching & Mentoring. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Starr, J. (2002). The Coaching Manual: The Definitive Guide to the Process and Skills of Personal Coaching. New York: Prentice Hall. Whitmore, J. (2009). Coaching for Performance: Growing People, Performance and Purpose (4th edition). London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

References Alexander, G. (2016). Behavioural coaching: GROW model. Chapter 5. In J. Passmore (ed.) Excellence in Coaching: The Industry Guide (3rd edition). London: Kogan Page. Bandura, A. (1969). Principles of Behaviour Modification. New York, NY: Holt, Reinhart and Winston. Caplan, J. (2003). Coaching for the Future. London: CIPD. Dembkowski, S. & Eldridge, F. (2013). Behavioural coaching. Chapter 18. In J. Passmore, D. Peterson, & T. Freire (eds.) The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching & Mentoring. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Gist, M. & Mitchell, T. (1992). Self efficacy: A theoretical analysis of its determinism and malleability. Academy of Management Review, 17(2), 183–211. Gollwitzer, P., Heckhausen, H. & Ratajczak, K. (1990). From weighing to willing: Approaching a change decision through pre or post decisional mentation. Organisational Behaviour & Human Decision Processes, 45(1). Hardingham, A., Brearley, M., Moorhouse, A. & Venter, B. (2004). The Coach’s Coach. London: CIPD. Lerner, B. & Locke, E. (1995). The effects of goal setting, self efficacy, competition and personal traits on the performance of an endurance task. Journal of Sports & Exercise Psychology, 17(2). Locke, E. & Latham, G. (1990). A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Macintosh, A. (2003). Growing on grow: A coaching model for sales. www.pmcscotland.com Pavlov, I. (1927). Conditioned Reflexes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Peltier, B. (2009). The Psychology of Executive Coaching: Theory and Application (2nd edition). New York, NY: BrunnerRoutledge. Senge, P. (1994). The leaders new world: Building learning organisations. In C. Mabey & P. Iles (eds.) Managing Learning. London: Pitman. Skiffington, S. & Zeus, P. (2003). Behavioural Coaching: How to Build Sustainable Personal and Organisational Strength. North Ryde: McGraw-Hill. Skinner, B. F. (1974). About Behaviourism. London: Jonathan Cape. Whitmore, J. (2009). Coaching for Performance: Growing People, Performance and Purpose (4th edition). London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

107

9 Cognitive behavioural coaching An integrative approach Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska

Introduction Cognitive behavioural coaching (CBC) is an integrative approach which combines the use of cognitive, behavioural, imaginal and problem-solving techniques and strategies within a cognitive behavioural framework to enable coachees to achieve their realistic goals. It can improve performance, increase psychological resilience, enhance well-being, prevent stress and help to overcome blocks to change. It is a dual systems approach as it uses problem-solving, solution-seeking and cognitive behavioural methodology to assist coachees to overcome practical problems and deal with emotional, psychological and behavioural blocks to performance and goal achievement (Palmer & Neenan, 2000). An important aspect of cognitive behavioural coaching is the principle of parsimony, i.e. applying the least effort to achieve the most benefit (also known as the principle of Occam’s razor).

Development of cognitive behavioural coaching The development of CBC is intrinsically linked to the development of the cognitive behavioural and problem-solving therapies. Historically, cognitive behaviour therapy and coaching concepts can be traced back to the philosopher Epictetus, who in the first century stated that individuals ‘are not disturbed by things but by the view they take of them’. During the 1950s, psychologist Albert Ellis (1962) developed what is now known as rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT). He is credited for developing the ABCDE model of emotional regulation. In parallel, cognitive therapy was developed in the 1960s by Aaron Beck (1967) while later Donald Meichenbaum (1985) emphasised the relevance of self-talk in what he described as cognitivebehaviour therapy and stress inoculation training. Arnold Lazarus (1981) developed multimodal therapy (MMT), which was a technically eclectic and systematic approach which used a wide range of techniques taken from different approaches. He asserted that MMT therapists acted as coaches. During the 1980s and 1990s, gradually there was a fusion of cognitive therapy with behaviour therapy, and this developed into cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) (see Curwen et al., 2018). REBT had been adapted for non-clinical groups including Rational Training (Ellis & Blum, 1967), executive leadership (Ellis, 1972), productivity at work (DiMattia & Mennen, 1990), management and executive development (Kirby, 1993), performance (Dryden & Gordon, 1993) and stress management programmes (Palmer, 1995, 2002; Ellis et al., 1998).

108

Cognitive behavioural coaching

In the USA Cognitive CoachingSM (developed by Costa & Garmston, 2002, in 1985), focused on supporting the pursuit of excellence in teaching (Sawyer, 2003). It is a supervisory or peer-coaching model that enhances the teacher’s cognitive processes and increases teacher efficacy (e.g. Dutton, 1990). CBC that has developed since the 1990s integrates the theoretical concepts and strategies applied in cognitive behaviour, multimodal, rational emotive behaviour and problem- and solution-focused approaches (e.g. D’Zurilla, 1986; Dryden, 2016; Neenan & Palmer, 2001, 2012; Palmer, 2008; Palmer & Burton, 1996; Palmer & Neenan, 2000; Palmer & Gyllensten, 2008). The rest of this chapter will focus on the cognitive behavioural approach.

Theory and basic concepts There are two basic premises of cognitive behavioural coaching: a person may have underdeveloped problem-solving and solution-seeking skills or may not apply those skills they already have successfully when under pressure or stress; the way a person feels or behaves is largely determined by the beliefs they hold and their appraisal of a particular situation or problem. In addition, the resulting negative emotions such as anxiety can interfere with their performance and reduce well-being. The approach aims to help individuals improve their problem-solving skills, become aware of their thinking and support them in modifying beliefs that are performance interfering, stress-inducing and goal blocking. CBC facilitates coachees in developing action plans for their future with the ultimate goal in helping them to become their own self-coaches. These plans may include solution-seeking strategies. Within work contexts, the approach often focuses on enhancing or maximising performance under pressure. CBC is informed by goal-setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1990), problem-solving theory (see D’Zurilla, 1986; Dostál, 2015), information-processing theory (Beck & Clark, 1997), psychological interactionism (Dryden, 2015; Milner & Palmer, 1998) and social cognitive theory (with a key link to self-efficacy and modelling; Bandura, 1986). In the following sections, we focus on the models that are informed by the theories.

Problem-solving and solution-seeking framework: PRACTICE Due to the problem-orientated, goal- and solution-focused nature of CBC, time is not spent on in-depth cognitive assessment and interventions if these are considered unnecessary by the coach and coachee. This reflects the dual systems approach, focusing on either or both the psychological and practical issues involved in an attempt to help the coachee achieve their goals (Palmer & Neenan, 2000). Therefore, a practical solution-seeking framework such as PRACTICE (Palmer, 2007a, 2007b, 2011; Wasik, 1984) may be used instead at some stage during coaching. The steps are described below. If the proposed solution has been successful, then the coachee can select another problem they wish to tackle and follow steps 1–7 again. It is important to tackle methodically one major problem at a time rather than several problems simultaneously. However, if the coachee has become stuck at a particular step in the framework due to an emotional or psychological block – for example, becoming very anxious about implementing the agreed strategy – then the coach could use the ABCDEF model to help assess and then deal with the block to change. Steps questions/actions 1

Problem identification:

What’s the problem or issue? What would you like to change? Any exceptions when it is not a problem, issue or concern? Any distortions, or can the problem or issue be viewed differently? How will we know if the situation has improved? 109

Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska

2 3

Realistic, relevant goals developed (e.g. SMART goals) Alternative solutions generated

4

Consideration of consequences

5

Target the most feasible solution(s).

6

Implementation of

7

Chosen solution(s) Evaluation

On a scale of 0 to 10 where ‘0’ is nowhere and ‘10’ is resolved, how near are you now today, to resolving the problem or issue? Any distortions, or can the problem or issue be viewed differently? Can you imagine waking up tomorrow morning and this problem (or issue or concern) no longer existed? What would you notice that was different? What do you want to achieve? What are your options? Let’s note them down. What could happen? How useful is each possible solution? Let’s use a rating ‘usefulness’ scale for each solution where ‘0’ is not useful at all, and ‘10’ is extremely useful. What is the most feasible solution(s)? Now that we have considered the possible solutions, what is the most feasible solution(s) or practical solution(s)? Let’s implement the chosen solution by breaking it down into manageable steps. Now go and do it. How successful was it? How successful was it? Rating ‘success’ scale 0 to 10. What can be learnt? Can we finish coaching now, or do you want to address or discuss another issue or concern?

The ‘P’ in the PRACTICE model can also represent ‘Presenting issues’ or ‘Purpose of Coaching’ or ‘Preferred options’ or ‘Preferred Outcome’ (Palmer, 2011). PRACTICE has been adapted across cultures and languages including, for example, Portuguese (Dias et al., 2011), Spanish (Sánchez-Mora García et al., 2012) and Danish (Spaten et al., 2012). Neenan and Palmer (2001) assert that once coachees become adept at using the seven-step model, they may want to use a shorter model to quicken the problem-solving process. For example: • •

STIR: Select a problem; Target a solution; Implement a solution; Review the outcome PIE: Problem definition; Implement a solution; Evaluate the outcome.

These shorter models of problem-solving are usually used for rapid processing of a problem in order to deal with a crisis or make a quick decision. With these shorter models, deliberation is exchanged for speed, so a less satisfactory outcome may be experienced by the person.

Five interactive modalities: SPACE There is reciprocity (i.e. an interaction) between four modalities, Physiology, Action, Cognitions, Emotions (known as PACE) and the external environment, the Social context. Cognitive behavioural coaching may target these five areas for change in helping coachees to achieve their goals. Edgerton created a convenient acronym SPACE (see Edgerton & Palmer, 2005): Social context, Physiology/physical, Action, Cognitions, Emotions. 110

Cognitive behavioural coaching

The SPACE model or framework can be used as an educational tool to highlight the link between the modalities, for assessment purposes and for the development of a coaching programme. For example, an individual who is going for a job interview (Social context) may perceive that the situation is going to be difficult (Cognition/appraisal). This negative appraisal is likely to trigger anxiety (Emotion); their physical response to anxiety may be an increase in sweating and bodily tension (Physiological), and they may start to pace up and down the waiting room (Action/behaviour). This can be noted down in a diagrammatic format on paper or a whiteboard using the SPACE framework. There are a number of key stages in SPACE and three different coloured pens (blue, red and green) are used to complete the SPACE diagram at each stage: 1) prospecting involves the coachee identifying their goal, usually to change their response to a specific situation; 2) conducting a preliminary SPACE analysis of a situation (Blue work); 3) deepen the understanding by identifying thinking errors, hot cognitions and self-defeating behaviours (Red work); 4) collaboratively develop more helpful strategies and interventions such as realistic thoughts (Green work). (For a fuller explanation of SPACE, see Williams et al., 2010; Williams & Palmer, 2013; Weiss et al., 2017.)

Assessment A key feature in CBC is assessment and case conceptualisation, which commences in the first coaching session and if required is revised throughout the course of the coaching. Essentially, biographical data together with information about the coachee’s reason for attending and their goals are collected and conceptualised within the cognitive framework and shared with the coachee. In brief coaching often SPACE, the ABCDEF framework and/or the seven-step PRACTICE solution-seeking framework can serve as a simple case conceptualisation (Palmer, 2002, 2007). A cognitive behavioural case conceptualisation helps to connect theory with practice and provides a guide or template for the appropriate use of techniques and strategies applied in a systematic manner. In coaching there is no need for an in-depth assessment and case conceptualisation unless a particular problem or issue is difficult to resolve. Generally, the conceptualisation is developed and shared with the coachee as it aids collaboration and provides the coachee with the opportunity to understand their issues from a cognitive behavioural framework and thus ultimately become their own self-coach.

The ABCDEF coaching model Ellis (1962) developed the ABC model of emotion in which ‘A’ represents the activating event or adversity, ‘B’ represents beliefs about the event and ‘C’ represents the emotional, physiological and behavioural consequences. Ellis asserts that the key disturbance creating beliefs at B are usually rigid, inflexible, non-empirical, illogical and non-functional. He called these ‘irrational beliefs’ and distinguishes between them and inferences people make about situations (the latter being of less importance in his opinion). The job interview example can be represented in ABC terms: A (Activating event) B (Beliefs about A)

C (Consequences)

• • • • • •

Job interview This job interview will be difficult and possibly awful I must perform well at the job interview I could not stand failing the interview High performance anxiety (emotion) Paces and down waiting room; reduced performance in interview (behaviour) • Sweats, palpitations, tension in back and shoulders (physiological)

In practice, during the session the coach would work collaboratively with the coachee and note down this cognitive behavioural assessment of the coachee’s problem on a whiteboard or flipchart to aid the coachee’s conceptual understanding of the cognitive model. Often at the beginning stage of coaching, the 111

Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska

intellectual insight for the coachee is that it is their thinking which largely contributes to their emotional distress and under-performance, not the situation itself. However, emotional or ‘gut’ insight takes more time to develop as the coachee needs to put into practice newly formed helpful, stress ameliorating and performance enhancing thoughts and beliefs and then observe how their own level of distress decreases and their performance increases. The term ‘irrational beliefs’ is not used within a coaching context as coachees can sometimes view ‘irrational’ as pejorative or even as an insult. Thinking errors, unhelpful thinking, goalblocking thinking and performance interfering thoughts (PITs) are preferable terms. Ellis’s ABC model includes two additional stages: ‘D’ representing disputation and modification of the unhelpful beliefs and ‘E’ for the effective new approach to dealing with the activating event although in coaching the ‘D’ can also represent discussion (Palmer, 2009). Palmer (2002) added a further stage for the coaching arena: ‘F’, which represents the future focus on personal or work goals and the learning from the ABCDE process which may enhance future performance and may protect against future stress. Thus the coacheesgradually shift from intellectual to emotional insight. Returning to our illustration, examples of questions and responses are added below: D (Discussion and Disputation)

E (Effective new approach)

F (Future focus)

• Will the job interview really be awful? Realistically, the interview may be difficult but hardly awful. • Why must you perform well? It’s strongly preferable to perform well, but I don’t have to. • Is it true you can’t stand failing at tasks? I’m living proof I’ve survived everything in my life so far although I may not like some of the things. • Goal-focused beliefs focusing on the interview; feels concern and not anxiety; stops pacing room; reduced physiological responses, e.g. less tense. • Focus remains on achieving work goals. Learns to be less anxious attending interviews. Becomes less rigidly perfectionistic and learns not to demand that ‘I must perform well’.

The full model includes the initial development of specific Goals which leads to G – ABCDEF. In coaching the G – ABCDEF model is often referred to as a model of stress, performance, resilience and well-being. This takes the original model beyond just dealing with clinical conditions and into the workplace by focusing on the positive such as enhancing performance. Unlike Ellis’s ABCDE model of emotional disturbance described above, the cognitive approach based on the work of Beck (see Curwen et al., 2018) asserts that there are three levels of cognitions which may need to be addressed: Automatic thoughts Intermediate beliefs

Core beliefs

• • • • •

‘pop-up’ thoughts or images: I might make a mistake Rules: I must not make mistakes Assumptions: If I make a mistake it proves I’m stupid Attitudes: I can’t stand making mistakes Usually formed in childhood or early adolescence and may be rigid: I’m a failure.

Therefore, the actual cognitive behavioural approach the coach uses may depend upon their training and may influence their assessment and practice of coaching. A key cognitive behavioural coaching text has incorporated both the theory-driven, deductive Ellis approach and the inductive Beckian approaches, although this would not be obvious to the untrained reader (Neenan & Dryden, 2014). Others are more explicit in the cognitive behavioural approach they are using such as Palmer et al. (2003), who describe 112

Cognitive behavioural coaching

multimodal self-coaching. It is worth noting that while cognitive behavioural coaching is predominately ahistorical and focuses on the present and the future, it does take into account, when relevant, the impact of developmental experiences. In the example above, the beliefs may have developed due to living with a critical parent during childhood. Coachees may wish to spend a part of the coaching session discussing how their beliefs developed; the coach highlights that they can be changed in the here and now.

The process of change The process of change involves a number of steps for coachees: 1 2 3 4

The acquisition and refinement of both practical and emotion-focused problem-solving and solutionfocused skills. Identifying, challenging and changing of their inflexible, performance-interfering and stress-inducing thinking, attitudes and beliefs. Development of a flexible style of thinking to encourageperformance-enhancing and stress-alleviating thinking, attitudes and beliefs. Development of high frustration tolerance, greater self-acceptance and increased physiological resilience.

The effectiveness of cognitive behavioural coaching Since the development of CBC there has been a steady increase in published research focusing on how CBC and solution-focused (SF) CBC can contribute to the coaching process and outcomes. This section will provide a brief overview. Grant’s (2001) research found improvements in mental health, self-regulation and self-concept with cognitive-based coaching whereas behavioural coaching improved academic performance. A combination of both cognitive and behavioural coaching led to enhanced performance which was maintained over time and enhanced well-being. Grant (2003) found that group SF-CB life coaching with 20 postgraduate students enhanced mental health, quality of life and goal attainment. Using a SF-CB life coaching approach, Green and associates (2005, 2006) found an increase in goal striving, positive affect and psychological well-being. Grbcic and Palmer (2007) used a CB self-coaching manual with 102 middle managers, which significantly reduced stress and increased task, emotion and distraction-oriented coping styles. In a case study, Libri and Kemp (2006) found that CBC enhanced a male finance executive’s sales performance, core self-evaluation and global self-ratings of performance. Beddoes-Jones and Miller (2007) found short-term CBC improved work performance and added significant personal value. Green and associates (2007) used life coaching to enhance hardiness and hope whilst decreasing depression for ‘normal’ senior female high school students. Kearns and associates (2007) noted that CBC reduced perfectionism and self-handicapping. Spence and Grant (2007) found that professional CB-SFC coaching significantly improved goal attainment, whereas peer coaching did not. Grant (2008) found that personal life SF-CBC coaching for coaches-in-training enhances goal attainment, insight and learning, reduced anxiety, enhanced cognitive hardiness, higher levels of personal insight and also the participants had higher end-of-semester marks. Grant, Curtayne and Burton (2009) found that executive CB-SF coaching enhanced goal attainment, resilience and workplace well-being and reduced depression and stress. In a brief CBC programme Karas and Spada (2009) found that all their research participants made significant improvements on scores of decisional and behavioural procrastination with gains maintained at follow-up. In a qualtitative research study Gyllensten and associates (2010) found that CBC led to improved regulation of emotions and the development of more assertive strategies. In a research study with university students who received brief CBC, Spaten (2010) reported that their levels of anxiety and depression were reduced, and wellbeing increased by the end of the trial. Grant (2014) found that CB-SF executive coaching increased goal 113

Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska

attainment, enhanced solution-focused thinking, led to a greater ability to deal with change, increased leadership, self-efficacy and resilience, and decreased depression. Torbrand and Ellam-Dyson (2015) found that group CBC for students led to a reduction in procrastination levels. David and associates (2016) noted that an executive CBC programme led to improved performance. Although there have been other studies (e.g. Hultgren et al., 2016; Barry et al., 2017) their results are tentative and highlight the need for further research.

Practice Goals of cognitive behavioural coaching The overall goals of cognitive behavioural coaching are to facilitate the coachee to • • • • • •

achieve their realistic goals ameliorate and resolve difficulties or problems acquire new skills and constructive coping strategies modify thinking errors, stress inducing thinking (SIT), performance interfering thoughts (PITs), negative automatic thoughts (NATs) and, when necessary, intermediate and core beliefs develop thinking skills, stress alleviating thinking (SAT), performance enhancing thoughts (PETs) and, when necessary, realistic and helpful intermediate and core beliefs become their own ‘self-coach’.

Structure of coaching session and in-between session assignments A structured approach can be useful as it allows the coachee to negotiate a working agenda for the session with the coach so that the time available is maximised (Curwen et al., 2018). Both are able to raise issues that they think are relevant to the current session and the overall coaching programme. It also reflects the solution-focused nature of cognitive behavioural coaching. The structure is as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Briefly check coachee’s present state, e.g. ‘How have you been recently?’ Negotiate an agenda for the session, e.g. ‘What would you like to put on the session agenda today?’ Review in-between session assignment(s), e.g. ‘How did you get on with the task last week?’ Target an issue or problem, e.g. ‘Let’s now tackle the agenda item for today’. Negotiate in-between session assignment(s). Session feedback, e.g. ‘Any feedback on today’s session?’

The word ‘homework’ is generally avoided in coaching sessions as often it has negative memories for many coachees. The terms ‘assignment’ or ‘in-between session assignment’ are preferable. Reviewing the assignment(s) that were negotiated in the previous session is a crucial aspect of coaching. If this is overlooked, then the key message the coachee may learn is that undertaking assignments is unimportant so why bother doing them. The cognitive behavioural coach may remind the coachee how important the other 167 hours outside the coaching hour are for putting action plans, techniques and strategies into action. Important information can often be discovered focusing on how the assignments were undertaken. Problems encountered or assignments not undertaken are all ‘grist to the mill’ and are useful learning points in coaching.

Problem acquisition and maintenance Cognitive behavioural theory sees problem development as multifactorial. Contributing factors include life events, such as marital problems, redundancy, bullying, bereavement, illness; social factors, such as loneliness, poor housing, poor work-life balance and inadequate or unhelpful coping strategies such as increased 114

Cognitive behavioural coaching

alcohol consumption, aggressive behaviour, cognitive and behavioural avoidance; work problems such as work-related stress, an increase in work hours to manage workload, poor performance at work and environmental stressors such as noisy workplaces. Skills deficits, genetic factors and childhood experiences may all contribute or exacerbate problems. At an individual level, although some of these problems may be amenable to coaching, due to the level of distress triggered by some of the above, professional therapy may be a more appropriate intervention. Problems are often maintained by avoidance in dealing with the issues concerned; by skills deficits; by stress inducing and performance interfering thoughts (SITs and PITs), thinking errors or intermediate and core beliefs that block the person from achieving realistic goals. These can become the focus of cognitive behavioural coaching or for very distressed individuals with clinical disorders, therapy would be recommended.

Typical structure of cognitive behavioural coaching programme Palmer (adapted from 2007) provided a typical structure to a coaching programme: Sessions 1–2 Simple dual systems case formulation (e.g. ABCDEF, SPACE, PRACTICE), goal setting and intervention. Probable focus on achieving SMART goals. (Sessions could be of 60 to 120 minutes’ duration.) 2–4 Some continuing assessment, if necessary, otherwise coaching focuses on working on achieving goals. 2–6 Focus on psychological blocks if these are impeding goal or task progress. Requires full assessment specific to a particular problem. 1–8 Coaching likely to finish with most coachees reporting that it was effective. (Gyllensten & Palmer, 2005) The length of sessions may be between 30 and 120 minutes depending upon the time urgency to deal with a work-related issue, whereas life or personal coaching is more likely to be of 60 minutes’ duration. Coaching may be for only one to three sessions in total.

Cognitive techniques and strategies There are a wide range of cognitive techniques and strategies. In this section we will cover the main ones.

Identifying thinking errors Originally called ‘cognitive distortions’ in cognitive therapy (Curwen et al., 2018; Szymanska & Palmer, 2015), they are more commonly known as thinking errors in cognitive behavioural coaching and training settings (Palmer et al., 2003). These are errors of processing in which the person cognitively focuses on insufficient or inappropriate data and draws illogical conclusions, makes inaccurate inferences or bases predicted outcomes upon little or no empirical evidence. A handout or a cognitive behavioural self-coaching book (e.g. Palmer & Cooper, 2013) is usually given to the coachee to help them understand and recognise the different thinking errors they commonly use. Thinking errors include the following: •

Mind reading/jumping to conclusions: jumping to a foregone conclusion without the relevant information, e.g. ‘If I don’t work overtime I’ll get sacked’. 115

Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska

• • • • • • • • • • •

All-or-nothing thinking: evaluating experiences on the basis of extremes such as ‘excellent’ or ‘awful’, e.g. ‘She always arrives late’. Blame: not taking responsibility and blaming somebody or something else for the problem, e.g. ‘It’s all her fault. She should have reminded me to post the letter’. Personalisation: taking events personally, e.g. ‘If our team presentation is rejected, it’s my fault’. Fortune-telling: assuming you always know what the future holds, e.g. ‘I know I’ll be made redundant next week’. Emotional reasoning: mistaking feelings with facts, e.g. ‘I feel so nervous; I know this merger with fall apart’. Labelling: using labels or global ratings to describe yourself and others, e.g. ‘I’m a total idiot’ or ‘As I failed my exam this proves I’m a complete failure’. Demands: peppering your narrative with rigid or inflexible thinking such as ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts’; making demands of yourself and others, e.g. ‘He should have made a better job of that project’. Magnification or awfulising: blowing events out of all proportion, e.g. ‘That meeting was the worst I’ve ever attended. It was awful’. Minimisation: minimising the part one plays in a situation, e.g. ‘It must have been an easy exam as I got a good mark’. Low frustration tolerance or ‘I can’t stand it-itis’: lowering tolerance to frustrating or stressful situations by telling yourself, ‘I can’t stand it’. Phoneyism: believing that you may get found out by significant others as a phoney or impostor, e.g. ‘If I perform badly, they will see the real me – a total fraud’.

Thinking skills There are a range of thinking skills practitioners can use to help coachees tackle their thinking errors. These are summarised later (adapted Palmer & Strickland, 1996):

Writing down your thinking errors When you are underperforming, procrastinating or feeling stressed, ask yourself what thinking errors you are making and note them down. You will then be in a better position to avoid them.

Befriend yourself If a friend or colleague made a similar mistake, would you be as critical or harsh as you are towards yourself? Turn your internal critical voice around and do not ignore your positive aspects.

Relative thinking If you are viewing a situation or outcome in absolute terms, such as awful versus excellent, attempt to find some middle ground. This will help you to keep the situation in perspective. Generally, situations and people are too complex to view in such extreme terms.

Look for the evidence Sometimes our assessment of a situation is flawed. If you believe your performance was poor, ask others for feedback rather than making assumptions which may be inaccurate. If you do not believe that you can stand staying in a situation, test it out, stay a few minutes longer.

116

Cognitive behavioural coaching

De-labelling Avoid globally rating yourself or others. We are too complex to be rated a ‘total idiot’ or ‘complete failure’. As soon as you label people or yourself by a particular behaviour, question the validity of the label. For example, if you call yourself or a colleague ‘a complete fool’ because a deadline was not reached, does this one failing justify the label? You may wish to consider learning self-acceptance, literally accepting yourself, warts and all, with a strong preference to improve, but you do not have to.

Thinking more coolly Emotive language, such as the ‘musts’, ‘shoulds’, ‘oughts’, ‘have tos’, ‘it’s awful’ and ‘I can’t stand it’, tends to increase stress levels and interfere with performance. Less emotive expressions should help us to remain cool: ‘It’s preferable’, ‘it’s strongly desirable’, and so on.

Broaden the picture When you feel that you are totally responsible for a situation or problem, write a list of all the other aspects involved and clarify whether you really are 100 percent to blame. A pie chart can be drawn and divided up into the responsibility of each person or aspect. If you totally blame others, you can repeat this process and include all the other relevant factors involved. Rarely are others totally to blame either.

Guided discovery and Socratic questions to examine thinking and challenge performance interfering thoughts (PITs) Guided discovery is a process where the coach and coachee work collaboratively to view the world or particular problem differently. It uses questioning based on the systematic questioning and inductive reasoning developed by the fifth-century philosopher Socrates. It is used to help PIT identification and modification. Questions can include, Where is the evidence for your belief? Is there any evidence to disprove your belief? Are you thinking in all-or-nothing terms?

Survey method To avoid making assumptions or mind reading, the coachee is encouraged to conduct a survey of other people’s opinions such as colleagues or friends in order to confirm or refute their own thinking (i.e. the coachee).

Use of forms Forms can be used to focus on, evaluate and replace PITs with adaptive performance enhancing thoughts (PETs). These PIT/PET forms used in cognitive behavioural coaching were developed by Neenan and Palmer at the Centre for Coaching (2001). There are two-column and five-column versions (see case study). These forms have been adapted and can be used in coaching when coachees are feeling stressed about a specific situation. The focus in on modifying stress inducing thinking (SIT) to stress alleviating thinking (SAT).

Affect labelling Affect labelling refers to asking the coachee to name the emotion they are experiencing in a situation, real or imagined. Although this is normally used in CBC to help the coachee to see the link between emotions and cognitions, it can also assist in emotional regulation of feared situations by increasing right ventrolateral

117

Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska

prefrontal cortex activity and thereby decreasing amygdala activity, which is the part of the limbic system in the brain that plays an important role in the processing of emotions (see Burklund et al., 2014; Lieberman et al., 2007). In CBC, coaches will also ask the coachee to rate the emotion on a 0 to 10 scale where 10 is very high and 0 is no emotion. If regulation occurs, the intensity of the emotion should decrease.

Downward arrow The process for uncovering underlying assumptions or core beliefs is known as the downward arrow technique. It was developed by Burns (1990) and involves articulating the implications of the coachee’s negative automatic thoughts (NATs). They are temporarily assumed to be true and their meaning sought. Coachee: Coach: Coachee: Coach: Coachee:

I know that I’m going to fail this promotion interview. Let’s suppose that happens, what does that mean to you? That I will be stuck in this job forever, with nowhere to go. And if that was the case, what would that mean to you? I’m just not good enough, even a promotion is impossible for me.

In the above example, the core belief is ‘I’m not good enough’. Having elicited the core belief, the coach can then go on to work with the coachee to modify it (see below).

Inference chaining When undertaking an ABCDEF assessment and intervention as described previously, the coach may undertake a technique known as inference chaining to discover what aspect of the problem or activating event (A) the coachee is really troubled about, i.e. the critical ‘A’. Often the initial problem noted is not the real underlying fear. In inference chaining, the coachee’s fears are not challenged, and temporarily, it is assumed that they could occur. The coach reinforces B – C thinking (i.e. the link between beliefs and the emotional consequences) and avoids using A – C language (i.e. the link between an activating event and emotional consequences). An example is given in the case study.

Cost-benefit analysis of beliefs A cost-benefit analysis can be made of an intermediate or core belief, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of holding on to it. The next step is to develop a more helpful countering belief, and then the process is repeated.

Bibliotherapy and bibliotraining Bibliotherapy is the use by coachees of relevant self-help manuals, books, videos, DVDs, digital recordings and websites, at the coach’s suggestion, in order to gain knowledge about their particular problem. However, in coaching and training settings, as the term includes the word ‘therapy’, often practitioners change it to bibliotraining or bibliocoaching instead (see Palmer & Burton, 1996).

Imagery techniques Key imagery techniques that cognitive behavioural coaches use include motivation imagery, coping imagery, time projection imagery, imaginal exposure, positive imagery, mastery imagery, guilt reduction imagery, anger reduction imagery, rational emotive imagery (see Lazarus, 1984; Palmer & Dryden, 1995; Ellis et al., 1998; Palmer et al., 2003; Palmer & Puri, 2006). Below we focus on two key imagery techniques. 118

Cognitive behavioural coaching

Motivation imagery Motivation imagery is in two parts (Palmer & Neenan, 1998). Initially, coachees are encouraged to visualise the rest of their lives without tackling their particular problem and not achieving their desired goal (inaction imagery). Then they imagine how their future unfolds without the particular problem after having worked hard to deal with it (action imagery). This technique is used to motivate coachees who are reluctant or ambivalent about addressing problems or issues in their lives.

Coping imagery Coachees are encouraged to visualise themselves coping with a problem or situation they are stressed and anxious about (Palmer et al., 2003). It includes imagining how they would deal with predicted problems that they fear might arise, such as arriving late for an important meeting.

Behavioural strategies Cognitive behavioural coaches use an array of behavioural strategies to support coachees in the management of psychological problems and to test out their PETs and beliefs. Examples of some of the more common strategies are listed in this section.

Time management strategies Poor time management skills are a common problem encountered in cognitive behavioural coaching. Together with tackling the PITs associated with procrastination (e.g. ‘This is just too hard, I’ll do it later’), coachees are educated in applying effective time management strategies such as prioritising, list making and so on.

Assertion training and communication skills Assertion is often mistaken as aggression in the minds of coachees and features strongly in cases of bullying. Cognitive behavioural coaching educates coachees on the differences between assertion and aggression. The coach elicits and and helps the coachee to evaluate PITs or blocks to assertion and uses role play and/or experiments to reinforce new desired behaviour.

Relaxation and mindfulness Relaxation and mindfulness strategies are commonly used to increase a state of relaxation and mindfulness. Relaxation or mindfulness scripts can be narrated in session. Coachees are encouraged to download suitable relaxation and/or mindfulness apps which outline the process of relaxation and/or mindfulness. These are easily used on smart phones.

Behavioural experiments Behavioural experiments are a key component of cognitive behavioural coaching. They can be applied within the coaching session or outside with friends or in the workplace as part of the coachee’s inbetween session task. The experiments are designed in a collaborative manner, recorded and reviewed. For example, a coachee who believes their voice will dry up when giving a presentation (prediction) plans an experiment which involves giving a mock presentation to colleagues at work and records the outcome. 119

Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska

Which coachees benefit most? CBC based on the cognitive behavioural, practical problem-solving and solution-seeking methodologies have benefited coachees who wish to enhance or improve workplace or scholarly performance, public speaking, well-being, time management, decision-making, problem-solving and emotional and anger management. It can assist in overcoming procrastination, lack of assertiveness, career change indecision, stress and anxiety such as presentation anxiety. The approach can be used with children, adolescents, adults and older people and applied in individual, group, school, health, sports and work settings. Coachees not achieving their goals in CBC (adapted from Neenan & Palmer, 2000: 217) can be due to coachees: •

not accepting emotional responsibility – thereby blaming other factors (e.g. their manager, job or partner) for causing their problems and expecting that these other factors should change before they do, and/or not accepting coaching responsibility – they avoid or resist the hard work required of them to tackle their practical and/or emotional problems or blocks to change, and/or having a clinical disorder(s) – some clinical disorders such as depression can considerably reduce motivation and goal-focused behaviour.

• •

Case study Mark was a consultant, 35 years old, married with two children. He had just been offered promotion within a large petroleum company. He was keen to accept the post. However, there was a work-related problem he wanted to tackle. He will need to give presentations to the top team at head office on a monthly basis. Although he usually delivers presentations without encountering much difficulty, he is becoming anxious about this task.

Engagement As Mark was keen to take the job, he decided to have coaching in order to deal with his presentation performance anxiety. Initial contact was by email via HR. The coaching psychologist and Mark met in Mark’s current office. It was noted that Mark had counselling previously but did not find it particularly helpful. They agreed to review progress after three coaching sessions each lasting two hours. Additional sessions could be negotiated if necessary.

Presentation anxiety On listening to Mark describe the problem it became apparent within the first ten minutes that he was reasonably skilled at giving presentations and his levels of stress were more likely to be due to his thinking about the presentation and not his abilities and skills to give it. In applying the principle of parsimony, the coaching psychologist concluded that there was no need to use the PRACTICE model at this stage of coaching. The coaching psychologist completed a SPACE diagram with Mark to show the relationship between the modalities (see Figure 9.1). Mark was able to see the connections between the four modalities and the social context. However, Mark was unable to access his beliefs easily. As part of the assessment to ensure that they were focusing on the most relevant problem and cognitions, they undertook an inference chain:

120

Cognitive behavioural coaching

SPACE Cold, clammy hands Heart rate up Respiration rate up Adrenaline release

Social context Giving a presentation to the top management team

Physiology

Stress & Emotions anxiety

Actions

Giving a presentation Shaky hands

Cognitions

I’ll screw up Image of looking stressed in his mind’s eye

Figure 9.1 SPACE model Coach:

I suspect that when you are feeling stressed about the presentation you have additional thoughts on your mind that are possibly relevant. It would be really useful for us to discover what these are and also to see if we are focusing on the correct issue. Are you OK about me asking you a few more questions to see if we elicit this information?

Mark:

Fine.

Coach:

Once you get your new job, how do you feel emotionally about giving a presentation to the top team? (Clarifying the emotion.)

Mark:

Pretty anxious.

Coach:

Let’s assume that you start to give the presentation to the top team. What are you anxious about? (Staying focused on the relevant emotion targeted for change.)

Mark:

I’ll screw up.

Coach:

Let’s assume for the moment you do screw up. You may find it easier if you close your eyes and really imagine you are screwing up. Can you see it happening? (Helping the client to access his thoughts in the situation being discussed.)

Mark:

Yes.

Coach:

Now what are you most anxious about then?

Mark:

They will think I’m useless?

Coach:

And if they did think you were useless, then what?

Mark:

I suppose I could jeopardise my new job?

Coach:

Let’s just assume for the moment that you did jeopardise your job. What would you be anxious about then?

121

Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska

Mark:

The financial repercussions could be bad as I’m mortgaged up to the hilt and I could lose everything.

Coach:

Is there anything else you think may be relevant?

Mark:

No.

Coach:

Let me summarise your key inferences. (Coach starts to write on whiteboard.) You are anxious because: 1

‘I’ll screw up’.

2

‘They will think I’m useless’.

3

‘I could jeopardise my new job’.

4

‘The financial repercussions could be bad’.

5

‘I could lose everything’.

When you are getting yourself anxious about doing the presentation to the top team, of the points one to five, what are you most anxious about? Mark:

Frankly, I don’t really think I’m going to lose everything. I’ve had tough times before and so have some of my friends, but we haven’t lost everything. I really want this job and I want to keep it once I get it. I’ve had my eye on it for some time. I think I’m stressed about doing anything that jeopardises my job.

Coach:

Now we’ve probably found the critical ‘A’ or aspect associated with giving the presentation you are most anxious about; let’s find out what beliefs you have about it. In your mind’s eye, can you now imagine that you are screwing up your presentation thereby jeopardising your job? (Using imagery to elicit the ‘hot’ cognitions.)

Mark:

Yes.

Coach:

As you imagine you are jeopardising your job, what’s going through your mind now?

Mark:

I mustn’t lose this new job.

Coach:

And if you did?

Mark:

It would be awful. They would think badly of me.

Coach:

What do you think they are actually thinking of you?

Mark:

I’m totally useless?

Coach:

And would you agree with them?

Mark:

Yes!

Coach:

Is the thinking ‘I’m totally useless’ associated with your presentation skills deficits or with you in the new role? (Clarifying question.)

Mark:

Both, but it’s how they see me in the new job that is important.

Coach:

OK. So the key stress-inducing beliefs are (writing them on the whiteboard):

B: Beliefs 1

‘I mustn’t lose this new job’.

2

‘It would be awful.’

3

‘I’m totally useless’.

If you hold these beliefs, are you going to remain stressed or become relaxed? (To highlight the link between his thoughts and how he feels.)

122

Cognitive behavioural coaching

Mark:

I’m going to stay stressed.

Coach:

Will that hinder or help your presentation? (Question to highlight the link between the fear about losing the job and how he may act or behave at the presentation.)

Mark:

Make it far worse!

Coach:

What do you suggest you could do about being so stressed? (Solution-seeking question.)

Mark:

I could decide not to accept the new job, avoid the presentation, which won’t be possible, or perhaps I suppose I could change my thinking.

Coach:

As you want to keep this job, what would you prefer to do?

Mark:

Change my thinking. (As there was sufficient time left in this session the coach introduced performance enhancing forms.)

Coach:

To help my coachees recognise and then develop new performance enhancing thoughts which we call PETs for short, I usually suggest we complete a performance enhancing form. Do you want to give it a go?

Mark:

Yeah.

The coach and Mark completed the first three columns of the performance enhancing form with the information they had elicited from earlier in the session. They also added additional PITs that directly related to the presentation. They then developed performance enhancing thoughts to counter the performance interfering thoughts in the second column and wrote these down in the fourth column. Mark found it useful to include some of the questions the coach asked him in the fourth column, so he could use them after the session. Finally, they completed the last column (see Table 9.1).

In-between session task Near the end of the first session it was agreed that Mark would note down any additional PITs or PETs he may have regarding the presentation and possibly jeopardising his job between now and the next session. He was given a cognitive behavioural self-coaching book to read and asked to focus on reading Chapter 2, ‘Changing your thinking to conquer stress’, which covered recognising thinking errors and developing thinking skills and imagery skills (see Palmer & Cooper, 2013). The coaching session was recorded so that Mark could listen to the session again.

Second and third sessions In the second coaching session Mark gave feedback on some of the thinking errors he recognised he regularly used. They returned to the SPACE diagram and when undertaking the Green work, discussed the possibility of using the Benson relaxation technique to feel more relaxed prior to and during the presentation. This technique was covered in the self-coaching book. This would need to be practised on a daily basis so it would become ‘second nature’. Although coping imagery was noted down previously on the performance enhancing form, there had been no time to discuss it in depth. The coach discussed how Mark could use coping imagery to tackle the presentation. This included Mark seeing himself using his hands expressively when talking instead of seeing them shaking and hovering above his laptop and also seeing himself tackling difficult questions. The third and last session was by telephone, although there had been some email contact between the sessions. The presentation had gone well, and he had not jeopardised his job.

123

(© Centre for Coaching, 2019)

Give a reasonable presentation Stay focused on the presentation and not on what they might be thinking of it or me

Depressed

Anxiety

3) I’m totally useless.

4) I must perform well and give a perfect presentation.

Very anxious

2) It would be awful!

Goals:

Anxiety

1) I mustn’t lose this new job.

Giving a poor presentation to the top team will jeopardise my job.

Emotional/ behavioural reaction (C)

Performance interfering thoughts (PITs) (B)

Target problem (A)

Table 9.1 Performance enhancing form

Why must I perform well? Realistically I don’t. Where is holding on to this thought getting me? It’s making me more stressed and less likely to perform well. Is there such a thing as a perfect presentation or are my expectations far too high? I will focus on giving a good enough, but not perfect presentation.

How can I ever be totally useless? I would need to be useless at everything which does not add up.

Will it be awful? It may be a pain if I lost this job but I know it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Realistically I could lose this job but unlikely if I screw up just one presentation.

Performance enhancing thoughts (PETs) (D)

I will read about coping imagery on page 48 of the book

I will not mind-read others when giving the presentations

I will ensure I’m well prepared for the presentation and practise speaking out aloud

I will accept the new job.

Effective & new approach to problem (E)

Cognitive behavioural coaching

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

In what way is the principle of parsimony important in coaching? Did the case study reflect this principle? Cognitive behavioural coaching is superficial. Discuss. In coaching, not developing an in-depth cognitive behavioural case conceptualisation is lazy and possibly unethical. Discuss. In what way is encouraging coachees to read self-help or self-coaching material helpful to the achievement of their goals?

Suggested reading Dryden, W. (2016). Very Brief Cognitive Behavioural Coaching (VBCBC). Abingdon: Routledge. Neenan, M., & Palmer, S. (2012). Cognitive Behavioural Coaching in Practice: An Evidence Based Approach. Hove: Routledge. Neenan, S., & Dryden, W. (2014). Life Coaching: A Cognitive-Behavioural Approach. Hove: Brunner-Routledge. Palmer, S., & Cooper, C. (2013). How to Deal with Stress. London: Kogan Page.

References Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Barry, M., Murphy, M., & O’Donovan, H. (2017). Assessing the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioural group coaching intervention in reducing the symptoms of depression among adolescent males in a school setting. International Coaching Psychology Review, 12(2): 101–109. Beck, A. T. (1967). Depression: Clinical, Experimental, and Theoretical Aspects. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. Beck, A. T., & Clark, D. A. (1997). An information processing model of anxiety: Automatic and strategic processes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35(1): 49–58. Beddoes-Jones, F., & Miller, J. (2007) Short-term cognitive coaching interventions: Worth the effort or a waste of time? The Coaching Psychologist, 3(2): 60–69. Burklund, L. J., Creswell, J. D., Irwin, M. R., & Lieberman, M. D. (2014). The common and distinct neural bases of affect labeling and reappraisal in healthy adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 5: 221. Burns, D. (1990). The Feeling Good Handbook. New York: Plume. Centre for Coaching (2019). Completed ABCDE Form. London: Centre for Coaching. Costa, A. L., & Garmston, R. J. (2002). Cognitive Coaching: A Foundation for Renaissance Schools. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon. Curwen, B., Palmer, S., & Ruddell, P. (2018). Brief Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. London: Sage Publications. David, O. A., Ionicioiu, I., Imbarus, A. C., & Sava, F. A. (2016). Coaching banking managers through the financial crisis: Effects on stress, resilience, and performance. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 34: 267–281. Dias, G., Gandos, L., Nardi, A. E., & Palmer, S. (2011). Towards the practice of coaching and coaching psychology in Brazil: The adaptation of the PRACTICE model to the Portuguese language. Coaching Psychology International, 4(1): 10–14. DiMattia, D. J., & Mennen, S. (1990). Rational Effectiveness Training: Increasing Productivity at Work. New York: Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy. Dostál, J. (2015). Theory of problem solving. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174: 2798–2805. Dryden, W. (2015). Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy: Distinctive Features. 2nd edition. Hove: Routledge. Dryden, W. (2016). Very Brief Cognitive Behavioural Coaching (VBCBC). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Dryden, W., & Gordon, J. (1993). Peak Performance: Become More Effective at Work. Didcot, UK: Mercury Business Books. Dutton, M. M. (1990). Learning and teacher job satisfaction (staff development). Doctoral dissertation, Portland State University, Portland, OR. Dissertation Abstracts International 51/05-A, AAD90-26940. D’Zurilla, T. J. (1986). Problem-Solving Therapy: A Social Competence Approach to Clinical Intervention. New York: Springer. Edgerton, N., & Palmer, S. (2005). SPACE: A psychological model for use within cognitive behavioural coaching, therapy and stress management. The Coaching Psychologist, 2(2): 25–31. Ellis, A. (1962). Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy. New York: Lyle Stuart. Ellis, A. (1972). Executive Leadership: A Rational Approach. New York: Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy.

125

Stephen Palmer and Kasia Szymanska

Ellis, A., & Blum, M. L. (1967). Rational training: A new method of facilitating management labor relations. Psychological Reports, 20: 1267–1284. Ellis, A., Gordon, J., Neenan, N., & Palmer, S. (1998). Stress Counselling: A Rational Emotive Behaviour Approach. New York: Springer. Grant, A. M. (2001). Coaching for enhanced performance: Comparing cognitive and behavioural approaches to coaching. Paper presented at the Third International Spearman Seminar, Extending Intelligence: Enhancement and New Constructs, Sydney. Grant, A. M. (2003). The impact of life coaching on goal attainment, metacognition and mental health. Social Behavior and Personality, 31(3): 253–264. Grant, A. M. (2008). Personal life coaching for coaches-in-training enhances goal attainment, insight and learning. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 1(1): 54–70. Grant, A. M. (2014). The efficacy of executive coaching in times of organisational change. Journal of Change Management, 14(2): 258–280. Grant, A.M., Curtayne, L., & Burton, G. (2009). Executive coaching enhances goal attainment, resilience and workplace well-being: A randomised controlled study. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(5): 396–407. Grbcic, S., & Palmer, S. (2007). A cognitive-behavioural self-help approach to stress management and prevention at work: A randomised controlled trial. Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapist, 12(1): 21–43. Green, L. S., Oades, L. G., & Grant, A. M. (2005). An evaluation of a life-coaching group programme: Initial findings from a waitlist control study. In M. Cavanagh, A. M. Grant & T. Kemp (eds.) Evidence Based Coaching: Volume 1, Theory, Research and Practice from the Behavioural Sciences. Bowen Hills, Qld, Australia: Australian Academic Press. Green, L. S., Oades, L. G., & Grant, A. M. (2006). Cognitive-behavioral, solution focused life coaching: Enhancing goal striving, well-being and hope. Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(3): 142–149. Green, S., Grant, A., & Rynsaardt, J. (2007). Evidence-based life coaching for senior high school students: Building hardiness and hope. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2(1): 24–32. Gyllensten, K., & Palmer, S. (2005). The relationship between coaching and workplace stress: A correlational study. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 43(3): 97–103. Gyllensten, K., Palmer, S., Nilsson, E-K., Regnér, A. M., & Frodi, A. (2010). Experiences of cognitive coaching: A qualitative study. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(2): 98–108. Hultgren, U., Palmer, S., & O’Riordan, S. (2016). Developing and evaluating a virtual coaching programme: A pilot study. The Coaching Psychologist, 12(2): 67–75. Karas, D., & Spada, M. M. (2009). Brief cognitive-behavioural coaching for procrastination: a case series. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2(1): 44–53. Kearns, H., Forbes, A., & Gardiner, M. (2007) A cognitive behavioural coaching intervention for the treatment of perfectionism and self-handicapping in a non-clinical population. Behaviour Change, 24(3): 157–172. Kirby, P. (1993). RET counselling: Application in management and executive development. Journal for Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 11(1): 51–57. Lazarus, A. A. (1981). The Practice of Multimodal Therapy. New York: McGraw-Hill. Lazarus, A. A. (1984). In the Mind’s Eye. New York: Guilford Press. Libri, V., & Kemp, T. (2006). Assessing the efficacy of a cognitive behavioural executive coaching programme. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(2): 9–20. Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M. J., Tom, S. M., Pfeifer, J. H., & Way, B. M. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18: 421–428. Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Meichenbaum, D. (1985). Stress Inoculation Training. New York: Pergamon. Milner, P., & Palmer, S. (1998). Integrative Stress Counselling: A Humanistic Problem Focused Approach. London: Cassell. Neenan, M., & Palmer, S. (2000). Problem focused counselling and psychotherapy. In S. Palmer (ed.) Introduction to Counselling and Psychotherapy: The Essential Guide. London: Sage Publications. Neenan, M., & Palmer, S. (2001). Cognitive behavioural coaching. Stress News, 13(3): 15–18. Neenan, M., & Palmer, S. (2012). Cognitive Behavioural Coaching in Practice: An Evidence Based Approach. Hove: Routledge. Neenan, S., & Dryden, W. (2014). Life Coaching: A Cognitive-Behavioural Approach. Hove: Brunner-Routledge. Palmer, S. (1992). Stress management interventions. Counselling News, 7: 12–15. Palmer, S. (1995). A comprehensive approach to industrial rational emotive behaviour stress management workshops. Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapist, 1: 45–55. Palmer, S. (2002). Cognitive and organisational models of stress that are suitable for use within workplace stress management/prevention coaching, training and counselling settings. Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapist, 10(1): 15–21. Palmer, S. (2007a). Cognitive coaching in the business world. Inaugural lecture given at the Swedish Centre for Work Based Learning, Goteburg, Sweden, 8 February. Palmer, S. (2007b). PRACTICE: A model suitable for coaching, counselling, psychotherapy and stress management. The Coaching Psychologist, 3(2): 71–77. 126

Cognitive behavioural coaching

Palmer, S. (2008). Multimodal coaching and its application to workplace, life and health coaching. The Coaching Psychologist, 4(1): 21–29. Palmer, S. (2009). Rational Coaching: A cognitive behavioural approach. The Coaching Psychologist, 5(1): 12–18. Palmer, S. (2011). Revisiting the P in the PRACTICE coaching model. The Coaching Psychologist, 7(2): 156–158. Palmer, S., & Burton, T. (1996). People Problems at Work. London: McGraw-Hill. Palmer, S., & Cooper, C. (2013). How to Deal with Stress. London: Kogan Page. Palmer, S., Cooper, C., & Thomas, K. (2003). Creating a Balance: Managing Pressure. London: British Library. Palmer, S., & Dryden, W. (1995). Counselling for Stress Problems. London: Sage Publications. Palmer, S., & Gyllensten, K. (2008). How cognitive behavioural, rational emotive behavioural or multimodal coaching could prevent mental health problems, enhance performance and reduce work related stress. The Journal of Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, 26(1): 38–52. Palmer, S., & Neenan, M. (1998). Double imagery procedure. Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapist, 6(2): 89–92. Palmer, S., & Neenan, M. (2000). Problem-focused counselling and psychotherapy. In S. Palmer & R. Woolfe (eds.) Integrative and Eclectic Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage Publications. Palmer, S., & Puri, A. (2006). Coping with Stress at University: A Survival Guide. London: Sage Publications. Palmer, S., & Strickland, L. (1996). Stress Management: A Quick Guide. 2nd edition. Dunstable, UK: Folens. Sánchez-Mora García, M., Ballabriga, J. J., Celaya, J. V., Dalmau, R. C., & Palmer, S. (2012). The PRACTICE coaching model adapted to the Spanish language: From PRACTICE to IDEACIÓN. Coaching Psychology International, 5(1): 2–6. Sawyer, L. (2003). Integrating cognitive coachingSM with a framework for teaching. In J. Ellison & C. Hayes (eds.) Cognitive Coaching: Weaving Threads of Learning and Change into the Culture of an Organisation (pp. 151–162). Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon. Spaten, O. M. (2010). Coaching Forskning – Effekt af Coaching på Nystartede Studerende. Aalborg: Aalborg University. Spaten, O. M., Imer, A., & Palmer, S. (2012). From PRACTICE to PRAKSIS: Models in Danish coaching psychology. Coaching Psychology International, 5(1): 7–12. Spence, G. B., & Grant, A. M. (2007). Professional and peer life coaching and the enhancement of goal striving and well-being: An exploratory study. Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(3): 185–194. Szymanska, K., & Palmer, S. (2015). Cognitive behavioural therapy. In S. Palmer (ed.) The Beginner’s Guide to Counselling and Psychotherapy. 2nd edition. London: Sage Publications. Torbrand, P., & Ellam-Dyson, V. (2015). The experience of cognitive behavioural group coaching with college students: An IPA study exploring its effectiveness. International Coaching Psychology Review, 10(1): 76–93. Wasik, B. (1984). Teaching Parents Effective Problem-Solving: A Handbook for Professionals. Unpublished manuscript, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. Weiss, R., Edgerton, S., & Palmer, S. (2017). The SPACE coaching model: An integrative tool for coach therapists. Coaching Today, October, 12–17. Williams, H., & Palmer, S. (2013). The SPACE model in coaching practice: A case study. The Coaching Psychologist, 9(1): 45–47. Williams, H., Edgerton, N., & Palmer, S. (2010). Cognitive behavioural coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (eds.) The Complete Handbook of Coaching. London: Sage Publications.

127

Section 2

Humanistic approaches

10 Person-centred coaching psychology Stephen Joseph and Richard Bryant-Jefferies

Introduction Person-centred coaching psychology is designed to help people maximise the use of their talents and strengths, achieve more of their potential, and become more fully functioning in their personal and professional lives. It is a way of working with people based on the meta-theoretical assumption that people are intrinsically motivated toward becoming more autonomous, socially constructive, and optimally functioning. As such, the person-centred coaching psychologist holds that the coachee is their own best expert and that if they are able to offer the coachee an accepting authentic relationship in which they don’t feel judged or pushed, then the coachee’s intrinsic motivation will be released. In this chapter we will provide an overview of the development of the person-centred approach and a case example of its use in life coaching.

Development of the person-centred approach The person-centred approach was originally developed by the psychologist Carl Rogers (1951, 1961). Originally, he referred to his approach as non-directive therapy as the therapist does not direct the flow of the sessions but endeavours to follow the lead of the client. However, this term can be confusing, leading some to think, for example, that there is no direction. Rogers changed his description of the approach to client-centred therapy. This made it clear that the therapist is non-directive in order to be client-centred. Later the term client-centred came to be replaced by the term person-centred in recognition that this was a philosophical approach to helping that was not confined to the therapy room but could be employed in all settings from health-care, education, conflict resolution, and now coaching. Although there is controversy in the field of coaching about its relation to counselling, the personcentred approach is unique and unlike other therapeutic approaches because it is not concerned with ‘repairing’ or ‘curing’ dysfunctionality and never adopted the ‘diagnostic’ stance of the medical model in which the therapist is the expert. The focus of the person-centred practitioner, no matter where the coachee lies on the spectrum of psychological functioning, is to facilitate the self-determination of the coachee so that they can move toward more optimal functioning (Joseph, 2003, 2015). As such the person-centred approach is readily applicable to coaching psychology, which shares the philosophical stance that people are their own best experts (e.g. Kauffman, Joseph, & Scoular, 2015). Many coaches may practice in non-directive ways or be influenced by the concept of non-directivity without realising that the origin of their practice is person-centred therapy. 131

Stephen Joseph and Richard Bryant-Jefferies

The person-centred meta-theoretical perspective is an established psychological tradition supported by over sixty years of research and theory (see Barrett-Lennard, 1998) as well as recent developments in positive psychology (e.g. Joseph, 2015). This assumption that human beings have an inherent tendency toward growth, development, and optimal functioning provides the theoretical foundation that it is the coachee and not the coach who knows best (Joseph, 2003; Levitt, 2005). This serves as the guiding principle for personcentred practice, which in essence, is simply the principled stance of respecting the self-determination of others (Grant, 2004). Person-centred psychology is not a set of coaching techniques but an attitude based on the theoretical stance that people are their own best experts (Joseph, 2003; Levitt, 2005). It is this idea that people are their own best experts that is the basis of the non-directive approach

Theory and basic concepts Carl Rogers proposed the meta-theoretical perspective that human beings have an inherent tendency toward growth, development, and optimal functioning, which he termed the actualising tendency (see, Rogers, 1959, 1963). But these do not happen automatically. For people to self-actualise their inherent optimal nature they require the right social environment. The right social environment Rogers proposed was one in which the person feels understood, valued, and accepted for who they are. In such an environment, Rogers reasoned, people are inclined to self-actualise in a way that is congruent with their intrinsic actualising tendency, resulting in wellbeing and optimal functioning. But when people don’t feel understood, valued, or accepted for who they are, and only feel valued for being the person they perceive someone else wants them to be, then they self-actualise in a way that is incongruent with their intrinsic actualising tendency, resulting in distress and dysfunction.

Necessary and sufficient conditions What the coach tries to do is to provide the right social environmental conditions. The terminology of Rogers’ (1957, 1959) theory will be familiar to psychologists, few of whom will not have heard the terms unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruence. However, it is perhaps the case that these three terms are so familiar that the depth of the theory is often overlooked and is mistaken for a much more superficial approach than it truly is. Rogers (1957) actually described six conditions that he held were necessary and sufficient for positive personality change in therapy (see Box 10.1). Rogers believed these conditions to underlie personality change in any successful helping relationship. As such, they can be applied to coaching.

Box 10.1 The necessary and sufficient conditions of constructive personality change 1

Two persons are in psychological contact.

2

The first, whom we shall call the client, is in a state of incongruence, being vulnerable or anxious.

3

The second person, whom we shall call the therapist, is congruent or integrated in the relationship.

4

The therapist experiences unconditional positive regard for the client.

5

The therapist experiences an empathic understanding of the client’s internal frame of reference and endeavours to communicate this experience to the client.

6

The communication to the client of the therapist’s empathic understanding and unconditional positive regard is to a minimal degree achieved. (Rogers, 1957, p. 96).

132

Person-centred coaching psychology

Condition one is referring to a precondition that, if not met, would mean that the following five conditions were redundant. What Rogers means by psychological contact is whether or not the two people are aware of each other and that the behaviour of one impacts on the other. So, for example, with someone who is in a catatonic state it would be difficult to judge whether there was psychological contact. In the second condition, incongruence is explained as consisting of an incompatibility between underlying feelings and awareness of those feelings, or an incompatibility between awareness of feelings and the expression of feelings. For example, the coachee who appears anxious but has no awareness themselves of feeling anxious would be said to be incongruent in terms of their underlying feelings and their awareness of those feelings. Someone who is aware of their anxiety but says that they are feeling relaxed would be said to be incongruent between awareness and expression. In the third condition, the coach is congruent; that is to say, he or she is accurately aware of their inner experience and their underlying thoughts and feelings and has the ability to express these thoughts and feelings appropriately in the context (Bozarth, 1998; Wyatt, 2001). That is to say, there is congruence between the internal cognitive and emotional states of the coach, their conscious awareness of those states, and their ability to articulate the expression of those states. In the fourth condition, the coach is able to provide unconditional positive regard; that is to say, he or she is able to warmly accept the coachee without imposing conditions of worth on the coachee. In the fifth condition, the coach has empathic understanding; that is to say, he or she is able to sense and have an appreciation of what the coachee’s experience must be like. Finally, in the sixth condition, the coachee perceives the coach’s empathy and unconditional acceptance. Rogers believed that if these six conditions were in existence then constructive personality change would occur, but only if all six were present, and the more that they were present the more marked would be the constructive personality change of the client. ‘the final condition . . . is that the client perceives, to a minimal degree, the acceptance and empathy which the therapist experiences for him. Unless some communication of these attitudes has been achieved, then such attitudes do not exist in the relationship as far as the client is concerned, and the therapeutic process could not, by our hypothesis, be initiated’. (Rogers, 1957). It is interesting that he uses the words ‘minimal degree’, suggesting that the client does not need to fully perceive the fullness of the empathy and unconditional positive regard present within, and communicated by, the counsellor. A glimpse accurately heard and empathically understood is enough to have positive, therapeutic effect although logically one might think that the more that is perceived, the greater the therapeutic impact. But if it is a matter of intensity and accuracy, then a client experiencing a vitally important fragment of their inner world being empathically understood may be more significant to them, and more therapeutically significant, than a great deal being heard less accurately and with a weaker sense of therapist understanding. The communication of the counsellors empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard, received by the client, create the conditions for a process of constructive personality change. (Bryant-Jefferies, 2005a, p. 11) The necessary and sufficient conditions outlined by Rogers (1957) equally well describe the attitudinal qualities of the person-centred coach and their practice in terms of their endeavour to be congruent, empathic, and to experience unconditional positive regard for their coachee. The fundamental idea of person-centred coaching is that these core attitudinal qualities are the social environment that facilitates the constructive expression of the actualising tendency. In an environment where the coachee does not feel judged or evaluated, they no longer feel the need to defend themselves, and congruent self-actualisation can therefore begin to take place.

133

Stephen Joseph and Richard Bryant-Jefferies

Non-directivity What this means in practice is that the person-centred coach is someone who has a deep understanding of themselves and is able to be present in an authentic way with the coachee. The coach strives to understand the coachee’s world from the coachee’s perspective, and they are accepting of the coachee’s directions in life without imposing their own agenda; that is to say, the self-determination of the coachee is paramount. Thus, the crux of person-centred coaching is not the provision of the relationship conditions per se, but the coach’s meta-theoretical assumption that people are intrinsically motivated towards constructive and optimal functioning and that under the right social environmental conditions this force is released. As Grant wrote: Client-centered therapists make no assumptions about what people need or how they should be free. They do not attempt to promote self-acceptance, self-direction, positive growth, self-actualization, congruence between real or perceived selves, a particular vision of reality, or anything. . . . Client-centered therapy is the practice of simply respecting the right to self-determination of others. (Grant, 2004, p. 158) Although discussing therapy, the point applies equally well to coaching that it is the respect for the selfdetermination of others that underpins the unconditional attitude of the coach and their principled stance of non-directivity (see, Levitt, 2005). As Brodley (2005) wrote: The non-directive attitude is psychologically profound; it is not a technique. Early in a therapist’s development it may be superficial and prescriptive – ‘Don’t do this’ or ‘Don’t do that’. But with time, self-examination and therapy experience, it becomes an aspect of the therapist’s character. It represents a feeling of profound respect for the constructive potential in persons and great sensitivity to their vulnerability. (Brodley, 2005, p. 3) This latter point, being accepting of the coachee’s directions without imposing one’s own, is as we have seen already, the crux of person-centred coaching (i.e. condition 4) and is communicated through the therapist’s congruence and empathy (see Bozarth, 1998). It is fundamental to the person-centred coach, because of his or her trust in the actualising tendency as the one central source of human motivation, that they do not intervene and have no intention of intervening. As Bozarth (1998) put it: The therapist goes with the client, goes at the client’s pace, goes with the client in his/her own ways of thinking, of experiencing, or processing. The therapist cannot be up to other things, have other intentions without violating the essence of person-centred therapy. To be up to other things – whatever they might be – is a ‘yes, but’ reaction to the essence of the approach. It must mean that when the therapist has intentions of treatment plans, of treatment goals, of interventive strategies to get the client somewhere or for the client to do a certain thing, the therapist violates the essence of person-centred therapy. (Bozarth, 1998, pp. 11–12) Within an authentic and emotionally literate relationship, people are able to drop their defences and get to know themselves better and feel free to make new choices in life. A further important aspect of the effective person-centred coaching relationship is the increased capacity for, and communication of, empathy, unconditional positive regard and congruence by the coachee towards the coach. As the coachee increasingly experiences and receives these qualities from the coach, their own capacity for experiencing and communicating them back are developed and enhanced. The coaching relationship in a person-centred context then assumes a genuinely mutual and collaborative quality in which both coachee and coach experience movement towards optimal functioning (Murphy, Cramer, & Joseph, 2012).

134

Person-centred coaching psychology

Research support A central question for any audience of psychologists is inevitably whether or not person-centred psychotherapy is an effective way of helping people. Early research throughout the 1960s and 1970s provided evidence consistent with Rogers’ hypothesis of the necessary and sufficient conditions (see Barrett-Lennard, 1998). However, over the next two decades the research tradition in person-centred psychotherapy dwindled, in large part because the next generation of research active psychologists tended to be interested in the developing cognitive approach to psychotherapy, and person-centred psychotherapy became increasingly a marginalised approach within mainstream psychology (Joseph, 2003). As a consequence, the question of whether the six conditions posited by Rogers are necessary and sufficient remains largely unanswered, with different researchers interpreting the available data very differently indeed. Researchers from traditions other than the person-centred one have tended to interpret the evidence to suggest that the conditions might be necessary, but that they are not always sufficient. Consequently, there is seen to be a need by therapists from other traditions to further intervene in some way – for example, by using various cognitive or behavioural techniques. However, person-centred therapists have interpreted the same data to suggest that the conditions might not be necessary, but that they are sufficient. It is thought that personal development and growth can also come about through a variety of vehicles of change, from religious conversions to traumatic experiences, and so the conditions might not be necessary, but when they are present they are sufficient (see Bozarth, 1998 for a review). There is therefore no need for further intervention. In support of the person-centred view, there is now overwhelming evidence for the importance of the therapeutic relationship (see, Bozarth & Motomasa, 2005; Duncan & Miller, 2000; Hubble & Miller, 2004; Murphy & Joseph, 2016; Wampold, 2001). Part of the problem in addressing the issue of whether the person-centred therapeutic conditions are necessary and sufficient is the fact that often therapy or coaching is undertaken to address a specific discomforting condition. Constructive personality change as defined by Rogers is an over-arching development of the person, affecting the whole person rather than being directed towards a specific goal of healing or resolving a particular set of emotional or psychological distresses. Rather, person-centred practice is designed to help facilitate the expression and experience of more authentic directions in a person’s life (Wood, Linley, Maltby, Baliousis, & Joseph, 2008).

Practice We will now describe the practice of person-centred coaching psychology in light of this discussion on the importance of the meta-theoretical perspective that the coachee is their own best expert and consider how it is that this work is also applicable to coaching psychology. The person-centred way of working does not make a distinction between people in terms of their level of psychological functioning because the process of alleviating distress and dysfunction is the same as that for facilitating well-being and optimal functioning (Joseph, 2015). Both ends of the spectrum of functioning are defined in relation to the extent to which self-actualisation is congruent with the actualising tendency. When there is greater congruence, greater well-being and more optimal functioning results. But when there is less congruence, greater distress and dysfunction results (see Ford, 1991; Wilkins, 2005).

Positive psychology The person-centred approach offers positive psychological perspective because of its unified and holistic focus on both the negative and the positive aspects of human functioning (Joseph & Worsley, 2005). Coaching psychology is the same activity requiring the same theoretical base, and the same practical skills, as required for working with people who are distressed and dysfunctional. Person-centred coaching psychology views understanding and enhancing optimal functioning and the alleviation of maladaptive functioning

135

Stephen Joseph and Richard Bryant-Jefferies

as a unitary task, as opposed to two separate tasks as is the case when viewed through the lens of the medical model (see Joseph, 2015). Person-centred coaching is not about the alleviation of distress and dysfunction per se, but it is about the facilitation of well-being and optimal functioning. However, from the personcentred perspective these are in reality a unitary task rather than two separate tasks. Thus, within the person-centred perspective, there is no theoretical difference between counselling and coaching. It doesn’t matter where the person starts. As Shlien, one of the founders of person-centred psychology, said in a talk originally given in 1956: . . . if the skills developed in psychological counselling can release the constructive capacities of malfunctioning people so that they become healthier, this same help should be available to healthy people who are less than fully functioning. If we ever turn towards positive goals of health, we will care less about where the person begins, and more about how to achieve the desired endpoint of the positive goals. (Shlien, 2003, p. 26)

Counselling versus coaching Depth and duration of training are the only issues therefore in determining where on the spectrum of psychological functioning a person-centred coaching psychologist is able to work. In terms of person-centred coaching psychology practice, the task of the coach is to nurture a social relationship which is experienced as authentic by the coachee and in which they feel accepted and understood. But although the therapeutic process is the same as in counselling, the fact that we have developed these different professional arenas based on the medical model creates difference in content (see Joseph, 2015). Quite simply, what terms we use will determine who seeks our assistance. The public understanding is that counselling is about looking back in life at what has gone wrong, whereas coaching is about looking forward to what can go right. If we offer counselling we will get those who want to look back, and if we offer coaching we will get those who want to look forward. The task of the person-centred practitioner is the same in either case, to be congruent, empathic, and unconditional in the relationship on the understanding that by doing so they will facilitate the person’s self-determination. Thus, at a theoretical process level, the person-centred psychologist’s task is always the same, be they employed as a coaching, counselling, or clinical psychologist, but at the practical level of content the sessions would be different simply because those seeking assistance will generally bring different material to counselling compared to coaching. A therapeutic approach such as person-centred affirms that it is not what you do so much as how you are with your client that is therapeutically significant, and this ‘how you are’ has to be received by the client. (Bryant-Jefferies, 2005b)

Which coachee’s benefits most? In this section we describe which type of coachees will find the approach helpful and the type of problems they would explore in coaching. As we have seen, the person-centred approach to counselling is based on an underpinning philosophy that people ultimately know what is the best direction for them to take in life, whether that is in their personal life or their business life. In a social environment where they feel accepted and understood, as conveyed by Rogers’ description of what constitutes a constructive relationship (Box 10.1), they are able to drop their defences sufficiently to be able to deeply listen to their inner wisdom – what Rogers referred to as the Organismic Valuing Process (OVP). Thus, they become able to analyse their situations more objectively, understand their own needs better, become more trusting of themselves, and become able to find their self-direction. As such, the approach can be helpful to a wide range of clients, insofar as they are seeking self-direction. For example, in business life this may involve choosing a 136

Person-centred coaching psychology

new career path, deciding whether to make an important business decision, or reflecting on one’s strategies as a manager. In personal life, it may have to do with whether to enter into a new relationship, how to deal with conflict in one’s marriage, or how to reconfigure one’s life after an illness. Person-centred coaching is in essence a way of helping people live more authentically. In practice, however, some coachees may find it difficult to engage with this way of working. For example, for a coachee whose levels of authenticity and self-direction are so minimal to begin with, or a coachee who is unable to make sufficient contact with others in relationships, the approach can feel overwhelming. It takes a skillfull coach to be able to work with such clients. For example, it may be useful for the coach to introduce some activities or techniques into the earlier sessions as a way of building trust and rapport, such that the coachee is able to find their pace and direction without feeling overwhelmed. When working with children and younger people this may often be the case, and the use of, for example, art materials or sand tray work can be helpful. The first author of this chapter employs the approach as a business and leadership coach and the second author as a life coach. In the following section we will demonstrate the use of the approach in life coaching.

Case study in life coaching1 Anne sat in the psychologist’s room. It was her third session. The first two sessions she had spent reflecting on her recent life, the end of her marriage with Dennis, how he had left her, how she had been so miserable and depressed, unable to do anything except dwell on the past, on what she had lost, and on the loss of the future that she had anticipated that they would be having together. It had all been so sudden. There she was, at 46 and falling apart. Her friends, her daughter, and her parents had all been supportive, but she had felt stuck. And it was only now, following the 12-month anniversary of his leaving, that she felt she needed to try and rebuild her life in some more sustainable way. The previous sessions she had ended saying that she felt she needed to start to look forward. She had greatly appreciated how Michael had listened to her, giving her the space she needed. She had felt heard in her struggle and her confusion. But she knew she did not want to dwell on it any more. Michael sat looking across at Anne. ‘So, last time you said you wanted to focus more on the way forward. Is that still how it is?’ He didn’t want to make assumptions. As a person-centred coaching psychologist he wanted to work with his coachees and not impose, or force, a process on them. At the heart of his approach lay an unwavering acceptance of the presence of the actualising tendency which he knew could be trusted to enable the person to move towards the most fulfilling and satisfying experiences that they needed or felt they could reach out to. ‘I do. I have to. I can’t keep on dwelling on the past. I can feel it there, though, part of me, and so many feelings, of anger and shame in particular. But I need to move on.’ ‘Mhmm, need to move on, move clear of those feelings.’ Michael kept his empathic response focused. ‘It’s like I need to build a new life, you know?’ ‘A sense of needing to build a new life.’ Michael slightly accented ‘new’; it was how he had heard Anne speak. Anne nodded. She felt able to continue. ‘I don’t know what it will look like, and that’s scary and a bit exciting, but mainly scary.’ ‘Yes, mainly scary, a little bit exciting. What will that future be like . . .?’ (1) Anne shrugged. She appreciated the way Michael spoke. He seemed unhurried, allowing her to hear her own words, hear herself somehow. It seemed to give her time to really be in touch with what was present for her.

137

Stephen Joseph and Richard Bryant-Jefferies

She felt herself take a deep breath and her heart began to thump a little. She felt anxious, slightly on edge. She didn’t like it. She tightened her lips and looked down. Michael felt the silence; it was as though it was suddenly very present. And he noticed Anne’s head movement. The suddenness of it. ‘I don’t want to disturb what is happening,’ Michael spoke softly, ‘but it feels like something has happened for you.’ Anne was very much within her own experiencing. Yet she wasn’t sure what it was. Just that somehow, what had just been said had left her feelings so, so . . . well, anxious, that was the only word for it. But she wasn’t sure why. She said nothing. In fact what was happening was material that was on the edge of her awareness was beginning to make it’s presence more clearly felt, material that perhaps contradicted her sense of self as a capable and confident woman in her own right. Her sense of self had taken a battering in recent months, but she had had good support and she had clung to knowing that she was a good person and that she just had to find a way through it all. (2) Michael respected the silence that had developed. For him, a silence required its own kind of special empathy that allowed the silence to be. He had acknowledged his sense as it had started, now he would leave Anne to be with what was present for her whilst maintaining his own warm acceptance of her as a person, his sensitivity to whatever she might say, and to his own inner experiencing as well. Anne took a deep breath and sighed. She looked up and into Michael’s eyes. He seemed to be so present in the room. But so did what was within her. She swallowed. The anxiety was shifting, it was taking on a fresh tone. It was the scariness. She’d mentioned it, but it had been more a case of just being words. It was now present in her experience and in her awareness. ‘I’m scared.’ The words were spoken quietly and Michael had to be very focused in his listening to hear them. He responded in a similar tone. ‘Scares you.’ Anne felt weak, her arms tingled and yet felt strangely heavy and numb. She felt hot. She swallowed and shook her head. ‘I – I can’t actually see myself sort of, I don’t know, enjoying myself. I can’t see how I’ll enjoy it on my own. And I can’t see myself with someone else. And . . .’ Her voice trailed off. ‘And . . .?’ Michael did not attempt to empathise with what had been said, it would take Anne away from where her process had brought her. He waited for her to say more, if she felt able, or felt that she wanted to. ‘And I have to, don’t I? I have to. I have to find a way. But part of me wants to shrink away, and yet I know, I know I have to move on.’ ‘Mhmm, that tension with part of you wanting to shrink away and another part knowing you have to move on.’ ‘Like a battle inside myself. And I’m scared in the middle of it.’ ‘Scared in the middle of a battle within yourself.’ Anne felt words forming as she heard Michael respond. ‘Scared in the middle of a battle that is myself.’ Michael nodded. ‘That is yourself.’ It felt an extremely important differentiation that Anne was making for herself. He trusted her process, he stayed with her, keeping his empathic responding simple and maintaining the warmth he felt for her, his acceptance of her as a person seeking to move through what was such a difficult process within herself, in the context of a difficult phase in her whole life. Anne found herself nodding. ‘That is myself. It feels like it’s come out, like I’m more sharply aware of it, of the choice, the battle, and I know I have to move forward. I know.’ She paused. ‘And yet it feels so uncertain, so scary.’ ‘You know you have to but you feel it’s so scary.’ ‘Like part of me wants to look forward but wants to shrink back, and another part wants to just, well, not look forward, but I’ve been there, been there for too long. I have to move on.’

138

Person-centred coaching psychology

‘Feels like you’ve been in that place for too long, and that however scary it feels, you have to move on.’ Anne nodded, aware that the anxiety had eased and the scariness, whilst still present, wasn’t so intense. ‘I need to make things happen. My daughter is really supportive. She wants me to go on holiday with her and, well, I’ve sort of been unsure, but, well, I know I need to, she’s right, it will be good for me, won’t it?’ (3) Michael did not want to say for sure, in truth he did not know. What mattered for him was that Anne made a decision based on her evaluation of her needs and not on what someone else thought was best for her. ‘It seems like whilst you feel unsure you also sort of know that she’s right. Is that how it is?’ Anne nodded, again taking a deep breath. ‘Yes, yes, there’s opportunity here for me, and it has to be a new me. I have to give myself a chance to grow into my future. And it won’t always be easy, will it?’ Michael smiled. ‘Not easy, but a chance to grow into your future.’ It sort of stood out somehow in amongst what Anne had said. He smiled as he empathised with it. It enabled Anne, as she felt herself being heard – both the sense of it not being easy and the sense of growing – to feel more clearly a sense of hope and direction. ‘So, what to do?’ ‘Mhmm, what do you want to do?’ Michael was not going to offer suggestions and slip into a directive approach to coaching. The uniqueness of the person-centred approach to coaching was that it maintained a non-directive stance, trusting the individual to make the constructive choices they needed to make, for them. (4) The question stayed with Anne. ‘I’ve got to make the effort to get out more, with friends, not give excuses to stay in and mope around.’ ‘OK, so something about getting out more with friends.’ ‘And, I guess, making new friends as well. I mean, I’ve sort of wondered about an evening class. Haven’t done anything like that in years, but it’s been a thought though I’ve pulled back from it.’ ‘The idea has been around for you but you’ve pulled back.’ ‘Not sure how I’ll cope, will I be OK, you know?’ ‘Mhmm, important questions, will I cope, will I be OK.’ ‘But I have to do it. And I’m going to take a more serious look at what’s on offer. Do you think that’s a good idea?’ ‘It sounds very positive.’ It did sound positive and Michael was being genuine in his response. But he again was sure to not give Anne the impression that she should do something because he agreed with it. He wanted her to feel sure, in herself, that it was what she wanted to do. When her knowing and her wanting coincided, her motivation would be so much stronger. (5) Anne nodded. ‘And I will plan that holiday with my daughter. And I guess just go out more with friends, but I don’t want to do things on my own.’ ‘No, doing things on your own is too much at the moment, you want to be with friends or your daughter.’ Anne nodded, yes, she thought, yes, that feels sort of safer somehow. Well, not so much safer, more realistic, believable. ‘I have to make it happen, don’t I?’ ‘My thought in response to that is “in your own time and in a way that feels right for you.”’ ‘Yes, people are good at telling you what you ought to do, but I don’t like that, I don’t want to feel pushed. People have been telling me, but it’s too much. Now it feels like it’s possible.’ Anne paused, collecting her thoughts. ‘Yes, I need to find my own way, my own pace. I’ve stayed on the sidelines for long enough.’ ‘Mhmm, that sounds very clear, that sense of having been on those sidelines for long enough.’ (6) Anne felt a renewed sense of motivation. Yes, she’d been there, done that, and it had played its part in her coming to terms with things, but now she had to move on and had some ideas as to how and where to begin.

139

Stephen Joseph and Richard Bryant-Jefferies

Commentary This case illustrates that the person-centred approach does not prescribe what the coachee should do but is grounded in the meta-theoretical assumption that people have an inherent tendency toward growth, development, and optimal functioning, and thus the coach is able to trust the coachee to find her own directions. In particular, it illustrates the role of the empathy and warm acceptance of the coach for their coachee, the importance of relationship building as a prelude to the coaching process, and the coach’s ability to trust the coachee to find her own directions. Also, we chose this example because it illustrates the interface there is between counselling and coaching. Here, there is a shift in focus as the coachee moves from exploring issues in her past to making new decisions and setting goals for herself in the future. Although the case study shows how person-centred coaching psychology is not defined by the use of techniques but by the relationship that develops, we would emphasise that there is no prohibition of the use of techniques per se. There has been much theoretical and practical development in the world of person-centred therapy over recent years, and the idea of the coachee as expert can be interpreted in various ways in practice. The coaching psychologist is able to draw ideas and ways of working (see Sanders, 2004), ranging from the classical person-centred approach to therapy (Merry, 2004), with its principled role of going with the coachee, at the coachee’s pace, through to more process directed approaches (Worsley, 2001; Worsley, 2004). What is different about the person-centred way of working is that the techniques, when they are used, become an expression of the meta-theoretical assumptions of person-centred theory (see Joseph, 2015). It is not the fact that the coach uses a particular technique or assessment devise that is the issue, but how they use it.

Process description At (1) above, the person-centred coach is capturing the dilemma that the coachee is facing, letting her hear what he has heard, being, if you like, a mirror not only to her words but to her feelings. Her future seems a bit scary, exciting, uncertain; he holds her on the wonder of what it will be like, allowing her to look ahead and to contemplate what it means for her. Being heard allows her to be more open to her own experiencing; anxiety emerges and at (2) we see material from the edge of the coachee’s awareness begin to emerge. Though her awareness has not yet become open to the content, the presence of the anxiety is an indicator that what is emerging is in some way uncomfortable and perhaps challenging to her self-concept. Mearns and Thorne (2000) write of ‘edge of awareness’ material, of elements that are present within the organism’s experience but are not present in the person’s awareness. As the content emerges and as it is grasped and understood by the coachee, the anxiety eases (3). This may not always be the case. Material that emerges can profoundly disrupt the person’s concept of self. The person-centred coach will not be forcing this material to the surface; his or her role is to offer the therapeutic and relational conditions within which the coachee’s own process will allow this to happen. The coachee is looking forward, seeking a positive direction, but she is now becoming more fully open to her own experiencing and therefore more fully present. From this place she can more realistically embrace her vision of the future and her motivation is likely to be more focused and certainly less fragmented by the internal contradictions within herself which in this case stem from that which is trying to hold her back. The coachee is still left with a not knowing, a ‘what to do?’ (4), and the person-centred coaching psychologist allows this question to be. It is not for him to answer it. The non-directive stance of the person-centred approach is crucially important. The coachee is trusted to find their own direction (5), aligning with Rogers’ assertion that ‘individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding, and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behaviour; these resources can be tapped if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided’ (Rogers, 1980, p. 115)

140

Person-centred coaching psychology

The coachee begins to recognise what she needs to do, and a strategy begins to emerge, driven by her knowing what is called for. And she wants this as well, although, as she acknowledges, another part of her wants to pull her back. Yet the person-centred coach knows the importance of allowing the coachee’s wanting and knowing to become as one, but in a way that enables the coachee to recognise and experience those elements that are pulling her back. There needs to be a fullness, more of a completeness in her awareness so that she can find the energy and the clarity of direction that will enable her to take action. Again, though, when the time is right for her. As the coachee affirms to herself her need to make changes, and her readiness to make changes, she is actually processing her experience of herself within her awareness within the session. At point (6) the coachee has journeyed and the coach powerfully responds not to all that has been said as might be encouraged in ‘empathic reflection’ but picks up on where the coachee’s process has taken her. This is powerful. It holds the coachee in the place that she has reached for herself. It is affirmed and from this point she may then move on, or she may discover some other element within her nature blocking her progress. If so, space will be given for this to be acknowledged and explored. The person-centred coach knows that if something emerges then the timeliness of that emergence should be trusted. Often people grow in spurts, sometimes in quite radical ways. It can seem as though what Mearns and Thorne term as ‘the restraint of social mediation’ is broken through, the conditions of worth that hold a person back from realising potentialities are shattered. Of course, such spurts may not always be sustainable, and they highlight that perhaps what is needed is a healthy balance, a gradual movement which embraces an on-going process of dialogue between the actualising tendency and the restraints of social mediation. (2000, p. 180). The person-centred coaching psychologist will offer scope for this within the sessions with their coachees. Where the person-centred coaching psychologist’s approach will probably be unique within the field of coaching will be their readiness to allow this dialogue to be fully present and not to side with what would be perceived as the growth aspect and to try and force growth. Another way of viewing this process might be from the perspective of ‘growthful’ and ‘not for growth’ configurations within self (Mearns & Thorne, 2000, pp. 114–116). In the final analysis, the coach’s roles will be to: provide the therapeutic conditions, the therapeutic relationship, and therefore the opportunity for constructive personality change, whatever form it takes for the individual concerned. (Bryant-Jefferies, 2005c, p. 20) This lies at the very heart of the person-centred approach. The above example illustrates its use in life coaching. However, this does not mean that the person-centred approach is only applicable to life coaching. The notion of a non-directive or person-centred approach can also be important in business or executive coaching where the aim is to help develop self-determination and authenticity (Kauffman, Joseph, & Scoular, 2015).

Conclusion The person-centred approach has much to offer the field of coaching psychology. It provides a robust theoretical system for defining and understanding psychological processes – including both those that limit and those that enhance the person. It contains, within its theory, a central notion of an actualising tendency, urging the individual to achieve a fuller and more satisfying life experience. It emphasises a well-researched set of relational principles which, when present, foster the fuller emergence of this tendency within and through the person, bringing with it the possibility of achieving greater human potential. Nothing is 141

Stephen Joseph and Richard Bryant-Jefferies

imposed. The coachee’s psychological processes are trusted and encouraged in the experience of a personenhancing, person-to-person coaching relationship. It is a non-directive approach to helping that aims to foster the self-determination of the coachee.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

What are the key relational factors that need to be present for effective person-centred coaching? How does the person-centred coach ensure that the coachee is developing in ways that are true to themselves? What is the difference between coaching and counselling as seen from the perspective of the personcentred approach? What are the strengths and weaknesses of applying a non-directive approach to coaching?

Note 1 The use of fictitious dialogue in this way has been developed by Richard Bryant-Jefferies in his Living Therapy series of books on person-centred counselling published by Routledge.

Suggested readings Joseph, S. (2015). Positive therapy: Building bridges between positive psychology and person-centred psychotherapy. London: Routledge. Levitt, B. E. (Ed.) (2005). Embracing non-directivity: Reassessing person-centered theory and practice in the 21st century. Rosson-Wye: PCCS Books. Rogers, C. R. (1959). A theory of therapy, personality, and interpersonal relationships as developed in the client-centered framework. In S. Koch (Ed.), Psychology: A study of a science, Vol. 3: Formulations of the person and the social context (pp. 184–256). New York: McGraw-Hill. Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.

References Barrett-Lennard, G. T. (1998). Carl Rogers’ helping system: Journey and substance. London: Sage. Bozarth, J. D. (1998). Person-centred therapy: A revolutionary paradigm. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books. Bozarth, J. D., & Motomasa, N. (2005). Searching for the core: The interface of client: Centered principles with other therapies. In S. Joseph & R. Worsley (Eds.), Person-centred psychopathology: A positive psychology of mental health. Rosson-Wye: PCCS Books. Brodley, B. T. (2005). About the non-directive attitude. In B. E. Levitt (Ed.), Embracing non-directivity: Reassessing personcentered theory and practice in the 21st century (pp. 1–4). Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books. Bryant-Jefferies, R. (2005a). Counselling for problem gambling. Abingdon: CRC Press, p. 11. Bryant-Jefferies, R. (2005b). Counselling for eating disorders in men. Abingdon: CRC Press. Bryant-Jefferies, R. (2005c). Counselling victims of warfare. Abingdon: CRC Press. Duncan, B., & Miller, S. (2000). The heroic client: Doing client-directed, outcome Informed therapy. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass. Ford, J. G. (1991). Rogerian self-actualization: A clarification of meaning. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 31, 101–111. Grant, B. (2004). The imperative of ethical justification in psychotherapy: The special case of client-centered therapy. Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, 3, 152–165. Hubble, M. A., & Miller, S. D. (2004). The client: Psychotherapy’s missing link for promoting a positive psychology. In P. A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp. 335–353). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Joseph, S. (2003). Client-centred psychotherapy: Why the client knows best. The Psychologist, 16, 304–307. Joseph, S. (2015). Positive therapy: Building bridges between positive psychology and person-centred psychotherapy. London: Routledge. Joseph, S., & Worsley, R. (2005). A positive psychology of mental health: The person-centred perspective. In S. Joseph & R. Worsley (Eds.), Person-centred psychopathology: A positive psychology of mental health (pp. 348–357). Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books.

142

Person-centred coaching psychology

Kauffman, C., Joseph, S., & Scoular, A. (2015). Leadership coaching and positive psychology. In S. Joseph (Ed.), Positive psychology in practice: Promoting human flourishing in work, health, education and everyday life. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Levitt, B. E. (Ed.) (2005). Embracing non-directivity: Reassessing person-centered theory and practice in the21st century. Rosson-Wye: PCCS Books. Mearns, D., & Thorne, B. (2000). Person-centred therapy today. London: Sage Publications. Merry, T. (2004). Classicial client-centred therapy. In P. Sanders (Ed.), The tribes of the person-centred nation: An introduction to the schools of therapy related to the person-centred approach (pp. 21–44). Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books. Murphy, D., Cramer, D., & Joseph, S. (2012). Mutuality in person-centered therapy: A new agenda for research and practice. Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, 11, 109–123. Murphy, D., & Joseph, S. (2016). Person-centered therapy: Past, present and future orientations. In D. J. Cain, K. Keenan & S. Rubin (Eds.), Humanistic psychotherapies: Handbook of research and practice (pp. 185–218). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Rogers, C. R. (1951). Client-centred therapy: It’s current practice, implications and theory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21, 95–103. Rogers, C. R. (1959). A theory of therapy, personality, and interpersonal relationships as developed in the client-centered framework. In S. Koch (Ed.), Psychology: A study of a Science,Vol. 3: Formulations of the person and the social context (pp. 184–256). New York: McGraw-Hill. Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. Rogers, C. R. (1963). The actualizing tendency in relation to “motives” and to consciousness. In M. R. Jones (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation, Vol. 11 (pp. 1–24). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. Rogers, C. R. (1980). A way of being. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. Sanders, P. (2004). The tribes of the person-centred nation: An introduction to the schools of therapy related to the person-centred approach. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books. Shlien, J. M. (2003). Creativity and psychological health. In P. Sanders (Ed.), To lead an honourable life: Invitations to think about client-centered therapy and the person-centered approach (pp. 19–29). Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books. Wampold, B. E. (2001). The great psychotherapy debate: Models, methods, and findings. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Wilkins, P. (2005). Person-centred theory and “mental illness”. In S. Joseph & R. Worsley (Eds.), Person-centred psychopatholgy: A positive psychology of mental health (pp. 43–59). Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books. Wood, A. M., Linley, P. A., Maltby, J., Baliousis, M., & Joseph, S. (2008). The authentic personality: A theoretical and empirical conceptualisation and the development of the authenticity scale. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 55, 385–399. Worsley, R. (2001). Process work in person-centred therapy. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Worsley, R. (2004). Integrating with integrity. In P. Sanders (Ed.), The tribes of the person-centred nation: An introduction to the schools of therapy related to the person-centred approach (pp. 125–148). Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books. Wyatt, G. (Ed.) (2001). Rogers’ therapeutic conditions: Evolution, theory and practice, Vol. 1: Congruence. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books.

143

11 Motivational interviewing An approach for coaching psychologists Jonathan Passmore and Alison Whybrow

Introduction Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative, person-centred form of guiding to elicit and strengthen motivation for change (Miller & Rollnick, 2009: 137). The coach works collaboratively with the coachee, supporting them to enhance their intrinsic motivation towards personal behavioural change by helping them resolve their historical ambivalence to the change they face (Resnicow, DiIorio, Soet, Borrelli, Hecht, & Ernst, 2002; Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Motivational Interviewing (MI) has its roots in the Rogerian, humanistic counselling style. Unlike the behavioural approaches to coaching, which are based on the concept of behaviour being the result of external reinforcement or extrinsic motivators such as pay, praise and status, MI focuses explicitly on enhancing intrinsic motivation. The underlying view of the MI approach is that lasting and meaningful change occurs when an individual is intrinsically motivated. Using MI techniques, the coach explores the values and goals of the coachee, analyses how their current behaviour may be out of step with their ideal behaviours, and helps the coachee resolve this conflict. The aim is that it is the coachee who begins verbalising to the coach why change may be beneficial, whilst the coach offers an empathic, reflective environment, helping the coachee stay focused on ‘change talk’ (Miller & Rollnick, 2012). A core belief within the process is the innate capacity of individuals to naturally evolve in a healthful direction under conditions of acceptance and support, where people use their own positive, creative energy and insight to discover the best solutions for themselves (Miller & Rollnick, 2002).

Development of MI MI was developed by an American psychologist, William Miller, through his endeavour to answer the question “Why do people change?” His work drew on his experiences of observing alcohol-dependent clients in therapy. He found that change processes in therapy mirrored natural change outside therapy. A key predictive factor as to whether people would change or not was the way they spoke about change in therapy. He argued that substance abusing clients who make statements indicative of high motivation and commitment to change are those most likely to make change. Further, the therapist has a role to play in working with clients, helping them to strength their commitment to change (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Miller observed that the style of therapeutic interaction affects the frequency of change talk, with empathic styles facilitating change talk and confrontational methods generating resistance, resulting in less active change. 144

Motivational interviewing

Most of the evidence base for MI comes from the clinical psychology environment where MI has been referenced in the addiction literature, and there is strong data for its successful application in alcohol and substance abuse counselling (Burke, Arkowitz, & Menchola, 2003; Miller & Moyers, 2002; Solomon & Fioritti, 2002). MI has also been applied to the field of chronic illness management, helping people with diabetes, for example, to achieve better control of blood glucose (Channon, Smith, & Gregory, 2003; Prochaska & Zinman, 2003). MI has also been shown to be effective in encouraging teenagers to change their behaviour, increasing their use of contraceptives (Cowley, Farley, & Beamis, 2002). More recently the authors (Miller & Rollnick, 2012) have produced a revised edition of the core text and revisions to the approach, based on the results from multiple evaluation studies. The specific use of MI in coaching have grown since the first edition of this book, with a number of papers and book chapters being written about the application of MI theory (Anstiss & Passmore, 2012, 2013; Passmore, 2014) and practice (Passmore, 2011, 2012a, 2012b, 2013a, 2013b). The research of the application of MI coaching, however, remains scant. However, the wider body of MI research is substantical (for example Project Match, 1997) which has demonstrated MI efficacy in domains such as alcohol and drug addiction treatment. However, one example applying MI in a more common coaching context is the use of MI coaching to produce better health outcomes for patients being treated for cardiac conditions (Kazel, 1998). Having continued to use MI in our own coaching we continue to see the value in applying MI methods with coaches and the opportunity for MI to be a mainstream coaching psychology approach alongside CBC and behavioural approaches.

Theory and concepts of MI The MI approach draws together a number of concepts within the broader psychological and psychology of change literature which are weaved into this section. However, there are three underlying tenets to the approach, which we specifically discuss. First, the need for the coach’s style to match the coachees’ readiness to change. Second, the concept of motivation to change and how it develops. Here, we consider motivation to change as individuals who are ‘ready, willing and able to make a change’. In the ‘ready, willing and able’ triumvirate, no amount of readiness will compensate for perceived inability (Rollnick, 1998), which leads to the third concept, that of self-efficacy. The coach needs to work with the coachee to develop the three strands in parallel. First then is the need for the coach to continually assess the coachee’s state of readiness to change towards the target behaviour. The Transtheoretical Model of Change initially developed by (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1992) is a well-researched and influential model, describing how people prepare to change their behaviour and how successful change is maintained. The model argues that individuals progress through certain stages as part of a change cycle, see Table 11.1. Movement through the stages is not always a straight path from pre-contemplation to maintenance, with relapse to an earlier stage and spiralling through the stages typically occurring before long-term Table 11.1 Change cycle Stage

Behaviour

Pre-contemplative The possibility of change has not been considered by the coachee Contemplative

The coachee is considering the benefits and disadvantages of change, resulting in ambivalence

Preparation

The coachee is making preparations for action

Action

The coachee is making attempts to change

Maintenance

Successful change in behaviour has occurred and has been maintained for 6 months

Source: (based on Prochaska & DiClemente, 1992).

145

Jonathan Passmore and Alison Whybrow

maintenance is achieved. The Transtheoretical Model argues that people experience different thought patterns at different stages of change, with consciousness raising, where a person learns new facts or ideas that support making change, occurring at the ‘contemplation’ stage, and self-liberation, with making a firm commitment to change, occurring at the ‘action stage’ (Perz, Diclemente, & Carbonari, 1996). Likewise, the balance between the pros and cons of a particular behaviour varies with an individual’s stage of change. For example, a coachee in the preparation stage is suggested to experience more negative cognitions and emotions towards their current behaviour than a person in the contemplation stage of change (Prochaska & Zinman, 2003). People vary in their motivation to change throughout the change cycle. Thus, the coach’s interventions and style of helping need to be tailored to meet the coachee’s stage of change. Motivational Interviewing is thought to be particularly useful to overcome ambivalence to change. Ambivalence keeps people stuck in their current suboptimal behaviour and not able to make changes, even when they want to. From an MI perspective, ambivalence is seen as a natural part of the change process, indeed resistance is described as being at the heart of change. Identifying and exploring this barrier is a key challenge for the motivational coach. Exploration of resistance is managed using non-confrontational methods, such as collaboration and empathy, as opposed to more directive methods such as authority (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Ambivalence is particularly thought to occur in the pre-contemplative, contemplative or sometimes preparation stages. Ambivalence can be identified in the coachee’s dialogue and typically involves statements such as “I want to work fewer hours, but if I stop, then I won’t be able to . . .” At this point, a directive response from the coach (for example, offering advice or options of action) is likely to increase resistance from the coachee. Resistance is likely to be expressed through behaviours such as arguing, interrupting, denying, ignoring and ‘yes but’ responses from the coachee (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Resistance behaviours in part are seen to result from a mismatch between the coachee’s stage of change and the coach’s approach, leading to frustration for both the coach and the coachee. It has been found that the more a person argues against change, the less likely it is that change will occur (Miller, Benefield, & Tonigan, 1993), in part due to the human desire to be regarded as consistent (Hargie & Dickson, 2004). In sum, if a person is ambivalent about change, a confrontational approach, such as increasing the negative consequences of a particular behaviour as a deterrent, is more likely to entrench rather than reduce the target behaviour, with an individual identifying and verbalising further the benefits of maintaining the status quo. Even what is perceived as gentle persuasion, perhaps where the coach highlights the urgency or potential benefits of change, generally increases resistance and diminishes the probability of change (Miller & Rollnick, 1991). As well as being mindful of the coachee’s language, the coach can simply ask the coachee to rate their perceived readiness to change on a scale of 0–10 (0 = not at all interested in changing; 10 = they have already made the change). A coachee’s motivation to change is seen as stemming from the perceived discrepancy between the coachee’s values and goals and their current behaviours. For successful change to occur, the individual needs to be willing to believe that the target behaviour is important, i.e. in line with their values, and be ready to make the change a priority in her or his life. “MI will not induce behaviour change unless the coachee believes that such change serves a higher intrinsic value and is in his or her own best interest” (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Similarly, change will not occur unless the individual feels that it is congruent with who they are (e.g. Hargie & Dickson, 2004). From a humanistic perspective, MI facilitates coachees in defining their current and ideal selves; movement can then be pursued from the current towards the ideal. A coachee may become aware that their current, perhaps problematic, behaviours meet certain short-term needs but do not fulfil more deeply held values or long-term satisfaction. Through general coaching techniques, such as open questions and active listening, the coachee will describe to the coach the discrepancy between current and ideal behaviours valued by themselves. Focusing on the coachee’s values increases an individual’s sense of importance of change 146

Motivational interviewing

and helps a person to detect how their current behaviours may be incoherent with the ideal (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Coaches using the MI approach should not seek to develop discrepancy at the expense of other MI principles. The coach empathically and gradually focuses the coachee’s attention on the discrepancy that they themselves have identified and which is at the heart of the coachee’s own ambivalence. Focusing on the coachee’s themes can decrease defensiveness and increase desire for change by shifting focus away from negative behaviours and towards a focus on a positive lifestyle and potentially more deeply satisfying performance goals (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). The third element of MI referred to earlier involves the concept of self-efficacy, i.e. a person’s belief in their ability to carry out and succeed at a task (Bandura, 1977). Without this perception of ability to make the desired changes, change will not take place. These three concepts of MI are related. Readiness, for example, relies on a perception of intrinsic importance and confidence to change. A coachee who does not see change as important is unlikely to be ready to change. Furthermore, a coachee who perceives change to be impossible is unlikely to rate their readiness to change as very high. Exploring coachee ambivalence through MI helps to clarify which of these three concepts is keeping a client stuck in ambivalence, in turn identifying to the coach which aspect of motivation needs to be the focus of change talk. The MI approach is consistent with other psychological approaches to change in that there is no ‘right way’ to change, and if one given plan for change does not work, a coachee is only limited by their creativity as to the number of other approaches that may be tried (Miller & Rollnick, 2002).

Practice Here we explore how Motivational Interviewing can be applied by coaching psychologists. For MI to be an effective approach, the coaching relationship needs to be collaborative with a good rapport. This basis is likely to facilitate the coachee’s trust more so than a relationship that is coercive or hierarchical (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). The approach advocates empathy and support, rather than criticism of the coachee’s efforts. The relationship is compared to a partnership (Miller & Rollnick, 1991), with the coachee taking responsibility for their own progress. The goals and methods of change need to come from the coachee to increase the likelihood of long-term success. Overall, the coaching interaction should feel more like ‘dancing’ and not like ‘wrestling’ with the coachee. Feedback and suggestions from the coach are only seen as useful once the coachee becomes ready to consider them, once the coachee has resolved ambivalence and is getting ready to take action. MI has two distinct phases, the first of which can be likened to climbing a hill. This phase involves exploring ambivalence and building intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy for change. Several useful elements that are particularly effective for this phase of exploration include: • • • •

Open questions Reflective listening statements Confidence to change assessment using the ruler method Offering affirmation.

Open questions facilitate information from the coachee and drives forward the coaching process. For example, “I’d like to understand how you see things, what’s brought you here?” The coachee, after all, should be doing most of the talking with the coach actively listening. Reflective listening statements should constitute the majority of responses from the coach. The essence of reflective listening is that the coach checks, rather than assumes, the meaning of what the coachee has said. For example, a coachee may express “I wish I had more time to spend on the project”. Possibilities of what the coachee means by this statement include: I wish I had more time to think about the project – to discuss 147

Jonathan Passmore and Alison Whybrow

the project – to plan the project – or it may be that the project is not very high on the priorities list. An example of reflective listening statements is given below: Coachee: Coach: Coachee: Coach:

“I’ve been referred by my boss for this coaching”. “You’ve been asked by your manager to attend this discussion”. “I don’t really feel that it’s fair. In fact most of what he does is not fair”. “And that doesn’t seem right to you and you feel frustrated by your manager’s actions”.

Miller & Rollnick (2002) distinguish between questions, where voice tone goes up at the end, in comparison with reflective statements, where voice tone goes down. Reflective statements demonstrate active listening and empathy to the coachee and encourage verbalisation of further change talk (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Reflection is not a passive process, but it is the coach who decides what to reflect on and what to ignore. Skilful reflection moves forward, rather than just repeating, what the coachee has said, adding momentum to the exploration process – but not too far, to avoid potential resistance. Where the need to change is high (the change is important), but the confidence to change is low, ambivalence may be expressed by the coachee (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). This situation can be easily assessed using a ‘confidence ruler’. Here the coachee is asked to rate their confidence to make the necessary changes on a scale of 0–10 (0 = low confidence to make change; 10 = high confidence to make change). To understand what is underpinning the coachee’s confidence, or lack of it, two questions are used to explore the coachee’s self-assessment on the confidence ruler: • •

“Why are you an X on the confidence scale and not a zero?” “What would it take for you to go from X to a higher number?”

Offering affirmations also has an important place in MI. Affirmations facilitate an atmosphere of acceptance, helping to build confidence to change in the coachee and a belief that they can overcome their current situation. During phase one, the techniques highlighted above help clarify and explore ambivalence; however, there is a danger of the coachee becoming stuck in ambivalence. Some of the techniques above can be used by the coach move carefully towards change. However, when the coachee is stuck, to maintain or restart momentum the coach can use more directive techniques to elicit and encourage reflection on change talk. The ability to recognise change talk is a key element of the MI coach’s skills. Change talk can be differentiated along a dimension moving from a focus on the current situation towards stating a clear intention to change (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). A coachee may begin to discuss the disadvantages of the status quo, e.g. “I cannot do what they want”, or recognise the advantages of change “I would begin to enjoy work like I used to”. Change talk can involve expressing optimism or intention to change, e.g. “I could rearrange some of my daily tasks” or “I can’t keep going on like this indefinitely”. Change talk can be provoked or elicited through a conscious focus on the part of the coach. To elicit change talk, the ruler method described previously can be utilised. For example, it may be appropriate to clarify the coachee’s rating of importance to address change and then to ask: • •

“Why are you at an X and not a zero in terms of the importance of makig this change?” “What would it take for you to go from X to a higher number?”

It may be useful for a coachee to fill in a decisional balance sheet to reflect and reinforce the resolution of ambivalence previously explored and discussed with the client. The decisional blanace sheet is a simple list of the pros and cons of the current state of affairs, compared with the pros and cons for making a change to the new behaviour or goal. 148

Motivational interviewing

Whether a person will continue to explore change talk or veer away depends on how the coach responds. However, the skilful handling of resistance will either increase or decrease change talk. When resistance occurs, it indicates that that there is a mismatch between the coach and coachee. The coach therefore regards resistance as an opportunity rather than a character flaw. Further, rather than relying on simple reflective statements, amplified reactions with an exaggerated emphasis on the outcome encourage the coachee to elicit the opposite argument to their ambivalence. For example: Coachee: Coach:

“I couldn’t go on a training course, what would my colleagues think if I failed?” “You couldn’t handle your colleagues’ reactions?”

It is important that amplified reflections must be made in a supportive, matter of fact tone, with no hint of impatience or sarcasm, which is likely to then elicit resistance (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Finally, reframing is a technique which acknowledges the validity of the coachee’s claim, but the information is reflected back in a new light, more supportive of change. For example: Coachee: Coach:

“I’ve tried so many times to change and failed”. “It sounds as though you are determined in the face of a challenge; this change must be important to you”.

Emphasising personal choice and control or shifting the focus away from the resistance are other useful strategies to help the coach roll with, and not against, the coachee’s expressed resistance. Stage two of the Motivational Interviewing approach is likened to journeying down the other side of the hill. It involves strengthening the coachee’s commitment to a collaborative change plan. The coach needs to look for signs of readiness within the coachee to discuss options for change. These signs include: • • •

decreased resistance an increase in questions about change decreased discussion about the problem from the coachee’s perspective.

The coach can then shift direction to strengthening commitment to change. To maximise motivation, this involves creating coachee driven goals, those that the coachee is eager to pursue. If a goal is inappropriate, this will soon become apparent to the coachee. The coach does not impose their own goals on the coachee. The goal also has to be realistic; too large a goal between ideal and current behaviour may decrease confidence to change (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Following goal clarification, the next step is to consider methods to achieve the goals. One route to achieve this would be to brainstorm a menu of options; the coachee’s task is then to select a preferred option. This discussion leads towards devising a plan for change, including summarising issues such as: why change is important, how specific goals can be reached, predicting obstacles and evaluating how change will be measured. Once the change plan is devised, the coach must obtain the coachee’s commitment to the plan. From our experience, the more the coachee verbalises the plan, the more commitment is strengthened. Motivational Interviewing is an interpersonal style, a balance of directive and client-centred components, aiming to resolve ambivalence. If it becomes a manipulative technique, the spirit of MI has been lost (Miller, 1994). The key aspects of MI may be summarised as: • • • •

Empathising with the coachee’s perspective through summaries Keeping the coachee focused on change through reflecting on change talk offered by the coachee Continually monitoring readiness to change Affirming and reinforcing the coachee’s proposed methods of change. 149

Jonathan Passmore and Alison Whybrow

Which coachees benefit most? The underpinning perspective of MI used as part of the psychological coaching and general coaching frameworks can enhance the dynamics of all coaching interactions and facilitate seamless movement towards coaching goals. MI as an approach is also a valuable tool for specific coaching assignments that we have outlined below. Motivational Interviewing focused on overcoming ambivalence suits situations where the coachee may not be the client but has been referred by others. This arises in two main ways within an organisational context. First, where the organisation as part of a wider programme has commissioned coaching for a group of managers, and an individual within the group expresses major concerns about their organisation or about their competence but is reluctant to see the coaching as a potential resource to overcome the issue. The implication for the individual is that in the short to medium term the organisation will address the attitudinal or performance issues through capability or disciplinary procedure. We have encountered a number of coachees whose situation reflects this and where more traditional behavioural and cognitive interventions did not, during the early sessions, enable the person to move forward. In these situations, the coachee seemed highly resistant to change, yet they continued to attend coaching as the organisation had mandated their attendance. Such situations can often arise in organisational mergers or restructures where new roles have been identified and to support the change a development or coaching programme has been commissioned. A second circumstance is where the coachee is referred for coaching as a final step prior to the commencement of capability or disciplinary action. In this situation the threat of consequences is clear, but from our experience the coachee either rejects their manager’s view that they need to change or believes that their manager is being unfair and will by some ‘act of God’ see the light and recognise their true worth. The coachee is thus apparently ‘stuck’ in ambivalence. In these cases the client is often seeking explicit behavioural change, but before behavioural-based coaching can commence, the coach needs to explore and resolve the ambivalence to the situation or threat faced by the coachee (willing) and develop within them an intrinsic motivation to change (ready). Behavioural coaching can then be used to develop the new skills or attitudes for success (able).

Case study Andy, a head of service for ICT, reports to a strategic director within a small unitary local authority. At the time of our first meeting, he had recently taken up a new role with enhanced responsibility and new line management relationships. The coach was invited to coach Andy as part of a wider coaching programme within the organisation following the appointment of several new directors and heads of service as part of a restructure. A series of six coaching sessions had been agreed upon with no explicit objectives set for the team or individuals within it. Additionally, the client had agreed to a confidentiality clause and there was no expectation to report back. The implicit objective was to support the team as members settled in to new roles and to support the development of effective team working. Andy, like the rest of the team, had been ‘invited’ to take up coaching, but as Andy made clear in the first session, the expectation was that everyone would attend but he did not see how coaching would be of any benefit. Andy had been in the organisation for more than ten years and was disappointed that he had not been selected for redundancy. Others in the organisation who had been made redundant had received significant severance pay. In session one, having established the ground rules, Andy was invited to share information about his role and how he might like to use the coaching sessions. The initial aim was to draw upon a behavioural model,

150

Motivational interviewing

to help Andy to establish clear goals and to identify and resolve issues of performance through problemsolving techniques. It quickly became clear, however, that while rapport had been established, Andy failed to see that he needed to adapt in the new environment. A constant theme during this first session was Andy’s belief that he should have been made redundant, that the decision to retain him was unfair, that he wanted to leave and that he had no desire to change or adapt. His main wish was to leave the council with a financial settlement sometime in 18 months after his 50th birthday. At the close of the session the coach asked whether coaching would be of benefit to Andy and whether he wished to continue with the sessions. He said he had found it of value and, as he was expected to attend, he would come to the second session. The second session was six weeks after the first, and having reflected on a general failure to generate engagement, the coach focused on exploring Andy’s mental blocks to engaging with coaching. Andy’s values and beliefs about work and the role it played for him were also discussed. This approach provided further evidence that Andy did not want to be there and that work was a source of funding to pay for holidays and other luxuries. During this session, unrealistic assumptions were challenged and reflections on alternative ways to view work were encouraged. At the close of the session Andy had developed a clearer view about his values and beliefs. However, the coach felt that the cognitive approach was unlikely to facilitate further progress. Andy was ambiguous about his need to respond to the developing agenda in the council and remained fixated that his current role was not for him and that he wanted to be made redundant when he was 50. In the third session, while maintaining a cognitive approach, some of the MI techniques were introduced. Andy was asked to rate his perceived readiness to change on a scale of 0–10. Andy scored himself down at 1 and reiterated his reasons. The coach then explored what it would take for him to score 10. Andy initially resisted the question, but after several false starts he suggested that if he really loved his job that would be an incentive. The session continued exploring these ideas utilising MI techniques, and towards the end of the session Andy was talking actively about jobs he had enjoyed and why the current role was preventing him from becoming engaged, but he also was talking about what it would look like in an ideal world if he had designed the structure. During the fourth session Andy’s confidence to change was reviewed. Using the confidence to change ruler, Andy rated his confidence on a scale of 0–10. Andy scored more highly here at 4. After some further discussion, I returned to the scale, inviting Andy to consider, Why he rated himself at 4 on the scale and not at zero? and What would it take for him to go from 4 to a higher number? During the session the balance sheet was used to review the advantages and disadvantages of a ‘wait for redundancy’ approach compared to the notion of making the best of the current job and trying to reshape it to better suit Andy’s skills and interests. This exercise highlighted dismissal could become a real possibility for Andy, as his employer saw performance was disappointing and experienced Andy’s poor attitude to work. Team members would also suffer from Andy’s poor morale, as would his home life if he continued to express dissatisfaction to his partner about his work. Andy could not guarantee that redundancy would be on offer; indeed, it may be five or ten years before Andy could leave (this represented maybe 20–50% of the rest of his life). On the positive side, Andy recognised that work had been fun in the past and began to believe that he did have the confidence and potentially the power to influence the organisation’s structure and make it fun again. By the close of the fourth session the content of Andy’s talk had shifted from a feeling of frustration that he had not been made redundant, a belief that work was a bad thing and a lack of desire to move forward in the new environment to consideration of alternative ways of seeing the world generated through MI and cognitive techniques, alongside a growing intrinsic motivation to do something positive about his situation.

151

Jonathan Passmore and Alison Whybrow

During the fifth and final session, while maintaining an awareness of both MI and cognitive intentions, there was a return to a more strongly behavioural approach with a focus on what behaviours would make a success and on establishing and working through key challenges.

Discussion points 1

2

3 4

Referring to the change cycle outlined in this chapter, think back to the most recent example of a specific, challenging situation requiring you to personally change. Describe the situation and the change(s) that you made. Mapping your experience of change to the change cycle, what were the most helpful/ unhelpful interventions at each stage? Considering a recent coachee, map their change journey. What interventions did you use at each stage of their change cycle? What interventions might you use with future clients? What impact is this likely to have? In your coaching practice, what might you do to further attune yourself to the stages of the change cycle and the language of your coaches in each phase? How does Motivational Interviewing complement or contrast with your existing coaching approach? How and what might you integrate into your practice from this chapter?

Suggested reading Anstiss, T., & Passmore, J. (2013). Motivational interview approach. In J. Passmore, D. Peterson, D., & T. Freire (eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring (pp. 339–364). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Diclemente, C. C., & Prochaska, J. O. (1998). Toward a comprehensive, transtheoretical model of change: Stages of change and addictive behaviours. In W. R. Miller, & N. Heather (eds.), Treating Addictive Behaviours (2nd edn., pp. 3–24). New York: Plenum Press. Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2012). Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change (3rd edn.). New York: Guilford Press. Passmore, J. (2016). Integrative coaching. In Excellence in Coaching: The Industry Guide (3rd edn.). London: Kogan Page.

References Anstiss, T., & Passmore, J. (2012). Motivational interview. In M. Neenan, & S. Palmer (eds.), Cognitive Behavioural Coaching in Practice: An Evidenced Based Approach (pp. 33–52). Hove: Routledge. Anstiss, T., & Passmore, J. (2013). Motivational interview approach. In J. Passmore, D. Peterson, & T. Freire (eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring (pp. 339–364). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Towards a unifying theory of behaviour change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215. Burke, B. L., Arkowitz, I. I., & Menchola, M. (2003). The efficacy of motivational interviewing: A meta analysis of controlled clinical trials. Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology, 71, 843–861. Channon, S., Smith, V. J., & Gregory, J. W. (2003). A pilot study of motivational interviewing in adolescents with diabetes. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 88(8), 680–683. Cowley, C. B., Farley, T., & Beamis, K. (2002). “Well, maybe I’ll try the pill for just a few months”. . . . Brief motivational and narrative-based interventions to encourage contraceptive use among adolescents at high risk for early childbearing. Families, Systems and Health, 20, 183. Hargie, O., & Dickson, D. (2004). Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice (4th edn.). London: Routledge. Kazel, R. (1998). Cardiac coaching produces better health savings. Business Insurance, Oct. 19, 1998. Miller, J. H., & Moyers, T. (2002). Motivational interviewing in substance abuse: Applications for occupational medicine. Occupational Medicine, 17(1), 51–65. Miller, W. R. (1994). Motivational interviewing: III. On the ethics of motivational intervention. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 22, 111–123. Miller, W. R., Benefield, R. G., & Tonigan, J. S. (1993). Enhancing motivation for change in problem drinking: A controlled comparison of two therapist styles. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61(3), 455–461.

152

Motivational interviewing

Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (1991). Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People to Change Addictive Behaviour. New York: Guilford Press. Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change (2nd edn.). New York: Guilford Press. Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2009). Ten things that motivational interviewing is not. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 37, 129–140. Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2012). Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change (3rd edn.). New York: Guilford Press. Passmore, J. (2011). Motivational interviewing: A model for coaching psychology practice. The Coaching Psychologist, 7(1), 35–39. Passmore, J. (2012a). MI techniques: Typical day. The Coaching Psychologist, 8(1), 50–52. Passmore, J. (2012b). MI techniques: Recognising change talk. The Coaching Psychologist, 8(2), 107–111. Passmore, J. (2013a). MI techniques: Agenda mapping. The Coaching Psychologist, 9(1), 32–35. Passmore, J. (2013b). Ethics in motivational interviewing. The Coaching Psychologist, 9(20), 112–115. Passmore, J. (2014). Motivational interviewing. In J. Passmore (ed.), Mastery in Coaching: A Complete Psychological Toolkit for Advanced Coaching. London: Kogan Page. Perz, C. A., Diclemente, C. C., & Carbonari, J. P. (1996). Doing the right thing at the right time? The interaction of stages and processes of change in successful smoking cessation. Health Psychology, 15, 462–468. Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1992). Stages of change in the modification of problem behaviours. In M. Hersen, R. Eisler, & P. Miller (eds.), Progress in Behaviour Modification. Sycamore, IL: Sycamore Press. Prochaska, J. O., & Zinman, B. (2003). Changes in diabetes self care behaviours make a difference in glycemic control: The Diabetes Stages of Change (DISC) study. Diabetes Care, 26, 732–737. Project MATCH Research Group. (1997). Matching alcoholism treatments to client heterogeneity: Project MATCH post-treatment drinking outcomes. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 58, 7–29. Resnicow, K., DiIorio, C., Soet, J. E., Borrelli, B., Hecht, J., & Ernst, D. (2002). Motivational interviewing in health promotion: It sounds like something is changing. Health Psychology, 21(5), 444–451. Rollnick, S. (1998). Readiness and confidence: Critical conditions of change in treatment. In W. R. Miller, & N. Heather (eds.), Treating Addictive Behaviours (2nd edn.). New York: Plenum. Solomon, J., & Fioritti, A. (2002). Motivational intervention as applied to systems change: The case of dual diagnosis. Substance Use and Misuse, 37(14), 1833–1851.

153

12 Pluralistic coaching Zsófia Anna Utry, Stephen Palmer, John McLeod and Mick Cooper

Introduction Pluralistic coaching embraces the possibility that there are many right ways to coach and that we need to talk to our coachees about what they think would be most helpful to them. It does not sound like ‘rocket science’ at first. However, if we think about it more carefully a number of questions arise. How many orientations should I know? How do I put this into practice? What if my coachee asks for something I do not agree with? Will I look incompetent if I ask my coachees what they think is best for them? The aim of this chapter is not to confuse practitioners but to propose an ethically, theoretically and research-informed framework that can enhance the coach’s and coachee’s work together. It is argued here that metacommunicating about all aspects of the coaching process, including coach activities, in a collaborative manner may lead to better engagement and outcomes.

Development of pluralistic coaching Jenkins (2011) argued that integration of knowledge is an unresolved issue in coaching. Technical eclecticism (anything can be used as long as it works) was one of the ideas to solve this professional challenge by Kauffman (as cited in Jenkins, 2011). Amongst others, O’Hara (2011) points out that technical eclecticism inevitably promotes modernist thinking and does not encourage coaches to think about the underlying philosophy of their practices. However, he suggests, approaches like pluralism and critical realism can be useful to think about knowledge in coaching. There are different versions of pluralism, but the roots of this pluralistic coaching are in the field of pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy which was first conceptualised by Mick Cooper and John McLeod in 2006 (Cooper & Dryden, 2016). It was a reaction to the prevailing schoolism in their field and also aimed to develop a flexible approach that centred around the individual client’s preferences and goals in therapy. Their original paper, ‘A pluralistic framework for counselling and psychotherapy: Implications for research’ (Cooper & McLeod, 2007) proposed the basic principles. Meanwhile, courses and research clinics were set up to investigate and develop the pluralistic practice further. Their first complete book with indications for practice was published in 2011. As a result of an international conference held at the University of Roehampton, a special issue was published in the European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling in 2012 (vol 14, issue 1). Following that, the number of publications has grown in the UK, showing that counselling and psychotherapy professionals are both inspired and provoked by the pluralistic ideas. 154

Pluralistic coaching

Utry et al. (2015) highlighted how the pluralistic framework could be used to inform coaching psychology practice. At the same time Pendle’s (2015) qualitative study investigated coaches’ perception of the pluralistic approach’s potential. He found no evidence of schoolism among the research participants but more of an appreciation of how the approach can help coaches to organise their knowledge and professional identity. In the end, Pendle (2015) concludes that there is potential for pluralistic coaching to make practice more coachee-centred provided it is adapted to coaching language and context.

Theory and basic concepts The question of power in helping relationships Pluralism is rooted in postmodernist thinking (e.g. Gergen, 1991). This claims that there is not one objective truth available, discoverable or applicable for a range of similar scenarios. People generate useful knowledge, local truths by bringing their perspectives together, negotiating and co-creating what is true for their specific situation in their specific context (Stelter, 2014). It also incorporates an ethical perspective which is based on humanistic and existentialist values, whereby recognition and deep respect for one’s agency and world view is emphasised (Cooper & McLeod, 2011). Therefore, the pluralistic view is both relational and respectful of human uniqueness in nature. The pluralistic approach to conversation-based helping professions is encapsulated in three main propositions (Cooper & Dryden, 2016). One is ‘pluralism across helping orientations,’ which means there are many right ways to understand why people get distressed but none of them is superior to the other; consequently, there are many right ways to work with people to achieve their goals. The second, ‘pluralism across clients,’ suggests that practitioners need to be open to this diversity and strive to provide tailored services to each client. The third is the recognition that power should be balanced in a helping relationship between client and practitioner. Both sides represent a different, but equally valuable, perspective in a specific situation, and goals, tasks and methods should be born out of a collaborative engagement of the parties.

Coachee-centredness and the nature of human beings, blocks and goals In comparison to psychotherapy (Cooper & McLeod, 2011; Cooper, 2015; Cooper & Dryden, 2016), by definition pluralistic coaching aims to assist in the learning and development of those who do not experience significant distress in their lives. Still, it finds it important to actively invite coachees to contribute not only to the content of coaching but to be involved in the decisions about the coaching process as well. Given that there is no general truth available about coaching, only local truths can be co-created in each specific case to make a coaching process work. Consequently, it is argued that there are many right ways to coach people too, because different things can be helpful to different coachees at different points in time. To find out which method is the most helpful to a particular coachee at a particular time, we need to talk to them about it (adapted from Cooper & McLeod, 2011). Whichever part of the mental health spectrum a person is on, the pluralistic approach assumes that people can be understood, not only in terms of their difficulties but also in terms of their strengths and resources. People are goal oriented and agentic in nature and possess the ability to make choices about their lives, including about coaching. Blocks in the lives of coachees can be interpreted from various coaching psychological orientations with equal value. Therefore, the pluralistic approach to coaching does not assume, a priori, how people get stuck in their development. Cases, rather, are formulated in a collaborative dialogue, drawing on a range of psychological theories and experiences of the coach and coachee. Goal achievement can be realised and understood in many ways too. The pluralistic approach postulates that metacommunication and shared decision making with regular feedbacks about coaching goals, tasks and 155

Zsófia Anna Utry et al.

methods between coach and coachee makes it more likely to yield positive outcomes and deeper engagement in the coaching process.

Metacommunication Metacommunication is the collaborative act where coach and coachee talk about the process of coaching itself. A coach might ask in session, ‘How would you like us working together towards your goals?’ The coachee replies back, ‘I don’t know . . . you are the expert.’ The coach might reply, ‘What I’m interested in is your preferences because there is a range of good ways to work together. However, different things work for different people.’ Alternatively, a coachee might reply to the same question, ‘Well I really want somebody to give me feedback about my ideas, if they are stupid or not . . . maybe some advice.’ Metacommunication strives to be a genuine dialogue between the participants of coaching to explore and understand each other’s views about what would most likely help the coachee to achieve their goals, what tasks would support working towards those goals and by what methods those tasks should be facilitated (Utry et al., 2015).

Shared decision making It is through metacommunication that shared decisions can be negotiated in coaching regarding the process. A coach might say, ‘I wouldn’t like to act as an advisor but I’m happy reflect back how the things you say sound to me, if that is helpful to you. The usual benefits of having someone reflecting back to you. . . .’ Shared decision making can facilitate ethical practice, and evidence shows that it can improve service user experiences and engagement in the health care and mental health fields (Cooper et al., 2016). A shared decision is based on the combination of practitioner expertise and informed consent of the coachee to the following process.

Feedback culture Ely et al. found (2010) among executive coaches that they were more likely to ask for feedback from their coachees on an ad hoc basis than establishing a systematic feedback culture in their practices. Ely et al. (2010) suggest to regularly monitor coachees’ development to improve practice and satisfaction of coachees. There is also evidence that coach and coachee can have different perceptions of the coaching process (e.g. Gessnitzer & Kauffeld, 2015). However, systematic monitoring of coachee progress and working alliance has yielded positive results in the mental health field, decreasing dropout rates and increasing working alliance and relationship satisfaction (Duncan & Sparks, 2016). Thus the evidence indicates that setting up a feedback protocol can be potentially helpful and sometimes crucial in coaching. Setting up a protocol means to agree with the coachee about how often, about what aspects of the process, and in what form (in writing or verbally) feedback should be exchanged in order to increase process and outcome satisfaction.

Collaborative capacity The additional benefit of the approach is that engaging in the aforementioned collaborative rituals and negotiations about the coaching process can increase collaborative capacity of coachees in general (Utry et al., 2015). Coachees can potentially develop and refine their interpersonal skills, can become more assertive and better at dialogues and can improve their reflecting abilities. In addition, by the practitioner valuing their views as experts of themselves and the process, it can increase their self-confidence as well (Cooper et al., 2016). A coachee reflected on her changing topic preferences towards the end of an assessment session and the coach deliberately expressed her perception of this process: 156

Pluralistic coaching

Coachee: Coach: Coachee: Coach:

‘I know I chose to focus primarily on my career options and steps, and secondarily, on managing stress . . .’ ‘And what do you think now?’ ‘Well, I see stress management is coming up everywhere . . . (and laughs at herself) . . . and maybe we should focus on that first.’ ‘I was actually thinking about that too at the beginning but it’s really good that you brought that up . . . I didn’t want to make assumptions about what is more important for you too early. Stress might very well have an overall influence on your decisions and it sounds like a good idea to understand that first.’

Practice In practice, pluralistic coaching is not a specific set of selected approaches, models and techniques. The overarching goal is to facilitate the agency, strengths and resources of coachees in achieving their goals and involving them in finding out how to get to those goals. This means not only reaching shared decisions on the goals and tasks of coaching but also talking about the potential methods, such as drawing on cultural resources (e.g. books, friends, walking, etc.), that might serve as potential helpful factors in the process. It is not simply an integrative or eclectic way of working because it builds on the coachee’s preferences in choosing the intervention method and allows change if the coachee finds it unhelpful. Practitioners with a single orientation in coaching still can be pluralistic in their view (Cooper & McLeod, 2011) if they are aware of the limitations of their approach, adapt their methods to their coachees as much possible and make informed referrals should they not be able to offer what the coachee wants. This line of thinking might be obvious to some coaches and coaching psychologists who inherently practice in a pluralistic way. For them, the main benefit of the approach could be what Pendle (2015) identified in his study as helping to articulate and organise their knowledge and practice with an enriched sense of professional identity.

Pluralistic assessment in coaching The assessment is essentially based on the coachee’s strengths and resources. Cases are formulated with the assumption that there can be several interpretations of how a challenge or block came about, what it is and what can be a solution. The working understanding of the case is co-created through talking and draws on the views of both the coachee and the coach. The coach can offer alternative interpretations of the case based on coaching knowledge, and the coachee can choose which theoretical and practical approach resonates with them at that point. Alongside the talking, standard psychological measures can be applied to enrich the understanding of the case. Coaches are not expected to offer all orientations in their activities, but they are expected to offer a range of options, a menu (Cooper & McLeod, 2011), and to explain those options to the coachees so they can make an informed choice about what is happening with them in coaching. Sketching out the ideas on a whiteboard or large paper with a timeline, themes and connections can help both coach and coachee to manage the initial messiness of assessment, reflect on it and articulate a shared coaching plan (McLeod & McLeod, 2016).

A pluralistic framework for coaching When negotiating and establishing a coaching alliance (O’Broin & Palmer, 2010a), Cooper & McLeod’s (2011), framework for pluralistic therapy can be adapted. The framework (Figure 12.1.) is based on openness to collaboration and dialogue about what the coachee wants in coaching. It includes three broad sections which are influenced by one another: goals, tasks and methods. The goals section is divided into 157

Zsófia Anna Utry et al.

A pluralistic framework for coaching Goals

Tasks

Methods

understand own preferences and values, make a decision, make a career plan

Life goals be successful

Coaching goals

Coachee activities

Coach activities

reach next career goal, reflection on career stories, listening have better work-life balance research for information, summarising, go fishing challenging, use of models

Dialogue

Collaboration Figure 12.1 A pluralistic framework for coaching

life goals, which refers to the coachee’s general goals in life in a broader sense, implying values; and coaching goals, which summarises what can potentially be achieved by the end of coaching. Tasks are the focus of development in the sessions which will enable the coachee to reach their coaching goals and get closer to life goals. The methods section is split into coachee activities, meaning what the coachee will do and take responsibility for, and coach activities, which stands for what the coach is committed to provide to the coachee in order to facilitate progress. It is important to take into account the cultural resources in coachee activities. In everyday life there can be several extra-coaching resources the coachee uses to maintain or improve their well-being and capability to reach goals, such as listening to music, reading a book, exercising or any hobby. This framework for coaching can enhance transparency, coachee-centredness and supervisory alliance and is a good practice for metacommunication. The importance of the coachee’s voice was supported in Gessnitzer and Kauffeld’s (2015) research about working alliance. Despite stated agreements on goals and tasks, only coachee-initiated goals and tasks were found to be associated with goal attainment in short-term coaching.

Engaging in metacommunication Preferences of coachees can change over time. Therefore, metacommunication is not a one-off act at the beginning of coaching. Rather, it is an ongoing element of the coaching process aiming to tailor, personalise and adjust the coaching process according to what coachees find most helpful at a particular point in time in working towards their goals. It is possible that not all coachees want the same level of metacommunication (Cooper et al., 2016). However, they should know from the beginning that their perspectives and self-knowledge are just as important in the design of coaching as the expertise of the coach or coaching psychologist. 158

Pluralistic coaching

When the coaching menu is described, it can be helpful for the coachee to decide if the coach can bring examples of how their different perspectives were applied in practice, preferably backed up with what research says about it.

Setting up a feedback culture Asking for feedback and answering honestly can both be difficult. However, it can be introduced at the beginning of the process, and coach and coachee can make a shared decision about how often and in what form feedback should be provided or exchanged. So it can become a natural part of the process with the benefit of informing coaches about their coachee’s progress, experiences and commitment to coaching. Also it is a great opportunity to practise and refine the interpersonal skills required in giving constructive feedback to one another.

The change process and the coaching relationship Based on the coaching research literature, the coaching relationship is considered either as a critical or the most critical factor in influencing change and coaching outcomes (e.g. Gyllensten & Palmer, 2007; O’Broin & Palmer, 2010b; Jones, 2015). Given pluralistic coaching’s emphasis on dialogue, metacommunication, collaboration and feedback culture, it inherently aims to enhance the relationship between coach and coachee to achieve change. Jones’ (2015) research reveals that a pluralistic perspective and practice might be very relevant for coaching indeed. Jones argues that coachees’ choices of coaches are often based on inadequate knowledge of coaching. However, the coach-coachee matching was found to be critical in the outcomes of the study. This suggests more effort should be put into communicating what coaching can be about in practice. Moreover, Jones questions whether coachees feel empowered enough in organisational environments to challenge their coaches’ expertise and ask for what they really want. Jones also found that the preferences and needs of coachees can change over time, and what is helpful at a particular time may not be as much appreciated at another time. Cox (2005 as cited in Jones, 2015) implies that a good coach can adapt to the changing needs of a coachee. On the other hand, Jones claims that more research is needed on ‘whether coaches can truly adapt to the need of their coachee or whether there are limitations (and what these might be) in their ability/capacity to adapt’ (2015, p. 100). In summary, pluralistic coaching is to be always ready to challenge ourselves as coaching or coaching psychology practitioners and to be really open to engage with our coachees and their views (Cooper, 2015). Recognising the diversity and agency of coachees, pluralistic coaching strives to tailor the coaching process around the coachee’s wants and invites the coachee to equally contribute in finding the best goals, tasks and methods of coaching. By this metacommunication, a genuine dialogue can emerge between coach and coachee where two experts bring the best of their knowledge in order to arrive at a shared decision about how to help the coachee learn and develop. Establishing a feedback culture by asking for feedback in a systematic way can help coaches to stay informed about coachee progress and can prevent disengagement. The added value of this approach, beyond what increased transparency and adapting to individual coachee’s needs can bring, is the chance to increase the collaborative capacity of coachees which in itself can be a developmental achievement and is a desired skill in everyday and working life.

Which coachees benefits most? Pluralistic coaching is aimed at people who want to experience agency and also a sense of belongingness in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world (Rodrigez & Rodrigez, 2015). There is no robust data yet available about who particularly benefits the most from this approach. However, based on the theoretical foundations, it is likely that people who want to be part of their coaching, find 159

Zsófia Anna Utry et al.

power balance important and are open to engage with complexity might be most likely to value this kind of practice. The limitation of the approach is that it does not give clear-cut answers to practice. However, it embraces the current world’s given conditions of hypercomplexity, uncertainty and contingency (Stelter, 2014) and strives to effectively respond to that. Consequently, the pluralistic approach aims to help practitioners to be prepared to deal with the complexities of coachees and their worlds. This approach also requires developing skills in negotiating and collaboration. Making it clear to coachees that they are equal partners and their coaching process needs are important to express, can give an ongoing challenge to coaches. Coaches need to be aware that what level of flexibility they are truly comfortable to work with and this requires from them continuing reflection on their practice and professional philosophies.

Case study The coachee Sandra, a 33-year-old woman with a 6-year-old daughter, worked as a sole trader. In the pre-coaching interview, she stated that she had overall a good level of mental health. Five months before the coaching started, Sandra got engaged with her long-term partner of eight years who was the father of her child. A month before the coaching, she broke off the engagement as she was not sure if the commitment of her partner to them was sufficient.

The technical process The first step was to assess the readiness of Sandra for coaching and to inform her about what the pluralistic approach meant in practice in a telephone interview. Five sessions, each lasting about 1.5 hours, followed over a three-week period. Sandra agreed to fill in a coaching preferences form at the first session and feedback forms after each session. These asked her to rate and describe the helpful and unhelpful aspects of the coaching process. The forms were adapted from pluralistic counselling to coaching (Cooper & McLeod, 2011).

The change process During the first session it was established by Sandra that the goals of coaching were to support her in developing her self-care and get better at managing close relationships. The tasks Sandra identified were to get a more objective perspective over her challenges (including herself) and to understand the interplay between her rational and emotional thinking. She described herself as a very emotional person but wanted to work on being more mindful in social scenarios. Preferred methods for work and roles were discussed. At the second session, following Sandra’s interest, the cognitive-behavioural ABC model (see Chapter 9) was introduced as a possible way to explore and develop a sense of control over the thinking and emotions behind the behaviours she wanted to change. E.g. when Sandra was withdrawn she would care less about her health, smoked more cigarettes and exercised less. When she talked intensely about the circumstances and thoughts in relation to her challenging behaviours, too many stories came up which overwhelmed Sandra. The coach wanted to give Sandra the space to think, but when the coach saw that Sandra was getting upset in the process, she decided to initiate metacommunication about the method. As a result of this they changed to a more solution-focused orientation (see Chapter 21). Sandra was asked about the positive exceptions, times when she was able to cope with

160

Pluralistic coaching

her negative feelings constructively. Here, Sandra revealed a cultural resource of hers, explaining that she found it useful to dance at home and to immerse herself in dance fantasies. The coach asked for permission to interrupt Sandra more often in the future so she would not get tangled up in negative narratives. Sandra also asked to focus on her conflicting relationships in the future instead of her internal processes. Following a dialogue on the methods and goals based on Sandra’s written feedback, there were no further ruptures in the remaining sessions. Sandra talked intensively later as well, but the coach now came in with more clarifying questions which helped to build a rapport between them. Towards the end of the third session Sandra began to notice that she was in conflict with herself first of all and that she needed to focus on that first before she moved on to her interpersonal conflicts. In the fourth session the goal of personal care improvement was in focus again. Sandra saw her biggest task as letting herself experience negative emotions when they arise and not to try to escape them with cigarettes, keeping busy or calling friends just to talk. The topic of interpersonal conflicts came up after that and following a Gestalt chair technique (see Chapter 14), she came to realise that she could take more responsibility for herself and could be more self-aware in social situations. In the last session, Sandra reported that she experienced herself as calmer and more patient in social situations where she previously became upset by criticism. She felt she had developed her interpersonal skills, which was a relief for her. She also stopped complaining to her friends. She felt the need to think more before she talked. She seemed to be indicating that she regulated her emotions better. She remained indecisive regarding staying with her partner or leaving him. About the helpful aspect of coaching, initially, she noted that it was helpful to her to be able to talk while she tried to control her emotions. After the third session, when the coach adjusted her style, Sandra commented that ‘I was able to articulate my fundamental problems, but in a way that I didn’t feel myself pathetic.’ In the remaining two sessions Sandra noticed that it helped the process that she became more honest, open and trusting. Sandra’s comments about the coach were most frequently about how she found useful the appropriate and good questions, summaries and the way the coach guided her focus back to the point. An example of this: ‘. . . she did not articulate or sum up my painful points in a hurtful way, she summarised my point of view rather factually.’ Her most outstanding comment in this section was, however: ‘The best moment was when she told me she had the same attitude to smoking as me. . . .’

The pluralistic concepts and strategies in use At the beginning Sandra was asked what she thought of coaching and the way it could be helpful for her in general. The implications of the pluralistic approach for practice, such as working out the process design together with the coach, the importance of her feedbacks and what metacommunication was, were discussed at both the telephone interview and the first personal meeting. The coachee commented on this in her first feedback: ‘I’m interested in the upcoming sessions.’ ‘She raised my interest of how it was possible to approach personal coaching in many different ways (and we look for solutions together).’ The purpose of the pluralistic framework for coaching was explained too: to organise and have a shared understanding of the whole process and reflect on possible changes in direction and preferences later. Table 12.1 shows what the framework looked like in the case of Sandra at the first session. Sandra also filled in the coaching preferences form and her answers were discussed; clarification was given when a question was unclear, such as what do we mean by the relationship between coach and coachee. Table 12.2 shows Sandra’s ratings on different aspects of the coaching style she preferred (e.g. give or not give homework, focus on present or future, who should lead the sessions, interrupt or not interrupt me, etc.).

161

Coaching goals

1 self-care/personal development 2 Better personal relationships, learn to deal with conflicts

Life goals

Harmonious relationships in own family

Goals





COLLABORATION

DIALOGUE

To become more selfaware, see herself from the outside To understand the mechanisms of emotional and rational thinking

Tasks

Table 12.1 The pluralistic framework for coaching in use



• •

sharing and reflection giving verbal and written feedback about the process participating in coaching exercises

Coachee activities

Methods

help Sandra to hear herself help Sandra to stick with her decisions (Coaching preference form shows further details.)

• •

Coach activities

4

Use lots of techniques and exercises; Take a lead in the coaching session; Give me advice; Focus on specific goals; Give me homework to do; Focus mainly on my strengths and abilities; Focus on what I think is best for me; Tell me about themselves as a person

5-strong preference

Show their personality and humour; Give structure to the coaching session; Tell me their thought processes about what’s going on in coaching

Table 12.2 Coachee preferences

Focus on my life in the present; Interrupt me and keep me focused; Not to allow much silence

3

Be challenging; Not be challenging of my own beliefs

2

Focus mainly on my feelings; Focus on the relationship between us

1

Focus on my past/Focus on my future; Focus on my current issues/Focus on deeper underlying issues

0-no preference (left blank in practice)

Zsófia Anna Utry et al.

Coachee’s quantitative evaluation over time 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Figure 12.2

Session 1.

Session 2.

Session 3.

Session 4.

Session 5. 6

How it felt (1–7)

5

5

5

6

See differently (1–7)

5

5

5

6

6

Progress (1–7)

4

5

6

6

6

Overall helpfulness (1–9)

8

7

8

8

8

Coachee’s evaluation of coaching experience

Regarding the feedback culture, Sandra agreed to metacommunicate about the process verbally during and at the end of each session. Plus, she returned the feedback forms by email between sessions. The graph (see Figure 12.2) shows how the experiences of the coachee tended to improve over time in terms of overall helpfulness, how the session felt, how much progress she made and if she saw something differently. Feedback was the most helpful when the second session turned critical. Sandra confirmed that it was challenging for her: ‘I was talking about, for me, difficult things.’ At the beginning of the next session feedbacks were discussed such as, ‘I’m afraid that I’m overwhelming my coach with my personal issues and that I’m less and less a good participant. . . .’ and ‘I’m very happy to do more technical and practical exercises.’ Upon dialoguing about these, it was revealed that Sandra offered to do more practical exercises to be a good participant but what she was really interested in was to keep exploring her difficulties and conflicts. Metacommunication about the critical moments and then immediately about the methods helped to personalise the process around the preferences of the coachee. The coach also realised that asking metaquestions was becoming increasingly easier to do and felt more and more natural (e.g. ‘This sounds like a different topic, would you like to switch topics or rather go back to the original one?’ Or ‘I see this is a new storyline. Would it be more helpful to talk about this instead of what we agreed on to talk about?’). Increased metacommunication also seemed to be associated with better process experience and outcomes based on the written feedbacks of the coachee.

164

Pluralistic coaching

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

How many approaches and methods do you apply in your coaching practice and how are they related? What are the negotiable aspects of your coaching practice? What are the non-negotiable aspects of your coaching practice? What level of metacommunication do you think is good practice?

Suggested reading Cooper, M., & Dryden, W. (Eds.). (2016). The Handbook of Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage. Cooper, M., & McLeod, J. (2011). Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage. Jenkins, S. (2011). Coaching Philosophy, Eclecticism and Positivism. International Journal of Sport Science and Coaching: Annual Review of High Performance Coaching & Consulting: 1–27. Pendle, A.P. (2015). Pluralistic Coaching? An Exploration of the Potential for Pluralistic Approach to Coaching. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring 9: 1–13.

References Cooper, M. (2015). Existential Psychotherapy and Counselling: Contributions to a Pluralistic Practice. London: Sage. Cooper, M., & Dryden, W. (2016). Introduction to Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. In M. Cooper and W. Dryden (Eds.), The Handbook of Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage. Cooper, M., Dryden, W., Martin, K., & Papayianni, F. (2016). Metatherapeutic Communication and Shared DecisionMaking. In M. Cooper and W. Dryden (Eds.), The Handbook of Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage. Cooper, M., & McLeod, J. (2007). A Pluralistic Framework for Counselling and Psychotherapy: Implications for Research. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research 7: 135–143. Cooper, M., & McLeod, J. (2011). Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage. Cox, E. (2005). For better, for worse: The matching process in formal mentoring schemes. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 3: 403–414. Duncan, B.L., &Sparks, J.A. (2016). Systematic Feedback through the Partners for Change Management System (PCOMS). In M. Cooper and W. Dryden (Eds.), The Handbook of Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage. Ely, K., Boyce, L.A., Nelson, J.K., Zaccaro, S.J., Hernez-Broome, G., & Whyman, W. (2010). Evaluating Leadership Coaching: A Review and Integrated Framework. The Leadership Quarterly 21: 585–599. Gergen, K.J. (1991). The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life. New York: Basic Books. Gessnitzer, S., & Kauffeld, S. (2015). The Working Alliance in Coaching: Why Behavior Is the Key to Success. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 51: 177–197. Gyllensten, K., & Palmer, S. (2007). The Coaching Relationship: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. International Coaching Psychology Review 2: 168–177. Jenkins, S. (2011). Coaching Philosophy, Eclecticism and Positivism. International Journal of Sport Science and Coaching: Annual Review of High Performance Coaching & Consulting 7: 1–27. Jones, C.W. (2015). Choosing Your Coach: What Matters and When: An Interpretative Phenomenological Exploration of the Voice of the Coachee PhD, Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved on 29/9/17 from: https://radar.brookes. ac.uk/radar/file/5f4a52f7-efc5-4530-9134-ac62660bd0e7/1/jones2015choosing.pdf McLeod, J., & McLeod, J. (2016). Assessment and Formulation in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. In M. Cooper and W. Dryden (Eds.), The Handbook of Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. London: Sage.O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2010a). The Coaching Alliance as a Universal Concept Spanning Conceptual Approaches. Coaching Psychology International 3: 3–5. O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2010b). Exploring Key Aspects in the Formation of Coaching Relationships: Initial Indicators from the Perspective of the Coachee and the Coach. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice 3: 124–143. O’Hara, D. (2011). Coaching Philosophy, Eclecticism and Positivism: A Commentary. International Journal of Sport Science and Coaching: Annual Review of High Performance Coaching & Consulting: 58–58. Pendle, A.P. (2015). Pluralistic Coaching? An Exploration of the Potential for Pluralistic Approach to Coaching. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring 9: 1–13. Rodrigez, A., & Rodrigez, Y. (2015). Metaphors for Today’s Leadership: VUCA World, Millennial and “Cloud Leaders”. Journal of Management Development 34: 854–866. Stelter, R. (2014). A Guide to Third Generation Coaching. London: Springer. Utry, Z.A., Palmer, S., McLeod, J., & Cooper, M. (2015). A Pluralistic Approach to Coaching. The Coaching Psychologist 11: 46–52. 165

Section 3

Existential approaches

13 An existential approach to coaching psychology Ernesto Spinelli and Caroline Horner

Introduction Existential coaching psychology is centred upon the structured exploration of coachees’ way of being as expressed through both the meanings which they generate and the relations they adopt in the world. Arising directly from its philosophical grounding, an existential approach argues that human experience is unavoidably uncertain and thereby always open to novel and unpredicted possibilities. All approaches to coaching rest upon various philosophical underpinnings and postulates, even if in many cases they remain implicit and covert to coaching practitioners. An existential approach to coaching, however, initially stands out from others precisely because it acknowledges explicitly and utilises overtly its foundational philosophical assumptions. At the same time, it is not so much that it is philosophically grounded but rather the particular set of philosophical suppositions which it espouses that distinguishes the existential approach to coaching from the various competing alternative models currently in existence. In this way, an existential approach presents a radical challenge to many of the fundamental assumptions brought to the theory and practice of contemporary coaching psychology.

Theory and basic concepts Existential theory argues against the dominant Western tendency to consider human existence in an individualistically boundaried dualistic mode. Self/other, subject/object, inner/outer, thought/emotion are examples of this particularly separatist Western way of dualistic reflection (Gergen, 2009). In contrast, existential thought seeks to understand the issues and concerns of human existence from a perspective that is always relationally attuned. This paradigm shift is perhaps best expressed through three key existential Principles: relatedness, uncertainty and existential anxiety.

Three key Principles The Principle of relatedness can be understood at both a surface and deeper level. At its simplest, surface level, relatedness argues that everything that exists is always in an inseparable relation to everything else. Although, even at this surface level, the Principle challenges Western assumptions regarding an exclusively isolationist subjectivity, nonetheless, this view of relatedness is shared by numerous other approaches – most obviously 169

Ernesto Spinelli and Caroline Horner

systemic ones (Hills, 2012). What makes the existential perspective on relatedness significantly different only becomes clearer when its deeper implications are considered. This deeper notion of relatedness argues that each of us stands out as wholly unique and unrepeatable only through a foundational relatedness that is shared by all beings. The social constructionist theorist Ken Gergen so aptly summarises this view: “There is no isolated self or fully private experience. Rather we exist in a world of co-constitution” (Gergen, 2009: xv). The second key Principle of existential theory, uncertainty, arises as an immediate consequence of relatedness. It asserts that no individual “I” can – of or in itself – ever fully determine with complete and final certainty or control not only what will present itself as a stimulus to his or her experience but also how he or she will experience and respond to it. It is not just that there are times in our lives when we will feel uncertain about something or other. Rather, uncertainty in an existential sense asks us to consider that which is novel, unique and unrepeatable in all of our experiences – even those which we label as persistent or habitual. The Principle of existential anxiety follows as a direct consequence of the first two Principles in that it expresses the lived experience of relational uncertainty. Existential anxiety is not only an expression of nervousness, worry and stress. It certainly includes these disturbances and disorders, but it seeks to express a much more generally felt experience of incompleteness and perpetual potentiality which is expressive of an inherent openness to the unknown possibilities of life experience. In this wider sense, existential anxiety can be both exhilarating and debilitating, a spur to our creativity, connectedness and care as well as stimulus to fear-fuelled paralysis. The dilemma of existential anxiety is not so much that it is but rather how each of us lives with it. In our attempts to resist, reject or deny existential anxiety’s disturbing potential to diminish and disable us, we impose rigid and restrictive patterns of thought and behaviour which are commonly expressed in terms such as boredom, obsessive or compulsive behaviours, phobias and addictive disorders. Such strategies reveal themselves as anxieties about anxiety. Rather than propose or claim to provide the means to reduce or eradicate anxiety from our lives, existential thought challenges us to reconsider our anxiety-evasive strategies, weigh up more accurately what their “price” is and what consequences they generate and assess what alternate “price” there might be in attempting stances that are more open to meeting or engaging with existential anxiety. The impact of these three key Principles permeates all of existential thought. Perhaps most pertinently for coaches, it challenges more common assumptions regarding meaning and choice.

Meaning/meaninglessness In common with several other perspectives, existential theory argues that we are meaning-making beings (Spinelli, 2005, 2014). Many existential authors, particularly those most influenced by the ideas of Viktor Frankl (Frankl, 1988), have rightly emphasised the critical importance of meaning and the dilemmas encountered when our meanings become inadequate or appear to have been lost and cannot be found. At the same time, meanings that are maintained so rigidly that no doubt or alternative is possible can be experienced either as being negative, debilitating and destructive or as liberating, transformational and life-enhancing. In the same way, experiences of loss of meaning or prolonged moments of meaninglessness may be terrifying and disorienting but may also be yearned for and attempted through intoxicants or techniques designed to “free up” experience. Such contradictory experiences reveal a complexity to the assumptions we might hold regarding meaning. Equally, they illuminate the significant role of meaninglessness. On initial consideration, we appear to be deeply intolerant of meaninglessness. Our confrontations with instances or examples whose meaning is unknown or ambiguous or novel stimulate us to figure out their meaning. And if meanings cannot be discerned, it is a common stance to reject, denigrate or deny their value (Cohn, 2002; Spinelli, 2005; Strasser & Strasser, 1997). The recurring dismissive cultural response to “the shock of the new” (Hughes, 1991) provoked by movements in fine art, architecture and music is but one obvious example of the unease which accompanies our experience of meaninglessness. Existential thought urges us to avoid imposing a divide between meaning and meaninglessness. Instead, it considers the human tendency to search for meaning as counter-balanced by our ability to remain open to the meaninglessness within those meanings we claim to have found. Through the questioning and challenging 170

An existential approach to coaching psychology

of existing meanings emerge the possibilities of creativity, discovery, playfulness and imagination. Equally, in avoiding instances of meaninglessness, established meanings rigidify, stagnate and become the inflexible truths or dogmas that nurture cultural, political, religious, sexual and intellectual fundamentalism. The importance of our search for meaning may not lie in the search itself but rather how the search is carried out. The degree of tolerance – or lack of it – that we bring to the perpetual challenge of meaninglessness makes all the difference.

Choice The issues and questions surrounding choice tend to be understood from a non-relational, “boundaried” bias. This view is summarised as: “I make my choices in life and you make your choices in life. And, as well, we can each always choose alternatives to current conditions”. In contrast to this, existential theory’s interpretation of choice relies upon its three key Principles. First, it avoids examining the issue of choice from a standpoint that assumes distinct and separate entities such as “I” and “other”, each of whom is individually choosing for, and by, itself alone. This distinction has vast implications. From this existential perspective, “no choice can be mine or yours alone, no experienced impact of choice can be separated in terms of ‘my responsibility’ versus ‘your responsibility’, no sense of personal freedom can truly avoid its interpersonal dimensions” (Spinelli, 2001: 15–16). Existential thought keeps the issue of choice separate from that of origination. Choice is not about the capacity or ability to cause, control or determine the plethora of event stimuli that occur at any and every moment of our lives. Rather, our choices lie in how we respond to these stimuli. The choices we make are always situated, or contextualised, within various conditions, such as our time and place of birth, our biological make-up, our socio-cultural backdrop, our nationality. These situational conditions are our facticity. Our choices always rest upon and include facticity. If a tension exists, it is not between choice and facticity per se, but rather between a stance we take toward choice that includes its facticity or one that claims that another facticity – or no facticity – exists. In taking this second stance, we make false choices – that is to say, choices that could only exist were the circumstances of facticity different to what they are. False choices can often be tempting, and many of our dilemmas arise through our determination to pursue false choices. In bringing together choice and facticity, existential thought argues that, in many instances, our choices may not be as multi-optional as we tend to assume. Consider the following example: George is the CEO of an investment firm that is strongly identified with ethical investments. He is both personally and professionally deeply committed to the firm’s ethical policy. The firm has suffered in the current economic climate and its future is precarious. A possibility arises that will put the firm onto a much more secure standing but this can only be achieved if the firm links itself to a proposal that includes far more ethically ambiguous investments. In principle, several choices are available to George. But, equally, all but one choice would be “false” choices in that in order to make these alternative choices, George would have to be someone other than who he is being; he would have to be someone whose conditions of facticity allowed for different choice possibilities. George can certainly imagine all manner of alternative choices, but these choices are only available to other possible versions of George. They present a different choice dilemma: is George prepared to become another George, one who can choose to associate himself and his firm with ethically ambiguous investments? In order to continue being the George that he currently identifies himself as being, George must choose what is there for him under existing conditions. Of course, George can always play “what if ” games giving rise to false choices by supposing that a theoretical alternative possibility is actually available to him. But these alternatives only become genuine choices if George is prepared to give up being the George he is being and who no longer holds views and values surrounding ethical investments that he does hold. 171

Ernesto Spinelli and Caroline Horner

An existential view highlights that in many – perhaps all – cases, presenting choices require the “I” who makes that choice to also choose from a position of uncertainty in that the consequences of choice extend to and impact upon the “I” who chooses. This more complex view of choice makes plain how choice is not solely, or even primarily, a pleasant or desirable enterprise. Rather, choice evokes anxiety. Indeed, the attempt to abdicate from, or deny, choice may provide a desired reduction of tension as well as an escape from the regret arising from the often difficult and uncertain demands which accompany choice. Existential thought argues that choice can be as much a matter of condemnation as it may be the cause for celebration (Sartre, 1991). Every choice made has its pay-off and its price. Even the best, most desirable and fulfilling choice will provoke some degree of regret since every choice confronts us with the “what might have been” which has been lost as a result of having made that choice.

Practice Unlike other coaching perspectives that focus upon broadly positive, self-actualising qualities and possibilities for each coachee, an existential approach recognises and gives equal emphasis to the divided stances, aims and aspirations that may well exist as competing values and beliefs held by each coachee. The approach helps coachees to clarify and reconsider the meanings and values given to the various inter-relations that make up their personal and professional lives and how the relational stances that they adopt impact upon the quality and enjoyment of their own lives as well as those of others. Part of the existential approach to coaching therefore expresses a commitment to assist coachees to arrive at personal decisions and life changes that are grounded in an inter-relationally attuned awareness and understanding. The approach emphasises a way of being in the world as opposed to focusing principally upon changefocused “doing” interventions. It does not rely upon a unique set of tools and techniques. While there are various “skills” associated with an existential approach, their value depends upon the “being focused” grounding from which they emerge. An existential approach to coaching relies upon the coach and coachee’s experience of being in relation with one another and how this experience illuminates the whole of the coachee’s worldview as its primary “tool” or “skill”.

Centrality of the coaching relationship The existential approach to coaching advocates the descriptive exploration of the coachee’s worldview as a pivotal factor for beneficial interventions. As such, coaching is centred on the attempted entry into the currently lived world of the coachee as it is being embodied and experienced so that it can be more adequately investigated in such a way that the presenting problems and conflicts can be understood as aspects and expressions of that worldview rather than treated as alien or tangential to it. The success of such explorations depends upon the establishment of a trustworthy coaching relationship. This view is slowly beginning to be acknowledged by other coaching modalities and parallels conclusions regarding the centrality of the relationship arrived at by psychotherapy research (Cooper, 2003; Spinelli, 2005, 2014; van Deurzen & Hanaway, 2012). While setting goals or planning change strategies are valued as central to effective coaching, an existential approach focuses upon these in relation to the specific structure of, and meanings contained in, the coachee’s worldview. As such, existentially speaking, the coach’s willingness to assist the coachee in the descriptive disclosure of the worldview as it manifests itself in the coachee’s wider inter-relations and in the specific inter-relation with the coach is pivotal to the coaching enterprise.

172

An existential approach to coaching psychology

Via the relationship itself, the existentially informed coach attempts to open up and make explicit the embedded and largely implicit inter-relational tensions that exist within the coachee’s worldview. Below, two central “skills” related to the exploration of the coachee’s worldview are briefly summarised.

The phenomenological method One powerful way to assist the coach in remaining attuned to the currently lived worldview of the coachee is to apply what has become known as the phenomenological method of investigation. There are three descriptive “steps” in this process (Idhe, 1977; Spinelli, 2005, 2014).

Step one: the rule of epoché This rule urges the coach to set aside his or her initial biases and prejudices, to suspend expectations and assumptions – in short, to bracket all presuppositions regarding the coachee as far as is possible. The rule of epoché urges the coach to attune his or her focus to what presents itself as it presents itself so that the coachee’s currently lived worldview can be more adequately disclosed and, in turn, so that any subsequent reconstructions of it fit its meanings and values.

Step two: the rule of description The essence of this rule is: “Describe, don’t explain”. Rather than attempt to immediately analyze or transform the coachee’s concerns on the basis of the coach’s preferred theories or hypotheses, the rule of description urges the coach to remain initially focused on that information which arises from a concretely based descriptive exploration of the coachee’s worldview. The focus of this rule centres more on the “what and how” of a coachee’s experience than it does on the “why”.

Step three: the rule of horizontalization The third step in the phenomenological method is known as the rule of horizontalization. This rule further urges the coach to avoid placing any initial hierarchies of significance or importance upon the items of description and instead to treat each as having initially equal value. In the attempt to describe, while avoiding any hierarchical assumptions, the coach is better able to access the coachee’s worldview with far less prejudice and with a much greater degree of adequacy so that, as far as is possible, he or she can avoid making immediate misleading hierarchically based judgements that may significantly misunderstand important aspects of the coachee’s worldview. As phenomenologists themselves have pointed out, no final or complete adherence to, or fulfilment of, each of the three steps in the phenomenological method is possible, nor should we trust any claim to have done so (Merleau-Ponty, 1962). Even so, while it remains impossible for coaches to fully achieve bracketing, pure description or total horizontalization, they are certainly capable of attempting each and, by so doing, becoming more aware of their biases at each “step” of their investigation. What is more, it can be argued that the act of recognition of bias is itself likely to lessen its impact by invoking for the coach a greater degree of caution in adhering too closely or uncritically to the immediate prejudices that he or she may have imposed upon an investigation from its earliest stages. It should now be clearer each “step” in the phenomenological method is, more accurately, a particular point of focus that is taken rather than an entirely independent activity that can be wholly distinguished from the remaining two.

173

Ernesto Spinelli and Caroline Horner

The inter-relational realms of discourse A second means by which the coachee’s worldview can be clarified centres upon the exploration of four inter-relational realms, or focus points, of discourse (Spinelli, 2005).

I-focus The I-focused realm of encounter attempts to describe and clarify “my experience of being ‘myself ’ in any given relationship”. It asks, in effect, “What do I tell myself about my current experience of being me in this encounter?” The use of the I-focus permits the coachee to express to both him or herself and to the coach that which is currently being experienced regarding self in relation to self.

You-focus The You-focused realm of encounter attempts to describe and clarify “my experience of ‘the other’ being in relation with me”. Its focus is on the question: “What do I tell myself about the other’s experience of being with me in any given encounter?” The use of the You-focus permits the coachee to express to both him or herself and to the coach that which is currently being experienced regarding self in relation to others via the particular present other who is the coach.

We-focus The We-focused realm of encounter attempts to describe and clarify each participant’s experience of “us” being in relation with one another. It asks: “What do I tell myself about the experience of being us in the immediacy of this encounter?” While all three of the above realms help the coach to access and explicate the coachee’s currently lived experience, the We-focused realm of encounter is treated with particular importance in the existential approach since it is characterised by its immediacy. It is concerned with, and expresses, that which is being experienced “in the moment” of engagement with the other from a person-to-person standpoint. As such, it expresses explicitly that inter-relational grounding that exists (and is more implicitly expressed) in I-focused and You-focused statements.

They-focus The They-focused realm of encounter attempts to describe and clarify “my experience of how those who make up my wider world of ‘others’ (extending beyond the other who is the coach) experience their own inter-relational realms in response to my current way of being and, as well, to the novel ways of being that may have begun to present themselves as possibilities to me as a result of coaching”. The exploration of this fourth relational realm is likely to be particularly significant when the coachee has reached a point of considering and making choices about new found alternative “ways to be”. It asks: “What do I tell myself about the meaning and impact that my new stance is having or will have upon my relations with those others who have been singled out by me as being significant?” Further, the They-focus also asks: “What do I tell myself about the meaning and impact that my decision is having or will have upon each of those others’ relations with one another?” The intent behind They-focused exploration is neither to alter nor prevent the coachee’s decision, nor to impose either the coach’s or the others’ own moral stance upon the coachee’s perspective, nor to expose the actual views of these “others” in the coachee’s world. Rather, its consideration serves to implicate the 174

An existential approach to coaching psychology

coachee’s newly chosen way of being in such a way that it includes his or her lived experience of the world and the others who exist within it rather than permit a “world-excluding” possibility. At the heart of both of the skills summarised above lies the attempt to ensure the coachee’s experience of “being heard” accurately both at the level of what is being stated overtly and, as significantly, at the level of exposing those underlying, implicit and covert values, beliefs and assumptions that both give rise to and inform the coachee’s overt statements. This attempt, on the part of the coach, creates the conditions that permit coachees to “hear themselves” accurately and non-defensively through their inter-relation with the coach. In this sense, the focus is not on the relative rationality or irrationality of values and beliefs held by the coachee. Rather, the enterprise centres upon the disclosing of areas of coherence and incoherence within the coachee’s worldview and the consequent experience of disturbance, unease and conflict that such provoke. Through such, the presenting problems and conflicts, as well as their possible resolutions, can be addressed from the context of the coachee’s worldview. Considered as direct expressions of inter-relational quandaries either within, or arising from, the coachee’s worldview, presenting problems can no longer be disconnected from the whole of the coachee’s worldview nor dealt with in isolation but rather are reconsidered from that inter-relational grounding which serves as a critical distinguishing feature of an existential approach to coaching.

Which coachees would benefit most? It is our view that the existential stance and approach is compatible with every form of coaching. However the approach is particularly useful when working with those in transition – for example, life stage transitions such as mid-life and retirement, progression and advancement in work or crisis points such as sudden changes in personal or professional circumstances. Dilemmas are often about regaining meaning, dealing with lost possibilities, owning choices and the anxiety that is provoked. While there is limited focus on the skills or techniques to quickly shift behaviour and performance in this approach, working to extend the coachee’s understanding of their stance to life and how it impacts their affects and behaviour does, in our experience, prompt performance-related change. Outcomes from this approach include individuals being more congruent with their lived experience, being clearer about who they are and who they are not; enhanced comfort with complexity, ambiguity and anxiety; improved self-responsibility and better quality and enjoyment of life. Research into the application of existential coaching has also identified its applicability to themes around leadership development (Jopling, 2012), career development (Pullinger, 2012), major life and work decisions (Lebon & Arnaud, 2012) and reducing work-related stress (Krum, 2012). Coachees who are open to a process which is reflective, exploratory and deeply challenging are likely to warm to an existential approach. Also those who value the opportunity to grapple with complex and paradoxical issues and receive feedback in the “here and now” while working to extend their understanding of their individual stance to life are likely to benefit; as are those less concerned with prescriptive change or goal setting. While children and adolescents do contend with existential questions, the approach is better suited to adults. Overall, the approach’s emphasis on “being qualities” and worldview exploration as opposed to the development and refinement of the coach’s “doing” skills and repertoire runs counter to many of the prevailing assumptions and emphases within coaching as understood by numerous approaches in the field of coaching. Whether this divergence will eventually prove to be the existential approach’s greatest strength or weakness remains to be seen. Undoubtedly, more research is required to test this perspective; however, it is our view that the interrelational assumption of the existential approach is likely to make a significant contribution to the advancement of the coaching profession. 175

Ernesto Spinelli and Caroline Horner

Case study Marianne: a case vignette of the existential approach Marianne has held a senior position in an established and well-regarded UK market research organisation for over four years. Although she has established a strong presence and revealed many desirable qualities, Marianne has, from the start of her employment, maintained poor relations with both her team and her line manager. As a result, she has been passed over for promotion on two separate occasions even though various structured assessments suggested that she has skills and potential that are consistent with those identified by the organisation to establish their long-term strategy. In an attempt to retain Marianne and create an opportunity for promotion, the company offered Marianne coaching to develop her interpersonal skills. Marianne considered a few coaches before selecting one of the authors (ES) and highlighted the relationship established in the preliminary session as the rationale for her selection. A total of eight 1½ hour fortnightly face-to-face sessions were arranged, and a contract specifying their frequency, duration and fees was agreed, as were specific points dealing with matters of confidentiality from the viewpoints of multiple stakeholders. At the start of her first formal session, Marianne stated that she had come to coaching because she wanted to prove herself to be the most capable and respected member in the organisation so that she would either be promoted or, if necessary, so that the company would feel the significance of her loss should she decide to leave. Marianne then announced her expectation that the coach identify specific outcome-focused goals and suggest ways as to how she was to implement them. In reply, the coach expressed his unwillingness to identify specific goals at the start of their sessions on the grounds that he had no adequate sense as to how Marianne’s stated outcomes related to her overall worldview as well as the expectations of leadership behaviour in the organisation. Instead, he proposed that, together, they could begin to address these so that any outcome goals could be tested for their coherence with them. Marianne’s immediate reaction was one of anger, a dismissal of the value in such an enquiry, a questioning of the coach’s competence and a threat to sever the relationship then and there and find someone far more capable as a replacement. Instead of arguing with her or attempting to alter her view, the coach urged Marianne to consider whether her response to his “stupid” request for clarification might be in any way resonant with her response to other “stupid” suggestions and requests by members of her team. This comment surprised Marianne, her irritation subsided and she began to seriously consider the challenge. Overall, she decided, there were very close parallels. As such, the coach suggested that they look at the issue of conflict as it arose in the coaching relationship since it was immediate and present between them and then consider whether what they discovered of this might be applicable to Marianne’s wider inter-relational conflicts. This discussion revealed that Marianne’s strong reaction was generated by her assessment of her own stupidity for not having immediately understood the point and value of the coach’s statement. Her response to this felt stupidity and inadequacy was to accuse the coach of the same. The coach then repeated Marianne’s conclusion: When I feel stupid and inadequate, I accuse the other of being stupid and inadequate. What, if anything, did hearing this statement provoke for Marianne? Marianne considered this and, surprising both herself and the coach, revealed that were she to understand and accept the other’s comments as being valid and appropriate, she would somehow “lose” since she would be conceding defeat to other’s views and demands on her – even if these made sense and held value. To complicate matters further, Marianne now saw as well that if the coach had gone along with her demand to set goals and provide strategies, she would probably have never returned since to go along with him would also have been tantamount to “losing”. Why so? Because it would have revealed the coach as someone who had no

176

An existential approach to coaching psychology

ideas of his own, who simply went along with her views, who was himself “a loser” and that by choosing him, so was Marianne. In brief, Marianne realised that her stance of verbal criticism and dismissal, whether of the coach or her work team, served, oddly enough, as a means to avoid “losing”. Did it provide a sense of “winning”? Interestingly, it didn’t. In Marianne’s worldview, “winning” was a potential outcome available only to others. At the start of her second session, Marianne clarified that whenever something that ought to feel like winning happened, she actually felt nothing and, indeed, always explained “win outcomes” as the result of chance or some other external agent for which she had no responsibility or control. In contrast, “losing”, always came about because of Marianne’s doing. With further exploration, it emerged that Marianne’s worldview maintained that “winning” was equated with “being good” but also feeling cut off, unreal and amorphous while “losing” meant “being bad” but also feeling connected, real and substantive. With this dichotomy in mind, Marianne began to explore her relations with various others: her work team, her father, and two significant past romantic partners. In all cases, she connected to her felt sense of “losing” but at the same time realised that this sense of loss, as well as the associated judgement of “being bad”, also provided her with a powerful experience of “being real”. If relations appeared to be progressing in an appropriate way (i.e. approached “winning”), Marianne theoretically “felt good” but in actuality, felt increasingly disengaged, empty and dissociated from herself. At this point, Marianne, not surprisingly, wondered aloud as to why she had to be this way. What had led her to this fixed view of herself and inter-relational stance toward others? The coach assisted her in addressing these questions not by encouraging her to focus upon past events from early points in her life in order to expose an originating cause, but rather by encouraging her to remain focused upon her current living with the effects of unknown past causes through a descriptive focus upon her body state and any emotions or judgmental statements that accompanied such. In attempting this, Marianne began to expose recurring fixed attitudes, beliefs and assumptions regarding self, others and the inter-relations between self and others which resonated with her body feelings, emotions and behaviours. Marianne practiced this descriptive process both in the sessions with the coach and on her own between sessions. Since Marianne had identified that the area likely to have the most immediate impact in relation to her leadership potential was by delivering through others, she and the coach agreed to focus upon her relations with her work team in the remaining coaching sessions. This exploration began with an exercise that prompted Marianne to explore descriptively her perceptions of the various others’ perceptions of her. This was then followed by Marianne’s descriptive exploration of these perceptions from the standpoint of her own perceptions of herself. Out of this, Marianne realised that in both cases the perceptions that emerged were highly critical in that everyone, Marianne included, emerged as being both “bad and a loser”. And “real”? Yes, Marianne conceded, at least they were all “real”. Here, once again, the coach urged Marianne to focus on her experience of the immediate coaching relationship. Did she perceive it as real? Yes. As bad? No. And did she feel she was losing? No, the very opposite in fact. So what was so different about this relationship that it broke the fixedness of her worldview regarding self, others and the inter-relations between them? Among the various significant variables that Marianne expressed was that of styles of communication. She realised that in her wider world interactions with others, as well as with herself, she could identify various elements such as her angry voice, her tense body, her desire to maintain emotional distance, her being constantly alert to subtle critical messages. Equally, she concluded that her communications, whether to others or to herself, were typically telegraphic in nature, unclear, open to confusion. And, at the same time, Marianne saw that her ability to hear accurately others’ responses to her statements was hampered because

177

Ernesto Spinelli and Caroline Horner

of all of these identified factors. In contrast, the coaching sessions provoked a much “easier, connected and understandable” series of communications. Because it stood out as a readily manipulable variable among those she had identified, the coach and Marianne focused on practicing with each other the un-telegraphing and de-confusing of statements. The experience provoked a response from Marianne whose significance she recognised immediately: she laughed heartily and unguardedly. And along with the laughter she felt “good, real and a winner”. At the start of the following session Marianne reported that she had tried out what she had learnt with her team and that, as a result, the interactions between them had started to improve to such an extent that others, including her line manager, had commented on the change in her. And how did Marianne experience all this? Not well; in fact, close to awful. This truthful disclosure permitted Marianne and the coach to return to the experience of difference that Marianne experienced in the coaching relationship. Via this discussion, Marianne realised that while she continued to feel “real and good and a winner” – all of which she valued greatly – she also felt extremely exposed and open – perhaps too open some of the time. Once again, a clear link was made between this experience and that sense of “close to awful” that had been provoked through her novel inter-relations with her team. Being “real and good and a winner” came with a price. Was the price worth paying as far as Marianne was concerned? That question became the focus of discussions for the remainder of the sessions. The details of these far extend the limits of this discussion. At the end of the eight sessions, Marianne had a deeper understanding of her emotional reactions and felt empowered to choose her response when in relation with her work team. She continued to apply the skills she had learnt in coaching and within four months was offered a promotion. Marianne continued to engage ES in a personal capacity to support her through the transition to step up to this more complex leadership role which required her to develop a wider repertoire of influencing skills.

Discussion points 1 2

3 4

An existential approach to coaching seeks to foster an experiential immediacy between coach and coachee. How does this stance compare and contrast with the one that you currently uphold? Working together with a partner, take turns in exploring a specific event that has recently occurred in your life by opening up its personal meaning through the three “steps” of the phenomenological method. When you have completed the exercise, discuss what value, if any, you experienced from this method of enquiry. Consider the perspective on choice being proposed by existential theory. What value might this view have for your understanding of your coaching coachees’ presenting concerns? What stands out for you in the case study that has challenged your current way of working as a coach?

Suggested reading Jacobsen, B. (2007). Invitation to Existential Psychology. Chichester: Wiley. Spinelli, E. (1997). Tales of Un-Knowing: Therapeutic Encounters from an Existential Perspective. Hay-On-Wye: PCCS Books. Spinelli, E. (2014). Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World, 2nd edition. London: Sage. van Deurzen, E. & Hanaway, M. (Eds.) (2012). Existential Perspectives on Coaching. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Yalom, I.D. (2001). The Gift of Therapy. London: Piatkus.

References Cohn, H.W. (2002). Heidegger and the Roots of Existential Therapy. London: Continuum. Cooper, M. (2003). Existential Therapies. London: Sage.

178

An existential approach to coaching psychology

Frankl, V. (1988). The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Gergen, K.J. (2009). Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hills, J. (2012). Introduction to Systemic and Family Therapy. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Hughes, R. (1991). The Shock of the New: Art and the Century of Change. London: Thames and Hudson. Idhe, D. (1977). Experimental Phenomenology: An Introduction. Albany: State University of New York (1986). Jopling, A. (2012). Coaching leaders from an existential perspective, in E. van Deurzen & M. Hanaway (Eds.), Existential Perspectives on Coaching. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 72–83. Krum, A.N. (2012). How can ideas from the existential approach enhance coaching for people with work-related stress? International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Special Issue No.6, pp. 57–71. LeBon, T. & Arnaud, D. (2012). Existential coaching and major life decisions, in E. van Deurzen & M. Hanaway (Eds.), Existential Perspectives on Coaching. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 47–59. Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). The Phenomoneology of Perception (trans. C. Smith). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Pullinger, D. (2012). Career development as a life changing event, in E. van Deurzen & M. Hanaway (Eds.), Existential Perspectives on Coaching. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 60–71. Sartre, J. P. (1991). Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology (trans. H. Barnes). London: Routledge. Spinelli, E. (2001). The Mirror and the Hammer: Existential Challenges to Therapeutic Orthodoxy. London: Sage. Spinelli, E. (2005). The Interpreted World: An Introduction to Phenomenological Psychology, 2nd edition. London: Sage. Spinelli, E. (2014). Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World, 2nd edition. London: Sage. Strasser, F. & Strasser, A. (1997). Existential Time-Limited Therapy: The Wheel of Existence. Chichester: Wiley.

179

14 Gestalt coaching Julie Allan and Alison Whybrow

Introduction Gestalt coaching concerns a process of becoming fully aware and turning that awareness into action. An increasing body of coaches access this approach in some way, perhaps particularly in executive and leadership work and for those whose time is spent drawing on their own generative and creative abilities. Practitioners may call on their understanding of gestalt psychology and gestalt psychotherapy, both of which preceded the arrival of the gestalt coaching label. There’s a curious challenge to describing gestalt coaching, in line with Resnick’s challenge in relation to gestalt therapy: ‘Every Gestalt therapist could stop doing any gestalt technique that had ever been done and go right on doing gestalt therapy. If they couldn’t, then they weren’t doing Gestalt therapy in the first place. They were fooling around with a bag of tricks and a bunch of gimmicks’. (Resnick, 1984, p. 19). So what might gestalt coaches do? How would gestalt coaching be experienced? Why might a coachee choose it and benefit from it? At the moment in time when this sentence was written, the person writing it experienced some anxiety, a concern at how the apparent lack of definition might be received, and wanted to make the explanation a little more concrete. She chose the following words: Gestalt coaching concerns a process of becoming fully aware and then turning that awareness into action, in such a way that a positive cycle of resolution and emergence of the next focus is created. In gestalt coaching, the coach will specifically draw on their own awareness (thoughts, feelings, sensations) during sessions and feed this back into the process in order to challenge, support and enquire. In particular, they do this to promote movement wherever they believe the coachee is in some way blocking their experience and limiting their potential and failing to move through full cycles of experience. A useful analogy is the process of breathing, which sustains life and is generally most effective if one breathes fully in and also fully out, to allow the next inhalation. There may be more emphasis on ‘what is going on right now’, rather than ‘what happened there and then’. Having written those words, the author felt that some reasonable explanation had been made, and her attention was attracted to how it would be possible to link this with some basic theory and, in particular, with more concrete examples of gestalt in action. In gestalt terms, she had attended to one ‘figure’ that had emerged from the ‘ground’ and was free to start to address the next thing that asked for attention.

180

Gestalt coaching

The development of gestalt coaching Gestalt psychology was pioneered by Wertheimer (1880–1943), Köhler (1887–1967) and Koffka (1886– 1941). Gestalt means a unified or meaningful whole. Fritz Perls (1893–1970) was the sometimes controversial originator of gestalt therapy, developing his ideas through the 1920s and onwards. His wife Laura was also actively involved. Gestalt coaching might differ from Perls’ practice, as indeed might gestalt therapy, in that Perls had a very rigorous and perhaps uncompromising attitude to how ‘authentic’ the therapist needed to be in the relationship with their coachee. However, the intention of a very ‘full’ experience of the coachee, the coach and the relationship between them in the ‘here-and-now’ of their sessions is undoubtedly a part of a gestalt coaching framework. Gestalt approaches are generally based around individual active awareness and differ from two other main strands of psychology that emerged in the early twentieth century: the behaviourist or cognitive-behavioural approach, concentrating on learning mechanisms; and the psychoanalytic tradition concentrating on biological drives, which Perls believed was an insufficient way of regarding human development. Through the 1930s–1950s, Perls and his colleagues continued with their regard for the person as a whole and in context (holism), incorporating gestalt understandings about perception, individual sense-making and resolution/ closure. The term holism was originally coined by Smuts (1936). The individual level work was also developed into group and, from the 1960s, organisational settings (Nevis 1987; Issacs 1993). So here, if it had not done so before, gestalt entered a corporate context. More recently, the use of gestalt as a coaching approach has proliferated. It is in the nature of gestalt to evolve necessarily in a way that prohibits the exposition of ‘the’ gestalt way but does, if only just, allow some emergence of common themes. Spoth, Toman, Leichtman, & Allan (2013) tracked the different evolutions of the Cleveland and Cape Cod approaches in the USA, while also reviewing the development of gestalt coaching around the world – and potential reasons why Palmer & Whybrow (2007) found it not to be a particularly widespread approach. However, they also noted that the literature about gestalt coaching had increased to some degree. Examples between the 2009 first publication and this update of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology include Simon (2009); Gillie (2009); Bluckert (2009, 2014); and Partridge and Spoth (2013). Of particular note, for being possibly the first entire text on the topic, is Leary-Joyce (2014), followed by Bluckert (2015).

Theory and basic concepts of gestalt coaching Drawing on gestalt psychology and psychotherapy, gestalt coaching attends to awareness-raising and the ways in which we organise/perceive the world around us. It may be held to be humanistic, existential and phenomenological. A gestalt psychological view is that what we see and how we perceive things is the result of who we are at one moment in time. What makes sense (becomes figure) in a particular context (ground) changes momentarily. In an attempt to organise the dynamic complexity of experience, we tend to arrange things in a way that makes sense according to our current thinking, prior experience or preoccupations. We are also predisposed to look for symmetry and equilibrium or ‘closure’. Experiments with our visual process give us some understanding of the way our perception of the world is self-directed. In the faces/candlestick picture, we can experience either the faces or the candlestick becoming figure and the other ground, perhaps then reversing this perception. In another picture, we see three unconnected lines as a connected triangle – we fill in the gaps to create the whole. (See Figure 14.1.) We also have a tendency to favour similarity, seeing patterns, grouping similar items together and differentiating them from others. For example, the diagonal line of o’s stands out from the horizontal lines of x’s in Figure 14.1.

181

Julie Allan and Alison Whybrow oxxxxxx xoxxxxx xxoxxxx xxxoxxx xxxxoxx xxxxxox xxxxxxo

Figure 14.1 Patterns of perception

Additionally, we reinterpret our world in the light of new experiences, and thus our understanding of who we are through our experiences is continually shifting. An aim in gestalt coaching is to explore this subjective world in a way that enables the coachee to access a wider range of choices and make the most of their capacities. In Rogerian terms this is the equivalent of actualising one’s potential. A traditional gestalt therapeutic view is that as individuals we are responsible for our decisions and actions, or indecisions and inactions (existentialism), and that the relationship between people, as human beings, can be developmental without need of a shared theism of any sort (humanistic). That said, in the early days of gestalt it was Zen that had an influence.

Phenomenology and the three defining principles Phenomenology is the practice of seeking to understand situations through reference to the immediately obvious in-the-present phenomena. For example, as I eat this orange I am doing so fully aware of the experience in the here and now: of the smell, the sight of the orange, the feel of the skin, the taste of the orange and the sound of it crunching. I am aware of the orange through all senses without distraction from previous or future events. I would not be fully aware of the orange if I ate it whilst focusing on something else, another thing or ‘figure’. In a phenomenological approach, while the past and the future exist, full attention to the present is required in order to access the most immediate, potent information possible to help promote awareness and decide on action. In a coaching setting, the coachee may expect the coach to pay detailed attention to feelings, physical movements, postures and so forth that actually occur within the session and enquire into them or reflect them back. Gestalt coaching is lively and alive because the coach will always be seeking to uncover what has to be changed right there and now in this room so that change can happen effectively outside it and at another time. Phenomenology, according to Yontef (1980, cf Clarkson), is one of the three defining principles of gestalt therapy. According to this principle of phenomenology, gestalt coaching would have awareness as its only goal and as its methodology. The second principle states that gestalt is based wholly on dialogic existentialism. In the coaching setting this might reference the ‘here-and-now’ coach-coachee dialogue. In dialogue, from the Greek dia (through) and logos (word/meaning), the attention to the relationship and the spirit of enquiry means that something new can emerge that was not in the minds of either party when the dialogue started. It is in this potentially very creative way that something completely appropriate for the current situation is generated. The focus on ‘now’ makes sense in gestalt terms because of the underpinning assumption of holism – that is, the coaching relationship will recreate or contain patterns occurring beyond the sessions. So creating shifts in the immediate dialogue can effectively make a difference to the broader system(s). The third principle is that gestalt’s conceptual foundation is gestalt – based on holism and field theory. We exist within a context or ‘field’, and we understand ourselves in relation to that field, so we cannot be understood without reference to the field. Applied to coaching, this principle highlights the importance of the coach/coachee relationship. The coach cannot not be in the field. The coach and coachee are part of each other’s fields or contexts, bringing the relationship between the coach and coachee into focus. 182

Gestalt coaching

Yontef (1980) saw these three principles as interlinked and encompassing each other. Against the ‘ground’ of these principles, gestalt coaching facilitates us becoming aware of what is stopping us engaging fully in our everyday experiences. Identification, exploration and potentially removal of any ‘blocks to awareness’ enables us to exercise greater choice in our behaviour and function more effectively or healthily. Perls (1969) saw self-awareness in the here-and-now being the key to people becoming healthy, as selfawareness creates the circumstances in which individuals have greater response-ability for who they are, transcending from environmental support to mature self-support (not to be confused with isolated selfabsorption) where individuals become fully themselves, engaging with life to their full potential. In coaching terms, awareness creates the conditions in which the coachee has access to a wider range of possible behaviours, giving greater choice and capability in action and relationship. In gestalt coaching, one first place of experiment and rehearsal is with the coach within the coaching relationship.

An application case study A senior executive was responsible for brokering an effective partnership with another company through interaction with his counterpart. He had spoken by telephone and was going to meet this woman. But he didn’t feel at all comfortable and wasn’t sure why, so he wanted help to prepare for the meeting . . . Coach: Exec:

Coach:

Exec: Coach: Exec: Coach: Exec: Coach:

Exec: Coach: Exec: Coach:

Exec: Coach: Exec: Coach: Exec: Coach: Exec: Coach:

You say you don’t feel comfortable. Tell me more about that. Well, I just get the sense that she doesn’t want to meet me (hands are held in front of him, palms outwards, heels of the hands down and fingers up; coach makes a subtle mimic of that posture as a part of her way of listening fully, exec nods) . . . You don’t feel comfortable, and if I’m understanding correctly there’s some sense of backing away but only slightly and then a kind of . . . (coach mimics the posture again and moves her body slightly backwards and forwards, which is what she had observed.) Yes, yes (crosses legs and puts arms across stomach); it’s a bit worrying. You feel worried (facial expression of enquiry). Yes . . . I’m on the spot here to get it right and if she doesn’t want to talk to me then I have a problem. (coach is now attending to body posture and ‘on the spot’, ‘get it right’ and ‘if ’) What else do you feel? Fear, actually. I might fail. (notes move from ‘uncomfortable’ to acknowledgement of fear of failure; chooses to engage coachee’s positive capacities and mimics coachee’s hand position) So you fear you might fail and I notice that you look to be protecting your stomach a bit and you have a sense of being on the spot. Just general anxiety I suppose. And your anxiety is in your stomach (facial expression of enquiry). Yes. You feel fear and you have anxiety in your stomach. That’s good to be clear about. Shall we think about how you might make a really effective connection with this person even if you are holding anxiety in your stomach? (smiles, sits up, moves hands) That seems to be a thought that allows you to move. Yes, I thought I wouldn’t be able to . . . well that’s funny really . . . That’s funny? Actually I imagine she might be quite anxious too . . . we might both be anxious (smiles). It’s funny that you’re both anxious (also smiles). How do you feel now? A bit excited actually. Excited . . . where excited? 183

Julie Allan and Alison Whybrow

Exec: Coach: Exec:

I don’t know really, just, well, sort of warmer towards the situation. Warmer towards the situation . . . and the situation’s name is? (smiling). Andrea (laughs).

The coaching then continues addressing how the coachee can make an effective connection, including how to relate to emotions or physical reactions that they experience as adverse. In terms of gestalt thinking, this vignette includes: • • •

Dialogue in the ‘here-and-now’ A presenting issue, or ‘figure’ A process of using phenomenology to gain real clarity or ‘contact’ with that figure, the full contact allowing a degree of resolution on one part of the overall picture, allowing another figure to emerge.

Attending to phenomenology assisted the process of connecting the coachee with themselves and their capacity for connecting with others. It also helped the coachee distinguish between anxiety they have and anxiety that another may (or may not) have, again giving the potential for a better meeting place. This cycle, the gestalt cycle of experience, can be travelled many times within a session and there will be cycles within the overall picture. Aspects of humanism and existentialism at work are demonstrated in that, before intervention, the coachee had managed to separate themselves from the human condition, their feelings, so separating themselves from the potential for good contact with another person.

Key concepts The contact boundary phenomena is based on the gestalt concept of ‘self ’ being a process of relating to the environment – of distinguishing what is self and what is not-self. The contact boundary is the actual point at which the self is distinguished from the not-self (Perls, 1957) and changes each moment as our understanding and awareness of our self changes. Perls (1969) frequently uses the image of not stepping into the same river twice, drawing from one of the central metaphors of the Heraclitean legacy (Clarkson, 1993):‘Upon those who are (in the process of) stepping into the same rivers different and again different waters flow’ (Heraclitus in Guerrière, 1980, p. 104). The paradoxical theory of change (Beisser, 1970) holds that in order to transition from A to B, it is first necessary to fully engage with A. Clarkson (1989) is among those who have forwarded a gestaltist view that, whatever is said fully and completely, the opposite also begins to be true. In other words, once you are fully aware of what ‘A’ is, you then become aware of the opposite situation and any number of alternatives in between (B1, B2, . . . Bx). A gestalt coach helps the coachee fully raise and explore awareness of the state they are in because with this sharpness of experience there also comes an ability for the coachee to become mobilised. Our attention to our awareness is informed by and informs the cycle of experience. This seven-stage cycle is described by a number of writers (e.g. Clarkson, 1989; Zinker, 1978). Applied to the example above, the cycle might start with the coachee feeling not ‘at all comfortable’ (sensation) and ‘fear, actually. I might fail’, with anxiety held in their stomach (awareness), understanding how they might make a really effective connection with the person even though they are holding anxiety in their stomach (mobilisation), realisation that ‘she might be quite anxious too (action)’, ‘excited’ about the meeting (final contact), ‘warmer towards the situation’ (satisfaction) and finally, rest (withdrawal), before the cycle begins again. At any point, a cycle can feed into many other cycles as awareness leads to greater awareness.

Blocks to awareness Seven blocks to full awareness are described in gestalt therapy. While somewhat reductionist, we outline the blocks and the cycle stages in Table 14.1. Of these, Introjection and Retroflection are particularly relevant to the coach in terms of dealing with self-critical thought patterns and unfinished business. 184

Table 14.1 Blocks to awareness Block to awareness and the part of the cycle it interrupts

What that means for the client

Desensitisation – interrupts Sensation

Sensations or feelings are diluted, disregarded or neglected. Pain or discomfort is kept from coming to mind (becoming figural). At a low level, desensitisation might help meet a short-term objective but over the longer term become unhealthy and unsustainable – for example, drinking insufficient fluids, going without sleep, taking pain killers, and other actions that prevent the sensations from being perceived.

Deflection – interrupts Awareness

A person turns aside from direct contact with another person or a situation. The conversation subject may be subtly changed or reformed. For example, in response to ‘How do you feel to receive such a positive accolade for the project you completed?’ the person responds, ‘I did nothing, it was the team that enabled the project to succeed’. Instead of sharing direct feelings with emotional intensity, abstract language is chosen (‘One could become a bit cross’) or eye contact may be avoided. Habitual deflection means the person fails to gain useful feedback, including positive, from themselves, others or the environment. Some deflection could be a healthy choice.

Introjection – interrupts Mobilisation, preventing the person taking appropriate action to meet their needs.

Thoughts, feelings and messages delivered from others are ‘swallowed whole’, accepted without any critical appraisal or deliberate choice. Introjects are often a legacy of childhood when we may not have had the means to be discerning about what was being fed to us: ‘you must always work hard’, ‘you must not show your feelings’, ‘you are stupid’, ‘all the women in our family have stayed at home and brought up their families in the right way’. These become inflexible, totalitarian, internalised ‘you should always . . . ’ ideas. Introjections may assist with learning certain skills but later need to be re-examined to investigate whether they still apply.

Projection – interrupts Action

Seeing in others’ personality or behaviour what you don’t acknowledge or see in yourself. For example, a client might experience others as critical or judging towards them when, instead, they are critical and judgemental of themselves or of others. Projection presents an area for exploration and work for the coachee. It can also assist in planning and anticipating future situations by creatively projecting self into different scenarios and working from that point in time and space before bringing back to the present.

Retroflection – this may specifically interrupt the final contact phase of the awareness cycle

There are two types of retroflection. First, when your client does to him/ herself that which they want to do to, for or with something or someone else. For example, rather than expressing negative feelings, anger, hurt to others, your client may turn the aggression on him/herself: ‘It’s no wonder I’m being bullied when I’m just so useless’. Never allowing yourself to express your hurt or rage isn’t usually a recipe for health. The second type is when a client does to him/herself something that they want or wanted others to do for them. This can be a form of self-support, but it can also interfere with meeting genuine interpersonal needs in the present. For example, in response to the question, ‘What would you like to achieve from this meeting?’, your client may respond, ‘Oh, I’ll be happy to help ensure the working party chairs have their say’, rather than voice, ‘I need to feel included’, or ‘I have a lot of good ideas on the issue and I’d like you to listen to them’. (Continued )

Julie Allan and Alison Whybrow Table 14.1 (Continued) Block to awareness and the part of the cycle it interrupts

What that means for the client

Egotism – interrupts Satisfaction

Characterised by the individual stepping outside themselves and becoming a spectator or commentator on their experience. The person can understand what’s going on but doesn’t act on that understanding, with the result that they can seem lacking in empathy and don’t benefit from the satisfaction of a more hands-on involvement. So a boss notices a stressed employee and makes a mental note of the stress without extending a hand towards the person, as if the noticing was sufficient.

Confluence – interrupts Withdrawal

This is where the person is not differentiated from their environment or another person. The phrase, ‘We think this, don’t we?’ indicates confluence in a relationship. Confluence also appears in ‘groupthink’. In this state of affairs, consideration of boundaries, conflict or disagreement is experienced as a threat to important relationships, even to ‘survival’. In organisations you may hear, ‘It’s important not to rock the boat’, ‘stick one’s head above the parapet’, or any number of other phrases. To attend to boundaries and allow conflict is seen as a threat to the organisation and its survival. Confluence can assist in promoting empathy and life enrichment; in healthy contact, there is then a letting go with confidence that such moments can recur. If there is no ‘letting go’, development is prevented. A coachee may be confluent with their occupation, so they don’t distinguish themselves from their job role.

The phenomenon of self is interesting here. Using the language of field theory, we can think of the self as making up the field. We are constantly, although not explicitly, engaged in understanding how to frame reality at a particular moment; how to arrange our ‘life space’; how to organise our experience. We do these things by organising (or configuring) the field according to particular meanings, a personal process in which certain parts of our total experience become figural and other parts are organised around them, as ground. This process can be construed as the self at work (Latner, 1986). The self, then, is a process and not a static abstract mental entity; it provides a way of describing an ongoing, evolving and transforming process in which we continuously engage, configuring the experiential field or choosing our reality (Parlett, 1991). Houston (2003) points out that ‘nothing or no one is truly separable from their context’ (p. 6). All these elements – the self, our experience, what is figure and what is ground – are distorted by the process of perception and our assumptions, stereotypes and subsequent expectations of our world. We don’t see things are they are. We see them as we are (Anon, quoted by Anais Nin and others. See Nin, 1961, p. 124). We are predisposed to see what we expect. Gestalt coaching aims to sharpen individual experience, to facilitate awareness of assumptions and stereotypes and to challenge them in order to respond to what is actually happening, not what we think is happening. Through a process of dialogue in the coach-coachee relationship, the aim is to raise awareness in such a way that new thinking can emerge because the coachee is prompted to uncover, or discover (and maybe to recover from), unexamined organisational and individual patterns of meaning making that have stopped being useful but still remain unquestioned and often invisible. It might be useful to end this part of the chapter with a quote: ‘I consider this blend of existential and Zen philosophy, this organismic personality theory, and this phenomenological experiential style of working to be the necessary and sufficient conditions to define the Gestalt approach’ (Smith, 1976, p. 74). 186

Gestalt coaching

Practicing as a gestalt coaching psychologist How are the goals of gestalt coaching achieved? It is perhaps worth reflecting on Resnick’s warning from the start of the chapter. With this in mind, the following material points to possibilities (not prescriptions), at least as many as there are coach-coachee relationships, each unique yet each with the same purpose in view. This exquisite attention to creativity and generative potential required for successful gestalt coaching requires that the coach start from fundamental principles each time, and: • • •

has a full understanding of the theoretical and practical history of gestalt, has an ability to responsibly use phenomenology in the service of others, and subscribes to appropriate standards of practice and ethics.

Fooling around with a bunch of gimmicks and a bag of tricks is hardly appropriate. In gestalt coaching the coachee is encouraged to engage with themselves, their thoughts, their context, and their relationships through all five of their senses. Physical movement and play (for example, through modelling and drawing) may be part of the coaching. A comfortable space with room for this expression of experience is useful. The gestalt coach brings themselves to the coaching relationship. They are present, authentic and part of the coachee’s context. What the coach experiences in the coaching space is part of the coaching process. It is the coaching relationship that is the major ‘tool’. The development of trust, self-awareness and creative experimentation enables the coachee to develop a healthier world view – enabled through the existence of an authentic relationship between coach and coachee.

Dialogue One viewpoint that helpfully informs gestalt coaches is that, through dialogue, covert patterns are made overt as they are happening and some new understanding can emerge. Through dialogue the coach encourages the coachee to uncover assumptions and patterns for themselves. The coachee’s awareness of how they use language is raised, and they are encouraged to use language that reflects their control over themselves and identifies their responsibility for their thoughts, feelings and actions. The coach assists the coachee, as they become more aware and able to ‘call out’ patterns they had previously taken as read. The coachee is assisted in adopting this same approach beyond the coaching sessions. Engaging with the full sensory impact of what is happening, the coachee learns to become more aware of themselves and their changing experience from moment to moment in the coaching session and, through this, in their broader life and work context. One experiment in a coaching relationship might be receiving positive or negative feedback without deflecting it and fully experiencing the thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations that go with it.

Experimentation Experimenting, key to the gestalt approach, is closely associated with the action phase of the cycle of experience although, in reality, it underpins the whole cycle of experience. The coachee is encouraged to try out new thoughts, beliefs or actions within the safety of the coaching relationship. Creativity and timing are required on the part of the coach to identify the moment to suggest or enable creative experimentation by the coachee. Experiments might include polarisation, where the differences between positions (e.g. values, beliefs, the self-critical part of the coachee, and so on) are drawn out or accentuated and explored. Raising awareness of the values, assumptions and beliefs that the coachee holds is an important area for shaking off self-limiting thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Facilitating awareness through encouraging the coachee to hold a conversation with the critical part of themselves, or the absent other from whom these 187

Julie Allan and Alison Whybrow

beliefs, assumptions and values were learned or gobbled up, is a way of drawing out these underlying patterns of perception. The coachee, once aware of these patterns, can re-examine the assumptions that guide their thoughts, feelings and behaviour and make a conscious choice about what to retain and what to let go. This releases the coachee from the ‘tyranny’ of internalised values and prejudices (Clarkson, 1989). A number of techniques, such as ‘two chair work’, ‘meta mirror’ or ‘enactment’ are examples of this element of gestalt work. Visualisation may be used to experiment, with the coachee encouraged to visualise themselves in any number of ways that are different to the way they are, perhaps having achieved their identified goal, perhaps considering what it might be like to be the person they want to become. Storytelling and metaphor could be used as a means of experimentation, encouraging the coachee to create a story that can be used to reflect their own actual or desired personal story. Rehearsing potentially difficult situations before they occur assists the coachee to build their own personal resources beyond the coaching sessions. The experiments that are devised between the coach and coachee can be worked out within the coaching session, given as homework, or both.

The coaching relationship The coaching relationship is key to the effectiveness of gestalt coaching, and the coach remains in a coachee’s field whether they are physically present or not. Both face-to-face and other forms of interpersonal contact would be appropriate for gestalt coaching. Attention to different elements of information (such as intonation or what specific language was used) is necessary in telephone coaching sessions, as the opportunity to attend to all five senses is diminished compared to face-to-face contact or forms of video conferencing. Media that really limit the possibility of full contact (email, text, etc.) are best used minimally for discrete tasks.

Application and process You will not be surprised to hear that a standard format does not exist, rather what is brought to the coaching relationship by the coachee generates the format of the session. A full range of ways of working can be encompassed in any one session as the approach is about being fully present and fully raising awareness. Skilful use of the gestalt approach, philosophy and concepts can assist when working with groups in raising the group’s awareness of what is taking place in the group from moment to moment. What are people focusing on? What are people talking about? Are the patterns in this group replicated in the wider field?

Which coachees benefit most? Gestalt coaching is potentially most suitable for those who are inclined towards regarding themselves holistically as ‘the equipment for the job’ and have an interest in using their own presence as a catalyst for change. Senior executives and those in leadership positions are frequently in this group because it’s about overall effective ways of being rather than (necessarily) the closing of a performance gap. They are also frequently individuals who are interested in systemic viewpoints, which is also a feature of gestalt coaching. And there is also the question of changing being paradoxically driven by engaging with being fully the way they are at any moment in time. Gestalt approaches might not appeal to those who would like a more strictly gapanalysis-based and/or cognitive-behavioural approach rather than an overtly holistic, systemic approach.

Case study A gestalt case study presents challenges – to illustrate individual elements usefully when the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, or to honour the important ‘lively present’ in retrospect. The following coaching segments give partial glimpses of gestalt coaching in practice, as touchstones or thought-starters, not as prescriptions.

188

Gestalt coaching

The coachee Carina is a senior executive in a large corporation that has recently undergone a merger. She is seen as having potential for directorship (board, two steps above) or head of section (one step above). Carina had a 360-degree feedback process (pre-merger) and a recent appraisal (new boss, post-merger). Before her first coaching meetings she reports the need to address two areas: 1 2

Being seen as more strategic in her leadership (the headline from the organisation). She’s had enough of the disruption (redundancies, exits, moral and performance issues), feels forced to be more ‘hands-on’ than ever, and thinks that might not be strategic although necessary.

Session 1 extract: exploring how things are for the coachee At her first session Carina reiterates the first aim but describes many negative work experiences and wonders whether she wants to stay in the company. Question from coach:

What is important for you at the moment for us to spend time on today?

Carina:

Well, I’m told I need to be better at strategic leadership and probably no doubt I do, so probably that.

Coach:

(notices probably and no doubt) Hmmm? Strategic and leadership can have all sorts of different meanings . . . or none . . . I wonder what they mean for you, or your work. What’s important for you about them? Let’s spend time on what’s important for you at the moment.

Carina:

Yes, well, quite. I do wonder what they mean by it.

Coach:

What they mean . . . and who’s the ‘they’?

Carina:

(still speaking quickly, moving around in seat, eyes frequently raising to the ceiling) Well, it’s the company and really at the end of the day it’s how I’m seen by the board. They want us all to be more strategic.

Coach:

(pauses) I’m starting to feel a bit rushed and some sense of confusion. I’ve noticed your tone of voice when you mention the board and an expression on your face when you say strategic . . .

Carina:

(nodding) Hmm. I’ve been spotted haven’t I? Very good.

Coach:

Well, perhaps you have. Spotted?

Carina:

OK. It’s just that I don’t know if I want to do what’s being asked and well, you see, I’m not like them.

Coach:

You’re not like ‘them’. So how are you? What are you like?

Carina:

(leans sideways on chair, swivels chair, leans on the back of the chair with one arm and supports her head with that hand, looks down, looks to one side, clears her throat, exhales audibly) I’m not at all sure I fit.

Coach:

And what’s important to you about this fit?

Carina:

It seems to me that the people who do well just spend their time unjustifiably promoting themselves and I just don’t do that.

Coach:

You don’t unjustifiably promote yourself?

Carina:

(smiles) No. Well, obviously I wouldn’t unjustifiably promote myself. I see what you mean . . . well it just isn’t me.

Coach:

Justifiably promoting yourself?

Carina:

I shouldn’t have to promote myself. Good work is self-evident.

189

Julie Allan and Alison Whybrow

Coach:

And you have done good work.

Carina:

Yes, but it’s just what I expect of myself. You shouldn’t have to go around telling people.

Coach:

Says who?

Notes With regard to the gestalt contact cycle, Sensation and Awareness (with their attendant desensitisiation and deflection) were explored by the coach, plus important information about introjects that had the potential to limit the coachee’s options for action (Mobilisation). The conversation raised uncomfortable emotions for the coachee, who became aware of their ‘shoulds’: You should just do a good job; people shouldn’t boast; people should give credit where due; people should be happy to quietly (and accurately) know their own worth; people shouldn’t be so gullible, shallow. . . . These were preventing action and contact. In the session, full contact with the potential self-limiting aspects was achieved without the coachee retroflecting (thinking they were ‘bad’ or ‘stupid’, for example). They came to a useful realisation about ‘what they are like’.

Homework The experiment suggested was chosen to increase the potential for sensation and awareness without evoking interruptions. The coachee agreed to notice her own and others’ behaviours or views around ‘credit’ and not try to change them, as well as her response to requests from above that the team should deliver what she asked of them without spending time on doing the work herself. In Session 2, Carina reported great success in being clear with her expectations of her team – the awareness had been all it took to amend her behaviour helpfully, and the team had responded. She brought to the session a series of interactions with one individual, after which she had gone home and burst into tears when her partner asked how her day had gone. The coach invited Carina to bring the experience back into the room and took a similar approach as the previous session: ‘As you think about it now, is there a moment that particularly comes to mind?’ The coach noted and shared their own experienced emotion (sadness) and there was a profound exploration about being seen and heard, and not.

Homework Simply for the coachee to notice communications in which she felt heard or not heard, communications in which she felt seen or not seen and communications when she felt she really listened and attended to the other person.

Session 3 extract: more connections Coach:

So, you’ve been noticing all sorts of things about communication. How’s the leadership going? Are you more strategic yet?

Carina:

I wanted to talk about that. I’ve noticed how much I close down when I talk to some people, including board members. And I think my commitment is questioned because I don’t come across as ‘in there’ enough, and I think it connects with thinking people just should notice when I’m being strategic, I shouldn’t have to spell it out . . . but somehow it’s very confusing.

Coach:

Actually you’re looking a bit upset to me. Are you feeling upset?

Carina:

I am upset. It’s like I’m not seen or something. But I can’t see what I can do about it.

190

Gestalt coaching

Coach:

Would you be willing to do something a bit different, just to see what emerges around this? (coachee looked interested but not enthusiastic) What I had in mind was to spend a few minutes sketching things out in some way – seeing what could become visible.

Carina:

Oh, you did warn me of this at the start didn’t you. Well, OK. I can’t draw though.

Coach:

Fortunately, that doesn’t matter in the least. All you need to do is draw something – anything you like – about not being seen or even about being seen, if you like. (Ten minutes pass and the coachee produces four sheets of drawings. The coach enquires into them. Questions are, ‘Tell me a little about this’, ‘Are these people you know?’ or otherwise descriptors such as ‘the colour is really strong on that bit’, ‘I see quite a distance between X and Y’, etc.)

Carina:

That’s my family and that’s me. I’m always in the middle of five. I can’t win.

Notes This session felt quite different from the perspective of the coach. The coachee has achieved contactful clarity in a number of areas and had shown fewer interruptions/ boundary disturbances. The experiment offered was to make things more visually explicit in some way – drawing/mapping. This enabled talk about the actuality or metaphor of ‘visibility’ and was useful for this coachee, who normally has a good facility with words but who is somewhat lost for them at this moment in time – she registered ‘confusion’. Carina explored how she could be seen and heard, ‘drawing’ her work to the board’s attention in a congruent way – not to ‘win against others’. Carina left the session very clear that she could carry out her leadership in a way suitable for supporting those below her and informing/supporting the board.

Homework Carina to capture her own new personal vision in some way and seek feedback from trusted others on how she is being seen. Notice her sense of commitment and whether this was being noticed.

Session 4: planning, closing a cycle and opening one Arriving for this session the coach noticed a variety of environmental changes that, on exploration, had been instigated by the coachee for reasons to do with relationship building and holding the vision. Carina was being usefully noticed by the board but doubted how sustainable her level of activity was, despite her high enthusiasm. Coach:

Well, that’s good to be clear about. So is it worthwhile just exploring for a while how you will continue to be successful, demonstrating strategic leadership and being appreciated, in a way you can sustain?

Carina:

I’m not sure it’s possible.

At similar points with other coachees, the coach has often found two types of exploration helpful, and they are briefly outlined here. The first is a ‘two-chair’ type of conversation. These can be used to allow the coachee to converse with an absent other person known to them. Here it was used to allow the ‘for’ and ‘against’ parts of the coachee to converse. This was followed by using the senses in a ‘timeline’ type experiment in which the coachee imagines a point, say a year hence, in which they are successful, step into that success and then plot their time back to the present day in quarterly steps. This engages the physical body and the senses and works through the required ‘plan’ for the achievement.

191

Julie Allan and Alison Whybrow

Coach:

So let’s just have a conversation between the ‘can-do-u’ and the ‘pit’ you, as you have named them. (refers to anxiety in the pit of the stomach). Who will speak first?

Carina:

Pit.

Coach:

Ok, so go and sit in the pit chair. Move to the can-do chair for the can-do to speak.

Carina (pit):

I’m very anxious about all this good stuff you’ve been doing, it’s taken a lot of effort and you know it can’t go on.

Carina (can-do; has swapped seats):

Well I’m sorry you’re anxious and it has been a lot of effort but I think it’s been really worth it.

Carina (pit):

It might have been worth it but you can’t keep it up.

Carina (can-do):

I can.

Carina (pit):

That’s not true.

Carina (can-do):

You’re right. (turns to coach). Now what?

Coach:

I’m not taking sides. Come and sit back in the Carina chair. I notice you let pit have the first word and maybe not exactly the last word but it was heading that way.

Carina:

OK, another go. (goes to can-do chair)

Carina (can-do):

We have to work out how to keep being successful even when you’re anxious.

Carina (pit):

OK. I do like being anxious; it’s my job.

Carina (can-do):

It’s your job to be anxious? Why?

Carina (pit):

So you don’t get in a fix.

Carina (can-do):

You think I’ll get in a fix if you stop being anxious?

Carina (pit):

Yes.

Carina (can-do):

Right. Erm. Well. OK, you can be a bit anxious so I don’t get in a fix but only a bit because when you’re a lot anxious I end up having to work much harder and in fact maybe too hard.

Carina (pit):

OK. I’m going to stay a little bit anxious and as long as you listen to me a bit then I won’t shout.

(Coachee comes back to her Carina chair):

Right, this is getting ridiculous now.

Coach:

Ridiculous?

Carina:

Well, for heaven’s sake, I’m talking to myself, agreeing with myself about how anxious I need to be and deciding a little bit is just fine and I don’t need to work so hard at it.

Coach:

So can-do and pit have an agreement now?

Carina:

Yes. I can’t believe I’ve just given myself a good talking to.

Coach:

And a good listening to!

The coach then revisits the agreement and suggests walking the timeline back from the future. Carina chooses a very particular focus with just a three-month timeline. For the sake of space, this isn’t documented here, however the approach is: 1

Specify the desired outcome

2

Imagine self in that place and notice very fully, using all the senses in the imagination, what it is like being there. For example, in this place what do you see? Hear? Wear?

192

Gestalt coaching

3

Step back one month. Repeat the process and then decide what needs to be done at that time in order for the success to be in place a month hence.

4

Repeat for the number of steps chosen. In this case, one month before and then back to today.

5

Review and capture the steps.

Note By the end of this session, the coachee was aware of the ways in which they might allow striving to actually increase anxiety and decrease success and had raised their awareness about being sustainably successful. She thought it was quite fun that the job of ‘pit’ was to be anxious and she started calling ‘him’ Brad pit as a kind of in-joke to remind herself that it/he might be OK to hang out with occasionally. Anxiety can be associated with the mobilisation stage, as can excitement. Anxiety did turn out to be a driver, but making friends with Brad was helpful.

Postscript Carina increasingly and sustainably embodied her leadership. There was discussion from time to time about how she preserved her own boundaries, and she started to work on the possibility of being a board member AND being her own person. She felt she had learned how to notice herself and other people in a way that gave choices and how to be less bounded by outdated introjects (or ‘the old messages gone wrong’, as she called them).

Discussion points 1

Applying the quote from Resnick to coaching practice, what are the implications of this for your own coaching practice and that of others? “Every Gestalt therapist could stop doing any gestalt technique that had ever been done and go right on doing gestalt therapy. If they couldn’t, then they weren’t doing Gestalt therapy in the first place. They were fooling around with a bag of tricks and a bunch of gimmicks.” (Resnick, 1984, p. 19)

2

3 4

When you consider the cycle of awareness and apply this to your relationship with one of your coachees, what patterns in this cycle are you now aware of in the way that you inter-relate? What particular areas of enquiry lead to this pattern? Thinking about your coaching process and the gestalt approach, how do you usually create experiments with your coachees? Reviewing the concepts and discussion in this chapter, how might you now work differently?

Suggested reading Bluckert, P. (2015). Gestalt Coaching: Right Here, Right Now. Maidenhead: Mc Graw Hill. Clarkson, P. (1993). 2,500 Years of Gestalt: From Heraclitus to the Big Bang. The British Gestalt Journal, 2, pp. 4–9. Leary-Joyce, J. (2014). The Fertile Void: Gestalt Coaching at Work. St Albans: AOEC Press. Whybrow, A., & Allan, J. (2014). Gestalt Approaches. In J. Passmore (ed.). Mastery in Coaching: A Complete Psychological Toolkit for Advanced Coaching (pp. 97–126). London: Kogan Page. 193

Julie Allan and Alison Whybrow

References Beisser, A.R. (1970). The Paradoxical Theory of Change. In J. Fagan, & I.L. Shepherd (eds.). Gestalt Therapy Now (pp. 77–80). New York: Harper and Row. Bluckert, P. (2009, 2014). The Gestalt Approach to Coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova, & D. Clutterbuck (eds.). The Complete Handbook of Coaching (pp. 77–90). London: Sage. Bluckert, P. (2015). Gestalt Coaching: Right Here, Right Now. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill. Clarkson, P. (1989). Gestalt Counselling in Action. London: Sage. Clarkson, P. (1993). 2,500 Years of Gestalt: From Heraclitus to the Big Bang. The British Gestalt Journal, 2, pp. 4–9. Gillie, M. (2009). Coaching Approaches Derived from Gestalt. In D. Megginson, & D. Clutterbuck (eds.). Further Techniques for Coaching and Mentoring (pp. 29–48). Amsterdam: Elsevier. Heraclitus, qtd. in Guerrière, D. (1980). Physis, Sophia, Psyche. In Heraclitean Fragments: A Companion Volume to the Heidegger/Fink Seminar on Heraclitus. Alabama: University of Alabama Press. Houston, G. (2003). Brief Gestalt Therapy. London: Sage. Issacs W. N. (1993). Taking Flight: Dialogue, Collective Thinking, & Organizational Learning. Organizational Dynamics Special Issue on the Learning Organisation (autumn), 22, pp. 24–39. Latner, J. (1986). The Gestalt Therapy Book: A Holistic Guide to the Theory, Principles, & Techniques. Gouldsboro, ME: Gestalt Journal Press. Leary-Joyce, J. (2014). The Fertile Void: Gestalt Coaching at Work. St Albans: AOEC Press. Nevis, E.C. (1987). Organizational Consulting: A Gestalt Approach. New York, & London: Gestalt Institute of Cleveland Press published by Gardner Press Inc. Nin, A. (1961). Seduction of the Minotaur. Chicago, IL: The Swallow Press. See also (https://quoteinvestigator.com/ 2014/03/09/as-we-are/)accessed 31 August 2018. Palmer, S., & Whybrow, A. (2007). Coaching Psychology: An Introduction. In S. Palmer, & A. Whybrow (eds.). Handbook of Coaching Psychology (pp. 9–11). Hove: Routledge. Parlett, M. (1991). Reflections on Field Theory. The British Gestalt Journal, 1, pp. 68–91. Partridge, C., & Spoth, J. (2013). Deepening Awareness: A Gestalt Approach to Coaching. In Coaching Today (April, pp. 5–9). Lutterworth: BACP. Perls, F. (1957). Finding Self through Gestalt Therapy. The Gestalt Journal, 1(1). Perls, F. (1969). Gestalt Therapy Verbatim. Gouldsboro, ME: Gestalt Journal Press. Resnick, R.W. (1984). Gestalt Therapy East and West: Bi-Coastal Dialogue, Debate or Debacle? Gestalt Journal, 7(1), pp. 13–32. Simon, S. (2009).Applying Gestalt Theory to Coaching. Gestalt Review, 13(3), pp. 230–240. Smith, E.W.L. (1976). Growing Edge of Gestalt Therapy. Maine: Gestalt Journal Press. Smuts, J.C. (1936). Holism and Evolution. London: MacMillan. Spoth, J., Toman, S., Leichtman, R., & Allan, J. (2013). Gestalt Approaches. In J. Passmore, D.B. Peterson, & T. Freire (eds.). The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring (pp. 385–406). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Yontef, G. (1980). Gestalt Therapy: A Dialogic Method. Unpublished manuscript. Zinker, J. (1978). Creative Process in Gestalt Therapy. New York: Vintage Books (first published in 1977).

194

15 Mindfulness in coaching A self-determination theory perspective Gordon B. Spence

Introduction Mindfulness is not an approach to coaching per se. This is because mindfulness describes a particular quality of consciousness, one akin to a state of detached, psychological freedom (Martin, 1997) where current experience (including habits of meaning, thought, emotion or behavior) is registered in awareness and then attended to with curiosity and openness (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Cavanagh & Spence, 2013). As most psychological interventions (whether they be informed by cognitive-behavioural, psychodynamic or humanistic theory) consider enhanced attention and awareness to be a fundamentally important outcome, it is not unique to any one approach. Rather, mindfulness seems more like a common factor (as has been argued in the psychotherapy literature; Martin, 1997), one that is also common to the reflective and growth-oriented nature of coaching. In this chapter it will be argued that the value of any coaching conversation is impacted by the presence or absence of mindfulness. According to Cavanagh and Spence (2013), the development of mindfulness in coaching can occur within the coachee, within the coach and (jointly) within the coaching conversation. For coachees and coaches the methods for cultivating mindfulness are ostensibly the same, with meditation and other forms of formal, structured practice found to be particularly effective (Van Gordon, Shonin, Zangeneh, & Griffiths, 2014). Whilst these are undoubtedly worthwhile practices to pursue (as they help to train the purposeful use of attention), the majority of this chapter will focus on how mindfulness can emerge from the interaction of a coach and coachee and how that can be helpful for both. Within this discussion, self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985) will be introduced to help explain how mindfulness supports optimal functioning through the support and satisfaction of basic psychological needs in coaching.

Development of mindfulness in coaching Mindfulness has a history that stretches back more than two millennia, due to the central place it has occupied within several of the Eastern contemplative traditions (e.g. Buddhism, Hinduism). For example, within Buddhism mindfulness has significance because of the observation that life is impermanent and the world is constantly changing in unpredictable ways. Its psychological importance is related to the role that mindfulness plays in reducing suffering. This occurs when people begin to accept the true nature of reality and let go of psychological attachments (to objects, people and/or ideas) that were put in place to infuse life with stability and predictability (Gunaratana, 2011). Increasingly over the past four decades, mindfulness has 195

Gordon B. Spence

captured the attention of scholars and practitioners in the West and a burgeoning literature has developed on the use of mindfulness teachings and practices in a variety of applied settings (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). The relevance of mindfulness to coaching has also been given attention, with some scholars focused on identifying the dynamics of mindfulness in a coaching relationship and how its effects influence coaching outcomes. For example, Cavanagh and Spence (2013) have recently argued that the role of mindfulness in coaching can be considered from as many as five reflective spaces, or types of “conversations”. Of these, two types of conversation involve the coachee (i.e. with self and with their world), two involve the coach (also with self and with their world) and the remaining conversation involves the “shared space created between the coach and the coachee – the external coaching conversation” (p. 123). The model recognizes that coaching outcomes are influenced by what both the coachee and coach bring to the coaching dialogue (i.e. their functional and dysfunctional beliefs, assumptions, behaviors, etc.) and by the quality of thinking and action they are capable of creating together. For example, a coach who operates with a relatively low level of mindfulness may not notice his feelings of dislike for a coachee, nor how those feelings are influencing the types of questions that he is asking or diminishing the quality of his listening. In contrast, a highly mindful coachee would notice her confusion at the coach’s irritation whilst also sensing her inclination to withdraw from the conversation. However, rather than becoming reactive to that confusion and shutting down, the coachee chooses to share her feelings with the coach and asks that they take time to understand what is happening within the relationship.

Self-determination theory: a lens for helping to understand the importance of mindfulness in coaching Mindfulness reflects a particular quality of consciousness, one typified by relaxed, non-judgmental awareness of moment-by-moment experience. A consequence of cultivating the reflective space afforded by mindfulness is that one becomes more sensitive to important aspects of the self (values, interests, intuitions, etc.) and can contemplate how they may be aligned with actions (Niemiec & Ryan, 2013). From this a sense of choicefulness and self-direction (or personal autonomy) can emerge, providing a foundation for healthy personality development and an intention to act authentically in the world. Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) is a macro-theory of human motivation and personality development that is attracting increasing attention within the coaching literature (Spence & Deci, 2013). Whilst the six mini-theories that comprise SDT address different aspects of motivational and personality processes (for a summary see Spence & Deci, 2013, page 91), at its core is the proposition that human beings have a set of universal, fundamental psychological needs, the satisfaction of which are essential for healthy development, vital engagement, effective behaving and psychological well-being. More specifically, the theory proposes that a person’s level of functioning and well-being depends upon the degree of satisfaction of three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2008). People are expected to do well and feel their best when the socio-cultural conditions of their lives - such asfamily relationships, friendships, workplace culture, political systems, cultural norms - support the inherent needs for experiencing their behavior as owned and choiceful (i.e. autonomy), producing valued outcomes through the use of their strengths and abilities (i.e. competence), and feeling closely and securely connected to significant others (i.e. relatedness).

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Central to SDT is the assertion that it is important to differentiate types of motivation in order to understand and predict different qualities of experience and behavior. The primary distinction within the theory is between autonomous motivation and controlled motivation. Autonomous motivation involves acting with a full sense of choice, willingness and volition. When autonomous, people concur with that which they are doing, and they are more likely to experience positive affect, endorsement and satisfaction. Autonomous 196

Mindfulness in coaching

motivation comprises two specific types of motivation – intrinsic motivation and well-internalized extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation means engaging in an activity because the activity itself is interesting and enjoyable. Intrinsic motivation is the prototype of autonomous motivation (e.g. children at play), where the motivation is internal and inherent and the satisfaction most significant. By contrast, extrinsic motivation refers to acting in order to get some separate consequence. As will shortly be explored, within an SDT framework, mindfulness seems to play a role in the internalization of extrinsic motivation, which represents a movement towards greater levels of autonomous motivation.

A continuum of subjective ownership: internalization and integration According to Deci and Ryan (2008), internalization refers to the process whereby people “take in” an external value or regulation but may or may not accept it as their own. The process of organismic integration, which is the fundamental developmental process, involves fuller internalization in which people accept the value and regulation of an extrinsically motivated behavior and integrate it with their own sense of self. More specifically, there are four types of extrinsic motivation that vary in the degree of internalization and in the degree of autonomy of resulting behaviors (see Table 15.1). As indicated in the examples presented in Table 15.1, the same activity or goal can be underpinned by quite different motivations. Importantly, SDT recognizes that all types of motivation are often present (to varying degrees) in the reasons for goal striving. It also argues that the strength of these motives will be influenced by the presence of appropriately supportive socio-cultural conditions. Within the present Table 15.1 Varying levels of integration and ownership associated with extrinsic motivation Reason

Type

Motivation

Example

External

Controlled

Striving because somebody else wants you to and you’ll get some reward for doing it or get into trouble for not.

“I’ll mentor my staff because it’ll help my chances of promotion.”

Introjected

Controlled

Striving because you would feel ashamed, guilty or anxious if you didn’t, or self-aggrandized if you did. You strive for this because you think you should and use internal sanctions to motivate he striving.

“I’ll mentor my staff because that’s what a good manager should do.”

Identified

Autonomous

Striving because you personally accept the value of the behavior for yourself. Although the behavior or goal may have been acquired from others, you now endorse its utility for your own needs and goals.

“I’ll mentor my staff because it’s a good, inexpensive way to develop potential.”

Integrated

Autonomous

Striving because of the importance of the behavior as an integrated aspect of who you are. This motivation is not about the activity being interesting or fun but rather about it being deeply important for having with integrity and respect.

“I’ll mentor my staff because it means a lot to me to see other people develop.”

197

Gordon B. Spence

discussion this means that coaching may assist individuals to move towards more autonomous (identified and integrated) goal selection, should that coaching help to support and facilitate the satisfaction of autonomy, competence and relatedness. As we will shortly explain, this is more likely to occur when high levels of mindfulness are present in the coachee, the coach and the coaching conversation that both participate in.

The organismic dialectic and basic psychological needs As mentioned, the SDT perspective views humans as proactive and growth oriented, manifest in their intrinsic motivation and organismic integration. From that perspective, the self is viewed as an active processor of experience, a set of dynamic psychic processes and structures that continuously seeks to make meaning of the myriad internal and external events that comprise a person’s life and to integrate them into a coherent, unified sense of self. As such it represents an inherently positive view of human nature. Nonetheless, SDT explicitly acknowledges, and focuses much of its empirical attention, on the organismic dialectic of human experience (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Simply put, a dialectic is the juxtaposition of conflicting forces or ideas. The dialectic that is central to SDT is the conflict that exists between people’s natural orientation towards growth and development in interaction with the potentially disruptive power of various socio-contextual forces (e.g. parental control, peer pressure, restrictive legislation) that can block, impair or stall these positive developmental tendencies and autonomous motivations. Internalization and integration, which represent one aspect of the organismic dialectic, are developmental processes that can be either helped or hindered by the presence of different socio-cultural conditions (which constitute the other aspect of the dialectic). It is this nexus where the basic psychological needs once again become salient. SDT has postulated, and an enormous body of research has supported, that satisfaction of autonomy, competence and relatedness serve to maintain intrinsic motivation and to facilitate internalization and integration of extrinsic motivation (e.g. Baard, Deci, & Ryan, 2004; Deci, Eghrari, Patrick, & Leone, 1994). This implies that any social agents who in some way supervise, advise or guide others (such as coaches) will be more effective to the degree that they relate to those others and provide support in ways that facilitate the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs. Through promoting the satisfaction of these needs in particular situations, social agents can support the autonomous motivation of the people with whom they are interacting. Because the growth processes within people require basic psychological need satisfaction in order for them to master challenges encountered in the environment, the theory examines the degree to which individuals, in their ongoing interactions with the context, are able to satisfy versus thwart their needs. To the degree that their basic needs are thwarted, the darker side of the human experience becomes evident in the form of inactivity, negative affect, aggressive behaviors and psychopathology. This point is, of course, crucially important for coaching because it highlights the necessity for coaches to provide need support within the coaching process.

Putting theory into practice Mindfulness and autonomous motivation are conceptually related insofar as autonomous motivation requires a clarified sense of what a person deems to be valuable and important in life, a type of self-understanding often linked to mindfulness. In this section attention will be given to how coaching can play a role in the facilitation of mindful states and contribute to higher levels of autonomous functioning.

Mindfulness and the coach Like most forms of professionalized assistance (e.g. counseling, psychotherapy) the quality of the relationship is paramount in coaching. Whilst any positive outcomes that emerge from coaching are usually built on the effort and application of the coachee, the coach makes a substantial contribution to such outcomes via the 198

Mindfulness in coaching

personal qualities they bring to the relationship. In a very real sense, the coach’s personal qualities are the most sensitive “tools” in a coaching relationship. That is, the potency of a coaching engagement is founded on a set of basic communication and interpersonal skills that determine how well a coach is able to listen to a coachee’s concerns, process that information, display empathy, build trust, provide feedback to them, notice patterns of thought and action, manage transference and countertransference, etc. Whilst mindfulness is central to all of these skills, arguably its most important contributions come via the stabilization of attention (which enhances the ability to listen for long periods of time) and the noticing of patterns of thought and action (which can generate insight and assist future planning and action). Just as for other helping professionals, regular participation in various forms of professional and personal development (such as formal supervision, counseling or psychotherapy) is important for assisting coaches to develop metacognitive awareness of the intra- and interpersonal issues that might otherwise influence the quality and effectiveness of a coaching alliance. In so doing, a coach further enhances their capacity for mindfulness and may continue such development by engaging in some form of formal, structured mindfulness training (e.g. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction; Kabat-Zinn, 2013) and/or establishing a selection of pre-coaching routines or rituals designed to scaffold practitioners into more mindful states. Related back to the five reflective spaces model (Cavanagh & Spence, 2013), these activities represent attempts to enhance the third and fourth reflective spaces in coaching (i.e. the internal conversation of the coach and the coach’s conversation with their world).

Mindfulness and the coachee As mentioned earlier, from an SDT perspective the primary goal of coaching is to support a coachee in ways that invigorate their natural tendency to move towards growth and self-elaboration. The assumption is not that the person needs to be pushed towards goals or other desirable outcomes but rather that a person’s motivation for striving towards such goals will increase as they experience more satisfaction for basic psychological needs. Whilst there are obvious limits to the amount of need satisfaction that can be generated by the actions of a coach (who is but one connection in the coachee’s social network), a coach can be helpful in at least three ways. First, s/he can provide high-quality support for basic psychological needs within the confines of the coaching relationship. Second, they can facilitate awareness in the coachee of the existence and importance of their basic need for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Finally, s/he can encourage action that may result in greater levels of need satisfaction in the wider world (e.g. asking a boss for more challenging work tasks to increase perceptions of competence). In the following section the discussion will focus on how coaching can enhance mindfulness in the coachee (with particular emphasis on the actions of the coach) and how this in turn can stimulate the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs. This corresponds to the first and second reflective spaces in the Cavanagh and Spence (2013) model (i.e. the internal conversation of the coachee and the conversation between the coachee and their world).

Supporting the need for autonomy SDT proposes that support for autonomy begins with adopting the perspective of another or understanding viewpoint (Spence & Deci, 2013). In coaching this is important because people are not always clear on what their perspective is. Whenever this happens it is extremely helpful to be in the presence of someone who is prepared to listen non-judgmentally, with full attention and a deep curiosity to understand. Encouraging coachees to articulate their view of things is useful because the effort to do so can help their unique perspective more fully, including the values, beliefs and assumptions that comprise it. Whilst a high degree of mindfulness is needed if a coach is to maintain this type of listening (e.g. noticing and detaching from biased judgments), such listening can also induce greater levels of mindfulness in a coachee, as they become increasingly more reflective and openly explore how they subjectively construct their world. This 199

Gordon B. Spence

is important from a motivational standpoint because better understanding one’s values, interests and beliefs increases the chances that they might be utilized as a basis for establishing more autonomous goals (Cavanagh & Spence, 2013). Whilst encouraging people to reflect on their unique point of view (as a means of shaping one’s commitments and goals) is undoubtedly a positive starting point in coaching, supporting people to act in alignment with that point of view can be a slow process. As pointed out by Spence and Oades (2011), this may be because a coachee is not used to having their perspective taken seriously, resulting in a lack of drive and passivity (amotivation) or a pattern of deferring to the preferences and interests of others rather than oneself (controlled motivation). Whilst trust is clearly a key to change in such situations, there can be no change without first helping the coachee to develop an open (non-defensive) awareness of these motivational patterns.

Supporting the need for competence Coaching is underpinned by an assumption that people are fundamentally capable and possess potential that will emerge in the presence of supportive conditions (Stober & Grant, 2006). For example, solution-focused coaching (Berg & Szabo, 2005) assumes that people are capable, doing their best and already engaged in some part of the change they are seeking to create (even if it is only small). The use of these techniques tends to create conditions that foster feelings of competence as people become oriented towards things that are currently working or have gone well in the past. Mindfulness can be seen to play a competence supportive role in at least two ways. First, by remaining open and receptive to ongoing experience, coachees and coaches are less likely to overlook major and minor accomplishments or the strengths that contributed to them. Second, participation in structured mindfulness training often leads to an enhanced sense of competence as people develop greater mastery over the workings of their mind.

Supporting the need for relatedness Coaching is generally considered to be founded on core Rogerian, person-centered principles (Stober & Grant, 2006), reinforced through the use of key micro-skills such as active listening, empathy, unconditional positive regard, attentive and responsive body language, etc. (Starr, 2011; van Nieuwerburgh, 2013). In SDT terms these skills create an atmosphere conducive to satisfying the need for relatedness through the development of a warm, trusting relationship focused on the coachee’s salient concerns. Further, Spence and Oades (2011) point out that “whilst coachees may have close relationships outside coaching, they may not consistently feel heard, understood, valued and/or genuinely supported within those relationships” (p. 46). If not, they are unlikely to feel strongly and positively connected to others and, in an attempt to satisfy this basic need, they may attempt to connect by acting in accordance with the preferences of others rather than their own (thereby compromising satisfaction of the need for autonomy). For example, an employee may decide not to pursue an internal promotion because of a concern that their boss might see it as an act of betrayal. In situations like this, coaching may help an insecurely connected person to feel safe enough to explore more self-concordant forms of action (e.g. apply for the role and then plan to manage the relational implications of this).

Which coachees benefit most? Living more mindfully involves the purposeful cultivation of awareness and attention (which helps to counteract automatic, reactive modes of functioning) and, as such, it has potential value for all coachees. However, those for whom it might have particular value include: •

200

Coachees who are attempting to negotiate heavy workloads and wish to manage its associated challenges, like acute stress. In this case, engagement in some form of mindfulness training (e.g. MBSR)

Mindfulness in coaching





may be helpful for stabilizing attention (if poor concentration has become an issue) and for managing energy reserves (if cognitive, emotional and physical fatigue is high). Coachees who are seeking to change their leadership or management style as a way of better engaging staff, communicating more effectively or managing conflict. Here the cultivation of mindfulness may be more informal and supported by an array of visual cues, self-talk, mobile applications, etc. Coachees who are in some form of personal or professional transition (e.g. career, relationship) and wish to support their progression towards newly established personal or professional goals. In this case being part of a reflective conversation with a coach is likely to deepen self-awareness and assist with the clarification of important values and interests.

Case study The coachee Jake is a 36-year-old television executive who has worked in the industry for 12 years. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in communications and media in 2003, Jake spent the next three years “learning the ropes” by taking on a variety of different production roles with a small production company. Always highly ambitious, Jake threw himself into these roles with great enthusiasm, often working very long hours and quickly developing a reputation for being a hard and dedicated worker. Whilst he found the work interesting and exciting, he ultimately wanted to run his own production company and leave his mark on the industry. By 2007 it had become clear that Jake was good at what he did and had bright prospects. However, in his enthusiasm to make his mark, Jake hadn’t always done enough to cultivate good working relationships with others. Whilst people generally felt he was positively intentioned and had a clear commitment to excellence, many experienced him as highly perfectionistic and pedantic, with a tendency to take over and overpower people when things did not go well. From time to time when Jake had received this feedback from others, he expressed (what appeared to be) genuine concern and would willingly apologize. It helped that he also had a disarming sense of humor, which generally helped to smooth troubled waters. Frustratingly for his colleagues, Jake never quite seemed able (or willing) to change his behavior and so, as time passed, people tended to respond to his controlling behaviors by either withdrawing (simply allowing him to take control) or by direct confrontation (which usually resulted in an argument that Jake seemed determined to win). Whilst he knew his interpersonal style was problematic for many, Jake did not think it was fatal to his ambitions and could usually be managed with what he called “relationship repair”. In early 2008 Jake got a new boss, Bob Jackson. For some reason Bob seemed to take an immediate dislike to Jake and seemed irritated by him. Unsure why, Jake naturally wondered what Bob had heard about him and speculated that someone in the industry might have painted a poor picture of him. Feeling quite insecure, Jake became committed to proving his worth to Bob. One day in an attempt to display authoritative leadership and his commitment to excellence, Jake (incorrectly) publically berated a staff member for a production delay. Upon seeing this, Bob immediately called Jake into his office, demanded he apologize to the staff member and became quite hostile, demanding that Jake “lose the chip on his shoulder or leave”. Soon after, at the suggestion of his wife, Jake employed the services of an executive coach.

The coaching The first major task in coaching Jake would be to conceptualize the case in SDT terms by gathering background information similar to that presented in the case study above. The purpose of this formulation would not be to pre-determine an approach to coaching Jake but rather to assess what his general status is from a

201

Gordon B. Spence

motivational standpoint (including his life goals and their personal significance) and to build an understanding of the degree to which he perceives that his basic psychological needs are being satisfied. Sample notes from a conceptualization of Jake’s case are shown in Table 15.2, along with some possibilities for how mindful awareness and attention might be of relevance. However, as mindfulness refers to a quality of consciousness that may emerge in any part of a coaching conversation, the specifics of a case do not necessarily provide clear signposts for how the cultivation of mindfulness might be beneficial.

Initial engagement and goal clarification Once initial attempts have been made to conceptualize the case, the natural starting point would be to understand what Jake wants to accomplish through coaching. Does he want to find another place to work (which Bob testily proposed), or is he committed to improving the situation? How have recent events affected him? How has he noticed himself reacting? How would he like to see himself respond? If you were to look back in three months time, how would you like to say you handled it? Whilst many other questions could be asked during this initial phase of coaching, from an SDT perspective it would be most beneficial to help Jake understand that the coaching agenda is his to set and to formulate questions that help him to reflect upon and articulate how his core values and developing interests might help to guide future action. By doing so, a coach not only establishes an autonomy supportive environment, s/he also begins to cultivate mindfulness by asking reflective questions that help Jake to bring awareness and attention to core aspects of himself. Table 15.2 Sample notes from a case conceptualization of Jake Theme

Notes on basic need satisfaction

Relevance of mindfulness

Displays perfectionistic tendencies and can become micromanaging

Likely relates to an excessive concern about failure and lack of confidence in his own or others’ abilities (competence), coupled with a preoccupation to be well regarded by others (relatedness)

As these concerns may exist on the fringe of awareness, Jake may benefit from bringing attention to the thoughts and feelings he experiences when the urge to micromanage occurs

Resistance to improving relationships

Appears to have resisted modifying his approach to dealing with others, either because he struggles to empathize with workmates (relatedness) or because he has little understanding about how to make the change and/or the confidence to do it (competence)

Considering the impact of his behavior on others may be a perspective-taking skill that Jake has never fully developed. Taking time to pause and mindfully observe the nature of his interactions may help him to make behavioral choices that support better quality relationships

Desires the approval of authority figure

Whilst he has a clear longterm aspiration that seems firmly grounded in his interests (autonomy), Jake seems quite sensitive to disapproval from authority figures (relatedness). This may be because he fears that such conflict may become a barrier to his ultimate goal (i.e. own his own production company)

If Jake does perceive conflict with authority to be a barrier to longterm goals, it may be useful for him to begin noticing how often this fear is present and what seems to trigger it. He may also benefit from examining whether any contradiction exists between his desire for Bob’s approval and his desire to be his own boss

202

Mindfulness in coaching

Using distal goals to support proximal change An SDT approach to coaching would also take deep interest in Jake’s key life goals. In the context of his present circumstances, this discussion is likely to be dominated by the long-held aspiration to own his own production company. By taking time to understand why this goal is so important to Jake, the coach should gain considerable insight into what motivates him, what his frames of reference are for regulating behavior (i.e. self or others) and how he makes sense of the world more generally. Once again, because an understanding of Jake’s personal perspective is the focal point of this enquiry, the questions should be further supportive of his need for autonomy and continue to encourage reflection on core aspects of the self. There is another reason why exploring his life goal might be useful to him. Given the nature and extent of changes that have been indicated by recent events (e.g. his tendency to micromanage and treat others disrespectfully), it may be useful for Jake to explore the inspirational nature of this goal. This could be helpful in at least two ways. First, it would help to contextualize the broader importance of changing his behavior. That is, it may help him to see that the skills associated with being empathic towards others and not micromanaging the production crew is vital for a business owner in the television industry. Second, the positive emotions associated with this goal might be generalizable and provide a source of motivation for a change agenda that he would otherwise feel ambivalent about.

Building change readiness and commitment to action Based on what is currently known about Jake, the behavior change implications of Bob’s ultimatum seem significant. That is, the workplace behaviors under scrutiny appear to be well established and not something Jake has made much effort to modify. As such, he is likely to be ambivalent about making these changes, which make assessing his change readiness an important focus of coaching in the early stages. This can, of course, be explored relatively easily by getting Jake to articulate the pros and cons of change. Should Jake’s ambivalence be substantial, it would be advisable to help him explore his ambivalence, as not doing so is likely to lead to no change and further conflict with Bob and others at work. Behavior change models and tools that should prove useful here are the Transtheoretical Model (Prochaska, Prochaska, & Levesque, 2001), as it articulates several critical movements in the change process, and motivational interviewing (MI; Miller & Rollnick, 2012), which is widely considered to be a “clinical style” that accords well with SDT (Patrick & Williams, 2012). A useful MI tool to use at this stage would be the decisional balance matrix, which would help Jake generate his own reasons for making change by articulating reasons both for and against change and no change. When used this way the tool provides a strong support for autonomy. Should Jake decide he does not wish to make the demanded changes, then the coach needs to respect that choice and help Jake think through the implications of his choice. It should be noted that being autonomy supportive often means that people will not act in ways that a coach believes they should. This can result in considerable discomfort for a coach and, in Jake’s case, it may lead a coach to either directly advocate for the required change or covertly advance that agenda through “sneaky telling” (e.g. “So, do you think Richard Branson has the time to micromanage staff?”). The coach’s capacity for mindfulness is critical in this situation, as her/his discomfort and urge to advocate may trigger reactive responding (i.e. telling), which will diminish autonomous decisionmaking and, most likely, only increase Jake’s resistance to change.

The ongoing support of change Alternatively, should the decisional balance process help to resolve some of Jake’s ambivalence (moving him into a more active stage of the change process), the coach will be able to use a variety of different tools and

203

Gordon B. Spence

techniques to help support his change efforts. This might include the articulation of approach goals rather than avoidance goals, breaking goals down into smaller “chunks”, self-observation routines to help monitor emotional reactivity during critical moments (e.g. when mistakes become known), strategies for engaging mindfully with strong emotions and developing routines that help counteract ego depletion (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007), such as taking regular breaks, exercising, etc.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

In what ways do you think a highly mindful coach creates contexts that support autonomous motivation in coachees? What common coaching techniques can you identify that in some way support basic needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness? What challenges do you think might make it difficult for you to remain mindful during coaching sessions? When you lose awareness of the present moment in coaching, what strategies do you think might help you to regain it?

Suggested reading Deci, E. L., & Flaste, R. (1995). Why We Do What We Do. New York: Putnam Publishing Group. Miche, D. (2008). Buddhism for Busy People: Finding Happiness in an Uncertain World. Ithica, NY: Snow Lion Publications. Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books. Spence, G. (2008). New Directions in Evidence-Based Coaching: Investigations into the Impact of Mindfulness Training on Goal Attainment and Well-Being. Saarbrucken, Germany: VDM Publishing.

References Baard, P. P., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Intrinsic need satisfaction: A motivational basis of performance and wellbeing in two work settings. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34(10), 2045–2068. Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2007). Self-regulation, egodepletion, and motivation. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 1(1), 115–128. Berg, I. K., & Szabo, P. (2005). Brief Coaching for Lasting Solutions. New York: W.W. Norton. Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822–848. Cavanagh, M., & Spence, G. B. (2013). Mindfulness in coaching: Philosophy, psychology, or just a useful skill? In J. Passmore, D. Peterson & T. Freire (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring (pp. 112–134). New York: Wiley-Blackwell. Deci, E. L., Eghrari, H., Patrick, B. C., & Leone, D. (1994). Facilitating internalization: The self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Personality, 62, 119–142. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum Press. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across life’s domains. Canadian Psychology, 49, 14–23. Gunaratana, H. (2011). Mindfulness in Plain English. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. New York: Bantam Books. Martin, J. R. (1997). Mindfulness: A proposed common factor. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 7(4), 291–312. Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2012). Motivational Interviewing. New York: Guildfor Press. Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2013). What makes for a life well lived? Autonomy and its relation to full functioning and organismic wellness. In S. David, I. Boniwell & A. C. Ayers (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Happiness (pp. 214–226). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Patrick, H., & Williams, G. C. (2012). Self-determination theory: Its application to health behavior and complementarity with motivational interviewing. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 9(18). 204

Mindfulness in coaching

Prochaska, J. M., Prochaska, J. O., & Levesque, D. A. (2001). A transtheoretical approach to changing organizations. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 28(4), 247–261. Spence, G. B., & Deci, E. L. (2013). Self-determination with coaching contexts: Supporting motives and goals that prmote optimal functioning and well-being. In S. David, D. Clutterbuck & D. Megginson (Eds.), Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies for Coaching and Mentoring (pp. 85–108). Padstow, UK: Gower. Spence, G. B., & Oades, L. G. (2011). Coaching with self-determination theory in mind: Using theory to advance evidence-based coaching practice. International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring, 9(2), 37–55. Starr, J. (2011). The Coaching Manual: The Definitive Guide to the Process, Principles and Skills of Personal Coaching. Harlow, UK: Pearson. Stober, D., & Grant, A. M. (2006). Evidence-Based Coaching Handbook: Putting Best Practices to Work for Your Clients. New York: Wiley & Sons. Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E., Zangeneh, M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2014). Work-related mental health and job performance: Can mindfulness help? International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 12(2), 129–137. van Nieuwerburgh, C. (2013). An Introduction to Coaching Skills: A Practical Guide. London: Sage.

205

16 Compassion focused coaching Chris Irons, Stephen Palmer and Liz Hall

Introduction Compassion Focused Coaching (CFC) is an integrated approach to coaching that draws upon numerous branches of science including evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, attachment theory, developmental psychology and social psychology. It aims to help individuals, groups and organisations become more aware of and skillful in engaging with difficulties, distress and suffering and in finding ways to alleviate difficulties and promote growth. CFC aims to help the coachee to develop a particular type of soothing-affiliative emotion that may help them to better manage their difficulties and, over time, develop a ‘compassionate mind’ that may be used to deal with external difficulties (e.g. linked to difficult relationships or the dynamics of an organisation) or internal struggles (e.g. high levels of self-criticism, rumination, worry, low confidence or fear of failure).

Development of Compassion Focused Coaching CFC emerged recently from Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), a psychotherapeutic approach developed by Professor Paul Gilbert and colleagues. Initially, it was developed to help people with high levels of shame and self-criticism who often struggled to make progress in standard therapies, but it is now used with a very broad range of clinical and non-clinical presentations. Using the insights gained from CFT, CFC aims to use a variety of interventions to help coachees to notice and understand the (often) negative impact of negative emotions, self-criticism, rumination, worry and self-monitoring – and create a different, more supportive, encouraging and compassionate relationship with themselves. CFC also helps the coachee to consider how cultivating compassion for their colleagues and the people they manage, and receiving compassion and care from others in the organisation, may help to reduce distress and increase performance. There now exists a variety of evidence that compassion focused interventions can bring around positive change for individuals, groups and organisations (see Barnard & Curry, 2011; Leaviss & Uttley, 2015; Dutton et al., 2006).

Theory and basic concepts CFC sits within an evolutionary psychology framework of understanding human distress and happiness and includes a number of key psychoeducational reflections about our brains, the nature of life and the difficulties we all face (Gilbert, 2009, 2014; Gilbert & Choden, 2013). Some of the key points are summarised below. 206

Compassion focused coaching

Our minds are the products of evolutionary processes over hundreds of millions of years. They contain a variety of motives (e.g. for status and attachment), emotion dispositions (e.g. anxiety, anger, sadness, joy) and behavioural repertoires (e.g. fight-flight, freeze, submission) that we share with other animals. However, approximately two million years ago our pre-human ancestors travelled along an evolutionary branch which led to rapid development of complex cognitive systems. This ‘getting smart’ provided the brain architecture for complex thinking, imagination, planning, mentalisation, meta-cognition and self-monitoring. These ‘newer’ capacities (what we refer to as our ‘new brain’) can interact with our older emotions and motives (referred to as our ‘old brain’) and together can become caught up in unhelpful and non-rational ‘loops’. One way that we can help coachees to understand the nature of these loops is to give guided examples. For example, imagine a zebra chewing away happily on grass in the African savannah, when a lion approaches it. Upon seeing the lion, the zebra experiences old brain responses (e.g. anxiety, flight) and runs away. Once the zebra is safe and away from the lion (the threatening stimulus is no longer present), the zebra can calm down and return to what it was doing previously (e.g. grazing). However, if we imagine that we managed to escape from a lion that was chasing us, it is very unlikely that we would calm down as quickly. Rather, old brain anxiety exerts influence over our new brain competencies by shaping our imagination (‘what if it had caught me’), worry (‘maybe it’s still out there’) and planning (‘how will I leave this building later’) which, in turn, keep the threat present in our brain and body via (re) stimulating old brain emotions (e.g. anxiety). This, in turn, continues to exert stress-based influences over our new brains. These types of ‘loops’ are not our fault but can cause a lot of problems for us. Key here is to see how we can use this psychoeducation to help our coachees begin to recognise their own ‘loops in the mind’ and how these are may be having an impact on their life in a negative way. A second concept relates to social constructionism in that our sense of ‘self ’ is shaped by our experiences in life. So, the version of ‘us’ that is in the world today is just one of countless different versions if we had had different experiences in life. One way of understanding this is to help the coachee reflect on what type of person they might have been if they had experienced different circumstances in their lives (e.g. being raised by a violent drug gang rather than having their own upbringing, or being raised by their neighbours rather than in their house by their parents). What people are usually able to gain from this is an intuitive sense that had they had experienced these different types of environments it is likely they would be quite different as a person (e.g. in terms of the drug gang example, greater propensity for anger, aggression and cruelty, or anxiety and submissiveness). So CFC helps people to recognise that they have been socially shaped by events outside of their control. So rather than personally blaming oneself for (say) being shy or unconfident, coachees may begin to recognise that it is understandable that they are as they are given their experiences in life. This can help to reduce the shame they may feel about their sense of self and further an understanding of how many of the difficulties we struggle with are ‘not our fault’. However, as we will come to see, in learning and engaging with these insights, we can also begin to appreciate that we can take responsibility for working on and cultivating a different version of ourselves. A third concept involves helping the coachee to understand the evolved function of our emotions, how these are linked to basic motives and behaviours and how they are often out of balance in our life. Derived from the work of others (e.g. Depue & Morrone-Strupinsky, 2005; LeDoux, 1998), CFC suggests that we have three basic types of emotion regulation systems: A Threat and self-protection system – this system evolved to detect threats in the world and urge our body to respond to these. This system is linked to a variety of neurobiological/physiological responses in the presence of a threat. It also links to certain key threat emotions (e.g. anxiety, sadness and anger) and behaviours (e.g. fight-flight, freeze, submission). The threat system is our most dominant emotionprocessing system and is set up to be more readily focused on negative memories, events and triggers and influence our thinking to be better safe than sorry. A Drive, seeking and acquisition system – this system evolved to search for and pay attention to resources that are advantageous to us and others and energise us to pursue and try to attain these. To 207

Chris Irons, Stephen Palmer and Liz Hall

facilitate this, this system links to a particular type of activating and energising of positive emotions (e.g. excitement, joy). Many of our coachees recognise this system in the context of work – for example, the feelings that emerge if we win a pitch for a large contract or are successful in getting a promotion. A Contentment, soothing and affiliative system – this system involves positive emotion states of calmness, peacefulness and serenity when individuals are no longer focused on threats or the pursuit or consumption of resources. This system is associated with the ‘rest and digest’ response, in which it was important for animals to experience periods of slowing down, rest and recuperation. This system is therefore linked to the parasympathetic nervous system and facilitates experiences of calmness, safeness and soothing. With the emergence of mammals into the world, this system was adapted to become highly sensitive to signals of affection, care, nurturance and attachment. It may also be that this system links to the neuropeptide oxytocin. Research has suggested that this system may have an important role in regulating our threat systems. These three interacting systems are depicted in Figure 16.1.

The importance of attachment and affiliation Whilst affiliation can be linked to both threat and drive systems, the soothing-affiliative system is associated with prosocial feelings of warmth, friendliness and support and rooted in mammalian attachment systems of care-giving and receiving. In CFC, a key concept is that a particular type of affiliative relationship often plays a salient role in our ability to feel reassured, supported, safe and soothed. In fact, when in distress, it is often the care, reassurance and support of another person that we turn to first, and the qualities of caring, affiliative relationships and responses have a powerful impact upon the regulation of our threat emotions and often bring a quality of soothing, safeness and contentment. Drive, Excitement, Vitality

Content, Safe, Connected

Drive and Achievement Focused Wanting, pursuing, achieving and consuming Activating

Affiliative Focused Caring, Safeness, Kindness Soothing and Calming

Threat Focused Protection and Safety Seeking Activating/Inhibiting

Anger, Anxiety, Disgust Figure 16.1 Three types of affect regulation systems From Gilbert, P. (2009). The Compassionate Mind. With kind permission from Constable & Robinson

208

Compassion focused coaching

It turns out that these types of caring-affiliative relationships can have a significant impact upon our regulation of threat emotions and can change the way our brains develop, how our genes express themselves and how our immune system responds. CFC therefore targets how we can cultivate the power of caring and affiliative interactions as a way of helping coachees to better manage many of the difficulties they face in their lives. CFC suggests that there are a number of factors that block people from achieving their goals and remaining congruent with their values. These include: • •





An overactive Threat system. Commonly, this can be due to people experiencing a particular emotion of this system (e.g. anger, anxiety, shame) at too high a level. An overactive Drive system. Commonly here, people are too caught up in pursuing goals, so much so that it leads to more obsessional behaviour or preoccupation with wanting and having more (e.g. success, money, recognition). For some people there can be Threat system activation underneath this – believing that if they don’t achieve these things, they will be inferior in some way. An underactive Drive system. Here, some people can face a lack of drive which may relate to a variety of factors, such as unreachable/attainable goals, or over activation of the threat system (e.g. sense of shame or anxiety, self-criticism, depression) that blocks activation of drive-based motivation and pleasure. An underactive Soothing-affiliative system. Here, people describe a lack of social safeness and an absence of being able to turn to others for support and reassurance. Also common here is a difficulty in generating an internal sense of being able to soothe or reassure the self or, more broadly, to be selfcompassionate.

In helping people to overcome blocks in life, reach personal goals and flourish, CFC suggests that the cultivation of compassion may be key. CFC views compassion in an evolutionary context linked to our evolved motivational system to care for others (and be cared for) and to seek affiliative relationships. We use a standard definition (Gilbert, 2014) of compassion as being: a sensitivity to the suffering of self and others, with a commitment to try to alleviate or prevent it. From this perspective, compassion holds two different yet related psychologies: 1

2

The capacity to pay attention to, engage with and move towards distress and suffering rather than turning away, avoiding or trying to block out or ignore suffering. The qualities that are important here include care for wellbeing, distress sensitivity, sympathy, distress tolerance, empathy, non-judgement. The developing and unfolding wisdom to alleviate and prevent suffering. This involves the cultivation of skills and practices that contribute to our ability to engage with suffering and promote wellbeing. In CFC, the coachee is trained in mindful attention practices, helpful reasoning and perspective taking, consideration and engagement in helpful behaviours (including the development of strength and courage) and the practice and use of various sensory, breathing and (compassionate) imagery practices.

These two psychologies are illustrated below in Figure 16.2, in which the inner circle reflects qualities that give rise to the first psychology of compassion, and the outer circle are the multi-modal skills training and attributes that give rise to the second psychology of compassion. Commonly, coachees can be blocked or struggle to engage with one or both of these psychologies, and part of the CFC process involves helping the coachee to develop the skills and attributes that may give rise to a greater capacity to develop a ‘compassionate mind’ and to use this to engage with and alleviate their own – and others’ – distress and difficulties. 209

Chris Irons, Stephen Palmer and Liz Hall

Imagery

Attention

Care for well-being

Feeling

Sympathy

Sensitivity

COMPASSION

Non-Judgement

Reasoning

Distress tolerance

Empathy

Behaviour

Sensory Figure 16.2 The attributes of compassion From Gilbert, P. (2009). The Compassionate Mind. With kind permission from Constable & Robinson

Practice The goals of CFC reflect the definition of compassion: that is, to help the coachee to become more sensitive to their own and other peoples’ suffering and to seek to alleviate this and bring well-being through the development of motivation and a variety of skills. The coach facilitates this process by: 1

2

3

Coaching Relationship: The development of a helpful coach-coachee relationship which facilitates the process of the coachee engaging with distress and suffering and the development of skills to alleviate this, promote well-being and personal goals. Compassion focused coaches seek to create a secure and safe relationship that is able to contain the difficulties of the coachee whilst also motivating change through the development of skills to alleviate distress. The coach attempts to create an environment of ‘we-ness’, collaboration and support. They are aware of the balance of their own as well as their coachee’s ‘three systems’ and are self-reflective of when they are operating too much in threat or drive mode. Compassionate Insights: As described above, the compassion focused (CF) coach shares some core ideas about being human, including that our brains are very ‘tricky’ and prone to unhelpful loops and preoccupations and that our sense of self is a product of both our genes and social circumstances/experiences, neither of which we choose. The CF coach can use these insights to help undermine a coachee’s sense of shame and self-blame for their difficulties whilst still emphasising the importance of taking responsibility for the things we can. The CF coach educates the coaches to develop non-blaming compassionate insights into the nature of their (human) suffering, built upon sharing of key psychoeducation on the core principles and theory of CFT. Develop attentional stability and the capacity to experience and develop compassionate attributes, including: Attention Training and Mindfulness: We can begin to move towards the above points (1 and 2) when we train ourselves to pay attention to how our minds operate and the type of thoughts, feelings and beliefs that arise in them. One way of understanding attention is comparing it to a spotlight,

210

Compassion focused coaching

‘lighting up’ whatever it focuses upon. For example, we can ask our coachees to focus on a memory of when they were feeling very angry or happy. Concentrating on this memory, most will notice a variety of body sensations arise (e.g. change in heart rate, breathing, muscle tenseness or overall ‘feeling’). Here, an important message for coaches to understand is that ‘attention plays the body’. The CF coach will help the coachee to learn to use a variety of attentional and mindfulness practices that will build upon this insight and help them to ‘step outside of the loops’ that were described above. Soothing Breathing Rhythms: Following from the development of attentional and mindfulness skills, it can be helpful to help coaches practice and cultivate breathing rhythms that are (generally) slower and deeper than usual. In CFC, emphasis is placed on helping coaches to learn how to experience a sense of slowing down in the body, with a sense of stability and groundedness. These types of breathing rhythms have been found to be associated with a variety of positive health outcomes, along with stimulation of the parasympathetic ‘calming’ system. Such breathing rhythms can offer a helpful way for coachees to slow down when they feel caught up in threat or drive system activation, and they often facilitate the capacity to bring ‘back online’ reflective and problem-solving skills. Imagery: Using imagery has been found to stimulate emotion more powerfully than words do (Holmes & Mathews, 2010) and to have a powerful impact upon our brain and physiological reactions. If you imagine the thing that you are most fearful of, or focus on a sexual fantasy, you will get powerful but different physiological reactions in your body. The capacity of our new brain to pay attention and ‘imagine’ in these ways is important as it can therefore be directed to stimulate particular types of emotion systems, such as the soothing-affiliative system, that ultimately, leads to compassion. Here, it can be helpful to ask people to start with creating an image of a ‘safe’ or ‘calm’ place in which they can feel a sense of peacefulness, contentment, calmness or even joy. 4

Using a variety of emotional, imagery, body and personifying/acting practices, develop compassion in different ‘flows’, including: i ii iii

compassion from self to others compassion from others to self self-compassion • The cultivation of compassion in these types of ways has been shown to be related to a variety of health and psychological benefits. There are a variety of core compassion based practices used in CFC:

Developing an Ideal Compassionate Other: CF coaches discuss with the coachee the types of ideal qualities or attributes of compassion they would like in another then see if they can personify or imagine what this person/thing/object would look like. Building upon some core qualities (e.g. caringcommitment, wisdom, strength) the coach helps the coachee to learn how to use this image as a way of managing and working with difficulties and distress. For example, the coach may ask: ‘What would your compassionate image suggest as helpful given this difficult situation at work?’ or ‘What might your compassionate image say to you about your distress in this situation?’ This type of imagery can be helpful in the experiencing of compassion ‘flowing in’ and help coachees to have ‘another mind helping you with your difficulties’. Developing an Ideal Compassionate Self: In this exercise, the CF coach helps the coachee to develop a variety of skills linked to imagery, embodiment, and acting to create a sense of themselves at their ‘ideal compassion best’. Coachees are supported to consider the type of attributes their ideal compassionate selves would have (e.g. deep caring-commitment, wisdom, strength), and how these would subsequently affect their minds (e.g. the way they think and feel), motivation, facial expression, voice tone, body posture, movement and so forth. Once an outline of this is shaped and developed, the compassionate self may then be focused in two important directions: 211

Chris Irons, Stephen Palmer and Liz Hall

• Compassion to Others (Compassion Flowing Out) Here, the compassionate self is directed towards someone that the coachee knows. This might start with someone they know or like, imagining or wishing them to have a sense of joy, happiness and well-being. From the standpoint of the compassionate self, the coachee can be directed to consider the way that they would like to treat, speak and interact with this person they care for. • Self-Compassion (Compassion Flowing In) In this practice, the coachee is supported in stepping in to their compassionate self and directing these qualities towards themselves. This could initially involve directing the qualities of the compassionate self towards a part of self that they feel more naturally compassionate towards (e.g. a parent or colleagues). It may be that the focus is on imagining themselves as having the strength to tolerate distress or difficulties they are facing, as happy or as flourishing. Over time, it might be that the compassionate self is used to engage parts of the self that are less liked. We will explore this more below.

Putting compassion to work – applying compassion to our difficulties As the coachee starts to develop the building blocks of their ‘compassionate mind’ – that is, access to the various qualities of compassion (e.g. caring-commitment, wisdom, strength), then the CF coach can begin to help them to apply these qualities and skills in a more specific, honed way to whatever the coachee is struggling with in life. CFC is a multimodal coaching approach that draws upon adapted interventions used in many other coaching and psychotherapeutic approaches (see Gilbert, 2014). Three of these interventions are described below.

Bringing compassion to our different emotional ‘selves’ Many of our difficulties in life arise not through a difficult situation per se but through conflicting emotions and motives during and after the situation. For example, if we have an argument with a colleague at work, or a set-back in a project, we can become quite anxious about our angry reactions to this or fearful of our sadness at what has happened. Here, the coach can help the coachee to understand and explore that rather than being formed of a coherent self we are full of multiples, and that these different selves pattern what we pay attention to, how we think, how we feel and what we do. So, for example, in an argument an anxious part of us might think, feel and behave in a very different way to how an angry part of us would. The difficult thing here is that one emotion can ‘block’ another, making it difficult to work through important responses and reactions that we might find helpful. Here, we can use a technique – referred to as multiple selves – in which we give voice in turn to common emotional responses to situations (e.g. anger, anxiety, sadness, shame, guilt) and in turn give space to these as if they were separate parts of the self, or different selves. For each one, we can identify the types of thoughts, bodily feelings, behavioural urge, desired outcome and memories that each has and how they may get into conflict with each other. Key to this exercise is returning back to a compassionate base, in which the compassionate self can help us to understand, tolerate and work through the different emotional ‘selves’ (e.g. sad self, angry self, anxious self).

Compassionate letter writing Writing letters about things that we are finding difficult in life has been found to be an effective way of bringing positive physical and mental health changes. In CFC, we build upon this expressive writing literature with a slight twist – helping coachees to learn and practice doing compassionate letter writing. Here, the coachee is encouraged to write a letter to themselves from their compassionate self (or compassionate

212

Compassion focused coaching

other) about something they are currently finding difficult. The purpose of this letter is to identify and pay attention to a particular difficulty and use the skills of compassion (e.g. empathy and understanding, encouragement and so forth) to engage with the reality of one’s struggles and how they emerged and reflect on ways to manage, cope and work through these.

The change process The process of change in CFC involves the coachee becoming more aware and attuned to the difficulties they or others are experiencing in life, with a greater capacity to tolerate, accept and ‘be with’ them. The CFC coachee will also show an increased motivation and capacity to begin to bring change to these difficulties through a blend of compassion based qualities such as caring-commitment, wisdom and strength/courage. For some this change begins early on in sessions, for others this is a gradual and at times difficult process but which, over time, leads to benefits. Commonly, working within a CFC perspective involves helping the coachee to understand, tolerate and work through a number of fears, blocks and resistances to compassion. This can sometimes form the core of the coaching work, and it may be helpful for coaches to be aware of the growing literature around these common difficulties and ways to work with them (Gilbert et al., 2011).

Which coachees benefit most? CFC can help coachees to tackle a variety of difficult and distressing experiences in their lives, relationships and workplaces. Many of these will relate to difficulties threat with system-based experiences, including common struggles with patterns of thinking (e.g. self-criticism, rumination, worry), emotions (e.g. anxiety, anger, shame) and behaviour (e.g. avoidance, submissiveness, aggression). CFC can also help coachees who, in the presence of threat-based experiences, are struggling to engage in goal- and value-based behaviours linked to the drive system (for example, struggling with motivation, perfectionism or maintaining healthy striving for success and achievements at work and in life). CFC can also help coachees develop compassion for their staff and colleagues and to be more open to receiving compassion and support from others in the organisation. This may help them feel more at ease, safe and connected to their colleagues and in their relationships more broadly. The compassion focused approach can enhance well-being, reduce negative effect and increase the ability to cope with challenging situations. Whilst CFC emerges from a broad, evidence-based psychotherapeutic approach (see Leaviss & Uttley, 2015), as CFC is a new approach to coaching, further research needs to be undertaken in order to confirm who benefits most from the approach and under what circumstances.

Case study Najma, a UK-based secondary school teacher, sought coaching to help her decide if she wanted to remain in teaching, and if so, whether to apply for a head of department role. She described herself as ambitious, saying that the post was the next logical step for her, but that she had ‘lost her confidence’ and was feeling ‘a bit lost and somewhat over-whelmed’. The coach was explicit about having a long-standing mindfulness meditation practice and working with mindfulness and compassion where appropriate. Once Najma began to share her story, it became clear that a CFC approach could be particularly helpful and appropriate. Najma shared that her mother had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and that she was finding it highly stressful to support her and her younger siblings (her father had died some years before). She said

213

Chris Irons, Stephen Palmer and Liz Hall

she felt ‘terrible’ because she just wished they would all leave her alone, resenting how she was frequently expected to drop everything even though she was so busy. When the coach gently suggested that it did sound as if she had a lot on her plate, Najma responded quite harshly, saying, ‘Yes, but I do have to step up. I can be really selfish, I know I can. It was the same when my father was ill.’ Her father had suffered from alcohol dependence, and Najma felt she had not done enough to help him. She fantasised about how she could have saved him had she not been so selfish, a fantasy fuelled by her highly critical mother, who frequently told Najma she was ungrateful and only thought of herself. Najma shared how she felt angry with herself, her mother and her father. She also described feeling sad that she had ‘failed’ her father and anxious that she wasn’t doing enough for her mother now. This sharing offered the coach the opportunity to move into explaining the three system emotion model to her coachee. She suggested that understandably, Najma was very much operating from the threat system and exhibiting classic threat emotions, including anger and anxiety, and associated behaviours (e.g. submissiveness to her mother). The coach explored with Najma how the human brain has evolved, and that it was not her fault that at times her ‘old brain’ went into overdrive. ‘It just wants to keep you safe’, said the coach. ‘And it’s how human brains work’. In another session, the coach explored with Najma how her life experiences had shaped her (social constructionism). The coach invited Najma to draw and subsequently explore her ‘lifeline’ with key ‘ups and downs’ marked on it, encouraging her to reflect how they had impacted her. The coach asked her to think about how she might have turned out with an entirely different upbringing. This reinforced the idea that our experiences shape our sense of self, and this began to help Najma reflect on how some of her negative selfappraisals were about aspects of herself that were shaped by her experiences rather than through her own choice or personal flaw. The coach encouraged her to talk about her relationship with both parents, how she felt during and since her father’s illness and death (she felt angry that he was dying and leaving them all, and still did), how her mother had acted with her at that time and now. Najma began to gain some insight into how it wasn’t just her who was a character in this ‘story’ – her parents had their parts to play too. At one point she became upset recalling how things had been towards the end of her father’s life, and the coach helped to validate these distressing feelings and supported Najma to tolerate and process these. The coach drew on her own mindfulness and self-compassion practice to remain present and empathic, tolerating her own threat system in being with Najma’s distress. This allowed space for Najma to turn towards her ‘difficult’ feelings, noticing them and building a better understanding of their negative impact on her, a key approach in CFC. Given the difficulties Najma was experiencing, along with how she had spent much of her childhood feeling uncared for and unable to self-sooth, the coach guided her through and encouraged her to practice a number of compassionate mind training skills. These included the practice of attention and mindfulness exercises, along with soothing breathing rhythm. Although sometimes difficult, Najma described how over time, these skills helped her to become more aware of threat-based ‘loops in the mind’ around her parents and her work. They also helped her become more able to slow down and ground herself in the present, using the soothing breathing rhythm to reduce her anxiety, for example. The coach explained that it is possible to train ourselves to be more compassionate to ourselves and to others, outlining potential benefits in doing so. Najma agreed to learn specific techniques to help her continue to notice and understand her emotions and behaviours and to change her relationship with herself and others around her. Najma was helped to develop her compassionate self and began to explore what it was like to direct and experience compassion from this self (i.e. the flows of compassion – to others, being open to signals of kindness and care from others and, crucially, self-compassion). Najma found the practices difficult. However, the coach helped her to explore and understand various fears, blocks and

214

Compassion focused coaching

resistances to compassion, such as feeling angry or overwhelmed. This helped her to recognise that, given her experiences and current family difficulties, it was not surprising that giving and receiving compassion felt overwhelming. Over time, with support and guidance, the coach helped her to navigate many of these difficulties. As sessions progressed, the coach observed that Najma was being very hard on herself, exhibiting a high level of self-criticism and that this often got in the way of managing to be more compassionate with herself. When the coach suggested she see herself as she might one of her students going through a hard time, she laughed, saying that it ‘wasn’t possible’. The coach suggested that Najma’s experience of her mother being highly critical had led to Najma being highly self-critical, and the coach explored with Najma how common self-criticism is and its nature and function, such as being a defensive posture to help us survive. Self-criticism can be focused on feelings of inadequacy or related to self-hating and contemptuous feelings of self (Gilbert et al., 2004). Exploring this with Najma, it was clear that her struggles were linked to feeling inadequate and flawed, and she soon began to recognise that self-criticism (as a form of self-monitoring) had indeed served as a way to protect herself from critical others including her mother. The coach introduced Najma to how her compassionate mind skills could help her to step back from self-criticism but also help her tolerate and ultimately reduce her sense of inadequacy. These included a guided imagery exercises and compassionate letter writing. In keeping with the CFC approach, the coach introduced the idea of multiple selves. Najma was guided in exploring how her angry, anxious and shame parts had quite different ways of thinking, feeling and behaving in relation to her current struggles. Using the compassionate self as a guide, the coach helped her to validate these different parts and try to engage in the current situation from a place of wisdom and strength, not turning away from feelings of anger and shame but finding a way for her to voice her concerns and needs in an assertive but caring way. At the end of the coaching, Najma reported that she was being more forgiving of her mother’s behaviour yet firmer around her own needs. She was feeling much more compassionate towards herself and her siblings. She highlighted how helpful it had been that she felt safe and un-judged by the coach, that the coach had ‘been very much there for me, not criticising me, a bit like the wise being I’ve had in my mind’. Later sessions explored what next steps looked like for Najma, including what she wanted to do careerwise. She decided she did want to remain in teaching and very much wanted to be given the head of department post, which she was.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

What qualities does a practitioner need to be a compassionate coach or coaching psychologist? Reflecting on your own coaching practice, consider which coachees may have benefited from receiving Compassion Focused Coaching. How could you integrate Compassion Focused Coaching into your current approach to coaching? What might hold you back from using Compassion Focused Coaching techniques on yourself?

Suggested reading Gilbert, P. (2009). The Compassionate Mind: A New Approach to the Challenges of Life. London: Constable & Robinson. Gilbert, P., & Choden, K. (2013). Mindful Compassion. London: Constable & Robinson. Irons, C., & Beaumont, E. (2017). The Compassionate Mind Workbook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Developing Your Compassionate Self. London: Little, Brown Book Group Limited. Ricard, M. (2015). Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World. London: Atlantic Books Ltd.

215

Chris Irons, Stephen Palmer and Liz Hall

References Barnard, L. K., & Curry, J. F. (2011). Self-compassion: Conceptualizations, correlates, & interventions. Review of General Psychology, 15, 289. Depue, R. A., & Morrone-Strupinsky, J. V. (2005). A neurobehavioral model of affiliative bonding. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28, 313–395. Dutton, J. E., Worline, M. C., Frost, P. J., & Lilius, J. (2006). Explaining compassion organizing. Administrative Science Quarterly, 51, 59–96. Gilbert, P. (2009). The Compassionate Mind. London: Constable & Robinson. Gilbert, P. (2014). The origins and nature of Compassion Focused Therapy. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 53, 6–41. Gilbert, P., & Choden, K. (2013). Mindful Compassion. London: Constable-Robinson. Gilbert, P., Clarke, M., Hempel, S., Miles, J. N. V., & Irons, C. (2004). Criticizing and reassuring oneself: An exploration of forms, styles and reasons in female students. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 43, 31–50. Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Matos, M., & Rivis, A. (2011). Fears of compassion: Development of three self-report measures. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 84, 239–255. Holmes, E. A., & Mathews, A. (2010). Mental imagery in emotion and emotional disorders. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 349–362. Leaviss, J., & Uttley, L. (2015). Psychotherapeutic benefits of compassion-focused therapy: An early systematic review. Psychological Medicine, 45, 927–945. LeDoux, J. (1998). The Emotional Brain. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

216

Section 4

Being focused approaches

17 Ontological coaching Aboodi Shabi and Alison Whybrow

Introduction Ontological coaching is based in an exploration of the coachee’s interpretations of the world and their way of being. Ontology is the study of being. Ontological coaching aims to get at the heart of the coachee’s being. The ontological coach approaches the coachee’s being with curiosity and enquiry into: how a coachee uses language; what emotions are shaping their interpretation of the world; how they move through space and what they might become. The aim of ontological coaching is to facilitate the transformation of the coachee by generating new possibilities that were previously unavailable or invisible, thus allowing new learning and behaviours to emerge. Building on Sharon Lebell ,who noted that the main task of philosophy is to respond to the soul’s cry (2004), ontological coaching is working at the level of the client’s soul rather than at the level of her actions. In this context, soul refers to living a deeply meaningful and fulfilling life. As Sieler notes: “when our soul is nourished we are more creative and effective” (Sieler, 2003, p. 11). As Julio Olalla and Rafael Echeverria note, ontological coaching is a process aimed at producing a “change of our soul” (unpublished, p. 3) This only happens when we are willing to observe, question and be curious enough to change the self that we are.

Development of ontological coaching Ontological coaching has a strong philosophical underpinning. Its roots lie in the works of the existential philosopher Martin Heidegger. It was Heidegger who observed (Heidegger, 1927/1996) that philosophy had, for 2,000 years, neglected the study of being because it was considered obvious. For Heidegger, the nature of being itself was worthy of investigation. Heidegger’s work strongly influenced another twentieth century philosopher, the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who saw the body not just as a thing but as an experiencing being. Through our body phenomenology, we experience the world. Merleau-Ponty noted that our body is our medium through which we have a world (Merleau-Ponty, 1962). The latter half of the twentieth century was a significant time for the development of ontological coaching. Philosopher John Langshaw Austin delivered his William James lecture (Austin, 1975) where he first articulated speech act theory, offering the idea of language as active and generative rather than simply descriptive. Speech act theory was further developed and transformed by John Searle (Searle, 1977), and whilst the detailed articulation of the theory is not relevant here, the idea of language as action is central to ontological coaching. When we speak we don’t only describe, we act. 219

Aboodi Shabi and Alison Whybrow

In parallel to this, the Chilean neuro-physiologist Humberto Maturana was working on the biology of cognition (Maturana, 1980), creating the concept of structural determinism. Structural determinism is the idea that things operate according to how they are made. Just as mechanical objects operate according to their structure, so we human beings act according to how we have been shaped. For example, someone who is very fit will have a different structure, and be able to operate very differently, than someone who hasn’t exercised for years. As a literary example, Miss Havisham, in Dickens’ novel Great Expectations (1861), who was brought up and “trained” by a mother who hated men after being jilted at the altar, can be said to have a structure that makes her unable to love. These ideas, the importance of the being itself; the view that language is generative and that our narratives shape our capacity for action; Merleau-Ponty’s notion of perception as a somatic phenomenon and the work of Maturana in showing that how we act in the world depends on how we are shaped, were synthesised by another Chilean, the former Minister of Finance and political prisoner, Fernando Flores, to create a new understanding for language and communication. Released from prison in 1976, Flores went to the USA. He worked with Terry Winograd and, with Werner Erhard’s sponsorship, completed an integrative PhD under John Searle and other leading thinkers. He continued to develop his understanding and insight into how people work together to get things done. Much of Flores’ work is captured in Conversations for Action and Collected Essays (Flores, 2013). Flores had a significant impact on Werner Erhard’s thinking, and together they worked to apply these ideas to business and personal development. They were joined by another Chilean refugee, Julio Olalla, who, together with Rafael Echeverria and James Flaherty, went on to develop the ontology of language and of moods and emotions as a basis for the profession of ontological coaching. These early thinkers often presented their ideas in unpublished essays, interviews and manuscripts. Later practitioners and authors such as Sieler (2003, 2007); Flaherty (1998); and Shabi (2015) have captured these ideas and brought them into the domain of coaching and coaching psychology practice.

Theory and basic concepts of ontological coaching At the core of ontological coaching is the premise that how we see the world shapes our capacity for action. We act from our interpretations of the world. James Flaherty writes: “Each person’s actions were fully consistent with the interpretations he brought, an interpretation that will persist across time, across events, across circumstances. Our job as coaches will be to understand the client’s structure of interpretation, then in partnership alter this structure so that the actions that follow bring about the intended outcome” (Flaherty, 1998, p. 9). It is this structure of our interpretations with which we are most concerned in ontological coaching. Two important points need to be made about this structure of interpretations: • •

Our interpretations are mostly not conscious; we have grown up in narratives that have shaped us all our lives, even before we were aware of ourselves or the world. Our interpretations are not based on solely linguistic narratives; we are also shaped by emotional and somatic narratives.

Developing this second point first, in the work of the Newfield Network (the coaching school established by Julio Olalla), this structure of interpretations is called the observer (Shabi, 2015; Sieler, 2003). As human beings, we take actions which produce results. Normally, when we don’t like the results we produce, we look at the actions we take and try to change them. We might do more, we might do less, or we might try a new action. But, if we do not look at the observer that we are, if we do not question our structural interpretations, then we are likely to simply produce more of the same. Our structural interpretations, our narratives, are not solely linguistic. Whilst we grow up, and live, in language and stories, we also grow up in emotional and somatic narratives. We can say that the observer we are lives in three domains: language, body and emotions which together create a coherence. We describe the three domains below: 220

Ontological coaching







By language we mean the stories we have learned about life, the narratives in which we live, our values or core beliefs – for example, “the world is dangerous”, “it’s important to be independent”, “you can trust people to be helpful”, “money is hard to come by”. We learn and absorb these from the world around us, and they become part of who we are. By body, we mean the way we move through space. A person who values efficiency may move quickly and efficiently, which results in them getting things done; at the same time, however, they might be less available for connection. Others might move more slowly, take their time, and be available to connect with others; but they might not get things done, or they might lose focus on the task because they prioritise relationships. Neither example is good or bad; rather they lend themselves to certain outcomes. Again, these ways of moving through space are learned. We can observe this when we look at how people from different cultures move and interact physically with the world and others. By emotions, in the context of ontological coaching, we mean that which pre-disposes us to act. Olalla describes working with emotions as a critical part of ontological coaching (Hall, 2010). In our approach, we are concerned with emotions in the philosophical sense, that is, how emotions shape our way of being. For example, if I am resentful, I will act differently when you ask me for help than, than if I am grateful. Emotions are seen as clues that “tell you different things” (Hall, 2010, p. 27).

We learn in all three domains. We learn stories and narratives about the world from our families, from the culture around us; at the same time we also learn emotions and how to move through space. We can say that all of this learning that happens throughout our lives forms the “structure of interpretation” described by Flaherty (1998). When we look at all three domains together, a coherent picture of the whole person emerges. As an illustration, let’s take the case of Martin. Martin sees the world as dangerous, resulting in risk aversion and saying no to potential opportunities. From the domain of language, Martin might have certain narratives learned from life. Perhaps he grew up in a conflict zone, or there was a lot of anger at home, or a dominant family narrative might have been that “you can’t trust people” or “life is hard”. Martin’s view of the world shows up physically as he learned to lie low and hold back when growing up. Now, when we watch him move, we notice he is hesitant, holding himself back when he meets a group of people, or looking around nervously when he ventures an opinion. In the emotional domain, Martin might be fearful, timid, or anxious. Martin exhibits a coherence. We see a man who is unlikely to take much risk in life and who will hold himself back. He may well feel safe, but from another perspective he could also be seen as missing out on numerous opportunities and possibilities. To take the first point, our interpretations operate outside of our conscious awareness. These narratives are transparent to Martin; he doesn’t notice he is acting through his filters of how he sees the world. To Martin, it is obvious that, “the world is dangerous, and I have to be careful”. Unless we become aware of how we interpret the world, we are not going to see our “risk aversion” as something to investigate further. We don’t see our “being”. Sieler (2007) notes that our level of consciousness is the fundamental ground from which we function as an observer. This connection of ontological coaching with human development provides a firm link with the work of Kegan (1982) and adult development theories. A further strand that underpins the idea of growth is the ability to think through complexity is that provided by Julio Olalla and his reference to the work of Joseph Campbell (2010). The aim of ontological coaching is to help the coachee see that who they are isn’t fixed and that a lot of who they are has been learned and can therefore be unlearned. This concept of structural plasticity was first articulated by Humberto Maturana (1980).

The practice of ontological coaching In this section we provide a sense of some of the core elements of practice. However, it is the overall shape of the coaching intervention that is more definitive of an ontological practice, rather than any individual aspect of the practice alone. What follows is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete articulation of ontological coaching practice. 221

Aboodi Shabi and Alison Whybrow

The role of the coach Because we are often blind to our structural interpretations, they tend to operate subconsciously. We need someone outside ourselves to help us see what we cannot see – to reveal our blindness. We can say that an ontological coach is that someone. The coach’s role is to help the coachee to uncover her or his structural interpretations and how they have shaped them, and then to open new territories for learning that were previously unavailable or invisible to the coachee. Or as Flaherty notes, to alter that structure, in partnership with the coachee, in order to produce new results (Flaherty, 1998). Having raised awareness, the coach works with the coachee to identify new ways of being, almost literally working out how to build a new structure, to go beyond the old learned self and to discover new ways of being that were unavailable to the old self. For the coachee, having realised that who we think we are is largely a function of what we have learned, we can now embrace the possibility of learning something new and that we literally learn to be a new self by the practices that emerge out of ontological coaching conversations. The shape of the ontological coaching intervention is what enables the ontological coach to fulfil their role. There are five practices that we explore in turn below: • • • • •

Creating the conditions for enquiry Enquiring into the observer Listening with the whole self Surfacing the learning Practicing new ways of being.

Creating the conditions for enquiry Ontological coaching requires passionate curiosity in the coach. We need to be passionately curious about the self in front of us. What stories have they learned? What interpretations do they live in? How does their structural determinism shape them? In order to do this with skill, the coach is required to leave behind all assessments and judgements about how a coachee should behave or about the right mental attitude to have and simply to be willing to find out how the coachee got to be the human being that is present. It also requires a particular mood in the coachee, a willingness and openness to take a look at and question the ways of being that they have hitherto taken for granted. Although coaching is very much a co-creative process, it’s worth noting that the coach will see things in the coachee’s way of being, as well as possible new practices or directions for the coachee, which the coachee does not see simply because the coach is not blind in the way the coachee is blind. We can say that ontological coaching works because the coach is blind in different ways than the coachee is blind. Indeed, if the coach and the coachee saw exactly the same world or shared the same narratives, the impact of coaching would be very limited. As a result of this passionate curiosity, the coaching work may be experienced as highly challenging. In an ontological coaching practice, it’s important to clarify the nature and purpose of the enquiry and the roles and norms of engagement.

Enquiry into the observer Passionate curiosity in practice requires us to develop our capacity to listen and be curious in order to be with the coachee as fully as possible, and to be able to notice and help the coachee notice who is speaking and what is being revealed by how they speak. This requires stepping back from the content and noticing how the coachee is showing up in the session. 222

Ontological coaching

We might hold questions such as: • • • • • • • • • • •

How did the coachee walk in the room and connect? What do we notice as the coachee is speaking about her issue? How does he speak? How does she hold herself ? What do we notice in his voice/breathing/posture as he speaks? What assumptions, spoken or unspoken, is she making as she speaks? What beliefs does she hold about the world? What might be the worldview or structural interpretation that has led to his way of being, to the way he experiences the situation he is reporting? What might be the emotional world of the coachee? What emotional rhythms or states does she display? What might his sitting forward in the chair as he talks be showing?

We also need to be curious about the coherence (or otherwise) of the coachee. A lack of coherence needs to further awaken our curiosity. For example, if a coachee is laughing when they are talking about something that matters to them, then we can be curious about what that laughter might be revealing. Or concealing.

Listening with the whole self As a coach, it’s useful to hold the question: “how does the coachee happen to me when I am coaching?” or “What is the impact on me of the human being in front of me?” In this sense, who the coach is and their use of self is critical to the relationship. The coach is not just a neutral passive observer; ontological coaching is an intimate relationship, and the coach needs to be available to her or his clients. The quality of listening required as an ontological coach goes beyond our technical competencies and interpersonal skills; it requires heightened self-awareness. We need to understand what we care about to understand how we are listening. This requires self-work. We draw on the work of Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge and the concept of self as instrument to illustrate this point. As Cheung-Judge describes, it requires owning your own instrumentality by devoting time and energy to knowing yourself; developing lifelong learning habits and working through issues of power and control; building emotional and intuitive self-awareness and committing to self-care (Cheung-Judge, 2001). As coaches, we need to be willing to discover how we have been shaped, what are our narratives, what are our own blind-spots. The more we work on ourselves, the more willing we are to question the very self that we think we are and the more available we can be to serve our coachees. Listening to how we listen is vital as the coaches’ listening informs the questions asked, which, in turn, informs the space of possibilities. As a listener, the coach might ask questions such as these offered by (Sieler, 2003, p. 129): • • • • • • • •

What is going on with me? How am I listening right now? What am I listening to? Where am I listening from? How might my prejudices be interfering with my listening? How do these interpretations impact on my emotions? How could I shift my body to listen differently? Am I holding the coachee as a legitimate other?

Listening with the whole self requires a deep level of skill. Whilst listening to how we listen, we also need to be listening to the coachee and holding questions about them and their way of being. From this a picture about the self in front of the coach starts to emerge. 223

Aboodi Shabi and Alison Whybrow

Surfacing the learning This is about helping the coachee discover the ontological territory, or territory of their being and what narratives have shaped them. We need, if you will, to find out what and how the coachee has learned in order to answer the question: how did they get to here in their lives? Rather than being a psychotherapeutic exploration, this enquiry about learning helps reveal the coachee’s background and his structural interpretations (Flaherty, 1998) and to raise awareness that who he is today is, at least in part, a functioning of learning. This learning is what we need to bring to the surface so the coachee can recognise that his or her way of being has been learned. Once we have identified how the coachee might have learned some way of being, we can begin to introduce the possibility of learning something new and help the coachee identify practices that will help to build a different observer. This is described by Doug Silsbee as a re-organisation: “a new behaviour . . . requires a reorganization of ourselves, behaviourally, cognitively, and somatically”. (Silsbee, 2008, p. 54) It can be important to explore the question of what future lies ahead if we carry on the way that we are. This process, and the understanding it generates, can galvanise the coachee to make changes that are uncomfortable or difficult now for the sake of creating a different future. We illustrate with a short example. Robin, a senior executive, complains of being overwhelmed and of having too much work to do. If we look at the possible solutions that are at the behavioural level without delving further, Robin might think about dealing with having too much to do by using technology, or he might hire a secretary or an assistant. These solutions are focussed on practical actions he might take and might well work for a while in the short term. The solutions do not explore or address the observer or being that Robin is. It’s probable that he will soon report feeling overwhelmed again because who he is, his way of being, has not changed. The future is likely to continue to be overwhelming if he stays the same observer regardless of the technology or number of secretaries he deploys. An ontological coach would explore the learning that underpins the overwhelm. We might find that he has learned to be “independent” and doesn’t know how to, or isn’t willing to, ask for help. Or he might have learned to be kind and helpful to the point of not being able to say “no”. These are ontological explanations for overwhelm – something about Robin’s self, or way of being. It’s important to note that there could be many other equally valid explanations and we have chosen this possible interpretation purely as an example. We might notice that Robin is always sitting on the edge of the chair because he has a narrative about the value of being busy, or that he is often agitated and unable to rest because “there is too much to be done”. All of these observations will help us to build a picture of an observer that is probably going to deal with feeling overwhelmed by “just trying harder” rather than adopting any other strategy such as asking for help, saying “no”, or taking time to rest and recharge. The coach isn’t simply a neutral observer here. How the coachee happens to us, the impact they make on us, is also an important source of “information” about the coachee’s way of being (Shabi, 2015). We bring these discoveries to Robin’s attention and demonstrate that, rather than being stuck with something forever, his not being able to say no or not being to ask for help is something that he has learned and that has become part of who he now is. If it’s something he has learned, then he can learn something new. This realisation can be a powerful awakening, a significant moment in the coaching. It can shift the mood of coachee from one of hopelessness to a place of hope and curiosity about how he can learn to be different, to build a new way of being and to have a different experience of life.

Practising new ways of being This awareness is just the beginning. To build on this new learning, the coach will help the coachee design new practices to help build a new self or way of being. How, for example, might a coachee begin to build a self who can say “no”? Some of that would be linguistic, learning that they have the right to say “no”. 224

Ontological coaching

But it’s more than just about saying no. It’s about saying “no” in a way that conveys a commitment to it, about building a body that can hold a no. That might require literally learning how to stand one’s ground. Sieler refers to this as a person holding him/herself as a legitimate being (2003). Rather than merely talking about different body positions, we might get our coachee to adjust their posture and explore what narratives or possibilities accompany the new body position, or how the newly expressed “no” lands and impacts. This can provide immediate learning, which can also be the basis for designing new practices in the world outside the coaching session. Another important point about practices is that we need to do more than practice in isolation. We usually learn less when we learn alone and benefit from learning from others, especially others who are competent in the desired new way of being. Part of this has to do with what Lewis, Amini, & Lannon (2001) call limbic revision: the idea that we learn emotionally from others. We learn by experience, by practising in the real world, in real relationships with others – by being in the game, rather than simply being on the sidelines or reading about the game. A coachee will have to learn to be comfortable with the discomfort of the new practice. Maybe it will feel “unnatural” to stand firm; perhaps they will feel guilty when they first start practising saying “no”, especially if others are disappointed. It’s a good idea to make the coachee aware of this possibility; new learning requires a willingness to become comfortable with the discomfort of the new practice. Practices are actions that are taken on a consistent basis in order to produce a new self. Rather than one-off actions which might be about a specific issue, practices are much longer term in order to build lasting change. In fact, the practice of something new can be seen as being a lifelong journey: in any learning we have to keep practising to build competence and fluency and be mindful that the old observer or language will always be more familiar to us. There is always the danger of returning to our old way of being if we don’t practice. As Stuart Heller notes, we are like bureaucracies of habits. “Bureaucracies don’t understand visions. They defend themselves against change. That’s their job – to stop new things from happening” (Heller, interview with Rockwell, 2002). It’s through practice that we can build a different structure. It is important to practice when we don’t need to, so that when we are under pressure we have the muscle already well exercised. It’s no good waiting until you are stressed before practising calm breathing exercises; it’s precisely because you were practising meditation on a regular, consistent, basis that you can come to calmness when under pressure. Practice is a critically important part of the new learning and the new becoming. Without practice, coaching only produces insights; it is in the living of the new practices that change really begins to take shape and the benefits of coaching start to reach far beyond the coaching session itself. The first practices that are designed may need adjusting. Coaching is an ongoing process of exploration, feedback and calibration. It’s important to review the practices at the beginning of each session. Reviewing the coachee’s experience of living the practice, what they are noticing, the specific impact on the initial coaching issue, and th wider impact.

Which coachees benefit most? Ontological coaching can produce very powerful results. But, the client has to be ready. If a client wants a quick result, or is unwilling to question who they are, then they are likely to be impatient and unlikely to derive any benefit from this kind of approach. They might even describe such a coaching approach as ineffective. Ontological coaching is therefore really valuable when the coachee has some recognition, or is willing to acknowledge when it is suggested to them, that more of the same is no longer an option. It is valuable when the coachee is ready to reflect on who they are being in the world and whether that way of being is serving them well. Ontological coaching is about producing a sustainable transformation of the self in life and work rather than about achieving short-term goals. 225

Aboodi Shabi and Alison Whybrow

Case study Britt was a Danish woman in her early forties who was very successful in her career. She came for coaching because she was looking for a loving personal relationship, an area of her life in which she had so far had little success. I (AS) began by asking her what she had tried so far. Britt: “Well, I’ve tried all the usual things, internet dating, asking my friends, going to social events, etc., but none of them are working for me”. AS:

As she spoke, I was struck by her appearance – she had very short hair and was dressed all in black, with Doctor Marten boots, and she held herself in a quite formal pose. “Tell me more about why you chose to adopt that appearance and way of carrying yourself”.

Britt: “Oh, I always dress like this. I like to be independent. You should never compromise, especially not for a relationship”. AS:

As she spoke, her body would tighten, and she would look very serious – definitely giving the impression that she was not to be messed with. It felt important to share this observation with her: “I notice as you speak, your body tightens. I get the impression you’re not to be messed with”.

Britt: “Absolutely! No-one is going to push me to do anything I don’t want to do!” AS:

“OK, let’s take a look at your situation a bit more. Tell me, first of all, how long have you been single?”

Britt: “Well, to be honest, I’ve never been in a serious relationship”. AS:

I was surprised to hear her reply. I now started to explore her unwillingness to compromise and her independence. “Where did you learn the values of independence and no compromise?”

Britt: “Well, I learned when I was very young. My family were very pushy, and there was never much space for me. So, I had to stand up for myself, to fight for what I believed in. I wasn’t taken seriously if I didn’t fight”. Again, she repeated, “I’ve always tried not to compromise on anything. It’s very important not to compromise”. Her approach had made her very successful in her work and got her to where she was in life. How fit for purpose were her structural narratives when it came to building different relationships with people? With a bit of gentle questioning, she acknowledged that, whilst not wanting to compromise, she didn’t hold out much hope that she would ever get a relationship. Britt: “I just don’t know what else to try”. AS:

“Before we look at what else to try, let’s look a bit deeper at your belief that you should never compromise. Is it really ‘the truth’ about life? Or is it something you learned in order to deal with your particular family history?”

She reflected on this for a long while. Britt: “OK. Maybe you have a point. Maybe it’s not the truth”. AS:

“I can see that it’s got you very far in life. You have been very successful. But everything comes with a cost, whatever benefits it might bring. What might have been the cost to you of not compromising?”

Again, she took her time. Britt: “Well, perhaps, it’s been a barrier to my finding a relationship. I never want a guy to change me, so I always leave if I feel I might have to compromise my independence”.

226

Ontological coaching

Now, we had an opening into her way of being, a recognition on her part that there was something about her self, rather than about her actions, that might be impacting her ability to find a relationship – she was willing to acknowledge the cost of being the observer she had become. Now it was time to start talking about change. I went on to suggest that it might be possible to explore becoming a different observer in this context, someone who could create a different impression, perhaps a softer and lighter, impression. She was resistant to the idea, but by now I was able to challenge her to consider that more of the same would only get her more of what she’d already experienced. “OK”, she agreed. “It might be worth a try”. My next coaching move was to ask Britt whether she might have any “allies” to this new possibility already in her life, so I asked her if she had any friends who were comfortable with being light, who didn’t see it as being a compromise. She identified one or two, and she agreed that she would be willing to learn from them, to go clothes shopping with them and start to wear more colourful clothing. She was a bit suspicious about whether that would make any difference, but I asked her to try it, without any expectations of what success might look like, in the spirit of experimenting with something new. Over the next few months, she would report in from time to time on her progress. She acknowledged her resistance and the challenges she faced in the journey, but she kept going with the support of her friends. Six months later, we met up again, and I was struck by the change in her – she was wearing bright clothes, her hair was longer, and there was a softness about her that wasn’t there before. When I asked her about how she was feeling about the changes, she told me that “I am starting to like the new me that is emerging, and I am realising I don’t have to compromise on everything”. And then a few months after that, I was delighted to receive an email from her telling me that “my boyfriend has asked me to write to you and say ‘thank you’. I am so much in love that I can hardly believe it”.

Coach’s reflections This story illustrates that by changing the self, by effectively becoming someone quite different to the person that you think you are, might lead a client to getting what they really long for. We could even say that the actions they take might be the same, but that the being that takes the actions is different, and that’s what produces totally different results.

Discussion points 1

2

3 4

Referring back to the concept of the observer, what structural narratives are you aware of in the way that you interpret the world? What made you aware of your way of being, and how was this helpful to you in your coaching practice? Thinking about your coaching practice, can you think of a specific example of a useful intervention to make with a coachee which would support them in becoming aware of their way of being? You might find it useful to reflect on the case study. What struck you about Britt’s “being”? About her use of language, her mood, her body? What other questions might you have asked her? What practices might you have suggested? What activities can you engage in as a coach to ensure you build awareness of yourself as a listener? What pre-, during and post-reflections will enable you to listen to how you listen? How does ontological coaching complement or contrast with your existing coaching approach? How and what might you integrate into your practice from this chapter? 227

Aboodi Shabi and Alison Whybrow

Further Reading Flaherty, J. (1998). Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others. New York: Routledge. Lewis, T., Amini, F., & Lannon, R. (2001). A General Theory of Love. New York: Vintage, Random House. Strozzi-Heckler, R. (1984). The Anatomy of Change a Way to Move through Life’s Transitions. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. Winograd, T., & Flores, F. (1987). Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design. Boston: Addison Wesley.

References Austin, J. L. (1975). How to Do Things with Words (Second ed.). Harvard: Harvard University Press. Cheung-Judge, M.-Y. (2001). The Self as Instrument: A Cornerstone for the Future of OD. OD Practitioner, 33(3), pp. 11–16. Dickens, C. (1861). Great Expectations. London: Chapman and Hall. Echeverria, R., & Olalla, J. (Unpublished). The Art of Ontological Coaching Part 1. Unpublished manuscript. The Newfield Group. Flaherty, J. (1998). Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Otheres. New York: Routledge. Flores, F. (2013). Conversations for Action and Collected Essays: Instilling a Culture of Commitment in Working Relationships. North Charleston, SC: Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. Hall, L. (2010, July/August). Mystery Man. Coaching at Work, 5(4), pp. 26–29. Heidegger, M. (1927/1996). Being and Time (J. Stambaugh, Trans.). New York: State University of New York. Heller, S. (2002). The Body’s Language of Leadership, Changing the Bureaucracy. Interview with Camilla Rockwell: http:// roundstoneintl.com/the-bodys-language-of-leadership-changing-the-bureaucracy/ (Accessed 24 January 2016). Kegan, R. (1982). The Evolving Self. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Lebbell, S., & Epictetus. (2004). The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness. San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins. Lewis, T., Amini, F., & Lannon, R. (2001). A General Theory of Love. New York: Vintage, Random House. Maturana, H. R. (1980). Biology of Cognition. In H. J. Maturana, & F. J. Varela (Eds.), Autopoiesis and Cognition: The Realization of the Living (pp. 5–58). Dordecht: D Reidel Publishing Co. Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of Perception (C. Smith, Trans.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. Olalla, J. (2010, December 1st). What Coaching Really Mean. Retrieved from You Tube: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=8-7u9vNo-WE. Searle, J. R. (1977). Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Shabi, A. (2015, May). Ontological Coaching. The Listener New Series (7), pp. 2–5. Retrieved from: http://www. kensmithcoaching.co.uk/NS7.pdf Sieler, A. (2003). Coaching to the Human Soul: Ontological Coaching and Deep Change (Vol. 1). Blackburn, Victoria, Australia: Newfield. Sieler, A. (2007). Coaching to the Human Soul: Ontological Coaching and Deep Change (Vol. 2). Blackburn, Australia: Newfield. Silsbee, D. (2008). Presence-Based Coaching: Cultivating Self-Generative Leaders Through Mind, Body, and Heart. John Wiley and Sons.

228

18 Somatic coaching Eunice Aquilina and Richard Strozzi-Heckler

Introduction Somatic coaching is a change process that works by transforming a person’s embodied shape, deepening their awareness of their habitual patterns and narratives and supporting them to move towards who they wish to become in their life and in their work. It posits that a person’s way of being, that is, who they are, is the ground of the coaching and that sustainable change occurs when the “being” (rather than the “doing”) of the person is addressed. Somatic coaching privileges the body as a fundamental source of change, learning and transformation. The somatic coach sees the body, the human form, as the unified space in which we act, perceive, think, feel, sense and express emotions and mood. It holds that the body and who you are as a person, the self, are inextricably linked, and by working through the body we can directly work with the self. In this interpretation the body is the energetic space where we build trust and intimacy, produce meaningful work, create family and community, bring forth a world in language and live our spiritual aspirations. The fundamental work of the somatic coach is to guide the person to feel and be with this animating force that makes them alive. Tuning into the innate intelligence of the body as a source of wisdom and depth. Somatic coaching is a process of working with, on and through the body so an individual or team can be self-generating, self-educating and self-healing. This creates a leadership presence that is grounded in physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being.

Development of somatic coaching In the late sixties, when George Leonard, an educator who wrote extensively about education, coined the term the “Human Potential Movement”(1972), self-development took a new turn. Psychology was revived by a new humanism, placing the person at the centre of the therapeutic process instead of their symptoms. Many of these early thinkers and practitioners (Maslow 1954; Perls 1951\1994; Rogers 1961) were influenced by bio-cybernetics (the study of an entire living organism) and bodywork as well as Eastern meditation practices. Terms such as “holistic health” came into being. In 1970, co-author Richard Strozzi-Heckler pioneered the integration of meditation, bodywork and movement practices and a body-oriented psychotherapy based in gestalt therapy. Having become disillusioned with standard psychological practices, he saw his clients’ symptoms eclipsed by a vision 229

Eunice Aquilina and Richard Strozzi-Heckler

of their wholeness in which their actions, emotions, thinking and energetic states were inextricably linked. He came to see how their issues revolved around purpose, meaning, authenticity and living a rich emotional life. The mismatch of submitting a diagnosis for a personality disorder for someone who was simply confused about how to move into a different professional role became unacceptable for him. It was Wilhelm Reich, a student of Freud, who saw connections between the body and our consciousness. Reich observed how his clients would physically contract to inhibit the impulse for emotional expression. He proposed the idea of armouring “. . . the condition that results from energy being bound in a muscular contraction and not being allowed to flow through the body” (Catone, 2014, p. 92). The unexamined social patterns individuals had inherited were integrated in their muscular, organ and nervous systems. StrozziHeckler recognised that it would be impossible to unpack their various issues without working directly through the body. He believed there is an innate intelligence at our cellular level that rises to the foreground with the slightest encouragement. The cultivation of this core somatic sensibility became a first principle in this way of working. This was the beginning of somatic coaching. Strozzi-Heckler combined his experience of working as a somatic psychotherapist with his studies with pioneering bodyworkers, particularly Randolph Stone (Polarity therapy 1954), Ida Rolf (Rolf 1979) and Moshe Feldenkrais (Feldenkrais 2010). He continued to evolve his somatic methodology by integrating the discourses of the martial art of Aikido with his long-term meditation practice. In addition, having spent time working with Chilean business consultant Dr Fernando Flores (2012), he incorporated language and the embodiment of language into his somatic approach. The result is an integrated methodology for transformative change. An increasing number of studies in the field of neuroscience are beginning to offer scientific grounding as to why learning with and through the body creates consistent and sustainable outcomes. Research has established a link between the brain and body, not only through our neural pathways but also through the discovery of neurotransmitters in our heart, gut and connective tissue. Our enteric nervous system consists of around 100 million neurons and can send as many messages to the brain as it receives. Science is suggesting that our brain extends down into our entire body: “I can no longer make a strong distinction between the brain and body”, said Candace Pert (1988: 12), neuroscientist and pharmacologist.

The theory and methodology of somatic coaching Somatics, a term first introduced by Thomas Hanna (1970), comes from the early Greek (soma), which means the living body in its wholeness and pre-dates the Cartesian notion that there is a mind-body split. The somatic coach sees the human form as the space in which we experience emotions, mood, thinking, perception and intuition and from where we take action. Our body is the shape of our experience, a representation of the full history a person has. Alexander Lowen, an associate of Reich, said, “The character of the individual as it is manifested in his typical pattern of behaviour is also portrayed on the somatic level by the form and movement of the body. The body expression is the somatic view of the typical emotional expression, which is seen on the psychic level as character. Defences show up in both dimensions, in the body as muscular armouring” (1976: 137). As Candace Pert suggests, “The body is our unconscious mind!” (1997: 141). A somatic coach is trained to observe and pay attention to the conditioning that resides in the body and how a person’s shape informs their way of being in the world. In this interpretation, the body and the self are inextricably linked and, by working through the body, the somatic coach can work directly with a coachee’s way of being. The core elements of this methodology are somatic awareness, somatic opening, and somatic practices, which occur within a social context and are informed by nature and spirit. These core elements are interdependent and mutually supportive. They do not occur sequentially but in concert. 230

Somatic coaching

Somatic Transformation

SOMATIC AWARENESS

SOMATIC OPENING

IR

SOMATIC PRACTICES

XT TE



ON CIAL C TEXT ● SO S O CI AL

S

E

CIAL CONT ● SO EX XT T E ● T N O S C

AP

C NTEXT ● SO CIA L CO L CIA CO SO N

P

S



IT

D

LA XT ● SOCIAL CO NTE N O NT C EX AL I T C O

Figure 18.1 The core elements of somatic methodology

Somatic awareness Somatic awareness is the process of turning our attention to the life of the body and to see first what is present there. Choice follows awareness. The more aware we are, the more choice we have in responding to situations in new ways. “Interoception is the term scientists use to describe our visceral experience. Our heart, gut, lungs, skin and connective tissue all provide unique signals to the brain about our internal state.” (Blake, 2018, p. 47). Developing somatic awareness starts with sensations – temperature, pressure, shape and movement towards knowing our inner landscape. Minimisation, numbing and disassociation from our sensations are common responses to difficult life experiences such as loss and traumatic events. Attending to sensations brings a client’s attention to the life of the body and allows them to develop somatic awareness and begin to heal past wounds and traumas.

Somatic opening Somatic opening involves the “opening” of the body, or soma, and the releasing of long-held contractions, emotions, mental constructs and narratives. In somatic opening, we disrupt our historical muscular organisation, organ correspondence, tissue metabolism and breath patterns that govern our behaviours and how we make sense of the world. This aspect can be unsettling because opening up our historical “shape” (the physical manifestation of our experiences over time) can throw us into questions of identity and habitual ways of knowing. We may feel as if “I don’t know who I am anymore”. But it is this “undoing” that is central to the transformation process. This is the phase when the historical shape – its methodology and narratives – has been thanked for bringing us to where we 231

Eunice Aquilina and Richard Strozzi-Heckler

are now, and we acknowledge that it has outlived its usefulness. It’s now time to let it go, allowing for the possibilities of a new shape to emerge. Bessel van der Volk (2014) suggests that working through the body is the most direct way to work with long-held habitual patterns.

Somatic practices We are a collection of our practices; our habitual patterns of behaviour developed over a lifetime that become our everyday way of living. If we practice something long enough we will become that practice, whether it’s embodied authenticity or chronic anxiety. Somatic practices enable us to embody new skills, new competencies and new ways of being that are relevant to our current commitments and the present vision we have of our life. When we practice something different, regularly and over time, we begin to rewire neural pathways (Price et al. 2006). However, repetition alone is not enough (Zull 2002). Our practice must be connected with what we care about, what is important for us to move towards in our life and in our work. New practices help develop a new shape that allows us to be more present, open and connected to ourselves and others. Without grounded, sincere practices, our intentions for change will only be good ideas. Committed practices help us to leverage our resilience, develop more choice, respond instead of react and be centred in stressful situations.

Social context The social context in which we were raised and in which we are living is always with us, and it is continually shaping our world-views, actions, choices, default habits, relationships and all that we’ve embodied.

Landscape/nature Our relationship with the natural world coincides with our relationship with our soma. It is possible to lose sight of how the environment influences our somatic shape and, thus, our perspective of life.

Spirit/the mystery Matters of spirit include experiences of awe, wonder, love, timelessness, a knowing without understanding, the sacredness of life, non-dualism, a direct perception of what is and a suffering that births compassion. The personal self becomes less central and our mutual inter-connectedness becomes more foundational; the small “I” is eclipsed by a profound sense of belonging to a greater whole.

Core principles of somatic coaching The promise of somatic coaching is to move individuals, teams and organisations toward their vision of fulfilment and satisfaction. At the same time, the sensibility and practices inherent in this journey generate the embodied virtues of pragmatic wisdom, grounded compassion and skillful action. Somatic coaching works with, on and through the body.

Working on the body When the individual’s presenting symptoms are so strong – chronic headaches, back pain, etc. – they need to be attended to before any other issues can be addressed. Unless she has a medical background, the somatic coach is trained simply to help release the tension that is stored in the body and then, if there is an organic cause, refer this person to a qualified health professional. 232

Somatic coaching

Working with the body When the emotional, social life of the individual is addressed, emotional reactions to people and situations are manifesting physically. The coach and coachee transition from focusing on easing the presenting symptom to an inquiry into how a particular relationship is producing the debilitating pain. The individual is taught to bring a different level of attention and accountability to how he shapes himself physically, energetically, emotionally and relationally when he’s with particular people and/or in particular conversations, and then to create alternative ways of being.

Working through the body When we work through the body we engage with the fundamental life energy that animates and shapes who we are. The emphasis on working through the body is not necessarily on relieving a symptom, attaining a certain posture, being able to move in a certain way or being able to express or contain a particular emotion, although all of that may happen. All of the previous techniques in working on and with the body can be used, but the focus is fundamentally on the energy that forms the self. Working through the body for self-cultivation will eventually lead to the spiritual questions of what lies beyond the self, and who is this self we talk about? The fundamental work of the somatic coach is to guide the person to feel and be with this animating force that makes them alive. Our aliveness has its own unique energetic rhythm that’s explicit in our gestures, how we express our emotions, make contact, create intimacy, fulfil on our commitments and live out our roles in a family or team. We call this the Rhythm of Energy, and it’s a useful somatic distinction in coaching individuals, teams and organisations. Our rhythm of energy has four distinct stages: awakening, increasing, containing and completing. Awakening – Bringing our attention to the life of the body is the first step in awakening. We learn how to identify where we block and numb ourselves, where and how we inhibit ourselves from feeling our aliveness. We discover how a shallow breath pattern compresses our presence, how slouching shoulders hinder the full transportation of oxygen, how the choking in our throat represses assertiveness. Increasing – This is the building of structures that allow our energy to develop and mature. At this stage we begin to listen to the increasing energy and to participate in its expansion. Containing – This is when we hit our stride and move with confidence and competence, no longer pushing forward or needing a certain level of acknowledgement, but rather we find satisfaction and freedom in knowing how far we have come. Completing – The full satisfaction of completing something – a project, a conversation, a relationship – emerges as much from the energetic experience as it does from thinking it through logically. We can accept the legacy we have built and experience our own sense of achievement, knowing the value of our contribution.

The somatic arc of transformation In somatic coaching the journey of transformation begins by supporting the coachee to disengage from their historical shape and way of being that no longer serves them so they might participate in generating a new embodiment that is congruent with their aspirations, values and beliefs. The four distinct stages are: 1 2 3 4

Historical stage The open unbounded stage The new shape Embodiment of the new shape. 233

Eunice Aquilina and Richard Strozzi-Heckler

The process is not linear but typically begins by supporting the coachee to be in an intimate relationship between the historical shape that they are about to relinquish and the commitment to a future they are in the process of discovering. In this time there is a close relationship between what is ending and what is beginning. This is the moment in which the coachee declares a vision, intent and commitment to a particular future. This declaration of a future tells the somatic coach what the person wants to achieve in their work together.

Historical stage The somatic coach introduces the person to the idea that the body and the self are inextricably linked. They are shown the architecture of sensations in the body, how these sensations create narratives and stories and how certain narratives will create sensations. They will inquire into how these narratives became beliefs and the beliefs solidified into character and temperament. This character lives in the body as behaviours, moods and emotions. In this process the individual is asked to move her attention from the thinking self to the feeling self. This doesn’t mean that one loses the ability to think and analyse clearly, but rather they’ve added the dimension of somatic intelligence that lives below the head. As they connect with their felt sense of living they begin to recognise automatic, reflexive reactions that occur spontaneously and live in our muscular system (van der Volk 2014). They’re unbidden yet focused in their reaction to perceived attacks, or betrayals. These are our conditioned tendencies, arising from our historical experience manifest in our physical shape.

Sites of shaping – how we are shaped over time Our family life, neighbourhood, schools, communities, institutions, social norms, belief systems and historical forces, as well as the environment, all play a part in influencing how we allow, or do not allow, energy to move through us and shape us. The body becomes the shape of our experience. It reveals how we relate to life. “Sites of Shaping/Sites of Change” is a framework based on a public health model by Alan Greig, of the organisation Generation FIVE, and Staci K Haines (Strozzi-Heckler 2014). It is a useful tool for a coach to distinguish some of these influences and with the coachee identify how conditioning caused by institutions and social norms is perpetuated at the institutional, community, family and individual levels. In this phase, the coachee is guided to see that the sum total of their history lives in their body. This certainly is not a new idea in psychology or philosophy, but somatics reveals that this history literally resides in our tissues. The somatic coach supports their client to experience how their history lives in their muscular, organ and nervous systems, and how it becomes explicit in the world as narratives, sensations, emotions, worldview and ways of being. The somatic coach engages in somatic practices to expand the coachee’s awareness of what is habitual in them, what has been practised over time and now shows up in their daily lives. The coachee learns how default patterns of response and interpretation that maintain safety and belonging no longer serve their aspirations and intentions. By exploring the coachee’s habitual way of being, their unique conditioning that has been laid down over time, they begin a process of ending an automatic way of being that has outlived its usefulness.

Unbounded space Moving from the historical shape we enter the unbounded phase, a phase of opening. The separation from their previous life patterns can leave the coachee feeling unmoored. They have left what is known behind and have not yet arrived at their new shape. This is an opportunity for the coachee, supported by a skilled somatic coach, to enter into a new landscape and discover a new depth within themselves. They begin to see how their feelings of terror and 234

Somatic coaching

Sites of Shaping / Sites of Change

SPIRIT / LANDSCAPE SOCIAL NORMS / HISTORICAL FORCES INSTITUTION COMMUNITY FAMILY / INTIMATE NETWORK

INDIVIDUAL

Figure 18.2

Sites of shaping

helplessness are part of the territory of change. Their previous identity is unravelling, and their usual notations of self-recognition are nowhere in sight. It’s as if they don’t know what to do with this much life moving through them. It’s very natural to feel afraid; the “I” they thought they were, is coming undone. They are unnerved as their worldview is shifting. The somatic coach guides the coachee to settle into this vast swelling of feelings, images, perceptions and emotions. As they come into contact with their aliveness they are touched by something beyond usual, rational explanations. The coachee is encouraged to be still and to listen and to wait and see what is being called for. They are coached not to rush, but to experience a new depth and vastness of their aliveness. They learn how to be with the abundance of new energy; they are coached how to contain, as in how to allow the process of life to move through them, un-hindered by their habitual conditioned patterns of response. While this experience may seem very different from anything that has come before, the coachee is shown that it is self-generating in a deeply supportive way. There is also a demand on the somatic coach to be rigorous in their attention, to embody a centred presence, a ground for their coachee. Inside of this somatic opening, the coachee comes to recognise that they can move into a process of self-becoming, self-accepting and self-healing.

New shape From the unbounded phase, an impulse begins to form, signalling the beginning of a new way of being, a new shape. The questions the somatic coach now asks are, “what skills are necessary for you to learn how to sustain this new way of being?”, “who is in your network of support?”, and “what 235

Eunice Aquilina and Richard Strozzi-Heckler

new behaviours do you want to embody?” As the coachee begins to form their new shape they are coached in how to self-collect and mobilise themselves for action. It’s revealed to them how their personal presence is intimately intertwined with a universal presence. They learn to experience the local and the universal as a spirited, intrinsic continuum, instead of a self divided into a mind, a body and a spirit. They are shown how to stay in the experience of their deep somatic impulses so they grow into urges, which become a longing that forms into a yearning. While there may be fits and starts and stops as their new shape evolves, there’s now an underlying basic confidence that gives impetus to their growth. For some, moving through the unbounded phase can be uncomfortable in its lack of certainty with its changing boundaries and allegiances. But stepping into the unbounded space helps the coachee learn restraint. Not restraint as a fear or a reflexive contraction, but as a profound maturity in which one can contain more life, love, contradictions, more capacity to hold multiple commitments. The somatic coach supports the coachee to tolerate and be with the energy that affirms wisdom, compassion and choiceful action. The coachee begins to understand how they can be full participants in creating their lives and don’t have to be a casualty of change. Being able to trust in this deeper wisdom helps us all to change and transform throughout our lifetime. This is engaging and freeing, opening many new possibilities for being different shapes and identities throughout our life.

Embodiment As their new shape comes to form, the coachee is supported to embody or “somatise” their vision and commitments through new practices. This is the process of embodiment. In this phase there’s a deepening into their new shape that has an energetic, feeling dimension of interacting with the world. They begin to learn practices that help move their dreams, their aspirations into an observable, manifested reality. They are coached to muscularly and energetically mobilise the self toward a new way of being. The stage of embodiment requires practice, curiosity and experimentation. In developing new ways of being, it is important for the coachee to learn how to be with different feelings and how those different feelings will organise them in a particular way. As they familiarise themselves with their new shape and take on the practices to live with more satisfaction, they will inevitably run into challenges that reflect their historical life patterns. In those moments, the somatic coach encourages the coachee to move through the challenge of practising something different. To embody a new way of being takes an extended period of time. This is contrary to our desire for a quick fix. We gain mastery by engaging in long-term practices. There are no shortcuts. Even in that lightning-strike moment of transformation where we suddenly find our self changed, we forget about the ten thousand steps we’ve taken before. Somatics is a path, an ongoing journey of self-cultivation, a way of being. It is a theory for personal and organisational transformation. It serves the client who: • • •

Has a willingness to change at a fundamental level Is prepared to focus on how they are showing up in their work and in their life, in their way of being rather than what they are doing Is reflective about how satisfied they are, living the life they want to lead.

It is a methodology that can be adapted for children and adolescents as they are coming into their preadulthood as it supports the basic principles of being a citizen of the world. It is also applicable for working in groups and teams. Individual and collective transformation is interdependent and inseparable. If we are going to lead change and transformation in others, then we must start with our own inner work. 236

Somatic coaching

Case study The coachee Jenny came for coaching, having just returned from a work assignment with a global organisation working in the Caribbean. In our exploratory conversation, she told me, “I am at a crossroads in my life, unsure where to go and doubting my ability to go down any road”. Jenny presented as a very accomplished professional woman. She was just completing an overseas role as corporate accountant, working out of the central hub of this large corporation. It was an extremely highprofile role, which brought with it an enormous amount of visibility with the board and senior management. As she spoke about her work, her technical competence was evident and it was easy for me to see why she had this role. She talked about how she was able to hold her ground with the different stakeholders despite their seniority and this included the founder of the business, a very confident and hugely charismatic figure. And yet, what she was saying seemed incongruent with the person I saw in front of me. She appeared tightly held, narrow and contained, quietly spoken, with little or no animation in her voice. The somatic coach understands this as being her historical shape, patterns formulated over time through life experiences that now inform her way of being. Observing Jenny and how she was in relationship with me, I was not surprised when she said that she wanted to work on her deeply ingrained self-doubt. She was about to return to the UK but coming home meant leaving the sanctuary of her position on the island where her technical expertise was enough. Moving back into the mainstream of life meant facing into her own self-doubt. She said: “I remember we spoke about my current situation and what I would like to achieve from the coaching sessions. I distinctly remember not being able to express my desires and wishes, although I was able to articulate my fears of not being good enough and the self-doubt. It was fairly obvious which had the hold on me”.

The coaching In our first session, we talked about how we would work together, including what working somatically meant. We began by exploring what had shaped Jenny over time. I invited her to share whatever she would like me to know about her, and Jenny told me a great deal about her childhood, family and personality. She had grown up in the Middle East with the support of a very loving family, however, this only made the times when her father was away on business even harder. Jenny described herself as a very sensitive person and it seemed the circumstances of her upbringing amplified her vulnerabilities. She developed strategies of keeping herself small, not letting her guard down, disassociating as a way of masking her vulnerability and ensuring she didn’t get hurt. I could sense her body held a lot of fear. “There were several ways that these fears were showing up in my life. It was a struggle to socialise with people, I did not want to talk about myself; I would not let people in, unable to share what I was going through for fear of showing vulnerability that could be used against me; I did not have a voice”. I introduced Jenny to centring as a way of helping her to drop into her feeling self. As part of exploring her historical shape, we engaged in another practice, one that would help her uncover how her conditioned tendency shows up in her body. “In that first session, we performed a practice where Eunice stood just to the side of me, grabbed my arm, she asked me to notice what happened in my body, what stories started in my head and what emotions ran through me. I was aware that my initial reaction was to tense up in my shoulders, feel a churning in my chest and become very small, withdrawn and insular. This was then followed by a disassociation – I became detached, put up the wall as my defence mechanism. Eunice repeated the practice a few times and added some of those phrases that I hear in my head . . . ‘don’t do that, you will fail, you don’t have the capability to do that,

237

Eunice Aquilina and Richard Strozzi-Heckler

you’re not good enough’”. Jenny reported that she felt the all-too-familiar desire to get out of the way either by physically moving or disassociating. We explored how this pattern shows up in her life and the consequences of that for her and who she wanted to be. Our guide for our work together was Jenny’s declared future: “I am a commitment to being true to myself, for the sake of finding happiness in what I do in life”. Over the next few months Jenny and I continued to work on bringing her attention to her body so that she could contact that deeper wisdom, especially in challenging situations. We began to include hands-on bodywork – an integral part of somatic coaching, a process of opening that disassembles embodied patterns and narratives, freeing the coachee from the limitations of their historical shaping. Moving through this unbounded space can feel disorganising for the coachee and it was important for me as her coach to embody a centred presence and to be with what was unfolding. I invited Jenny to notice how she was in connection, staying present to what was happening in the here and now. In this exploration she began to notice how she disassociated, how she would contract and the narratives that would instantaneously begin (the chattering monkeys as Jenny called them) accompanied by feeling afraid. “The safety of digging just a little deeper once capacity has been built, rather than ripping off the sticky plaster allowed me to stay in even when it felt uncomfortable”. We worked on helping Jenny to soften her chest, loosen her throat and relax her shoulders. A combination of breath patterns and inviting Jenny to make different sounds slowly helped Jenny release the holding around her throat. Little by little, over time, as she deconstructed old patterns, the places where she held contractions began to soften, making space for a new identity, a new shape to emerge. She learnt how to relax around her contractions, feeling into her deeper wisdom, bringing herself present, staying in connection in a new and different way. We began to look at practices that would support Jenny to fully align with her new shape, her new identity. I introduced Jenny to the Jo Kata (Jo is a hardwood staff and kata means form in Japanese). The Jo practice helped Jenny to embody a centred presence. “What I notice now is my ability to stop or change the direction of the self-destruct merry-go-round that I used to get stuck on, which is getting easier, sometimes only taking a few deep breaths or doing some Jo practice. I have found the Jo practice extremely powerful when I know I am entering a stressful situation and feel my chest and shoulders contracting. For instance, recently I have undertaken some public speaking which I have struggled with in the past. I found using the Jo practice beforehand really helped cement my commitment to being true to myself and gave me the strength to voice my views with clarity and confidence”. There were also opportunities in her daily life where she could practice. For example, she wanted to complete another professional qualification, but just the thought of it triggered her habitual, default pattern to withdraw. “The practices I called on during the preparation and for the exam itself included dropping into my width and depth with ease and using a practice to help me learn to centre and re-centre inside of changing environments. Letting my breath drop and feeling my feet on the ground enabled me to get through the fear of the unknown whilst sitting the exam. The work I had done allowed me to work methodically and calmly and I walked away with feeling I had done the best I could. Which apparently I did as I passed with a lot higher mark than I ever expected to achieve. The somatic coaching has enabled me to build the capacity and strength to deal with different situations I would have run away from in the past”. Jenny had stepped onto a path of transformation, declaring a new, meaningful future for herself that was no longer driven by fear and self-doubt. She could access practices that helped her make choices in the moment and continued to move her towards her declaration. As Jenny continues to practice so she embodies her new shape, she is becoming self-educating, self-generating and self-healing. Jenny reflects, “Whilst I recognise this is an ongoing process and will continually need to practice and develop my capacity for new situations, I feel that the chattering monkeys are a lot quieter now and I do not take rejections personally nor spiral into a negative destructive thought pattern”.

238

Somatic coaching

Through somatic coaching, the coachee learns: •

How to take a stand for what you care about while maintaining relationships; how to make powerful declarations; how to build trust;



How to implement the practices that will have you embody new behaviours and new ways of being;



How to distinguish between automatic, historical reactions and centred choice;



How to contact the deep wisdom, compassion, and intuition that is in our soma;



How to build a leadership presence.

Somatic coaching is a powerful methodology to support sustainable change and transformation. It invites us to fully inhabit our soma and engage with the world in the fullness of who we are.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

What questions does this surface for you and your own practice as a coach? What is the value you could see this would have for your effectiveness as a coach? As you read through the somatic coaching process, what role do you now see the body plays in your own personal development? What similarities and differences can you draw from your own practice and this approach?

Further reading Aquilina, E. (2016). Embodying Authenticity a Somatic Path to Transforming Self, Team and Organization. London: Live it Publishing. Lewis, T., Armini, F., & Lannon, R. (2001). A General Theory of Love. New York: Random House Inc. Blake, A. (2018). Your Body Is Your Brain. Truckee, CA: Embright LLC. Strozzi-Heckler, R. (2014). The Art of Somatic Coaching: Embodying Skillful Action, Wisdom and Compassion. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.

References Blake, A. (2018). Your Body Is Your Brain. Truckee, CA: Embright LLC. Cotone, C. (2014). Interpreting Body Psychology How to Interpret and Change Your Body. Bloomington, IN: Balboa Press. Feldenkrais, M. (2010). Embodied Wisdom: The Collected Papers of Moshé Feldenkrais. Berkley, CA: Somatic Resources and North Atlantic Books. Flores, F. (2012). Conversations for Action and Collected Essays: Instilling a Culture of Commitment in Working Relationships. North Charleston, SC: Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. Hanna, T. (1970). Bodies in Revolt: A Primer in Somatic Thinking Holt. New York: Rinehart and Winston. Leonard, G.B. (1972). The Transformation: A Guide to the Inevitable Changes in Humankind. New York: Delacorte Press. Lowen, A. (1976). Bioenergetics. New York: Penguin Books. Maslow, A.H. (1954). Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper (Harper Collins). Perls, F., Hefferline, R.E., & Goodman, P. (1951\1994). Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality. London: Souvenir Press. Pert, C. (1988). The Wisdom of the Receptors: Neuropeptides, the Emotions, and Bodymind. Advances: Institute for the Advancement of Health, Vol. 3, No. 3, Summer, 8–16. Pert, C. (1997). Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine. London: Simon & Schuster UK Ltd. Price, D., Verne, N., & Schwartz, J.M. (2006). Plasticity in Brain Processing and Modulation of Pain. Progress in Brain Research, Vol. 157. Reich, W. (1980). Character Analysis. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

239

Eunice Aquilina and Richard Strozzi-Heckler

Rogers, C. (1961 Reprinted 2004). On Becoming a Person. London: Constable & Company Ltd. Rolf, I.P. (1979). Rolfing: Re-Establishing the Natural Alignment and Structural Integration of the Human Body for Vitality and Well-Being. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press. Stone, R. (1954 Reprinted 1986). Polarity Therapy the Complete Collected Works on This Revolutionary Healing Art. Volume One. Reno, NV: CRCS Publications. Strozzi-Heckler, R. (2014). The Art of Somatic Coaching: Embodying Skillful Action, Wisdom and Compassion. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. Van der Volk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. St Ives, London: Penguin. Zull, J. (2002). The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching the Practice of Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

240

Section 5

Constructive approaches

19 Coaching with personal construct psychology Kieran Duignan

Introduction This chapter presents a story about coaching with the psychology of personal constructs (‘PC’ within the community of practitioners). It brings together information about the theory and practice of PC, so you can ‘think through’ options to help coachees in a threefold alignment, with their Selves, with other individuals and groups and with performance and strategic goals in their work, sport and personal life. While the notion that behaviour is influenced by thoughts and feelings of an individual has become commonplace amongst professional psychologists, at the time when American George Kelly, a professor at Ohio State University, was writing The Psychology of Personal Constructs (Kelly, 1955/1991), the dominant influences in psychology were radical behaviourism and psychoanalysis. In this climate, Kelly outlined a pluralist strategy in his design for psychotherapy. He built it on his professional experience as a human factors psychologist in the US Navy and co-opted the task-analytic Pragmatism of fellow American John Dewey (1910/91) as well as techniques from the psychodrama of Austro-Hungarian Jacob Moreno (Moreno & Fox, 2000) and the then-emergent Q methodology of Englishman William Stephenson (1953).

Development of personal construct psychology in relation to coaching The year 1955 marked the launch of PCP as a modality of therapeutic intervention and as a discrete style of psychological research; it soon spread in the USA, the UK and Australia. The method adopted by Kelly was to construct an open system grounded on a set of propositions about human behaviour against which the behaviour of a coachee could be tested, with the coachee as collaborative experimenter. The structure of this lattice consisted of a ‘Fundamental Postulate’ and eleven corollaries or principles, which may be regarded as principles of behaviour, influenced by patterns of construing by the coachee; this structure remains today while empirical research in recent years in cognate spheres of social identity, creativity, judgement, market research, business strategy, human resource management/development (HRM/D) has gone a fair way to test conjectures of Kelly, extending some of them, and to provide a basis for extensions of PCP theory to coaching.

243

Kieran Duignan

During the last quarter of the twentieth century, pioneers developed the theory of PCP and stimulated applications through conferences and publications, spearheaded by the independent small business named the Centre for Personal Construct Psychology, incorporated in the 1990s within the University of Hertfordshire, and the Centre for the Study of Human Learning at Brunel University in west London, which ceased in the xxx 1990s. Kelly dovetailed three subdisciplines of psychology – clinical, personality and human factors – to a degree that foreshadowed coaching psychology. Writing linking PCP and coaching psychology can be traced back to Bannister (1982) and to date has found its crispest expression in the sports psychology guide of Olympicstandard coach Butler (1996).

Theory Design of coaching interventions Axiomatic perspectives on personal construct coaching were incisively expressed by Butler, who contrasted attributions of an individual to sources of problems and difficulties to incidents or individuals outside themselves and beyond their personal control with attributions of a coach to sources of excellence, stamina and resilience to within the person, psychologically as well as physiologically and biologically. This dualperspective approach resonates with a definition of coaching of the doyen of organisational behaviour, Edgar Schein (2005: 72), who identified a coach as someone with “the ability to move easily among the roles of process consultation, content expert and diagnostician/prescriber”. A careful reading of George Kelly’s original title and of his biography by the PC psychology scholar Fransella (1995) reveals a rich foreshadowing of coaching psychology on his part. The Fundamental Postulate of PC Theory – “a person’s psychological processes are channelized by the way in which he anticipates events” (Kelly, 1955/1991 1: 40) – can be viewed as a principle he adapted from the field of human factors, in which he served as an officer in the US Navy during World War Two. In this sense, it may be interpreted as a proposition that a normal, ‘healthy’ person acts to reduce foreseeable risks and to realise possible opportunities through optimal interaction and with his/her environment – a proposition which can serve as the superordinate, ‘higher level’ purpose of PCP coaching. From his ‘Fundamental Postulate’, Kelly derived eleven corollaries or principles of human behaviour. While each of them can be related to coaching, some are particularly salient to coaching design. The Construction principle, for example, asserts that: “a person anticipates events by construing their replications . . . Only when a man (sic) attunes his ear to recurrent themes in the monotonous flow of events does the universe begin to make sense to him. Like a musician, he must phrase his experience in order to make sense of it. The phrases are distinguished events. The separation of events is what man produces for himself when he decides to chop up time into meaningful lengths. Within these events, which are based on recurrent themes, man begins to discover the bases for likenesses and differences . . . Constructs enable a person to hear recurrent themes in the onrushing sound and fury of life” (1955/91: 35/36 . . . 359; italics added). Kelly’s choice to dwell on how a musician ‘phrases’ his experience neatly resonates with how an effective coach is attentive to specific patterns of behaviour of a coachee that are particularly relevant agreed purposes of coaching in a particular discipline in business, sport or the performing arts; it also echoes Kelly’s own exposure to musical phrasing during performances of many groups of military musicians during his five years service with the US Navy. His amiable analogy of a coachee with a musician offers a far-reaching cultural contrast with an emphasis on the view of a coachee as a ‘scientist’ (Kelly, 1955/1991:10/11); the role of a musician suggests that socially imaginative as well as psychologically agile attributes are called for in coaching to discern how, and how well, a coachee is ‘phrasing’ his or her experience when playing different pieces in different settings and to facilitate him or her discern to what extent this ‘phrasing’ is fit for a range of purposes. Think of differences in phrasing of a part-time musician who in his day job as an army bandsman plays a clarinet, including during regular performances for Her Majesty the Queen 244

Coaching with personal construct psychology

Personal balance and momentum Coaching to enable clients to reduce risks and realise opportunities

Clients anticipate events by construing their replications like a musician

Harmony with others

Sustained effectiveness

Figure 19.1

Dynamic outcomes of coaching through alignments

and for other members of the royal family, by contrast with when he plays the saxophone in clubs, pubs, dance halls and public gardens or with the violin (with his daughter on the piano) at family events in his ‘off-duty’, private life; he repeatedly varies his musical phrasing, like his posture, to fit the musical score and the audience. Today, PC coaches can appreciate the potency of Kelly’s choice of musical analogy with the benefit of Wilson’s (2002) study of the psychology of musical performance, which underscores associations of music of different kinds with a range of human emotions. What the metaphor highlights to coaching psychologists is how coachees not only require lots of physical stamina, cognitive proficiency and physical dexterity to do their work but also require considerable control of their personality traits, interpersonal and intergroup skills if they are to be included in diverse orchestras, bands and ensembles year in, year out. Figure 19.1 represents three sets of outcomes of PCP coaching through alignment, from the perspectives of the Fundamental Postulate and the Construction corollary. A third facet of Kelly’s design of interventions was his own application of his “Experience corollary – a person’s construction system varies as he successively construes the replications for events”. 1955/1991: 50) – by co-opting from others to realise his belief in ‘constructive alternativism’, that there are no final dead ends as long as you live, for invariably further options in life can be discovered, as in musical composition, interpretation and performance. As noted above, Kelly himself co-opted the task-analytic Pragmatism of Dewey as well as techniques from Moreno and Stephenson. This practice of co-option was also expressed in his strong advocacy for the use of psychometrics as recorded in his biography by Fransella (1995: 87/88), a feature overlooked by many in today’s PCP community. Historically, the co-option practice of transformation has been multi-directional, and PCP stimulated the advance of applications of cognitive behaviourist and of attribution theories.

Coaching for personal balance and momentum Historically, Kelly’s Fundamental Postulate meant that a person’s mind is a cardinal component of their personality, since it addresses questions of personal identity acting as the control centre of experience and behaviour. Drawing on this characterisation of the harmonising function of the mind, Bannister’s (1982) connection of PCP to Pragmatist psychologist Mead’s (1925) distinction between the ‘self as I’ and the ‘self as me’ remains a radical statement about coaching as a process for enabling coachees to align themselves with their own Selves. Pragmatist psychologist James suggested a dualism whereby the self as ‘me’ is the self presented to others, an aggregate of things objective known about the person, by contrast with the self as ‘I’, which alludes to a core sense of self, the organiser and interpreter of experiences and constituted by awareness, agency, coherence and continuity (Butler & Gasson, 2004). Figure 19.2 represents the process of alignment of a coachee with him/her Self. 245

Kieran Duignan

Self-as-I

Self-as-me

Figure 19.2 Personal balance and momentum through alignment of a client with him/her Self

These reflections about conversational forms of help to align a person with him/her Self anticipated the process consultant role of a coach identified by Schein (1987) emotional awareness has been core to PCP from the start, over a generation before the term ‘emotional intelligence’ was minted. Pursuing the significance of coaching for alignment of a coachee with him/her Self, a coaching psychologist may draw on the PCP doctrine about emotions known as ‘dimensions of transition’, specifically ‘fear’, ‘anxiety’,’threat’ and ‘guilt’ – dislodgement from self, through stress or trauma – and the self-sabotaging one of distorting relevant evidence known as ‘hostility’(Kelly, 1955/1991: 361 ff.). These holistic conceptualisations of the influence of emotions in a person’s experience of his or her Self were expanded from Kelly’s original profile into seventeen by McCoy (1977) and endorsed by Chiari (2013). Contemporary PCP coaching is enriched by co-opting tools and results of Personal Initiative theory and of research on performance appraisal.

Coaching for harmony with other people In relation to the texture of coachees’ interactions with other people, PCP doctrine offers two principles relevant to coaching as a process for enabling people to harmonise with other individuals. The ‘Commonality’ principle proposed that “to the extent that one person employs a construction of experience which is similar to that employed by another, his psychological processes are similar to those of the other person” (Kelly, 1955/1991: 63). Kelly’s ‘Sociality’ principle proposes that “to the extent that one person construes the construction processes of another, he may play a role in a social process involving the other person” (Kelly, 1955/1991: 66) stimulated personality psychologist Robert Hogan to comment, “No other personality psychologist has provided a better theory of how people interact” (Hogan and Smithers, 2001:194). Effective harmonisation with others hinges on negotiating values with them, at least implicitly . Duignan (1989) and Brophy (2003) indicate how PCP may be used to enable management and shareholders to negotiate differences of interests with employees, in the light of values that bind an organisation’s culture. Here the role of coach as diagnostician/prescriber, as well as process consultant, is particularly salient. Contemporary PCP coaching is enriched by co-opting tools and results of the Social Identity Approach.

Coaching for performance and strategic goals PCP has substantial potential for assisting coachees to identify performance and strategic goals and to move systematically towards realising them. Figure 19.3 outlines the process through which the Fundamental Postulate, the Construction principle and dimensions of transition are threaded. Aligning coachees with their goals is an application of the ‘Fundamental Postulate’ of PCP, with farreaching implications for individuals and organisations in so far as anticipation and management of psychological transitions between foreseeable events supports coherent construing of the personal demands inherent in alignment with performance and strategic goals. Kelly’s metaphor of the coachee as a musician in the Construction corollary relates to the variety of kinds of changes implicit in this outline, for the variety 246

Coaching with personal construct psychology

Feedback > on-target actions Receive feedback on attainment of a goal to the requisite standards Evaluate the feedback with attention to emotions and dimensions of transition Correct behavioural errors to improve alignment with the target goal on the next cycle

Hatching strategy into practice Negotiate trade-offs between multiple conflicting goals Determine necessary levels of skills and muster requisite competencies Perform the necessary activities, phrasing the experience ‘like a musician’ (Construction principle)

Risk and Opportunity Orientation Choose target goal, implementing the Fundamental Postulate Identify values associated with standards of quality, output, safety, etc. Decide on activities required to realise target goal to agreed standards

Figure 19.3

The process of realising performance and strategic goals

of musical instruments and forms of music entailed can be awesome and his metaphor epitomises both the essence of the scale of opportunities and risks and of associated emotional demands. Here the role of coach as content expert, as well as diagnostician/prescriber and process consultant, is likely to be required. Butler’s (1996) guide to coaching reveals how a PCP coach works through stages of the alignment of a coachee with their goals by using repertory grids to develop a personalised task-centred Profiler with each coachee (Butler & colleagues, 1993). Rosenberger and Freitag (2009) have shown repertory grids may also be used as task-analytic methods of organisational change and of sustainable organisational performance; in the larger scheme of things, such grids can illuminate inflection points in Grenier’s (1972) map of the cyclical pattern of evolution and revolution in the life history of firms. Roseveare’s (2006) study characterises experiences of alignment with the strategic goal of ‘independence’ of self-employed people, perhaps the first phase in one form of this life history. Contemporary PCP coaching is enriched by co-opting tools and results of Action Regulation theory.

Practice In the space available, associations between the fluid theory of PCP and six methods that characterise it are sketched below: facilitative conversation; coachee’s story-telling through ‘self-characterisation’; grid methodology; psychological measurement; task analysis and role enactment. While the open system character of PCP lends itself to coaching at a distance by telephone, email and conferencing, its counterintuitive style normally warrants some time in ‘real world’ personal meetings between a coach and coachee, when this is possible, in order to build mutual understanding from the outset. 247

Kieran Duignan

Facilitative conversation Both during diagnostic interviews and during the initiative-management stage, coaching to enable a coachee to design and test out plans for action for alignment in any of the three areas highlighted, facilitative conversations, in person or by telephone or tablet, can be invaluable to a coaching coachee. What Schnitman (1996) wrote about psychotherapeutic dialogue with PCP can be equally attributed to coaching with PCP: prizing developmental possibilities, nonlinear models of change (as well as linear ones as appropriate), nondeficit practices, co-participative designs and multidimensional views of human experiences. Jones (1992) describes an empathic structured approach to unlocking their accounts of their experiences. Frances (2008) has shown how a coach can use acute observations of group conversations to construe its patterns of individual and collective anticipation and experimental behaviour to generate hypotheses about stages in group development. In a nutshell, didactic behaviour can have a place in PCP coaching, but it is seldom to the fore. Just as a resourceful music tutor allows her pacing of coaching to become increasingly a responsibility of motivated emerging musicians yet she remains in charge of the overall direction and psychological safety of the learners’ progress, a PCP coaching psychologist does likewise, even returning to use of the same tools in new ways if need be.

Coachee’s story-telling through ‘self-characterisation’ In a single meeting, the behaviour of the coachee may challenge a PCP coaching psychologist to move seamlessly between each of the coaching roles identified by Schein, often simply signally by saying, “If it’s ok with you, may I suggest we might look at this matter in a different light for a little while now?” Negotiating how a coachee construes psychological fitness for him/herself in their specific circumstances marks an initial challenge for a PCP coaching psychologist; this emphasis on the coachee’s subjective views is a hallmark of PCP and is anchored by asking the coachee what they need through what Schein (2013) calls, ‘humble enquiry’. Since PCP places a premium on a coachee’s subjective construction of their world, in designing a diagnosis that preferably includes intensive attention to what they wish to say about their experience in relation to their predicament; to do so, a tool called ‘a self-characterisation’. Kelly (1955/91: 239ff.) coined this term to refer to a person’s story about themselves in the third person. The content and perspectives used in a personal story of this kind are invariably revealing about the person’s expectations about coaching and how they propose to participate in it. Listening ‘credulously’ to coachees’ privileged accounts of their experiences is cardinal in effective coaching, since coachees may create their own stories of the ‘community of selves’ through which to make sense of their world and disclose in confidence aspirations they withhold from others (Mair, 1977).

Grid methodology The ‘repertory grid’ devised by Kelly from Q-methodology (Stephenson, op.cit.) and introduced by him in terms of ‘the mathematical structure of psychological space’ (Kelly, 1955/1991: 189 ff.) is perhaps the tool of intervention most commonly associated with the psychology of personal constructs. Coaching psychologists can, accordingly, achieve quite a lot with well-designed grids collaboratively delivered with coachees inclined to get to contrasts construed by them beneath the surface of their first thoughts in relation to any of the three domains of PCP Theory discussed above. Briefly, three perspectives on repertory grids are worth considering. First, repertory and other grids (e.g. dyad, dependency and implicative grids as discussed by Fransella and others, 2003) can be used to offer coachees a structured framework for systematically exploring how they perceive and experience any of the areas of content of experience outlined. In attempting to diagnose a 248

Coaching with personal construct psychology

coachee’s needs when an opaque situation occurs in which a coach finds it difficult to construe or develop insight into why a coachee feels ‘stuck’, Jankowicz (2003); Fromm (2004); and Fromm and Paschelelke (2011) throw light on it. Second, not all grids involve numbers. Procter and Procter (2008) have elegantly shown ‘Perceiver Element Grids’ can be generated using qualitative data about relationships. Third, should coaching psychologists wish to use computer programmes to analyse grid data, Idiogrid (Grice, 2002) is available as freeware online. With Gridsuite (Fromm, 2007), the statistical calculations remain in the background so that the coach and coachee can dwell on the story offered by data on how the coachee orients him/herself in the world of their personal experiences. Shaw and Gaines (2018) design rationale for the RepPlus remains valid while the software itself has evolved considerably.

Psychological measurement If a potential weakness lies in the tendency to rely unduly on the coachee’s construction of their problem, risking a ‘folie à deux’ climate of coaching, a judicious diagnostic process might include carefully selected psychometric tools along with observer feedback from people selected by the coachee. As Fransella (1995: 87/88) notes in her biography of Kelly, he strongly advocated selective use of psychometric instruments, despite the apparent lack of interest in them currenlty within the PCP community, and their use is now commonplace amongst coaching psychologists (Passmore, 2012). PCP coach Butler developed a psychometric instrument, ‘The Self-Image Profiler for Adults’ (Butler & Gasson, 2004), normed with a sample of 1,303 British adults.

Task analysis By contrast with the other methods of practical intervention outlined, task analysis requires the coaching psychologist to move firmly and clearly into the ‘real’, objective world, verifiable by independent third parties who may be unfamiliar with any school of psychology, including PCP. Techniques of task analysis have mushroomed in recent decades the science of human factors and ergonomics has become rooted, a process regularised by the negotiation of national and international standards and guidelines, summarised by Stuart-Buttle (2006). Useful training and reference material has evolved including Reason (1990); Kirwan and Ainsworth (1992) and Moggeridge (2006); relevant illustrations of task analysis, in the broadest sense, that reflect PCP include Brophy (1988); Jankowicz (1995); Jankowicz and Dobosz-Bourne (2003); Jankowicz (2003, and Wright (2008).

Role enactment The role enactment method of PCP intervention, which Kelly derived from the creative iconoclasm of Jacob Moreno, has been applied by Dillen and others (2009) and by Verhoftstadt-Denève (2003). Kelly himself uses Moreno’s psychodramatic concept of ‘acting out’ in explaining how use of a ‘submerged’ pole of a construct by a coachee may account for a socially desirable construction of him/herself in what we might now call a ‘double-bind situation’, rather than a verbal or semantic description. Wilson (2002.) is a valuable resource for designing imaginative forms of role enactment, especially in work settings.

Endnote: the ‘total PCP coaching’ concept The story of this chapter has dwelt on the sine qua non of PCP coaching in terms of triadic alignment, the role of a coach and practical techniques. Viable PCP coaching also embraces professional proficiency, business and cultural savviness in appreciating coachees as if they are the musicians suggested by George Kelly, in their own immediate contexts. 249

Kieran Duignan

Which coachees benefit most? Clusters of coachees who benefit most from PC coaching psychology can be represented in a Venn diagram with four circles. One circle represents the cluster of CEOs and board members who can use a mix of organisational selfcharacterisations and repertory grids as tools for strategic task analysis to pinpoint critical areas of business risk and of opportunity. Another circle represents a second cluster of leaders and managers at work in small and medium-sized enterprises disposed to consider a strategic approach to maximise the productive capacity of employees through mechanisms of performance management (Marlow, 2000) and e-learning (Rolfe, 2004), differentiating as need be family-owned and managed enterprises (de Kok & others, 2006). A third circle represents a cluster of HR and Occupational Health/Medicine practitioners eager to promote social identity and comparative fit to moderate work stressor-employee adjustment relationships. A fourth circle represents people who can benefit directly as individuals: •

Women and men in mid- and late life willing to build creatively on experiences of success and failure in their evolving social identity and employability Young women and men at the career entry stage of transition, including those on the pro-bono Steps Ahead mentoring scheme organised across the UK by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Women and men who wish to harmonise their work and family lives and to ring-fence ‘fun’ time for themselves and their families for refreshing activities together.





Case study Ciara wondered at the diagnostic stage to what extent she faced conflicting ‘constructions’ of issues within the coaching request presented to her.

The coachee Julie, the HR Manager in Alpha, a medical electronics company with a headcount of 112, had telephoned Ciara to ask her to see Mίchael O’Riordan, Operations Director, as a coachee. Mίchael had been appointed some months earlier and is seen as vital to the company’s stability, but it became evident at a recent teambuilding exercise that those reporting to him were finding him very difficult to relate to. She reported that the Finance Director, Gerard, was also often at odds with Mίchael while Adam, the M.D., continued to value him highly – as far as Adam was concerned, the fortune of the company’s flagship product hung on the entrepreneurial drive of Mίchael. She explained how Mίchael had been unwilling to take part in “any out-of-company exercises to play games in what he called some funny hope we’ll find a different tune to sing together!” Ciara interpreted this account as an assessment that Mίchael was seen by Adam as well aligned with core tasks as he had served an important short-term need in a growing, relatively small firm through what Grenier (op.cit.) called the ‘growth through direction’ phase of evolution and that behaviour symptoms Julie reported could be interpreted as indicators of Grenier’s revolution ‘crisis of autonomy’ phase. Mίchael turned up at Ciara’s office in good time. Casually yet smartly dressed, he greeted her with formal courtesy, looking her in the eyes without a smile. He opened the conversation, “I understand that you’re familiar with Alpha and have worked there for some years?” Ciara replied. Before long, Michael moved on to ask how Ciara proposed they should work together. When she asked him to write a self-characterisation of

250

Coaching with personal construct psychology

himself in his work situation, he agreed to let her have it before their next meeting. He was as good as his word and she received his self-characterisation in an envelope marked ‘confidential’ 48 hours before their meeting. Ciara observed how Michael showed little awareness of how the Commonality and Sociality principles might apply, although he also provided a very credible rationale for his own motivation to benefit from coaching. At the outset, as far as Michael was concerned, the matter was clearcut. None of those reporting to him displayed necessary initiative. Personal initiative in our dealings with coachees, he emphasised, was all he expected. “They act as if the doctors and anaesthetists who represent the hospitals we serve never make mistakes”, he wrote, “when it’s often as plain as daylight that between 65% and 75% of penalties we’ve paid in the past were rarely our responsibility. I’m vexed that I’m left to wrestle with these recurrent muddles on my own”. The Construction and Individuality principles of PCP stood out like actors on a stage in his self-characterisation.

The coaching In the light of the observations of Julie, her own familiarity with Alpha after several years’ consulting, counselling and coaching there, and of Michael’s self-characterisation, Ciara’s tentative assessment was that Michael represented the prototypical manager at the inflection point after stage two of Grenier’s (1972) model of organisational evolution and revolution. While he had provided the directive leadership Alpha had desperately needed when he was recruited, it had reached the stage of a ‘crisis of autonomy’ and her challenge was to enable Michael to re-construct his views about personal initiative through greater understanding of how his reporting managers and technicians construed their situation. First, she invited him to agree to a simple process for evaluating their work together, in effect to develop mutual sociality. She showed him a copy of the Risk Matrix shown in Table 19.1, alert to the relevant PCP principles, in particular the Choice and Fragmentation principles. “If the problem that’s brought you here has to do with the level of Personal Initiative of your people, what would you say the impact of this problem is on the company’s business?” She recorded Michael’s rating of 25, to the effect that his view of the impact of the problem was very high and that the probability of further difficulty was also very high. In that light they agreed on Michael’s notion of a fair completion point for working together in coaching on a one-to-one basis would be any number less than 25. Her next decision was to invite him to complete a well-researched measure of his own creativity, both partly in order to share data about components of creativity in relation to him and partly to observe to what extent the exercise might open a window for him on alternative approaches to sociality and commonality

Table 19.1 Risk ratings (chosen by a coachee) of his/her situation, at the outset and after coaching Impact of strains with project teams

Probability of adversity

Very low

low

Medium

High

Very high

1

2

3

4

5

Very high

5

5

10

15

20

25

High

4

4

8

12

16

20

Medium

3

3

6

9

12

15

Low

2

2

4

6

8

10

Very low

1

1

2

3

4

5

251

Kieran Duignan

with his staff; after all, his self-characterisation showed how much he had prided his adaptability as an outstanding teamworking hurler as a teenager. Figure 19.4 summarises the data of the feedback on the creativity measure given to him. After a pause, she added, “Perhaps the matter you can best focus on concerns what you personally can address. What happens when the personal initiative of one differs a lot from the personal initiative of another – and you don’t involve yourself in discussion about the merits of each? Does it then simply become a matter of which you prefer, of your personal preference?” “Yeah”. He smiled, “And of course, there’s rarely a simple choice. And I recognise, when I really think about it, how most of them individually have some attributes on the me2 that can contribute, even some more valuable than mine on some counts, if I’m honest!” “So, perhaps this is your opportunity to consider how to test out the comparative fit of ‘creativity’ as a joint shared line of approach. You can start with offering the me2 creativity questionnaire to each of them, which is a positive way ahead compared to apparently doing nothing!” “Errm, let me see. I can see that I’ve been expecting others to have similar levels of the motivational factors, especially competitive and achievement, as myself, without showing much sharing confidence myself. Maybe incubation sounds a bit too like ‘procrastination’ to me – yet I recognise how some people do need time to mull over any change. Yes! Ok”.

the me2 model profile summary: Michael O’Riordan 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

idea generation fluency originality incubation illumination

personality curiosity ambiguity

motivation intrinsic competitive achievement

confidence producing implementing sharing

Copyright Notice Copy, data and information contained within the me2 questionnaire, the General Factor of Creativity, and support material is copyright of E-Mettrix.

Figure 19.4 Summary profile given to Michael

252

Coaching with personal construct psychology

“Yes. They’re aspects of my own behaviour I can address, certainly. Ciara, shall I tell you something?” “Yes?” “After I thought about this me2 feedback, two lightbulbs lit up in my mind. One is that even by taking on board this feedback to me, I can see the ratings on the Risk Matrix you showed me begin to edge downwards, certainly to 20 and probably getting lower gradually if we stick at it. The other thing is that I’ll have to ask – and I mean ‘ask’! – members of my team to take the me2, so I can begin to coach them knowing their individual profiles and the profile of the whole group. So, the real change is from personal coaching to something much bigger . . . ” “I wonder, Michael, whether it’s possible that you and those you lead have one big thing in common – an appreciation of fair discipline?” Writing up her records of the case, Ciara’s notes included: Mίchael appears to be willing to adapt the core role of his own job as leader from one mainly of driving towards a more flexible one of beginning to look at those reporting to him as influenced by how he communicates with them. And he may be beginning to appreciate how they also probably differ in positive ways rather than simply acted in a uniform ‘low initiative’ style. Recalling Atkinson’s (2007) report on psychological contracting to build high performance relationships in small firms, she noted how the next stage may be to enable him to develop his own target-setting and feedback skills with each team-member using their me2 data.

Discussion points 1

2

3

4

A recently appointed CEO of a firm with a headcount of sixty has asked you to discuss how the ‘psychological contract’ might be worth investing in as a differentiating competitive strategy in order to strengthen the company’s position as a leader in its niche market distributing electronic musical instruments. Apply Kelly’s Fundamental Postulate, the Construction and emotional ‘dimensions of transition’ principles to map out how you may coach her about relevant strategic and tactical issues, drawing on Kirkul (2001) and Pajo and others (2010) if need be. You have agreed to lead a project of career and redundancy coaching for expatriate staff returning to the UK after several years’ service abroad with their multinational company. Sketch a plan for using the PCP techniques of self-characterisation and repertory grids for this work, along with the typology of expatriation of Silvanen and Lämsä (2009) if need be. Directors of a small professional services firm with a headcount of nine ask for your guidance on extremely unco-operative behaviour of a sales person with a good track record after he has been repeatedly challenged for refusing to take part in regular team briefings each morning. In the light of relevant principles and ‘dimensions of transition’ of PCP, and drawing on the contrasting findings of de Grip and Siehen (2009) regarding human resource management in SMEs, outline coaching to offer to assist the directors. H R Director Joyce Lacey has asked you to coach managers to conduct fair and constructive appraisals of performance, with a desired emphasis on practical skills of appraisal. Outline how coaching in applying the PCP doctrines of the Commonality and Sociality principles and the dimensions of transition can enable managers to design ‘tips’ they can readily recall to mind when they conduct appraisals using the guide to repertory grids and personal network analysis of Duignan and Bury (2018).

Recommended reading Butler, R.J. (1996). Sports Psychology. Oxford: Butterworth Heineman. Kelly, G.A. (1977). The psychology of the unknown. In Bannister, D. (ed.) New Perspectives on the Theory of Personal Constructs. London: Academic Press. 253

Kieran Duignan

Jankowicz, D. (2003). The Easy Guide to Repertory Grids. Chicester: John Wiley & Sons. Ltd. Duignan, K., & Bury D. (2018). Network Coaching with Repertory Grids and Personal Network Analysis. Croydon: Be Engaging.

References Atkinson, C. (2007). Building high performance employment relationships in small firms. Employee Relations. 29(5). 506–519. Bannister, D. (1982). Knowledge of self. In Holdsworth, R. (ed.) Psychology and Career Counselling. Pp. 130–142. Leicester: British Psychological Society. Brophy, S.A. (1988). Quality of service in banking: A study of perceptions of relationships with customers and the organisation in a retail bank. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Dublin: Trinity College. Brophy, S.A. (2003). Clarifying corporate values: A case study. In Fransella, F. (ed.) International Handbook of Personal Construct Theory. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Brutus, S., Fletcher, C., & Baldry, C. (2009). The influence of independent self-construal on rater self-efficacy in performance appraisal. International Journal of Human Resource Management. 20(9). 1999–2011. Butler, R.J. (1996). Sports Psychology in Action. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Butler, R.J., & Gasson, S.L. (2004). Manual for The Self Image Profiler for Adults. London: Harcourt Assessment. Butler, R.J., Smith, M., & Hardy, L. (1993). The performance profile in practice. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 5. 48–63. Chiari, G. (2013). Emotion in personal construct theory: A controversial question. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. 26(4). 249–261. De Grip, A., & Siehen, T. (2009). The effectiveness of more advanced human resource systems in small firms. International Journal of Human Resource Management. 20(9). 1914–1928. De Kok, J., Uhlaner, L.M., & Thurik, A.R. (2006). Professional HRM practices in family owned-managed enterprises. Journal of Small Business Management. 44(3). 441–460. Dewey, J. (1910/91). How We Think. New York: Prometheus Books. Dillen, L., Siongers, M., Helskens, D., & Verhoftstadt-Denève, L. (2009). When puppets speak: Dialectical psychodrama within developmental child psychotherapy. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. 22. 55–82. Duignan, K. (1989). From financial accountants to commercial advisers, with the help of repertory grids. An unpublished report for Philips Commercial. Croydon: Mid-Career Development Centre. Duignan, K., & Bury, D. (2018). Network Coaching with Repertory Grids and Personal Network Analysis. Croydon: Be Engaging. Frances, M. (2008). Stages of group development: A PCP approach. Personal Construct Theory & Practice. 5. 12–20. Fransella, F. (1995). George Kelly. London: Sage Publications. Fransella, F., Bell, R., & Bannister, D. (2003). A Manual of Repertory Grid Technique. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Fromm, M. (2004). Introduction to the Repertory Grid Interview. Munich: Waxmann. Fromm, M. (2007). Manual for Gridsuite 4 and 4+. Stuttgart: Institute of Personal Construct Psychology. Fromm, M., & Paschelelke, S. (2011). Grid Practice: Introduction to the Conduct and Analysis of Grid Interviews. Norderstedt: Books on Demand GmbH. Grenier, L.E. (1972). Evolution and revolution as organizations grow. Harvard Business Review. July–August. 37–46. Grice, J.W. (2002). Idiogrid: Software for the management and analysis of repertory grids. Behavior Research, Methods & Computers. 34(3). 338–341. Hogan, R., & Smithers, R. (2001). Personality: Theories and Applications. Boulder: Westview Press. Jankowicz, A.D. (1995). Negotiated shared meanings of the management process: A discourse in two voices. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. 8. 117–128. Jankowicz, A.D. (2003). The Easy Guide to Repertory Grids. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Jankowicz, A.D., & Dobosz-Bourne, D. (2003). How are meanings negotiated? Commonality, sociality and the travel of ideas. In Scheer, J. (ed.) Crossing Borders: Going Places: Personal Constructions of Otherness. Giessen: PsychosozialVerlag. Jones, H. (1992). The core process interview: EPCA newsletter 1992, 19–20: Summarised. In Fransella, F. (ed.) The International Handbook of Personal Construct Psychology. Pp. 119–120. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Kelly, G.A. (1955/1991). The Psychology of Personal Constructs. Volume 1. London: Routledge. Kelly, G.A. (1977). The psychology of the unknown. In Bannister, D. (ed.) New Perspectives on Personal Construct Theory. London: Academic Press. Kirkul, J. (2001). Promises made, promises broken: An exploration of employee attraction and attention practices in small businesses. Journal of Small Business Management. 39(4). 320–355. Kirwan, B., & Ainsworth, L. (1992). Handbook of Task Analysis. London: Taylor and Francis.

254

Coaching with personal construct psychology

Mair, J.M.M. (1977). The community of self. In Bannister, D. (ed.) New Perspectives on Personal Construct Theory. Pp. 125–149. London: Academic Press. Marlow, S. (2000). Investigating the use of emergent strategic human resource management activity in the small firm. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 7(2). 125–148. McCoy, M. (1977). The reconstruction of emotion. In Bannister, D. (ed.) New Perspectives on Personal Construct Theory. Pp. 93–124. London: Academic Press. Mead, G. (1925). The genesis of the self and social control. International Journal of Ethics. 35. 251–273. Moggeridge, B. (2006). Designing Interactions. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Moreno, J., & Fox, J. (2000). The Essential Moreno’s Writing: Psychodrama, Group Method and Spontaneity. Berlin: Springer. Pajo, K., Coetzer, A., & Guenole, N. (2010). Formal development opportunities and withdrawal behaviours by employees in small and medium-sized enterprises. Journal of Small Business Management. 48(3). 281–301. Passmore, J. (ed.) (2012). Psychometrics in Coaching: Using Psychological and Psychometric Tools for Development. 2nd edition. London: Kogan Page. Procter, H.G., & Procter, M.J. (2008). The use of qualitative grids to examine the development of the construct of Good and Evil in Byron’s play, ‘Cain, a mystery’. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. 21. 343–354. Reason, J. (1990). Human Error. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rolfe, I. (2004). E-learning for SMEs: Competition and dimensions of perceived value. Journal of European Industrial Training. 29(5). 440–445. Rosenberger, M., & Freitag, M. (2009). Repertory grid. In Kuhl, S., Strodholz, P. & Taffertshofer, A. (eds.) Handbuch Methoden der Organisationsforschung: Quantitative und Qualitative. Pp. 477–497. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag fur Socialwissenschaften. Roseveare, J. (2006). The independence index: A proposed diagnostic for isolated functioning ability grounded in a study of current human needs in an increasingly solitary society. Unpublished D. Occ. Psych. thesis. London: University of East London. Schein, E H. (1987). Process Consultation: Issues for Managers and Consultants. London: Addison-Wesley. Schein, E.H. (2005). Coaching and consultation: Are they the same? In Goldsmith, M., Lyons, L. & Freas, A. (eds.) Coaching for Leadership: How the World’s Greatest Coaches Help Leaders to Learn. San Francisco: Jossey Bass/Pfeiffer. Schein, E.H. (2013). Humble Enquiry. San Francisco: Berrett Koehler Inc. Schnitman, D.F. (1996). Between the extant and the possible. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. 9. 263–282. Shaw, M., & Gaines, B. (2018). RepPlus 1.1. for Windows and OS X. downloadable form http://cpsc ucalgary. ca/~gaines/repplus Silvanen, T., & Lämsä, A.M. (2009). The changing nature of expatriation: Exploring cross-cultural adaptation through narrativity. International Journal of Human Resource Management. 20(7). 1468–1486. Stephenson, W. (1953). The Study of Behavior: Q Technique and Its Methodology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Stuart-Buttle, C. (2006). Overview of national and international standards and guidelines. In Karwowski, W. (ed.) Handbook of Standards and Guidelines in Ergonomics and Human Factors. Boca Raton: CRC Press. Verhoftstadt-Denève, L. (2003). The psychodramatical ‘social atom method’: Dialogical self in dialogical action. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. 16. 183–212. Wilson, G.D. (2002). Psychology for Performing Artists. 2nd edition. London: Whurr Publishers Ltd. Wright, R.P. (2008). Rigor and relevance using repertory grid technique in strategy research. Research Technology in Strategy and Management. 3. 295–348.

255

20 Narrative coaching for all (adults, children, groups and communities) Ho Law

Introduction Stelter (2013: 8) proposed a definition of (narrative) coaching as, a developmental conversation and dialogue, a co-creative process between coach and coachee with the purpose of giving (especially) the coachee a space and an opportunity for immersing him/herself in reflection on and new understandings of 1) his or her own experiences in the specific context and 2) his or her interactions, relations and negotiations with others in specific contexts and situations. This coaching conversation should enable new possible ways of acting in the contexts that are the topic of the conversation. (italics added) The above definition emphasises a co-creative process (equality and social collaboration between the coach and coachee) in which the coach invites the coachee to share stories of their lived experience through active listening; identifying hidden meanings, values, skills and strengths and re-developing new storylines towards a plan of action. Narrative coaches help coachees to achieve their aspirations, true hopes and dreams that are congruent to their self-identity. The approach is context specific (especially sensitive to cultural aspects of the coachee) and thus is particularly applicable within different community settings. The definition is in line with Philippe Rosinski’s (2003) proposal that by integrating a cultural dimension into coaching, we can help our coachees unleash more of their potential to achieve meaningful objectives.

Development of narrative coaching There are three forerunners who advocate narrative coaching: David Drake (2015) in Australia (and America), Reinhard Stelter (2013) in Denmark and the author in the UK (Law, 2006; Law et al., 2006; CIPD, 2006: 10). While all three ground coaching in narrative approaches, these developments have evolved independently. The theoretical foundation of Drake’s approach embodies attachment theory, which is rooted in the psychodynamic tradition and integrated with social constructionism. Law and Stelter’s methodology embodies the late Michael White’s approach with further synthesis from narrative collaboration that is rooted in learning and societal/cultural foundations (Stelter & Law, 2010). Stelter (2013) termed this 256

Narrative coaching for all

approach as ‘Third Generation Coaching’; the author and his colleagues called it a meta-model for coaching psychology or Universal Integrative Framework, UIF for short (Law et al., 2005, 2006). While storytelling has been part of our everyday life since the dawn of human civilization, the lineage of the narrative practice can be traced back to Vygotsky’s (1962[1926]) proximal development (of learning) and anthropology (societal/cultural foundation) – for example (Hall, 1976; Hofstede, 1991; Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1997); the use of metaphors such as the ‘rite of passage’, rituals that mark the transition through the ‘liminal space’ (van Gennep, 1960; Turner, 1967; Turner & Brunner, 1986); and story as a perfromance (Myerhoff, 1986). These metaphors were transported into applications of psychotherapy as they were found to be powerful vehicles to transform human perceptions, emotions, cognition and well-being. The narrative therapy was developed during the 1980s and 1990s in Australia and became widespread with applications for communities, groups, children and family therapy (White & Epston, 1990; Epston & White, 1992). Its adaptation as ‘narrative coaching’ was introduced in the UK by the author in 2006 (Law, 2006; Law et al., 2006; CIPD, 2006: 10). There was a rise of storytelling methodology in organisations more generally at the time (Allan et al., 2002; Ncube, 2006).

Theory and basic concepts The definition described in the introduction embodies the following epistemological positions of narrative practitioners (Stelter, 2013): • •

Phenomenological tradition – focus on the experience embodied in the present context Social constructionism – meanings are socially constructed and negotiated through the interactions between individuals.

It is from the above epistemological positions that the learning and societal/cultural foundations are developed, incorporating the following learning theories: • •

Experiential learning (Kolb, 1984) – the learning cycle Social theories (Wenger, 1998) – of social structure (emphasises the situational structure at the macrolevel: community/society and it impacts on individuals); situated experience (the notion of agency, interactions); practice (the production and reproduction of social practices); identity (self-identity from social and cultural perspectives).

Both cultural anthropology and the psychology of learning are concerned with non-clinical populations with specific sensitivity of cross-cultural issues. It is therefore quite appropriate to re-locate narrative applications within the mainstream arena of diversity coaching.

The major central concepts As a starting point, learning is grounded in concrete coaching experience when coachees/learners and coaches interact (the point of engagement). The coaching process is effectively a learning process, called the learning wheel (Figure 20.1). It is modified from Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle. The learning wheel consists of four stages of learning: 1 2 3 4

Concrete experience – provides the coachees with real examples to understand how they experience the situation Reflection – asks the coachees to think about the lessons learnt (how and what) Abstract conception – translates the experience into a meaningful concept Action – takes a decision or action as a consequence from the previous three stages. 257

Ho Law

Abstract Conception

Internal transformation: consciousness emerges

Action

Reflection External transformation: toward behaviour

Concrete experience Figure 20.1 The learning wheel Source: (Law, 2013a, modified from Kolb’s (1984) Learning Cycle).

Note that in the coaching context, the term ‘action’ is defined quite broadly (in contrast to Kolb, who narrowly referred to the end stage of the learning cycle as an active experimentation). For instance, action may include decision, and thus the decision not to act could be an option. The learning process described above embeds the coaching condition, which consists of two kinds of transformation: • •

Internal/vertical transformation – from experience, consciousness emerges External/horizontal transformation – from reflection to action as reflective practitioners.

The above transformations are an active process. It is not an automatic process, and very often learners may ‘get stuck’, as barriers/gaps exist between each stage of learning. Vygotsky (1962[1926]) referred to such learning gaps as the ‘zone of proximal development’. Translating this concept to coaching, the learning gaps can be bridged by designing and implementing a number of distancing tasks. This takes the following steps: 1 2 3 4 5

258

Description – encourage coachees to characterise specific objects/events of their world (Characterisation of Initiative). Relation: Initiative in Relationship – develop chains of association through establishing relations between these objects and events (Analyses/Pattern matching). Evaluation – reflect, draw realisation and learning about specific phenomena from the chains of association. Justification – judge the above evaluation; abstract the realisation and learning from their concrete and specific circumstances in the formation of concepts about life and identity. Conclusion/Recommendation – formulate the planning for and initiation of actions; predict the outcomes of specific actions founded upon this concept development.

Narrative coaching for all

The basic assumptions The basic assumptions of narrative coaching are twofold. First, the coaching practice should be consistent with the learning assumptions of the Universal Integrative Framework (Law et al., 2005, 2006). This includes: appreciation; collaborative learning; and coach/coachee fluidity. Appreciation implies the equality of rights and respect in the collaborative coaching relationship (Law, 2010); Stelter (2013) refers to this as conversational ethics in which both coach and coachee hold a symmetric relationship coupled with ‘witness-thinking’ with compassion that goes beyond empathy (i.e. understanding the other’s perspective that resonates with one’s own lived experience); White (1995) emphasised the decentred position of the coach with respect to the coachee’s cultural environment. Collaborative learning emphasises the importance of supervision and continuous professional development (Law, 2013a, 2013b), in addition to Stelter’s (2013) the notion of responsiveness (coaching as a mutual responsive and collaborative process). The process should map onto Kolb’s learning cycle. Coach/coachee fluidity (also see agency) assumes that coachees have skills and knowledge; coaches learn as much as coachees. Second, to transport Michael White’s teaching to our coaching context, we have the following narrative assumptions about human nature and communities: 1

2

3

Hermeneutic constructionist (negotiation/relational) assumption – Meanings that shape our lives are socially constructed and interpreted in relation to the others (Stelter, 2013; Law, 2013a). Narrative practitioners regard the storyline told by the storyteller as a primary meaning making frame which enables them to construe meaning from it. This in turn gives meanings that shape our lives. Complexity – Life consists of many stories, not a single story. However, some stories become more prominent in a coachee’s life while other stories may be neglected, even though they might be important for their development. Agency – Individuals and communities have strengths, knowledge and skills (human capacity and the potential for change, Derrida, 1978). However, when coachees come to contact us, these attributes may not be noticeable to themselves (a blind spot in the Johari window). Narrative approaches help coachees to ‘see’ their own blind spot by making the implicit explicit, making the familiar exotic. (White, 2006)

Blocks and goal achievement How do people block themselves from achieving their life, social, work and subsequent coaching goals? The forgotten/hidden strengths that individuals have may appear as thin traces in their stories. The role of the coach is to re-develop those strengths, skills and knowledge. The tasks of the coach are therefore to locate the significant moments in the client’s life journey and help clients take stock of their living experiences that they tend to have neglected (thin traces). Viewed from the narrative perspective, coaches and coachees can be regarded as ‘meaning makers’. How does the approach help coachees to achieve their goals? Narrative approaches enable clients (in particular those from different cultures) to become aware that they have more knowledge and skills to cope with new situations than they previously realised. Through the coach-coachee engagements, the coachees re-develop the account from the story that they told of what gives value to their lives. This account may embody concepts about their life and identity, hopes and dreams, etc. The new story, developed through the narrative practice, provides a foundation for people to proceed. The coaching task is to contribute to the scaffolding of the proximal zone of development. Michael White (2006) developed a systematic method of scaffolding the proximal zone of development through mapping the steps of distancing tasks on to the so-called landscape of action and landscape of conscious. In developing this scaffold, one takes a conceptual journey travelling through the ‘landscape of action’ and ‘landscape of identity’ that links to one’s 259

Ho Law

consciousness. This is acieved by effective questioning to help coachees develop the stories of their life and of personal identity. As Michael White put it (2006), “It is through scaffolding questions that these alternative landscapes of the mind are richly described”.

Landscape of action Landscapes of action are composed of events that are described by the storyteller (Bruner, 1990; White, 2007). These events are likely to be interwoven or linked in sequence through time, which provides an autobiographical/historical journey of the storyteller’s life. Like any story, the sequence of events told by the coachee is likely to develop a theme/plot that reflects one’s coping strategy, success or failure. In other words, the landscape of action consists of the following elements: 1 2 3 4 5

Time line – the time of the events in terms of recent, distant or remote history Events – a number of singular events Circumstance – the conditions under which the event takes place Sequence – events are interrelated into clusters or sequences Plot/theme – the events have consequence, e.g. strategy, success, loss or failures.

Looking at the landscape of action through the lens of the Johari window (Figure 20.2), the stories that coachees choose to disclose represent known and familiar knowledge; some of this knowledge, however, could have been previously hidden from the coach (quadrants I and III).

Landscape of consciousness Landscapes of consciousness are composed of the storyteller’s own identity, conclusions about their actions and events that are shaped by their identity and contemporary culture. The landscape of consciousness represents the understanding that the listener has gained from the story. These understandings could either be intentional or internal: • •

Intentional Understandings – value, purpose, aspiration, personal agency, restoration Internal Understandings – realisations (self-awareness), learning.

In terms of the Johari window, the landscape of consciousness may show some blind spots of the storyteller, which usually appear as some thin traces in the plot which the coach would need to understand and develop further. Feedback to Self

Disclosure To Others

Known I. Public Known

II. Blind Spot

Knowledge III. Hidden

Unknown

Figure 20.2 Giving feedback: the Johari window 260

Unknown

IV. Unknown

Narrative coaching for all

Practice The combined narrative approach consists of the following techniques or stages: 1 2 3 4

Externalising Conversations (1:1) Re-membering/Re-Authoring (1:1) Outsider Witness Re-telling (1:1:n) Definitional Ceremony (Community) – Retellings of retellings.

One may argue that any narrative technique is a form of externalising conversation, where the coachees are speaking out about their inner experiences in the form of a story. Certainly, externalising conversation is a starting point for any coach to learn whatever possible that there is to know about the coachees’ hidden identity and possibly identify some of their blind spots. Storytelling is a good way of externalising one’s life experience during a conversation. However, there are subtle differences in the ways in which the conversation is conducted as a story unfolds. Which technique is to be used depends on the content of the story that the coachee brings to the coaching session. Some may be about the story of a loved one in the distant past, one’s great-grandmother, for example; the coach may facilitate to develop the story using re-membering techniques. On other occasions, it may be a story about traumatic events in one’s life, about failures, loss of confidence and learnt hopelessness. In this case re-authoring the story offers a possibility to develop an alternative story that may re-develop the coachee’s hopes and dreams. Outsider witnesses and definitional ceremonies are powerful tools in facilitating group discussion, encourage others to share the stories of their experience and resonate the theme of the storyteller who takes the centre stage. The goals of the narrative approach are to re-develop the coachee’s skills and knowledge by re-authoring the stories of their life experience.

Externalising conversations Vygotsky’s distancing tasks for proximal development, combined with Michael White’s narrative inquiry, constitute externalising conversations in our coach-coachee dialogues. These dialogues map onto the following steps in our scaffolding: Step 1. Description – Coachees are invited to tell their story in relation to their recent experience. In particular, coaches may like to guide coachees to talk about any unique outcome of their problemsolving skill and identify any barrier to their learning or achieving their goals. Step 2. Relation Mapping – The coaches map the effects/influence of the barriers/problem identified through the various domains of the coachee’s life story in which complications are identified. The domain may be about home, school, workplace, peer contexts; familiar relationships, including friendships and the relationship with themselves (self-identity); purposes, their life’s horizons, including future possibilities, aspirations, values, hopes and dreams, etc. We do not encourage coaches to map the effects/influence of the problem through all domains of the coachee’s life. The coach focuses on those that seem most significant to the coachee’s goals and aspirations. Step 3. Evaluation – Toward the end of the conversation, coaches evaluate the effects/influence of the themes/plots that emerge from the stories within the given domains and share that with the coachee. Step 4. Justification – The coachees are asked to justify the above evaluation and make judgement about the agreed evaluation in relation to their values, hopes and dreams. Step 5. Conclusion/Recommendation – Although this step is not part of the narrative map, we added it to complete our coaching session. In practice as a coach, we would recommend that coachees formulate a plan of action for overcoming their performance barriers and achieving their objectives. For meta-methodology, an experienced coach could link it to other approaches such as cognitive behavioural techniques at this stage. 261

Ho Law

As a result of the coaches’ explorations shaped by the above five stages of inquiry, coachees are guided to put into words valued conclusions about their lives and identities. These may be conclusions about their beliefs, values, commitments, desires, preferred purposes, longings, wishes, pledges, hopes and dreams, etc.

Re-authoring When the coach is actively listening to the coachee’s stories, apart from being sensitive and compassionate, the coach needs to link the events of the story in sequences that unfold through time according to a theme/plot (Step 2 of externalisation). This is one of the key skills of a narrative coach. As the story unfolds, coachees may refer to some significant figures who feature in the story and share with the coaches their conclusions about the identities of these figures (see re-membering conversation). During re-authoring conversations, coaches assist coachees to identify the more neglected events of their lives and any unique outcomes or exceptions in those alternative storylines. These unique outcomes or exceptions provide a starting point for re-authoring conversations – a point of entry into the alternative storylines of coachees’ lives. So in a way, re-authoring can be viewed as branching off from the coachee’s dominant (often problematic) storyline and developing a new plot (a turning point emerges between Steps 3 and 4). (See Figure 20.3.) At the outset of these conversations, these unique outcomes or exceptions are only visible as thin traces. There are usually gaps between these storylines. Thus, narrative coaches need to build a scaffold through questions that encourage coachees to fill these gaps. As Michael White (2005, p. 10) put it, “This is a scaffold that assists people to recruit their lived experience, that stretches and exercises their imagination and their meaning-making resources, and that is engaging of their fascination and curiosity”. As a coaching outcome, narrative coaches need to help coachees develop these alternative storylines and thicken the plot. Usually coaches would discover that in fact these storylines are more deeply rooted in the coachees’ history which resonates with their values and self-identity. Stelter (2013) refers to this stage as Motivation and Anchoring (thickening the plot). In developing this scaffold, coaches conduct a series of narrative questions; like a journey, the coaches/ coachees ‘walk-the-talk’ through ‘landscapes of the mind’ (following Jerome Bruner’s metaphor). In narrative terms, we called them the ‘landscape of action’ and ‘landscape of identity’. Through this kind of conversation, with the support of scaffolding questions from the coach, alternative landscapes of the mind can be richly described.

conclusion justification

Thickening plots

evaluation relation mapping

Thick description

description

events sequence

Landscape of Consciousness identity

Thin traces

Remote History

Distant History

Recent History circumstance

Turning point Reauthoring

Present

Near Future

value Learning/ Understanding Realisations Landscape of Action time

Figure 20.3 Re-authoring in the externalising conversations which shows that storylines have many possible alternative plots 262

Narrative coaching for all

Re-membering conversations Re-membering conversations are not about fragments of passive recollection of people that one remembers. The persons to be re-membered and re-told in a story are significant figures of one’s history or with the identities of one’s present life. Using ‘re-membering’ as a metaphor from the work of Barbara Myerhoff (1982), Michael White (2005, p. 13) describes re-membering conversations as conversations that: 1 2 3

4

“Evoke ‘life’ as a ‘membered’ club, ‘identity’ as an ‘association’ of life. Contribute to a multi-voiced sense of identity, rather than a single-voiced sense of identity, which is a feature of the encapsulated self that is the vogue of contemporary Western culture. Open possibilities for the revision of one’s membership of life: for the upgrading of some memberships and the downgrading of others; for the honouring of some memberships and for the revoking of others; for the granting of authority to some voices in regard to matters of one’s personal identity and for the disqualification of other voices in regard to this matter. Describe rich accounts of preferred identity and knowledge of life and skills of living that have been co-generated in the significant memberships of people’s lives”.

In reviewing the memberships, the coach can further explore the accounts of the storytellers’ own identities, knowledge and skills. From the rich description, many significant outcomes, conclusions, learning and problem-solving practices may be discovered. They may have significant contributions to the storytellers’ sense of identity, knowledge and skills. This awareness provides a foundation for the coachees’ personal development. As a result, it enables coaches/coachees to draw up specific proposals about how they might to go forward. Re-membering can be regarded as a specific case of re-authoring that involves a significant figure within the coachee’s story.

Outsider witness re-telling Externalised conversations described in the previous sections can be applied in group or team situations, where one or more members from the group are asked to act as witnesses to the story. Participants are provided with the option of telling the stories of their lives before an audience. The selected outsider witnesses can also act as assistants to the narrative coach as they can provide an extra support to the coachees beyond the tradition of acknowledgement (that is, in recognition of the importance of the story heard). After they have listened to the story, the outsider witnesses are asked by the coach to re-tell the story. In particular, they are guided by the coach’s questions on which aspects of the story resonate with their own experiences. The re-tellings by the outsider witnesses do not necessarily constitute a complete account of the original story but focus on the aspects that have most significantly engaged their fascination. The outsider witnesses respond to the stories by re-telling certain aspects of what they heard. Depending on the culture of the place in which the outsider witness re-tellings take place, these activities may be shaped by certain traditions of acknowledgement. According to Michael White (1995, 12005, 2007), there are four categories of reflective responses from outsider witnesses. Narrative practitioners could ask or guide the outsider witnesses to: 1 2 3 4

Identify the expression of the storyteller Describe the image that the story has evoked Embody responses in their own life experiences Acknowledge any ‘transport’ of knowledge from the story to their own life. 263

Ho Law

Definitional ceremony (community) – retellings of retellings Within the context of the narrative practice (and within the broader context of poststructuralism), a person’s self-identity is not governed by a private and individual achievement but by the following social, historical and cultural forces: • • • •

One’s own history One’s own sense of authenticity Public and social achievements Acknowledgment of one’s preferred claims about one’s identity.

From the above reference, the definitional ceremony is a powerful way to provide social acknowledgement of the storyteller’s self-identity, to which they might have been previously denied access due to their social condition (in particular cross-cultural situation). In narrative terms, a definitional ceremony thickens many alternative themes or counter-plots of the story and amplifies the empowerment that the storytellers received that would not otherwise be available to them. A definitional ceremony is multi-layered and has the following structures: 1 2 3 4

Story tellings – undertaken by the storyteller who is at the centre of the ceremony Retellings of tellings (first retelling) – by the outsider witnesses Retellings of retellings (second retelling) – by the initial storyteller Retellings of retellings of retellings (third retelling) – by the outsider witnesses or by a secondary group of outsider witnesses.

Theoretically speaking, the above process of re-telling could continue indefinitely. In practice, the layers of re-telling of the story depend on the physical and time constraints. The definitional ceremony is about ‘moving’ all participants and therefore is ideal for group or community work in conference styles or community gatherings. It provides an opportunity for the storytellers to become who they want to be rather than who they were. Metaphorically speaking, the storyteller is ‘being moved/ transported’ from one place to another in life (here and now) as a direct consequence of the participation. In addition to the conversation between coaches and coachees, other forms of communication can be used in this approach, such as writing via emails, diaries or letters and issuing certificates to honour the coachees’ stories in a conference situation.

Which coachees benefit most? We have found that coachees who travelled from one country to live and work in another country would find this approach most helpful. The type of client context or experience for which narrative approaches are particularly useful is where clients have suffered from a dislocation of place and hence culture, including taking for granted their own signature strength, values and beliefs. As the nature of narrative coaching relies heavily on the articulation of stories by the clients, the approach is limited to verbal communication. If the clients have a language problem or poor verbal communication skills, a different mode of communication such as drawing and dramatic performance may be used. Within a safe environment, narrative approaches can easily be adapted for children and young people (CYP). In fact, most of the original practices by Michael White were based on his family therapy with children (for example, see White & Morgan, 2006). Apart from observing the British Psychological Society’s Code of Ethics and Conduct, coaches working with children and young people should also refer to the Children Act (2004) and its guidance on sharing information. In doing so, coaches would need to be more creative to use metaphors that are suitable for children, such as using a tree and its various parts (roots, branches and leaves) as a metaphor for one’s life identity, cultural heritage and aspirations (Azarova, Law, Hughes, & Basil, in preparation). 264

Narrative coaching for all

Case study: stories of hope* The context A Peer Coaching Training Scheme was developed and delivered collaboratively with a local social enterprise organisation. This was offered to people living in Southwark, London (UK) aspiring to develop themselves as peer coaches to help others in their community who experienced psychological and social challenges. The participants themselves had experienced similar challenges. The organisational philosophy and approach aligned well with the narrative principle of externalisation: the problem is the problem; the person is not the problem (Stelter & Law, 2010). The narrative coaching programme aimed to: 1

help participants to improve their personal development, self-reflection and general functioning;

2

increase peer coaching resources in Southwark;

3

get customer feedback for both the organizations and university;

4

enable peer coaches to successfully carry out placements within their community; and

5

assess the effectiveness of a six-week community-based peer-coaching training scheme.

The project was funded by a housing association and was evaluated through a programme (Make It Global) at the University of East London (UEL) that also provided student placements to two people on the scheme.

The client There were several organisational clients involved in this case study: the housing association funded the intervention, the university provided the know-how and student placement, and the EU funded the university (see Figure 20.4 for a system analysis).

C

B W

D2

W

A2 W

T

Figure 20.4 Soft systems (CATWOE) analysis of the client and stakeholders Key: A – Actor; B – Benefiter; C – Customer; D – System Owners (O); E – Environment; T – Transformation; W – weltanschauung

265

Ho Law

The technical process A six-month Peer Coaching Training Scheme (one training day per month) was delivered (between November 2013 and May 2014. Narrative coaching for groups was introduced in the first session and its steps were embedded in the programme. The participants (peer coaches) were also provided with additional training and group supervision support by the trained professionals. During the sessions, participants were encouraged to share their stories about their lived experiences in a form of outsider witness re-telling in pairs/small groups – with an experiential sharing in a plenary definitional ceremony ending with a celebration. The intervention was evaluated using a mixed methodology – 2 x 2 quasi experimental design (quantitative) and narrative research method (qualitative) using narrative-oriented inquiry procedure (Hiles, Cermák, & Chrz, 2009). For the quantitative measure, Law’s (2013a) Cultural & Social Competence (CSC) Self Review Questionnaire (SRQ) was used to assess the participant’s skills and knowledge (coaching competence score). The participants who took part in the CTTS training scheme as the coaching (experimental) group and other diverse members from the community were also invited to take part in the survey as the non-coaching group (control). All participants were asked to complete the questionnaire at the beginning and end of the training period (Law, 2014).

The change process The initial results of the quantitative analyses from the pilot study showed an increase in the coaching competence score of the participants in the coaching group after the training; and the score was significantly higher than those who received no coach training (Law, 2014). In other words, there was a significant main effect for treatment, F(1, 145) = 5.43, p = .05, with no significant interaction between gender, ethnicity and treatment conditions. See Table 20.1. The narrative research method was used to identify peer-coaches’ stories; the embedded goals, hopes and dreams and how coaching training has helped them. The analyses (adapted from Murray, 2003; Hiles et al., 2009) show that the process helped the participants to reconstruct their new self-identity – validated through the eyes of the others as outsider witnesses (see Geertz, 1986). They found meanings to their experience of suffering in the process, by sharing the experience that resonates with the other participants’ stories. Overall, the participants’ stories show a shift from the pessimistic and regressive optimistic tones (before the training) to more optimistic and progressive tones (after the training). (Law, 2015, 2016). Table 20.1 Analyses of variance Tests of Between Subjects Effects Measure: Competence Transformed Variable: Average

266

Source

Type III Sum of Squares

df

Mean Square

F

Sig.

Intercept Sex Ethnic Condition Sex * Ethnic Sex * Condition Ethnic * Condition Sex * Ethnic * Condition Error

66338.107 32.710 2308.548 3680.190 .000 .000 471.124 .000 8277.333

1 1 4 1 0 0 3 0 11

66338.107 32.710 577.137 3680.190 . . 157.041 . 752.485

88.159 .043 .767 4.891 . . .209 .

.000 .839 .568 .049 . . .888 .

Narrative coaching for all

Difficulties encountered •

Language barriers – As English was not the first language of some of the participants, extra care and consideration had to be made to ensure that they understood the questions and that the questions did not cause any distress.



The validity, reliability and representation of the primary authors who told the stories – As a narrative practitioner playing an ethnographer’s role to re-tell, report and disseminate the stories of individuals and groups from the diverse communities, we felt an ethical dilemma whether we had done justice in honouring and respecting those people. Some of the stories were very personal and politically sensitive. Questions raised include: are the re-told stories a fair representation of the intention of the storytellers? Are the re-told stories valid and reliably representing the meaning of the original stories?



Acknowledgements to the stakeholders – In order to maintain confidentiality, the names and identities of the storytellers are kept anonymous. In doing so, acknowledgements to those individuals in honouring the source of the stories became difficult.



Our responsibility as academics, psychologists and researchers in disseminating those stories – On one hand, we felt that we had a professional duty to publish those stories, to share those skills and knowledge. While on the other, this had to balance with the sensitivities and honouring of those individuals who contributed to those stories and knowledge.



Ownership of the stories – Some of the stories were highly idiosyncratic and personal, yet once they were told and retold at the conference and published in the public domain, skills and knowledge were shared amongst communities. While some may be very happy with the dissemination of the stories, which embed and transport the knowledge, some may feel the stories were too private to share in a wider domain. This raises the questions of ownership and authorship of those stories. Do the writers who write and report the stories own the authorship, or should the storytellers own their own stories? Who has the power, responsibility and control for disseminating the stories and knowledge, and for whose benefit?

*Acknowledgments The author would like to thank Naomi Mwasambili (Director of CTTS), Valeria Sterzi and Jenny Gordon (former students of University of East London) for their contributions to the case study; and the funding from Make It Global programme. www.enterprising-women.org/make-it-globals-leadership-programme-2014

Discussion points 1

2

3 4

As a coach, could you devise questions that encourage the storytellers to generate new proposals for action? What does a narrative coach need to do in order to guide the storytellers with alternative categories of identity? The case study was evaluated with a questionnaire survey method. What are the weaknesses of such an approach for evaluation within the context of the case study? The authors also used a narrative research method as part of a mixed methodology. Is this the most suitable qualitative research method used in this case study (and narrative practice in general)? Imagine if your coachee (or your coach) disclosed that they had been diagnosed with a mental illness in the past. How would you feel? What are the challenges, issues and concerns (if any)? Can you think of any other situations where the definitional ceremony approaches can be used? Describe what modifications (if any) need to be considered; who are the outsider witnesses doing the re-telling of re-telling? How do you ensure that confidentiality is maintained in such group situations? 267

Ho Law

Suggested Reading Drake, D. B. (2015). Narrative Coaching: Bringing Our New Stories to Life. Canada: CNC Press. Law, H. (2013a). The Psychology of Coaching, Mentoring & Learning. Second Edition. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Law, H. (2013b). Coaching Psychology: A Practitioner’s Guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Stelter, R. (2013). A Guide to Third Generation Coaching: Narrative-Collaborative Theory and Practice. Dordrecht, Heidelberg: Springer.

References Allan, J., Fairtlough, G., & Heinzen, B. (2002). The Power of the Tale: Using Narratives for Organisational Success. Chichester: Wiley. Azarova, V., Law, H., Hughes, G., & Basil, N. (in preparation). Celebrating Heritage: A Mixed-Method Research: Exploring Experiences of Refugee Children and Young People in the Context of Tree of Life Groups. Bruner, J. (1990). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. CIPD. (2006). News: Sort it with a story from down under. Coaching at Work. 1(2): 10. Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. London: Personnel Publication Ltd. Derrida, J. (1978). The art of thinking narratively: Implications for coaching psychology and practice. Australian Psychologist. 42(4): 283–294. Drake, D. B. (2015). Narrative Coaching: Bringing Our New Stories to Life. Petaluma, Canada: CNC Press. Epston, D., & White, M. (1992). Experience, Contradiction, Narrative & Imagination: Selected Papers of David Epston & Michael White. Adelaide, Australia: Dulwich Centre. Geertz, C. (1986). Anti-anti-relativism. American Anthropologist. 86: 263–278. Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond Culture. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press. Hiles, D., Cermák, I., & Chrz, V. (2009). Narrative oriented inquiry: A dynamic framework for good practice. In Narrative, Memory and Identities. Pp. 53–65. Huddersfield: University of Huddersfield. Hofstede, G. H. (1991). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. London: McGraw-Hill. Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Law, H. C. (2006). Can coaches be good in any context? Coaching at Work. 1(2): 14. Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. London: Personnel Publication Ltd. Law, H. C. (2010). Coaching relationships and ethical practice. In S. Palmer & A. McDowall (eds.). The Coaching Relationship. Hove: Routledge. Law, H. C. (2013a). The Psychology of Coaching, Mentoring & Learning. Second Edition. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Law, H. C. (2013b). Coaching Psychology: A Practitioner’s Guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Law, H. C. (2014). Stories of hope: A narrative practice in wider communities. Presentation at the Research Conference. 25 June, University of East London. Law, H. C. (2015, 2016). Communities of hope: A narrative practice and its evaluation. Presentations at British Psychological Society (BPS) Annual Conference. 5–7 May 2015, ACC, Liverpool; and at BPS (Northern Ireland) 60th Anniversary Annual Conference, 3–5 March 2016 at the Ballymascanlon House, Co Louth, Ireland. Law, H. C., Aga, S., & Hill, J. (2006). “Creating a ‘camp fire’ at home”, narrative coaching: Community coaching & mentoring network conference report & reflection. In H. C. Law (ed.). The Cutting Edge. Volume. 7, No. 1. ISSN 1366–8005. Peterborough, UK: Peterborough School of Arts Publication. Law, H. C., Ireland, S., & Hussain, Z. (2005, 2006). Evaluation of coaching competence self review on-line tool within an NHS leadership development programme. Special Group in Coaching Psychology Annual National Conference. December. City University, London: The British Psychological Society. International Coaching Psychology Review. 1(2). The Australian Psychological Society & British Psychological Society. Murray, M. (2003). Narrative psychology. In J. A. Smith (ed.). Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Research Methods. Chapter 6, pp. 111–132. London: Sage. Myerhoff, B. (1982). Life history among the elderly: Performance, visibility and re-membering. In J. Ruby (ed.). A Crack in the Mirror: Reflexive Perspectives in Anthropology. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. Myerhoff, B. (1986). Life not death in Venice: Its second life. In V. Turner & E. Brunner (eds.). The Anthology of Experience. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press. Ncube, N. (2006). The tree of life project: Using narrative ideas in work with vulnerable children in Southern Africa. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work. 1: 3–16. Rosinski, P. (2003). Coaching Across Cultures. London: Nicholas Brealey. Stelter, R. (2013). A Guide to Third Generation Coaching: Narrative-Collaborative Theory and Practice. Dordrecht, Heidelberg: Springer.

268

Narrative coaching for all

Stelter, R., & Law, H. (2010). Coaching: Narrative-collaborative practice. International Coaching Psychology Review. 5(2): 152–164. Trompenaars, F., & Hampden-Turner, C. (1997). Riding the Waves of Culture. Second Edition. London: Nicholas Brealey. Turner, V. (1967). The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndemby Ritual. Ithaca, NY: Cornel Paperbacks. Turner, V., & Brunner, E. (eds.). (1986). The Anthology of Experience. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press. Van Gennep, A. (1960). The Rite of Passage. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press. Vygotsky, L. S. (1962[1926]). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. White, M. (1995). Re-Authoring Lives: Interviews & Essays. Adelaide, S. Australia: Dulwich Centre Publications. White, M. (2005). Michael White Workshop Notes. Published on September 21, 2005 www.dulwichcentre.com.au White, M. (2006, February 20–24). Narrative Therapy Intensive Workshop . Adelaide, S. Australia: Dulwich Centre. White, M. (2007). Maps of Narrative Practice. New York, NY: W.W. Norton. White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co. White, M., & Morgan, A. (2006). Narrative Therapy with Children and Their Families. Adelaide, S. Australia: Dulwich Centre Publications.

269

21 Solution-focused coaching Bill O’Connell and Stephen Palmer

Introduction Solution-focused coaching (SFC) is an outcome-oriented, competence-based approach. It helps coachees to achieve their preferred outcomes by evoking and co-constructing solutions to their problems. SFC fits perfectly with the future-focused, goal-directed spirit of coaching. Rather than problem-solve, the solutionfocused coach gives centre stage to the skills, strengths, knowledge and experience of the coachee. The coach’s role is to stretch, clarify, support and empower coachees to design and implement solutions which will work for them. It is a practical approach which enhances coachee cooperation by focusing clearly on their agendas. The relationship between coaches and coachees is a transparent one as the coach explains the techniques to the coachee in the hope that he or she will take them away and use them for themselves. It is a focused, respectful and progressive method which gains beneficial results in a short period of time. SFC has won an international following since the late 1990s.

Development of solution-focused coaching It is difficult to identify a single founder of the solution-focused approach although its historical influences include Alfred Adler, Milton Erickson and John Weakland (O’Connell, 2003). The solution-focused approach originated in the field of family therapy. It was developed by a team of family therapists working at the Brief Therapy Centre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA in the 1980s. The leaders were Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, both of whom became prolific writers on the approach as well as expert practitioners. Other leaders included Bill O’Hanlon, a therapist in Nebraska. Families often presented with multiple and complex problems. Family members would argue among themselves about what exactly was the problem and who was to blame. This took up a lot of time. In such an atmosphere of conflict and hostility, family members understandably became defensive and, as a result, were typically unable or unwilling to make personal changes. Observing this unproductive stand-off led to the team changing tack. Instead of trying to create a consensus around the family’s problems, the team tried instead to find agreement around what the solutions would look like. They asked each family member how they would know the situation had improved – what would they notice that was different? Taking this as a starting point, the team found that families spent less time arguing over their problems. The therapists discovered that when they encouraged family members to notice times when things went 270

Solution-focused coaching

better, the family made faster progress. As the family focused more on ‘solutions’, they became less trapped in the problem’s vicious circle (see de Shazer et al., 1986). Since those early days, solution-focused thinking and practice has won a vast international following among a wide range of practitioners (e.g. Berg & Miller, 1992; Lethem, 1994; LaFountain & Garner, 1996; Selekman, 1997; Triantafillou, 1997; Hoyt, & Berg, 1998; George, Iveson, & Ratner, 1999; Darmody, 2003; Devlin, 2003; Grant, 2003; Hawkes, 2003; Hoskisson, 2003; Norman, 2003; O’Connell, & Palmer, 2003; Sharry, 2003; Bloor & Pearson, 2004; Berg & Szabo, 2005; Meier, 2005; Jackson & McKergow, 2007) who adapt its principles and techniques to their contexts and client groups, including: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

education – tutoring, mentoring and teaching coaching, counselling, mediation, advice and guidance children mental health sexual trauma substance misuse social work psychology parent training support groups supervision reflecting teams business and management organisational change team coaching and development.

It is used extensively with groups, teams, couples and families and young people and children (see O’Connell & Palmer, 2003). Many coaches have discovered the relevance of the solution-focused approach for themselves (e.g. Palmer, Grant, & O’Connell, 2007; O’Connell, Palmer, & Williams, 2012; Palmer, 2011). Some use solution-focused techniques as one strand in their practice, others have integrated it with the cognitive behavioural approach (Dias, Palmer, & Nardi, 2017; Green, Oades, & Grant, 2006; Hultgren, Palmer, & O’Riordan, 2016; Palmer, 2008), while still others use it as their core model (Berg & Szabo, 2005).

Theory and basic concepts In its purest sense, the solution-focused approach is light on theory. It aims to be minimalist in its concepts and interventions following Occam’s principle solution-focused coaching that ‘it is vain to do with more what can be achieved with fewer’ (see Russell, 1996: 462–463). This minimalism leads the coach to join with what is already working in the coachee’s life, rather than feel it is necessary to start with a blank sheet. The coachee is already doing many things which are constructive and helpful: ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’. It may be a case of simply doing more of what works. A strategy of building upon the coachee’s customised set of problem-solving ‘signature’ strategies is likely to be more effective than importing a strategy that is foreign to the coachee. Cooperating with the coachee’s goals and values ensures that solutions fit the person, not the problem. SFC focuses on coachees’ resources, strengths and personal qualities. It assumes that: • •

It is possible to help coachees construct solutions with minimal, if any, analysis of their problems. Coachees have many resources and competences, many of which they, and others, are unaware. Most people do not use a fraction of their potential. 271

Bill O’Connell and Stephen Palmer

• • •



Coachees have many ideas about their preferred futures. ‘Multi-problem’ coachees can be viewed as ‘multi-goal’ coachees. Coachees are already carrying out constructive and helpful actions (otherwise the situation would be worse!). Although we clearly carry our past with us and need to learn from our mistakes and successes, the principal focus in solution-focused work is on the coachee’s present and preferred future. Our history can remind us of how far we have travelled and how we have overcome difficulties along the way. Learning the lessons of history can also warn us of the re-emergence of old problems. Sometimes it helps to understand the causes of problems, but it is not always essential or even helpful. Searching for causes can lead to a search for someone or something to blame. Arguing over the causes of a problem can lead to self-justifying behaviour and further escalation of the situation. Some forms of analysis make it more difficult to be hopeful about the future.

Solution-focused coaches do not put their own spin upon their coachees’ experiences. They do not presume to know how to fix something that has gone wrong. Instead they help their coachees to become more aware of how they succeeded when they got it ‘right’. Their question to their coachees is,‘What was the difference that made the difference?’ The coach also asks the coachee, ‘What difference will it make to you when you achieve your goal?’ This is followed up with a further question, ‘And what difference will that make for you?’ This line of questioning can help coachees to clarify their choices and priorities and identify steps towards achieving their goal. The coach listens and acknowledges the coachee’s problems while aiming to contain ‘problem talk’. People often want and need to get things off their chest, particularly if they feel isolated and misunderstood. It is important that the coach acknowledges and validates people’s concerns and feelings, while looking for an opportunity to move respectfully from ‘problem talk’ to ‘solution talk’. At different times people will feel the need to explain their problem situation in more detail. If the coach is dismissive of ‘negative’ talk and pushes the coachee towards ‘positive thinking’, the coachee will resist and sabotage the coach’s efforts. It is worth remembering, however, that coachees often also have solutions to get off their chests. They will have their own ideas about improving the situation and need the opportunity to explore them with someone else. A wise coach will always listen carefully to the coachee’s ideas and where possible cooperate with the coachee’s preferences. Just as people tend to repeat the ‘same old’ problems, they also tend to use a limited repertoire of welltried strategies to solve them. Some of these will be failed solutions. The coachee adopts them despite knowing they do not work simply because he or she cannot think of anything else to try – in the words of Samuel Johnson (Boswell, 1791), ‘a triumph of hope over experience!’ They will do this ignoring the empirical evidence that on the whole it has not worked on previous occasions. A solution-focused approach encourages the coachee to break out of such unhelpful patterns and ‘do something different’. Working in a solution-focused way means that the coach and the coachee cooperate in searching for ‘signature’ solutions which are relevant and customised to the coachee. To find solutions that fit the coachee the coach has to keep out of the coachee’s way. By this we mean that the coach facilitates, but does not interfere with or take over, the coachee’s unique solution-building processes. Providing solutions, especially formulaic ones, can feel like a helpful thing to do in the short term, but in the long run it undermines the coachee’s confidence and increases dependency. Solution-focused coaches encourage coachees to switch the focus of their attention from ‘seeing’ mainly problems to noticing when, and how, constructive and positive events happen in their lives. They can choose to see half-empty or half-full glasses, for example. They can choose to dwell on a mistake they made or they can study how they were successful the rest of the time and how they might have acted differently when things went wrong. The more people become solution sensitive, the more they become aware of solutions that are available to them. 272

Solution-focused coaching

Solution-focused coaches ask their coachees to focus upon: • • • • •

their hopes for the short and the long term how they manage to make exceptions to problems happen their skills, qualities and strengths – their resources the first steps they need to take the strategies they will use to achieve progress.

Solution-focused coaches see coachees as the experts in their lives. They privilege coachees’ ‘insider’ knowledge above ‘professional’ expertise. The professionals cannot possibly know what the ‘right’ solutions for coachees are. Solutions need to fit coachees, not the problem. As Greene and Grant (2003) stated: At its best, solution-focused coaching enables people to access and use the wealth of experience, skills, expertise and intuition that we all have. It allows people to find individual and creative solutions to the situation they find themselves in, both at work and in their personal lives. (Greene and Grant, 2003: 23) Solution-focused coaches help coachees to develop a language and an attitude which will motivate, empower and support them in achieving their goals. Solution-focused conversations stress the competence, skills and qualities that coachees can use to achieve their preferred futures. Their tone is optimistic, hopeful and respectful. They heighten coachees’ awareness that change is always taking place and that they have the capacity to determine, at least to some extent, the direction of change. Generally there is not a great emphasis on exploring psychological theory in the training of solutionfocused practitioners. However, self-directed learning and self-regulation are usually considered as important aspects of the solution-focused approach as the theories explain how coaches are helped to attain their goals (Grant, 2006a). Grant (2006b: 158) states that, ‘goal setting is the foundation of successful self-regulation and effective coaching’. This assertion can be supported by the research of Latham and Yukl (1975), Locke (1996) and Rawsthorne and Elliot (1999) which highlighted how important goal setting is to the coaching process when they examined published studies that reported on the relationship between goal setting and performance outcomes. However, Scoular and Linley (2006) have challenged the ‘sacred cows’ of coaching and goal setting. Their study used an experimental between-subjects design (N=117) with goal setting and non-goal setting conditions. They found that that there was no significant difference between the two conditions, but personality difference was found to be statistically significant; when the coach and coachee differed on temperament the outcome scores were higher.

Practice The relationship The interventions described below take place within the context of a respectful, egalitarian, collaborative relationship in which the coachee is regarded as the expert. The coach’s role is not to offer solutions, give advice or provide pathology-laden insight (O’Connell, 2003; Grant, 2006b; O’Connell, Palmer, & Williams, 2012). The role is more of a facilitator who, through a process of supportive questioning and reflection, enables coachees to tap into their own resources and realise that they have a reservoir of skills, strengths and strategies which are relevant to their current challenges. Listening attentively, keeping the coachee on a solution-track, reflecting back the coachee’s competence, promoting the coachee’s use of the imagination, summarising the coachee’s unique set of strategies – these are the key contributions of the solution-focused coach. Technique does not make a coach solution-focused. 273

Bill O’Connell and Stephen Palmer

It is the quality of the relationship underpinned by solution-focused values that makes someone truly solution-focused.

Skills and strategies SOLUTION model Williams, Palmer and O’Connnell (2011) developed a simple acronym as an aide memoire to help the coach recall the structure of a typical solution-focused coaching session highlighting the key elements. The acronym ‘SOLUTION’ represents eight important elements of the established coaching process as follows: S Share updates O Observe interests L Listen to hopes and goals U Understand exceptions T Tap potential I Imagine success O Own outcomes N Note contributions The SOLUTION model or framework may be used for coaching in a range of contexts including skills and performance, leadership and management, health and wellbeing and life/personal coaching (see Williams, Palmer, & O’Connell, 2011 for further information including the FOCUS model).

Pre-session change When the coachee first requests a coaching session, he or she will be asked to notice any changes that take place prior to the first appointment (O’Connell, 2003; O’Connell, Palmer, & Williams, 2012). In the first session many coachees report that they have contained or even improved their situation. This gives the session a strong, positive opening in which the coachee’s resources and strategies are centre stage. It gives the coach and the coachee a platform on which to build.

Problem-free talk At the beginning of the first session coaches also give coachees the opportunity to talk about themselves and their interests, without reference to their problems (O’Connell, 2003; O’Connell, Palmer, & Williams, 2012). These conversations often uncover information which is helpful to the coach in knowing • • •

how to work with the coachee which metaphors or examples will work for the coachee coachee strengths, qualities and values pertinent to solution construction.

Problem-free talk also highlights the fact that there is a lot more to the coachee than any difficulties he or she may be experiencing.

Competence seeking While acknowledging the difficulties which coachees face, solution-focused coaches pay particular attention to examples of their competence (O’Connell, 2003). The skilled coach senses the right time to draw to the awareness of the coachee the strengths and qualities they have and invite reflection on how they 274

Solution-focused coaching

can be applied in the current situation. When done sensitively, coachees will own their skills and strengths, but when coaches oversell feedback, coachees are more likely to reject this rosy picture as one they do not recognise.

Building on exceptions Instead of dwelling upon the times when coachees experience problems, solution-focused coaches question them about times when they are managing the problems better. These episodes are described as ‘exceptions’. Exceptions can always be found because everyone has highs and lows, ups and downs, good times and bad times (O’Connell, 2001, 2003; O’Connell, Palmer, & Williams, 2012). Exceptions provide evidence of coachees’ constructive strategies. By highlighting and exploring these times, coachees can find how to make these exceptions happen more often or for longer periods of time. The coach gently explores with the coachee the circumstances in which the exception took place. He or she may use questions such as, ‘How did you do that? What was the first thing you did? How did you know that was going to be useful? What would need to happen for you to be able to do that again?’ Exceptions follow the solution-focused principle of ‘if it works keep doing it’.

The miracle question The miracle question, devised by Steve de Shazer (1988) and his colleagues, is an intervention used by solution-focused coaches to help coachees bypass ‘problem talk’. It does this by encouraging coachees to use their imagination to describe how their day-to-day lives would look if their problems did not dominate or define them. Its standard form is: Imagine one night when you are asleep, a miracle happens and the problems we’ve been discussing disappear. Since you are asleep, you do not know that a miracle has happened. When you wake up what will be the first signs for you that a miracle has happened? The question is a powerful one, as it accesses imaginative material not usually unearthed by conventional questioning (O’Connell, 1998; O’Connell, Palmer, & Williams, 2012). A skilled coach follows up the miracle question by further questions closely linked to the coachee’s answers. Each answer builds another part of the coachee’s preferred scenario and helps to clarify strategies the coachee could use. As the coach explores the coachee’s miracle answer, he or she will be listening for any examples of exceptions – times when even a small part of the miracle has already happened. The coach will also listen for evidence of the coachee’s strengths, qualities and competence. Questions will also include other significant people in the coachee’s life, ‘How will they know the miracle has happened?’ ‘What will they notice that is different?’ ‘How will they respond to that?’

Scaling Coaches use a scale of zero to ten to help coachees measure progress, to set small identifiable goals and to develop strategies (see O’Connell, 2001, 2003; Greene & Grant, 2003; Berg & Szabo, 2005; Grant, 2006a; O’Connell, Palmer, & Williams, 2012). Ten on the scale represents ‘the best it could be’ and zero the worst. Coaches invite coachees to think about their place on the scale by asking questions such as, ‘Where would you say you were a day or two ago?’ ‘What was happening when you were higher on the scale?’ ‘Where do you hope to get to in the next few weeks?’ ‘What needs to happen for that to happen?’ Coachees may also consider where other people would put them on the scale. Solution-focused coaches encourage coachees to consider small steps they can take which will move them one point up the scale. This is consistent with the solution-focused principle that ‘small changes can lead to big changes’. It is often the case that when 275

Bill O’Connell and Stephen Palmer

coachees commit to making small changes they build a momentum (‘get on a roll’) which takes them much further than they had originally planned. When things are difficult, the best a coachee can do may be to work hard to stay on the same point on the scale. Scaling is a simple, practical technique which coachees can use between sessions to measure their progress and to plan their next steps.

Between-session tasks During the session solution-focused questions will usually have drawn out what the coachee is going to do next to improve matters. These tasks will more often than not follow the principles: • • • •

If it works keep doing it. If it doesn’t work stop doing it. Small steps can lead to big changes. Do something different.

Feedback At the end of a session the coach gives brief feedback to the coachee. This follows a clear and simple structure: • • • •

Appreciative feedback specifying helpful contributions made by the coachee in the session A summary of the coachee’s achievements as evidenced in the session A link made between these and the coachee’s stated goals Agreement on what the coachee is going to do before the next meeting – the between-session task.

Reframing By using the technique of reframing, coaches help coachees to find other ways of looking at a problem or issue (O’Connell, 2000). Other perspectives of the problem may enable the coachee to overcome the problem.

Letter writing Some solution-focused coaches write to their coachees after each session summarising what was said in the closing feedback. They may also encourage coachees to keep journals or diaries which capture those times when they overcame a problem or made positive changes. This record becomes a memory bank of solutions to be drawn upon in difficult times. Coachees can continue to use solution-focused techniques on themselves by recording answers to scaling and miracle questions.

Which coachees benefit most? Generally, most coachees in solution-focused coaching make progress. It is suitable for children, adults, couples, work teams, groups and older people. Individuals with clinical disorders may benefit from receiving solution-focused therapy or other forms of therapy such as cognitive behaviour therapy instead of coaching. Therapy can work in parallel with coaching if the therapist focuses on the clinical disorder such as anxiety whereas the coach focuses on a life or work-related issue. However, in these circumstances, the coach or coaching psychologist would benefit from having an understanding of clinical disorders. For example, depressed coachees may feel overwhelmed and suicidal by the goals developed in the coaching session. This would be contraindicated and considered iatrogenic. 276

Solution-focused coaching

Where solution-focused coaching does not work the reasons may include: • • • • • • •

poor skills level of the coach inconsistent use of the approach by the coach coachees temporarily unable to tap into their resources coachees looking for a ‘quick fix’ and unwilling to put any effort into achieving the changes desired coachees with such poor levels of self-esteem that they are unable to appreciate their strengths and qualities coachees wanting a deeper understanding of the roots of their problem coachees wanting the coach to be directive and a problem-solver.

If coachees are in the pre-contemplative stage of change (see Prochaska & DiClemente, 1992), then they may not be ready for coaching. This would become apparent during coaching when the coachee is ambivalent towards developing goals and undertaking any in-between session tasks. However, they may change during the first couple of coaching sessions or may benefit from returning to coaching sometime later.

Case study Colin (age 35) was a team leader in a large company. When he came for coaching he presented as a genuine, warm, conscientious and intelligent person. Since his promotion six months previously, he had come to relish his new role – managing, supporting colleagues, troubleshooting, generating new ideas, chairing meetings and contributing to the development of policy. However, one aspect of his new post caused him a great deal of anxiety – his performance at the monthly senior management meeting. He perceived the atmosphere as pushy and competitive and this intimidated him. For most of the time he kept quiet and hoped to avoid being put on the spot. When he did speak he felt that he was ignored. This experience of being marginalised was affecting his confidence. He felt bullied by some of the powerful members of the group and found it hard to stand his ground. He was beginning to see himself as a failure, letting his own team down by representing them ineffectually to management. When he reported to them that he had failed to raise their issues at the meeting, he felt he was losing credibility as a leader. He dreaded the management meeting. He would toss and turn in his sleep the night before (often compounded by being disturbed by his two-year-old child). On meeting mornings he felt sick and panicky on the journey to work. He described himself as, ‘feeling like a nervous wreck’ after these meetings. When Colin came for coaching the coach acknowledged how difficult these management meetings were for him. Instead of asking for more details of his behaviour at the meetings Colin was surprised to be asked about his strengths as a team leader. In relation to his own team Colin felt that he came across as ‘a hard worker, confident, supportive, enthusiastic’. When asked about how friends outside of work would describe him he said, ‘loyal, caring, interested in others’. These opening exchanges began to put Colin’s situation into context. It was only in the particular circumstances of the management meeting he found it difficult to be himself. In fact, he had many personal and social resources. He was able to describe non-work occasions when he showed that he could be assertive – negotiating with the builders doing an extension in his house, for example. When asked if he had ever had to deal with a similar situation to the one he currently faced at work, he remembered a time in another company when he had to challenge a senior member of staff who was making unreasonable demands of him. He had found that very difficult to do and had to ‘psyche himself up’ before doing it. In relation to his resources the coach asked him, ‘Which quality or strength do you have that would be really helpful if you could use it in the management meeting?’ His answer was that he was normally a ‘clear

277

Bill O’Connell and Stephen Palmer

communicator’. This led into a discussion about what he does to make his communications clear. In relation to the meeting he thought that he would be communicating clearly when he •

offered his opinion on a subject early in the meeting



asked a relevant question



presented the team issue



kept ownership of his ideas.

Rather than the coach give him tips on how he could do this, he asked him, ‘Has there been a time in the meetings when you have done any of this?’ The answer was hardly ever, but he did recall one occasion when he backed up a colleague who was under pressure. He had managed to say what he wanted and had kept to this point even when others disagreed. The coach also asked him ‘Is there anything that you are doing in the meeting at the moment that you think it would be helpful to stop doing?’ Colin said he could stop engaging in behaviours which put him in a subordinate position – ‘I could stop sitting out of the Chairperson’s line of vision and stop pouring out the coffee for everyone at the break’. Using the solution-focused intervention known as the miracle question, the coach invited Colin to imagine that something amazing happened when he was asleep one night, a miracle if you like – and this miracle was that he was given the ability to perform well at the next management meeting. As he was asleep at the time he didn’t know this had happened. So when he woke up on the day of the next management meeting, how would he begin to find out that something amazing had happened? In answering this and follow-up questions the following picture emerged: I would be calmer when I woke up as I would have had a better night’s sleep. I’d dress smartly. I would listen to my music on the way to work rather than think about how awful the meeting was going to be. I would have prepared what I was going to say about the team issue. I would remind myself that I am as good as anyone else at the meeting. I’d do some relaxed breathing before going into the meeting. In the meeting I would sit in a position where I can see and be seen. I would say something early on at the meeting – just to make my presence felt. I wouldn’t look so worried, I’d be more relaxed. Colin’s answer to the miracle question led to the development of a plan. He decided to: •

talk to his partner about not having any overnight baby duties the night before the management meeting



make better preparation for the meeting – especially by thinking what he was going to say about the team issue



take his iPod to work with him



change where he sits in the meeting



attempt to say something in the meeting early on, even if only to ask a question.

In the feedback at the end of the session the coach reminded Colin about his repertoire of skills as a team leader. He had proved to management that he was promotion material. He had lots of ideas for improving his performance in the management meeting. The coach expressed his confidence in Colin’s ability to transfer his skills from one context to another. When Colin returned for his second coaching session a fortnight later, the focus was on any changes which might have taken place since last they met. Colin reported that he had still felt anxious in the management meeting he had attended, but that he had succeeded in raising his team’s issue. The coach was curious how Colin had managed to do this. Colin’s view was that he had pushed himself to raise it because he kept thinking how disappointed his team would be if he had to tell them he had again failed to do so. He had also felt better going into the meeting because he had had a good night’s sleep the previous night as the result of

278

Solution-focused coaching

him having an undisturbed night. He had also carried out his plan to listen to music on the way to work and divert his mind from worrying about the day ahead. In developing these solutions further the coach asked Colin a scaling question. Coach:

On a scale of zero to ten, with ten being everything is fine and zero really bad, where do you think you are now with the management meeting?

Colin:

Three.

Coach:

What makes you say three rather than two?

Colin:

I think that I have begun to think about it differently. It’s not a good meeting for me to think creatively in: it’s too competitive. I need to adapt to this and find my own way of handling it.

Coach:

So in your view what do you need to do to keep at three or even move to a four?

Colin:

One thing I am going to do is to speak to my colleague Emma. She feels the same about the meetings as I do but she seems to have found a way of handling it.

Coach:

What else would need to happen for you to get to four?

Colin:

Having seen the team’s reaction when they heard I got a result for them at the management meeting, that will really keep me going forward.

Further discussion led to Colin formulating his plan for the next step that will move him up the scale. There may be setbacks along the way, but the coach will continue to encourage Colin to play to his strengths, to notice times when he achieves what he wants to achieve and to learn from his experiences. Many of the interventions the coach uses are those which he will encourage Colin to use himself: •

to notice times when he does something positive in the meeting and become aware how he did it



to set small goals for himself which are achievable



to use scaling to measure his progress and to identify the next step forward



to train himself to use his resources and imagination to devise solutions which work for him.

Over a period of time Colin became more confident and assertive in the management meetings, and his stock continued to rise as a team leader. Although attending management meetings continued to be the least liked part of his job, he felt that he was doing himself and his team justice.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

Why does it make sense to spend more time focusing on the solution instead of spending time focusing on the problem? Is the miracle question an essential part of solution-focused coaching? Solution-focused coaching and therapy is light on theory. Is this really the case or are some solutionfocused practitioners just unconcerned about the underpinning theories that could inform practice? Is goal-setting a crucial aspect of solution-focused coaching?

Suggested reading Greene, J., & Grant, A. M (2003). Solution-Focused Coaching. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education. Jackson, P. Z., & McKergow, M. (2007). The Solutions Focus: Making Coaching and Change Simple. London: Nicholas Brealey. O’Connell, B., & Palmer, S. (eds.) (2003). Handbook of Solution-Focused Therapy. London: Sage. O’Connell, B., Palmer, S., & Williams, H. (2012). Solution Focused Coaching in Practice. Hove: Routledge.

This chapter is dedicated to Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, the founders of solution-focused therapy. 279

Bill O’Connell and Stephen Palmer

References Berg, I. K., & Miller, S. D. (1992). Working with the Problem Drinker: A Solution Focused Approach. New York: W. W. Norton. Berg, I. K., & Szabo, P. (2005). Brief Coaching for Lasting Solutions. New York: W. W. Norton. Bloor, R., & Pearson, D. (2004). Brief solution-focused organizational redesign: A model for international mental health consultancy. International Journal of Mental Health 33(2): 44–53. Boswell, J. (1791). The life of Samuel Johnson LL,D. London: Charles Dilly. Darmody, M. (2003). A solution-focused approach to sexual trauma. In B. O’Connell and S. Palmer (eds.) Handbook of Solution-Focused Therapy. London: Sage. De Shazer, S. (1988). Clues: Investigating Solutions in Brief Therapy. New York: W. W. Norton. De Shazer, S., Berg, I. K., Lipchik, E., Nunnaly, E., Molnar, A., Gingerich, W., & Weiner-Davis, M. (1986). Brief therapy: Focused solution development. Family Process 25: 207–221. Devlin, M. (2003). A solution-focused model for improving individual university teaching. International Journal for Academic Development 8(1/2): 77–90. Dias, G., Palmer, S., & Nardi, A. E. (2017). Integrating positive psychology and the solution-focused approach with cognitive-behavioural coaching: The integrative cognitive-behavioural coaching model. European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology 1(3): 1–8. George, E., Iveson, C., & Ratner, H. (1999). Problem to Solution: Brief Therapy with Individuals and Families, revised edition. London: BT Press. Grant, A. M. (2003). The impact of life coaching on goal attainment, metacognition and mental health. Social Behavior and Personality 31(3): 253–264. Grant, A. M. (2006a). Solution-focused coaching. In J. Passmore (ed.) Excellence in Coaching: The Industry Guide. London: Kogan Page. Grant, A. M. (2006b). An integrative goal-focused approach to executive coaching. In D. R. Stober & A. M. Grant (eds.) Evidence Based Coaching Handbook: Putting Best Practices to Work for Your Clients. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Green, L. S., Oades, L. G., & Grant, A. M. (2006). Cognitive-behavioural, soloution focused life coaching: Enhancing goal striving, well-being and hope. Journal of Positive Psychology 1(3): 142–149. Greene, J., & Grant, A. M. (2003). Solution-Focused Coaching. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education. Hawkes, D. (2003). A solution-focused approach to ‘psychosis’. In B. O’Connell & S. Palmer (eds.) Handbook of SolutionFocused Therapy. London: Sage. Hoskisson, P. (2003). Solution-focused groupwork. In B. O’Connell & S. Palmer (eds.) Handbook of Solution-Focused Therapy. London: Sage. Hoyt, M. F., & Berg, I. K. (1998). Solution-focused couple therapy: Helping clients construct self-fulfilling realities. In M. F. Hoyt (ed.) The Handbook of Constructive Therapies. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Hultgren, U., Palmer, S., & O’Riordan, S. (2016). Developing and evaluating a virtual coaching programme: A pilot study. The Coaching Psychologist 12(2): 67–75. Jackson, P. Z., & McKergow, M. (2007). The Solutions Focus: Making Coaching and Change Simple. London: Nicholas Brealey. LaFountain, R. M., & Garner, N. E. (1996). Solution-focused counseling groups: The results are in. Journal of Specialists in Group Work 21(2): 128–143. Latham, G. P., & Yukl, G. A. (1975). A review of research on the application of goal-setting theory in organisations. Academy of Management Journal 18(4): 824–845. Lethem, J. (1994). Moved to Tears, Moved to Action: Solution Focused Brief Therapy with Women and Children. London: BT Press. Locke, E. A. (1996). Motivation through conscious goal setting. Applied and Preventive Psychology 5(2): 117–124. Meier, D. (2005). Team Coaching with the Solution Circle: A Practical Guide to Solutions Focused Team Development. Cheltenham: Solutions Books. Norman, H. (2003). Solution-focused reflecting teams. In B. O’Connell & S. Palmer (eds.) Handbook of Solution-Focused Therapy. London: Sage. O’Connell, B. (1998). Solution-Focused Therapy. London: Sage. O’Connell, B. (2000). Solution Focused Therapy. In S. Palmer (ed.) Introduction to Counselling and Psychotherapy: The Essential Guide. London: Sage. O’Connell, B. (2001). Solution-Focused Stress Counselling. London: Continuum. O’Connell, B. (2003). Introduction to the solution-focused approach. In B. O’Connell & S. Palmer (eds.) Handbook of Solution-Focused Therapy. London: Sage. O’Connell, B., & Palmer, S. (eds.) (2003). Handbook of Solution-Focused Therapy. London: Sage. O’Connell, B., Palmer, S., & Williams, H. (2012). Solution Focused Coaching in Practice. Hove: Routledge.

280

Solution-focused coaching

Palmer, S. (2008). The PRACTICE model of coaching: Towards a solution-focused approach. Coaching Psychology International 1(1): 4–8. Palmer, S. (2011). Revisiting the P in the PRACTICE coaching model. The Coaching Psychologist 7(2): 156–158. Palmer, S., Grant, A., & O’Connell, B. (2007). Solution-focused coaching: Lost and found. Coaching at Work 2(4): 22–29. Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1992). Stages of Change in the Modification of Problem Behaviors. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Rawsthorne, L. J., & Elliot, A. J. (1999) Achievement goals and intrinsic motivations: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review 3(4): 326–344. Russell, B. (1996). History of Western Philosophy and Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. London: Routledge. Scoular, A., & Linley, P. A. (2006). Coaching, goal-setting and personality: What matters? The Coaching Psychologist 2(1): 9–11. Selekman, M. D. (1997). Solution-Focused Therapy with Children. London: Guilford Press. Sharry, J. (2003). Solution-focused parent training. In B. O’Connell & S. Palmer (eds.) Handbook of Solution-Focused Therapy. London: Sage. Triantafillou, N. (1997). A solution-focused approach to mental health supervision. Journal of Systemic Therapies 16(4): 305–328. Williams, H., Palmer, S., & O’Connell, B. (2011). Introducing SOLUTION and FOCUS: Two solution-focused coaching models. Coaching Psychology International 4(1): 6–9.

281

22 Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching Bruce Grimley

Introduction NLP is a model which emerges from the humanistic psychology era and in an eclectic way makes use of both behaviourist and cognitive techniques. The core activity of NLP is not coaching but modelling, and some NLP practitioners have modelled people they regard to be very good at what they do, consequently developing coaching models with associated techniques. Such current examples would be Meta coaching (Hall & Duval, 2004) 7 C’s (Grimley, 2013) Provocative coaching (Hollander, 2013; Kemp, 2011) or Clean coaching (Tompkins & Lawley, 2006) Other NLP practitioners have used their research skills to design models which can be used for coaching such as Social panoramas (Derks, 2005) Core transformation (Andreas, 1994) or Resolve (Bolstad, 2002). What makes all of these approaches specifically NLP approaches is that all authors work from the presuppositions of NLP and within their coaching models make use of many of the patterns which have been developed from NLP modelling projects.

Development of NLP and coaching NLP was started by two people, Dr John Grinder and Richard Bandler, who modelled the therapeutic patterns of Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir and Milton Erickson. For a long time NLP coaches have taken the position that NLP is atheoretical. Such a position is summarised in the following comment: We call ourselves modelers. What we essentially do is to pay very little attention to what people say they do and a great deal of attention to what they do. And then we build ourselves a model of what they do. We are not psychologists and we’re also not theologians or theoreticians. We have no idea about the “real” nature of things and we are not particularly interested in what’s “true”. (Bandler & Grinder, 1979) For NLP the theory is derived from the NLP presuppositions. These mainly come from the work of Dr Milton Erickson (Linden, 2014) and systems theory (Tosey & Mathison, 2009). The basic error a

282

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching

human makes is that of logical typing when they mistake the map which is their experience of the world for the territory which is the objective world. As Gregory Bateson nicely summarises for us: Human beings have a commitment to the solutions which they discover, and it is this psychological commitment which makes it possible for them to be hurt in the way members of a schizophrenic family are hurt. (Bateson, 1972, p. 242) This commitment operationalises the cognitive dissonance paradigm (Festinger, 1957), and the resultant drive for internal consistency across the many levels of internal processing leads to the coachee experiencing an “is” reality rather than a reality which is much more dynamic, complex and fluid. When the coachee perceives the world in the latter way, it is much easier to create the choices they need to arrive at their goal. However, coachees arrive at the NLP coaches’ door because they are experiencing the world in a static way, and their “is” reality produces a stuck state from which they cannot move out of or away from. Theoretically, NLP coaching is all about co-creating choices for your coachee – One could almost say attachment to choice and flexibility rather than fixed, emotionally laden maps of the world which are unconsciously mistaken for the territory.

Theory and basic concepts Some of the basic concepts behind NLP theory are shared below.

Humans construct their phenomenological world and are responsible for it Probably the most well-known NLP presupposition comes from Korzybski: the map is not the territory. A fuller representation is: A map is not the territory it represents but if correct it has a similar structure to the territory which accounts for its usefulness. (Korzybski, 1994, p. 58) A fundamental barrier which prevents a coachee moving forward is this error of logical typing as mentioned above. This mindset is the equivalent of going into a restaurant and eating the menu card, thinking that you are actually eating your meal. Conceptually, the NLP coach needs to understand that when they work with their coachee they are not working with real events but manufactured events. These events indeed may have been fostered upon the individual when they were young and maybe not so resourceful. However, now that they are older and more resourceful, it is important they take personal responsibility for the phenomenological sensory representations which bring about their thinking and feeling, their language and behaviour and their relationships with others and recognise these can easily and quickly change.

Humans are systemic social beings at an individual level and collective level At an individual level humans are systemically constructed, and at each of the levels in that system individuals create personal models through the modelling variables of deletion, distortion and generalisation. The synaptic pruning that helps sculpt the adolescent brain into its adult form is regarded in NLP as a function of these variables in action and an operationalization of the Hebb rule which is often nicely summarised by the behaviourist mantra “Neurons wire together if they fire together” (Löwel & Singer, 1992, p. 211). As a result of early experience, not only do we systematically delete, distort and then generalise to create meaning

283

Bruce Grimley

at the sensory level, known in NLP as FA (first access) or F1, but then through natural language we code this experience and the meanings we generate. At this secondary level we also delete, distort and generalise, however this linguistic level is of a different logical type and is known as F2 in NLP. This linguistic coding as shown experimentally by Carmichael et al. (1932) supports the weaker version of the Sapir Whorph theory in that our phenomenological experience is directly related to the way we linguistically code our first access to the world through sensory experience. If the first error our coachee generally makes is to mistake the map for the territory, the second error is they confuse logical levels. As Argyris (1957, 1964) noted, people say one thing (F2) and then do something different (FA or F1). Often this contradiction is unconscious and a blind spot to the coachee representing internal systemic conflict. Bateson in developing his double bind theory of schizophrenia gives an example. A mother may say linguistically to her child, “Go to bed, you are very tired and I want you to get your sleep”. This overtly loving communication, however, could be tonally marked out to communicate, “Get out of my sight because I am sick of you” (Bateson, 1972, p. 214). Even though the child may note the internal conflict and contradiction in her mother, for the mother it is a blind spot. Additionally, as a child she is prohibited from commenting on this contradiction and also as a child she cannot leave the system, so eventually she learns not to make the astute distinctions between contradictions at the differing levels, not just in other people, but herself as well. This internal contradiction has consequences in the wider social and professional world. NLP believes we need to address each aspect of the coachee’s map in terms of other parts. In this way we can ensure any changes made to one part, let us say language, are supported systemically by other parts, say internal feelings, pictures or words. When the individual coachee is not systemically aligned they present themselves in either their personal or professional lives in an incongruent way and lack ecology. The responses from other people to this lack of ecology will not accord with the coachee’s well-formed outcome. As this contradiction is unconscious, the coachee is often at a loss concerning what to do, and NLP coaching can assist sort out how they are confusing the different levels of information processing internally. The systemic nature of NLP actually turns cognitive behavioural coaching on its head; the leverage in NLP coaching is regarded as being through scope at the sensory level rather than the category of conscious and preconscious thinking. This is explicated by Griffin, an NLP trainer in the mid 1990s, and Tyrell (Griffin & Tyrrell, 2000). In Figure 22.1, one can see in the APET model, which effectively expresses NLP thinking, our experience emerges first through our sensory experience (pattern matching at F1) and our first conscious response to this patterning is our emotional response. It is only AFTER our emotional response do we then begin to formulate conscious understandings resulting in categorisation through linguistic maps. It is believed by NLP coaches that it is working at this level of sensory pattern matching directly that accounts for the experience of obtaining quicker results compared with those who tend to work at the level of F2.

Humans are goal oriented The third mistake our coachee will often make is generating outcomes which are not well formed. In linguistics a sentence is ill formed when it does not fully represent the deep structure. The surface structure lacks crucial information needed to make full sense to the listener. In the same way, in NLP coaching a

APET

Activating trigger

• Pattern matching (F1)

Belief (thinking F2)

• Emotional arousal

Consequence (behavioural and emotional)

• Thinking (belief) (F2)

Figure 22.1 APET model Source: (Griffin & Tyrrell, 2000).

284

ABC

• Activating trigger

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching

Test

Exit (congruity)

(incongruity)

Operate Figure 22.2

TOTE

Source: Miller et al. (1960).

coachee can be under the illusion they have a well-formed outcome, however, crucial pieces are in fact missing. To be well formed in NLP the goal must be stated in the positive, owned by the coachee, motivating and preserve what is currently important. The goal must also be ecological (no part of the coachee objects,) sensory based and within a time frame. When this has been achieved many NLP coaches make use of the TOTE paradigm of Miller et al. (1960, Figure 22.2) and work with the coachee to understand specifically if certain internal or external operations take them closer (congruity) or further away (incongruity) from their outcome. Developing flexibility of perception, thought and behaviour at the level of operation is the outcome of using TOTE so as to render the coachee independent of the coach and capable of making the necessary adjustments to their experience in the future as required in differing contexts.

Practice Goals of the approach The goal of the NLP coach is to provide the coachee with greater choice in their lives. This is achieved through development of an appreciation that because they construct their maps of the world they can, through the coaching process, also reconstruct their maps in such a way that they find themselves in the same problem context but with an array of choices now available to them. Effectively, they have become freed up and are able to work autonomously in processing information, automatically responding in such a way that achievement of their well-formed outcome (WFO) is only a matter of time. Often this process is regarded as somewhat magical because the NLP coach will have been working at both levels of information processing simultaneously and, as a consequence of changes at the level of FA, the coachee emerges with new perceptual processes that no long experience a problem in the hitherto “problem context”. Currently most NLP patterning is a function of: 1 2 3 4 5

The Meta Model, designed to verbally challenge the mapping between first access to the outside world through our senses (F1) and our linguistically mediated mental maps (F2). Operations defined over sensory systems and their sub-modalities. Reframing patterns, where sensations are placed in a different cognitive structure. Anchoring, where differentiated sensory experiences are brought together for purposes of integration. The Milton Model, where representations at F1 are shifted using linguistic patterning without the need to map those representations into the client’s conscious understanding. 285

Bruce Grimley

Rapport with self NLP coaches will agree that being in a resourceful state to coach is one of the fundamental starting points, and this is formally recognised in the RESOLVE model of Bolstad with the R standing for “Resourceful state for the practitioner”. In NLP the appropriate relationship with self is to be critically focused on what the coachee says and how they say it when talking about the outcomes they would like to achieve. Inevitably transference will be present in the coaching relationship, however, as soon as the NLP coach buys into the transference they blur the map/territory distinction and confuse logical levels. At such times the coaches’ focus is no longer specifically directed to that which is being offered by the coachee; it becomes contaminated with an internal focus examining the nature of the counter-transference. It is therefore important that the NLP coach has access to a supervisor so they can work through any positive or negative counter-transference issues which prevent them from attending externally to what is being offered by the coachee. There are two specific states which are really useful for the NLP coach to be able to enter in and out of at will to facilitate the coaching process. The first is the know nothing state. Of course, even the unconscious mind has categories. As Antonio Damasio says, “We are languaged creatures” (Damasio, 2014). However, what the know nothing state refers to is the attempt to suspend, as much as possible, our own internal meaning making processes, attending only to the sensory distinctions we see and hear. The utility of this is that it assists us to engage in the second state, which is a modelling state, to model more effectively how the coachee is representing their experience and thus appreciate how specifically they could be obstructing themselves from achieving their well-formed outcome. This modelling state is especially useful for developing rapport.

Rapport Rapport tells your client you understand their map of the world at a very deep level; only when they believe this will they give you “permission” to lead them to their outcome. Rapport is obtained in a number of ways.

Representational system For the NLP coach the coachee acts indirectly on the world through their representational systems. We represent the world to ourselves first through our five senses. Dogs for instance have a great sense of smell, a hawk has a great visual sense and bats use their auditory system to see. As humans we use all of our five senses, with perhaps a preference for one over another in certain contexts. The client provides clues to their preference, and in order to obtain rapport we need to match that preference in our communication. If the coachee talks quickly, looks upwards, breathes from the upper part of their chest, stands erect, wears bright colours, tells you the future often looks bright, gesticulates a lot, the chances are the representational system preferred is visual. One will need to communicate using primarily visual predicates. It is important to provide the client with tasks which are visual in nature, such as noticing how people look when they talk confidently and drawing pictures of what they notice. There are similar clues for the other representational systems, but it is important the NLP coach notices what these are and uses them in communicating back to the coachee.

Language A coachee’s words represent their feelings and thoughts. It is important when feeding back to the client (back tracking in NLP talk), that one uses the client’s exact words to do this. Paraphrasing may get close, however the key point with paraphrasing is you are using your reality to interpret the client’s reality. To gain rapport at an unconscious level your coachee needs to understand you understand totally what their reality is. Clean Language, which is a model based upon the modelling of David Grove, is an effective way of communicating to a coachee with minimal imposition, (Lawley & Tompkins, 2000).

286

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching

Body language Another presupposition of NLP is that the mind and body are part of one system. You think something and as a result there is some movement in the body. An important way of gaining rapport is not only matching your client’s body movements, but also being congruent so your body movements also match your own language. When you watch a video of people who are in rapport, you find one person will engage in a piece of body language, say crossing their legs, and a few seconds later the other will do the same. Sometimes there may be what NLP calls crossover matching – the other may fold their arms rather than cross their legs – however, the principle remains the same. This needs to be done in a congruent and subtle way; if it is not, then it has the reverse effect and your coachee will find ways of disengaging.

Meta programmes Meta Programmes are unconscious ways in which we use the modelling principles of deletion, distortion and generalisation. They are like templates for organising our lives. Often the term Meta Programme is used interchangeably with personality. You might know someone who is very good with detail and crosses every t and dots every i, working slowly and methodically as they do (small chunk rather than big chunk). You might know someone who is never motivated and slouches around all the time . . . until external pressure is exerted and then they become the most motivated person in the world (reactive rather than proactive). For a final example you might know someone who can exist only if they have a plan – they are really good timekeepers and enjoy organising not only themselves but others as well (procedure rather than options). To obtain rapport the NLP coach will notice which patterns the coachee characteristically adopts and will use these patterns in communicating.

Goal setting In NLP goal setting is referred to as having a well-formed outcome (WFO) to highlight the fact many people can have ill-formed outcomes and this is a key reason they are not successful in delivering to themselves that which they promise. In terms of the RESOLVE model, the S stands for Specify Outcome, with E standing for Establish rapport. In the 7 C’s model it is recognised that any outcome has to occur within a context, and questions to establish the context are asked. The Meta Model (What? When? Where? Who? and How?), which in an attempt to reconnect surface structures of the coachee’s sentences to their deeper structure of reference experience, is very useful in assisting the coachee clarify precisely what they want. In the 7 C’s model the acronym SMACTEPPOMF acts as a tick list to remind the NLP coach of the characteristics of a WFO: Specific: Measurable: Achievable: Chunk Size:

Is it sensory based? If there is no formal way of measuring, can an informal calibration be achieved? Can another human do this, and is it realistic for the coachee to do it? Is the outcome at the appropriate chunk? Changing the world would need to be chunked down, clipping toenails might need to be chunked up. Time frame: What is the Time frame for accomplishment? Ecology: Does any part of the coachee disagree with this outcome? Positive: Is the outcome stated in the positive? Preserve: Does the new outcome preserve all which is currently valued? Ownership: Does the coachee have ownership of the outcome? Motivation: Does the coachee have the energy to be resilient and forward moving till the end? Future Pace: Can the coachee congruently future pace successful achievement of their outcome?

287

Bruce Grimley

Systemic dynamic Very often, and paradoxically, during the dance between NLP coach and coachee as they establish rapport and develop the WFO the coachee finds that the goal setting part of coaching actually comes at the end of coaching. This is because with minimum imposition from the NLP coach, the coachee’s map of the world has been fed back and through use of the many NLP patterns it has become structurally modified. The coachee through the coaching relationship needs to understand ultimately they shoulder responsibility; it is their map and they are responsible for making the required alterations. The NLP coach can build rapport and use their skills to support and explicate the structure of the coachee’s subjective experience; however, it is the coachee who needs to determine what they want and how they are going to achieve this.

Which coachees benefit most? NLP coaching suits those who like a dynamic and fluid approach to coaching. If the coachee has a need for a content-oriented approach where specific techniques have been shown to work for a certain population generally through randomised controlled trials (RCT), then NLP will not satisfy those requirements. The NLP approach will adapt each coaching intervention to the individual coachee. This sentiment is summarised with reference to the Milton Model, one of the NLP models used in NLP coaching. The often quoted observation of Erickson regarding this made use of the kidnapper Procrustes who would cut his tall victims or stretch his short victims to fit an iron bed upon which he kept them. Bachirova (2012), quoting Williams (2010), emphasises just one of the many challenges in providing the kind of so-called gold standard evidence RCT’s provide: To account for heterogeneity among participants RCTs must be quite large to achieve statistical significance. What researchers end up with is the central tendencies of a very large number of people a measure that’s not going to be representative of much of anybody if you look at them as individuals. The real nub of the problem is whether or not evidencing dynamic approaches to change in the academic literature is something a prospective coachee should care about. NLP generally speaking does not, however Briner discussing this issue is unequivocal: So, does coaching work or is it dodgy? I don’t think we yet have a clear answer to that question. But I do know what’s really dodgy. And that’s not to care. (Briner, 2012, p. 11) NLP coaching is also suitable for coachees who are happy to accept a coaching contract which will allow the coach to work formally at a subliminal level. This will mean as the dynamic relationship evolves the coach has permission to use language or behaviour in a spontaneous way with the intention of shifting internal and unconscious patterns without making such a move explicit. Coachees who are not prepared to entertain such a dynamic should not work with an NLP coach.

Case study John, an experienced full-time teacher, was referred to me by a school for six anger management coaching sessions. Maxwell (2009) makes a distinction between the coaching of business/executive coaches who also have training in psychology and counselling and those who do not and in her IPA study (interpretative

288

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching

phenomenological analysis) demonstrated a tendency for the coaches with psychological and counselling training to work more at the boundary. See Figures 22.1 and 22.2. This intervention initially started off as a traditional “rational” coaching intervention, however, it became one which worked very much at the boundary. Rapport was quickly developed and John spoke about some of the relationship difficulties that can arise within the challenging role of assistant head of department. He also spoke about the demanding nature of

Coach willingness/ability

High

3. Forced exploration

2. Deep exploration

1. Avoided exploration

4. Frustrated exploration

Low

High Client willingness/ability

Figure 22.3 The co-created boundary Source: Maxwell (2009).

Rational Working

Separation

Dipping in

Straddling

Business Coaches

1

2

3

4

Therapist Coaches

5

6

7

8

Figure 22.4 Characteristic ways of working Source: Maxwell (2009).

289

Bruce Grimley

the role of a teacher, which necessitates long hours and a flexible approach in dealing with different colleagues/students. John mentioned he did Pilates each morning and I asked on a scale from 1 to 10 how angry he was when he did that and he said he was not angry at all. I asked how his state changed and what caused that state to change after his morning Pilates. He spoke in terms of anticipatory anxiety concerning work. We explored how optimal performance is a function of mind and body working together in such a way that breathing, physiology, emotional state and performance is relaxed and effortless. I used the frame of sports to suggest that when an athlete performs a personal best, often their description of the experience is that of being very relaxed. As I continued to model John, I noticed he had the consistent pattern of using the word “try”. I asked him to model himself as he provided a sentence with the word “try” in it. He reported back high levels of anxiety. I then took him to another place in the room and asked him to “shake out” the anxious state and reframe the sentence with the word “will”. When doing this he said he felt much more in control and confident of being able to do what he said he would. In the initial sessions I used an online Meta Programme questionnaire which works from a situational personality perspective and also an online stress questionnaire, both developed by myself (Grimley, 2010). We used these instruments to model who John was at present and who John would be when he was functioning in a relaxed way that did not resort to anger in the workplace. After the second session John was able to go back to work and we began to develop strategies for anchoring positive emotional states within the workplace. One particular person, Angela, caused specific problems for John, and he often used to get very angry with her as she seemed to resist every performance management effort of his. As he began to describe one occasion he actually laughed. I asked him to hold that state and touched him on the shoulder, reinforcing the instruction to hold that state and then invited him to “go inside” and discover how he generates that laughter. John recognised that he was laughing at was how ridiculous the whole situation was. He was being put into a double bind where if he managed someone’s performance he was blamed by senior management for being too harsh and then when he managed performance with a lighter touch he was being accused of not doing his job effectively. Looking at John’s Meta Programme profile, we discovered he was externally referenced and noticed that the model we had created of the ideal John who was relaxed in the workplace was actually more internally referenced. We renamed Angela “laughing Angela” and used this as an auditory anchor to trigger a more internally referenced John. As we future paced this scenario, John experienced no need to get angry when Angela “played her games”. He just followed procedure and put the emphasis on reaching agreement with Angela to improve performance, putting measures in place against which to benchmark. By the end of the scheduled six sessions I sensed we had worked technically quite well. Even though I was satisfied coaching had gone well, I was concerned that there was still an underlying pattern which we had not uncovered and which was responsible for what John called “wobbling”. I wrote a report for the school and they asked me to address the underlying concerns which were outstanding, offering John a further six sessions. During the first of these sessions I matched and paced the work we had already done, however, I pressed more urgently for a congruent answer as to what really made John angry. John expressed an anger at the unrealistic expectations being put upon him and spoke about hostile feelings. He even fantasised about attacking the children or staff; he referred to this as his bastard state. I was curious and so pressed even further, being slightly provocative now on the basis that during the first six sessions John was more confident in his ability to anchor resourceful states. I suggested he was possibly just seeking attention at which he looked straight at me, breaking out into a sweat very quickly and trembling. Calibrating the intense anger I asked, “What is going on for you right now?” John replied, “I am incredibly angry”. I asked, “At whom?”

290

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching

Table 22.1 Clinical scores at session 6 and also at session 12 Psychometric

Date A 2014

Designation

Range of Designation

BAI BHS BDI-ll

27 4 33

Severe anxiety Mild hopelessness Severe depression

26–63 4–8 29–63

Psychometric

Date A 2014 + 6 weeks

Designation

Range of Designation

BAI BHS

4 2

0–7 0–3

BDI-ll

0

Minimal anxiety Minimal hopelessness Minimal depression

0–13

“YOU”, he said. I replied, “Great, finally we know what we are working with”. I made light of the situation and asked John if he felt sufficiently OK to put his “bastard state” back into its box and only bring it out at our next session. He said “yes” in exhausted tones. Having worked also as a registered psychotherapist for 20 years, I recognised what I had suspected from the start: that there was an element of clinical symptomatology present which needed addressing. In the initial bio I had discovered there was a history of depression in the family and in discovering the underlying anxiety thought it appropriate to test more objectively and administered the Becks Depression, Anxiety and Hopelessness inventories. The pre- and post-intervention scores are in Table 22.1. On the eighth session I regarded it as appropriate to use an NLP pattern called “change personal history”. We established a time line – present, future and past – and after anchoring a positive emotional state I asked John to step on to his time line and access his bastard state. This bastard state acted as a kinaesthetic anchor as we travelled down the time line allowing the unconscious mind to indicate whenever it had become salient in John’s life. On each of these occasions I would invite John to explore the bastard state, what it was attempting to achieve and then, in stepping off the time line, invite him again to see himself and others at that point in time and create alternative behaviours which achieved the intention of the bastard state but in ways that were productive and ecological for all. In order to complete this process a double session was needed. We eventually arrived at the incident where John’s anger came from. He spoke about “flying” across the playground in primary school and grabbing a pupil by the throat when he had told another young pupil – a young girl, “your mother deserves to die she was a bitch”. The mother had died in a car crash and the little girl was in the car at the time. By the time we had arrived at age 7 John was amazed because he thought he would be incredibly angry. However, possibly as a function of all the previous reframing over “30 years” along the time line, there was no need to make use of such an embodied strategy now. John found himself simply wanting to run over and hug the pupil, who had made the remark, as all he was doing in saying such nasty things was grieving in his own way and he needed a hug more than anything else. There were many tears at this point. The rest of the sessions were essentially wrap up and an integration of all the work done over the 12 sessions. Stress scores went from 4.2 down to 1.9 (mean 3.8 sd=1.16). Personality profile showed that John was now not only much more internally referenced but also had a greater ability to work in a structured way and was now much more oriented to working towards his own goals. A final report was written up for the school and a follow up telephone call at three months indicated no more absences from school and a maintenance of all gains made during coaching in moving forward.

291

Bruce Grimley

Discussion points 1

2

3 4

NLP is known for its rapid resolution of symptoms, allowing clients greater choice sooner rather than later. Why do you think, despite being aware of possible clinical symptomatology from the outset, the author took so long to broach the real index event which resulted in the successful coaching intervention above? Maxwell (2009, p. 160) concludes, “the personal and the professional are deeply intertwined in the coaching conversation and attempts to compartmentalise these by either coach or client are unrealistic . . . working with psychological blocks is not necessarily problematic if coaches operate within their competence and remit, however gives rise to serious ethical, moral and potentially legal questions otherwise”. How would you as a coach determine if you were operating within the scope of your competence? What do you think the questions Maxwell refers to are? NLP does not seem to care about published empirical evidence. Having read this chapter, is that a problem? Whether your answer is yes or no, discuss your reasons. Costa and McCrae (1994, p. 22) tell us, “personality traits are indeed unchanging, we leave to other authors the question of whether they are unchangeable” To what extent is coaching like the salmon’s journey, swimming against the current to generate new life?

Further reading Bandler, R., & Grinder, J. (1979). Frogs into princes: Neuro linguistic programming. Moab, UT: Real People Press. DeLozier, J., & Grinder, J. (1987). Turtles all the way down. Scotts Valley, CA: Grinder ,Associates. Dilts, R., & DeLozier, J. (2000). Encyclopedia of systemic neuro-linguistic programming and NLP new coding. Scotts Valley, CA: NLP University Press. Dilts, R., Grinder, J., Bandler, R., & DeLozier, J. (1980). Neuro-linguistic programming,Volume 1: The study of the structure of subjective experience. Capitola, CA: Meta Publications.

References Andreas, C. (1994). Core transformation: Reaching the wellspring within. Boulder, CO: Real People Press. Argyris, C. (1957). Personality and organization. New York. Harper and Row. Argyris, C. (1964). Integrating the individual and the organization. New York: Harper and Row. Bachirova, T. (2012). Nature of evidence, quality of research and self-deception in coaching and coaching psychology. Retrieved on 27th October 2014 from: www.bps.org.uk/system/files/documents/sgcpconference__keynote_bachkirova_2012.pdf Bandler, R., & Grinder, J. (1979). Frogs into princes: Neuro linguistic programming. Moab, UT: Real People Press. Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. Bolstad, R. (2002). Resolve: A new model of therapy. Carmarthen: Crown House. Briner, R. (2012, November). Does coaching work and does anyone really care? OP Matters. British Psychological Society, 16, 4–11. Carmichael, L., Hogan, P., & Walter, A. (1932). An experimental study of the effect of language on the reproduction of visually perceived forms. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 15, 73–86. Costa, P.T., & McCrae, R.R. (1994). Set like plaster? Evidence for the stability of adult personality. In Heatherton, T.F. & Weingberger, J.L. (Eds.) Can personality change? Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Damasio, A. (2014). FIAP 2014 self comes to mind: A dialogue with Antonio Damasio. Retrieved on 28th October 2014 from: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LD13O7dkHc Derks, J. (2005). Social panoramas: Changing the unconscious landscape with NLP and psychotherapy. Carmarthen: Crown House Publishing. Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. New York: Harper and Row. Griffin, J., & Tyrrell, I. (2000). The APET model: Patterns in the brain. Chalvington, East Sussex: HG Publishing for the European Therapy Studies Institute. Grimley, B. (2010). Alter Ego. Retrieved on 12th March 2016 from: www.achieving-lives.co.uk/free-profiler-instructions/ and Stress questionnaire. Retrieved on 12th March 2016 from www.achieving-lives.co.uk/questionnaires/stress-test/7 Grimley, B. (2013). The theory and practice of NLP coaching: A psychological approach. London: Sage Publishing. Hall, M., & Duval, M. (2004). Meta-coaching volume 1 coaching change: For higher levels of success and transformation. Clifton, CO: Neuro Semantics publications.

292

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching

Hollander, J. (2013). Provocative coaching: Making things better by making them worse. Carmarthen: Crown House Publishing. Kemp, N. (2011). Provocative change works. Improvisation and humour in therapy and coaching. In M. Hall, & S. R. Charvet (Eds.) Innovations in NLP for Challenging times. Carmarthen: Crown House Publishing. Korzybski, A. (1994). Science and sanity: An introduction to non-Aristotelian systems and general semantics (5th edn.). New York: Institute of General Semantics. Lawley, J., & Tompkins, P. (2000). Metaphors in mind. Transformation through symbolic modelling. London. The Developing Company Press. Linden, A. (2014). A message from Anné to you. Retrieved on 7th August 2014 from www.youtube.com/watch?v= 1zX1T0RsCAQ Dutch Association for NLP Löwel, S., & Singer, W. (1992). Selection of Intrinsic Horizontal Connections in the Visual Cortex by Correlated Neuronal Activity. Science, January 10, 1992. pp. 209–212. United States: American Association for the Advancement of Science. Maxwell, A. (2009). How do business coaches experience the boundary between coaching and therapy/counselling? In Coaching: An international journal of theory, research and practice, Vol 2 Issue 2 pp149–162. New York: Taylor & Francis Group. Miller, G.A., Galanter, E., & Pribram, K.H. (1960). Plans and the structure of behaviour. New York: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston. Tompkins, P., & Lawley, J. (2006). Coaching with metaphor. In The cutting edge coaching techniques handbook. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Tosey, P., & Mathison, J. (2009). Neuro-linguistic programming: A critical appreciation for managers and developers. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Williams, B.A. (2010). Perils of evidence-based medicine. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 53, 1, 106–120.

293

Section 6

Systemic approaches

23 Transactional Analysis approaches to coaching Sandra Wilson

Introduction Transactional Analysis, or TA as it is more commonly known, is both a theory of personality and a system for the improvement of personal and social functioning within the humanistic tradition. TA was developed by Dr Eric Berne in the 1960s as a psychotherapeutic approach and has continued to develop since that time. Transactional Analysis provides a learning and development route to internationally recognised qualifications in four fields of practice: organisational; educational; counselling and psychotherapy. Transactional Analysis provides a systematic approach to understanding the links between human needs and behaviours and the ways that organisations and those within them are effective or ineffective in establishing relationships, solving problems and serving their clients and stakeholders. TA is a robust psychological framework for developing individuals, teams and whole organisations. TA offers a set of integrated theories that enrich coaching practice without getting in the way of the immediacy of the coaching process. The theories of TA can be used to help the coach understand their own attitudes and reframe their identity. The accessible TA models support the coach’s work with clients to promote growth, development and change.

Development of Transactional Analysis Transactional Analysis has its roots in the psychodynamic approach. Berne’s theory was rooted in his clinical experience, and his own training as a psychoanalyst had a strong influence on his thinking (Stewart 1992). Widdowson (2010) writes eloquently on Transactional Analysis as an integrative model, incorporating the best from humanistic, existential, cognitive behavioural and psychodynamic therapies. Berne drew upon many philosophical views both modern and ancient, and there are three streams of philosophy which seem to have had most influence on his thoughts and his practice. These were empiricism, phenomenology and existentialism (Stewart 2007). A number of schools of TA have developed since the early work of Berne; of most significance to the coaching profession is the Developmental School (Hay 1995). Developmental TA is concerned with applying TA to the process of change and growth at the personal, professional, group and organisational levels. It is the term now in use to refer to the non-therapy fields of application of TA, combining the organisational, educational and (non-therapeutic) counselling/coaching specialisms. These specialisms have much in common. They focus on using TA in a way that involves sharing (teaching) the models and concepts with 297

Sandra Wilson

clients and working with (facilitating) them to increase their self-understanding and hence their behavioural options. Clients are also helped to understand the structures and processes that operate within groups, teams, families, organisations and institutions. The use of TA in coaching has grown in the last decade, and although a number of training institutes offer coaching programmes, these tend to be more concerned with the application of TA in coaching rather than the development of the professional coach. The international TA accrediting bodies do not specify coaching as a “field of qualification in its own right”, thus the TA coaching psychologist is likely to have trained in a specific field of TA generally, but not solely, connected to the developmental fields. A number of Transactional Analysts offer coaching as part of their professional portfolio but no one person has emerged as the driving force behind the application of TA in the field of coaching. The application of Transactional Analysis in coaching supports the coach to enable the coachee to: • • • •

Achieve his/her potential Focus on personal freedom, choice and responsibility to support living in an authentic way Identify and change negative limiting beliefs, core beliefs and implicit assumptions Resolve unconscious conflicts that limit individual effectiveness.

The TA coaching psychologist works with the coachee to help them better understand themselves and, as a consequence, make different choices about their way of being in the world.

Theory and basic concepts TA philosophy TA is a set of interlocking theories, with accompanying techniques, and which rests on a number of philosophical assumptions. (International Transactional Analysis Association www.itaaworld.org)

The theories, whilst interconnected, can be used as simple stand-alone models to support coachee development. Examples of how to work with two of the models will be given in the case study part of this text.

The philosophical bases for TA include Stewart & Joines (2010) • • •

All people are OK as human beings Everyone has the capacity to think People decide their own destiny, and these decisions can be changed

From these assumptions there follows two basic principles of TA practice: • •

It is a contractual method It involves open communication.

A TA coaching psychologist meets and accepts each individual as they are with a belief that both come to the relationship with positive intent and each is doing the very best they can in the circumstances they find themselves in and with the resources available to them. The TA coaching psychologist considers clients to be whole, healthy and fully functioning. The philosophical bases and accompanying assumptions inform the way the TA coaching psychologist works with clients. 298

Transactional analysis approaches to coaching

Contracting and open communication Berne’s principle of contractual method remains a distinguishing feature of TA practice. Berne (1966) defined a contract as an “explicit bilateral commitment to a well-defined course of action” (p362). For Berne, the effective practitioner needs to work within the terms of explicit contracts negotiated with all parties concerned. The philosophy of TA emphasises that respect and empathic acceptance are essential. Its practice is based on a contract between the practitioner and the client in which they take equal responsibility towards common goals. The method and concepts are made open to the coachee on the understanding that power is shared. The principle that arises from this is that TA is practised as part of a contractual arrangement; in other words, coachees are expected to use the theory to understand themselves better and to work in partnership with the transactional analyst towards a mutually agreed outcome. Contracting is the foundation on which the coaching relationship is built, and examples of how the TA coaching psychologist uses contracting are given in the practice section of this text and in the case study.

The power of the unconscious mind – getting in our own way Berne (1972) said “We are born princes and the civilising process makes us frogs” (p45). Thus the child is born free from beliefs, behaviours and attitudes and it is the process of experiencing and interpreting the world around them that develops their unique way of seeing and interacting with the world. The TA coaching psychologist may start with the proposition that we have an ‘inner world’ which has a powerful influence on how we think, feel and behave (Howard 2006). Our ‘inner world’ contains experiences, feelings, memories, beliefs and fantasies. It is partly conscious but largely unconscious, and it dictates how we engage with the ‘outer world’. In essence this is the foundation on which our personality is structured and how we function in interactions with others. The TA perspective, like other psychodynamic approaches, rests on an underlying belief that the unconscious is dynamic and, therefore, purposeful. Consequently, it is a source of motivation for our behaviour, feelings and fantasies rather than just something we are unaware of. It is often unconscious memories, beliefs, feelings and fantasies that have the most profound effect on the way we experience the world around us (Berne 1972). The TA coaching psychologist may, therefore, work with the concept that our actions and conscious beliefs are largely driven by our attempts to make our experience of the world fit our own unique frame of reference. The TA coaching psychologist helps people get out of their own way. This is achieved by exploring client’s beliefs, behaviours, feeling and attitudes using TA theory and supporting them to choose different options.

When do coachees engage in TA coaching? Given that we are each of us restricted by our inner world and that inner world is dynamic and always changing, turbulence is a normal aspect of psychological functioning. The strength and amount of turbulence varies, however, according to how much pressure we are under at any given moment. This pressure may come from internal or external sources. Internal sources might refer to our instinctual needs, memories, fantasies, beliefs and wishes, as well as our relationship to ourselves and important others in our minds. External sources might be events and relationships in the outer world that affect us. Howard (2006) creates an image of an internal world that is like a ‘lava’ lamp in which convection currents are in perpetual and ever-changing movement in relation to one another. The amount of movement in the lamp is determined by the amount of heat in the system. In a similar way the amount of turbulence there is in our inner world is determined by the amount of ‘psychological heat’ being generated by pressure from inside us or from the external world. Thus a coachee may come to TA coaching when the amount of psychological turbulence he is experiencing causes discomfort for him or disequilibrium in the system he is part of. The coachee engages in the 299

Sandra Wilson

coaching process so as to access and explore that inner world. So begins the coaching journey in pursuit of insight, choice and action. On the journey the coachee moves ever closer to internal cohesion which in TA is described as selfawareness and self-regulation. The coachee is able to manage the inner and outer dynamics more effectively through having gained a deepened understanding of his own belief system and internal process. Thus he is better able to self-manage and self-regulate.

Autonomy as a goal of TA coaching The goal of TA coaching is autonomy. Berne (1964) did not actually define autonomy per se but rather said that the attainment of autonomy is manifested by the release of three capacities: awareness, spontaneity and intimacy Autonomous behaviour is characterised by an awareness of self, others and the world; spontaneous behaviour; open expression of authentic feelings and a willingness to form real relationships with others. The achievement of autonomy indicates release from inhibiting belief systems.

Autonomy and the growing edge Moving towards the release of recovery of the three autonomous capacities is the move towards what is termed the “growing edge” (Wilson 2010) (p53). Most of the time we operate in a restricted zone that is our inner world, our frame of reference serving to protect our reality. In order to bring about change, we need to be prepared to expand the boundaries and move beyond that restricted zone. We must, however, be experiencing enough discomfort (turbulence) to want to move beyond the restrictive zone. As the coach and coachee work together generating insight, creating awareness and new possibilities, the boundary between our restricted zone and our growing edge become permeable and expanding (see Figure 23.1).

Restricted Zone (Inner World)

Permeable and expanding boundaries

Figure 23.1 The growing edge 300

© Wilson 2010

Transactional analysis approaches to coaching

If we move too quickly with a coachee we breach their internal boundaries, they move to their discomfort (or fear) zone and we are likely to face strong resistance. TA thinking is developmental and it can help set goals for growth. This means we go through predictable types of interaction with a coachee and predictable stages of development. There are several qualities associated with healthy development or the movement towards the growing edge. These qualities provide the TA coaching psychologist with a framework for assessing the coachee’s movement towards the growing edge. To be effective in partnering the client on moving towards the growing edge the coach has to pay attention to the developmental challenges the client faces. The coach has to manage the process so that the client is challenged enough to get forward movement through insight and commitment to change without moving too fast and inciting overwhelming feelings of anxiety leading to immobilisation.

Practice A key part of the way a TA coaching psychologist works is to share theory and models with the coachee to support their development; this is agreed upon as part of the coaching contract. The simplicity of the language and visual representation of the models helps create awareness in coachees and allows them to consider options for change. With this in mind, the two models that follow in this text are options for the coach and not designed to be prescriptive. There are many possibilities, and a TA coaching psychologist is constantly analysing and reflecting back to the client what is being noticed before offering models that may generate insight and understanding. In the development of TA theory, Berne made a conscious choice to keep the language simple so that it can be shared with the coachee whilst at the same time drawing attention to the mental phenomena that in the usual way of things remains hidden (Stewart 1992). The beauty of this is that it is possible for someone not specifically trained in TA to use the models in their professional practice. This needs to be done ethically to be effective and appropriate. It is important however, that the coach who uses TA: • • • •

Has a full understanding of the model they are using Has agreement with the client to share and use the model Has used the model to create awareness and generate insights into their own unconscious process Works ethically and with the appropriate standards of professional practice.

The final aspect to cover before moving on to describing some of the models and their uses is “coaching presence”. The TA coaching psychologist advocates that coaching is a relational process which necessitates them bringing their whole self to the relationship. The TA coaching psychologist must be as autonomous as it is humanly possible to be, to be fully aware of their thoughts and feelings as they work with the client and to be able to either park these or to use them in service of the client. They must also be aware of the client, noticing shifts in voice tone, tempo, language, body language, etc. and to reflect what they are noticing to the client. The TA coaching psychologist must not be bound by their own unhelpful patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours and able to notice when this is inhibiting their work. And finally the TA coaching psychologist must have the ability to create a real relationship with the client and be willing to express their own emotions in response to what the client is saying.

The contract TA is a contracting method which essentially means that the TA practitioner and the client take joint responsibility for achieving whatever change the client wants to make. TA stresses the importance of openness, clear communication and mutual respect. 301

Sandra Wilson

This follows from the assumption that each party relates on equal terms; it is not up to the practitioner (coaching psychologist) to do things for the coachee, nor should the coachee expect the practitioner to do things for them. It is important that both take part in the process of change and it follows that both should know clearly how the task will be shared. They therefore enter into a contract. The contract is the statement of the responsibility of each party. The coachee expresses what he wants to change and what he is willing to do to bring about that change. The TA coaching psychologist confirms that he is willing to work with the coachee on this task. The TA coaching psychologist undertakes to use the best of his or her professional skills in doing so and states what recompense he expects in return for the work. Learning to make contracts, seeing them through, changing them as appropriate and moving on to the next problem and then the next is a sign of autonomy. Berne (1966) identified three levels of contracting which he called: • • •

The administrative contract – the arrangements agreed on such things as timing, venue, payment. Hay (2000) renamed the administrative contract as the procedural contract. The professional contract – relates to the aim of the work to be done, i.e. the outcomes and how each party will contribute to the process. The psychological contract – the underlying dynamics between the parties to the contract. Generally unspoken and often outside of conscious awareness of the parties to the contract.

Contracts should specify: • • • • • • •

Who the parties are What it is that they are going to do together How long it will take (where, when, frequency, cancellation arrangements) What the goal or outcome of the process will be How they will know when they have achieved the outcome How that will be beneficial to the client Fees

A TA coaching psychologist may have a bilateral contract if they work with individual clients who are responsible for paying the coach directly. If this is the case the contracting is likely to be simple, at least at the procedural and professional levels. We will come back to the psychological level of the contract later. Organisational TA coaching psychologists are more likely to work with a multi-party contract (Hay 2000). The contract therefore takes account of working within a system and the contracting process tends to be more complex (see Figure 23.2). In the organisational context we are accounting for more players in the contract and for the relationship complexities that this adds to the process of contracting. Not only are there multiple parties to the contract, there are multiple contracts involved (see Table 23.1). As TA coaching psychologists we can use the different levels of contracting to establish a clean and safe contract which has at its heart the interest of all parties to the process. The procedural and professional aspects of the contract reflect roles and personas and structure the relationship. When it comes to establishing the coaching contract for the work with the coachee, a TA coaching psychologist will sit down with the coachee and the line manager. The procedural and professional levels of the contract are generally easy to agree to and can be established through clear and clean questions (see Table 23.2). These questions are not specific to TA and are likely to be asked in some form by all coaches.

302

Transactional analysis approaches to coaching

Organisation Coaching Manager

Coachee’s Line Manager

Context

Context

Coach

Coachee Overall context

Figure 23.2

The multi-party contract

Table 23.1 Understanding the parties to the contract The formal contracts take account of the following: • The organisation is the client (the fees are paid by the organisation) • The coach has a contract with the organisation for the provision of professional services (contract one). This is normally negotiated through the organisation’s coaching manager (usually HR or OD). • The coachee has a contract with the organisation (contract two), normally the employment contract. • The line manager has a contract with the organisation (contract three) and part of their responsibilities will be to support the development of employees. • The coaching manager has a contract with the organisation (contract four) and part of their responsibilities will be to offer appropriate types of intervention to support employee development. The informal and implicit contracts: • The coach has a contract with the coaching manager (contract five). • The coachee has a contract with the line manager to engage in development activities (contract six). • The line manager has a contract with the coachee and the coaching manager to support employee development (contract seven). • The coaching manager has a contract with the employee to offer appropriate types of development intervention (contract eight).

The importance of accounting for the psychological level of the contract This is the aspect of contracting that makes the TA approach different. The psychological level of the contract is not visible; it is held in the minds of the parties to the contract and reflects how the parties see each other and how they relate to one another. It accounts for beliefs, myth, rumour, fantasy, previous experience and unspoken expectations. We do not agree to the psychological level of the contract; it exists before the coaching process starts. The TA Coach will ask questions to surface the underlying dynamic in the contract (see Table 23.3).

303

Sandra Wilson Table 23.2 Formulating the contract for the work Procedural Level • • • • • •

When will the coaching contract start? How many sessions are being contracted for? What will the duration of each session be? Who will be responsible for arranging a venue? What cancellation arrangements will be put in place? What documentation needs to be provided and by whom?

Professional Level • • • • • • • • • • • •

What is the objective of the coaching intervention? What are the desired outcomes for each party? How do we get agreement on the outcomes? How we will measure success? What does the coach bring to the relationship? What does the coachee bring to the relationship? What code of ethics is the coach bound by? What is the confidentiality agreement? What feedback does the organisation expect? From whom? What are the roles and responsibilities of each party to the contract? How will the coachee and line manager notice what is changing as a result of the coaching? How will we give each other feedback?

Table 23.3 Surfacing the psychological level Questions to ask • • • • • • • • • • •

What does the coachee expect from the coach/coaching that has been not been voiced? What might go on between the coach and coachee that could get in the way of a successful outcome? What does the coachee expect to happen in a coaching session? Do any of the parties expect the coachee to be ‘fixed’? What is the coachee’s motivation for engaging in the process? How do the coachee and the line manager feel about coaching? What does the line manager expect from coaching/the coach that hasn’t been voiced? What are the expectations of the parties to the contract, how aligned are these? How does the coach achieve an alliance with the coachee without becoming too attached? What is it about the coach’s style and the coachee’s style that might get in the way of them working effectively? What hopes and concerns do each party have about coaching?

The afore-going list is an illustration of the types of questions that could be asked, but it is not a prescriptive list. The TA coaching psychologist learns to pay attention to the process between the parties to the contract as the session unfolds and to trust their intuition. Questions evolve through this process of attending to what is emerging moment by moment in the contracting process The effectiveness of the contract is determined at the psychological level; in other words, the unspoken and unconscious can sabotage the contract. This makes it all the more important to bring the underlying issues at this level into awareness. 304

Transactional analysis approaches to coaching

Life positions What do we mean by “I’m OK, You’re OK”? “I’m OK, You’re OK” is implicitly fundamental in the theory, practice and teaching of TA, yet the meaning of the phrase has not been specified in literature. It is simply one of four possible combinations of the concepts of “I”, “You”, “OK”, “not OK”. Berne (1964, 1972) delineated four life positions: ++ –+ +– ––

I’m OK, you’re OK I’m not OK, you’re OK I’m OK, you’re not OK I’m not OK, you’re not OK

In the world of TA we tend to equate life positions with the OK Corral (Ernst 1971), as shown in Figure 23.3. Stewart & Joines (2010) said: Each of us arrives in adulthood having written a script based on one of the four life positions. But we don’t stay in that position every hour of every day. Minute by minute we shift between positions. (p. 123) Ernst (1971) gives us a way of analysing these shifts. We cannot change our total life destiny rapidly, let alone minute by minute. This model confronts us with a nice symmetrical theory, and the four life positions offer four possibilities in a systematic way. Nonetheless the diagram provides us with a useful tool for examining our behaviours in different relationships. In order to get on with others, we need to operate from the I’m OK, you’re OK philosophy. We will then be better able to distinguish the person from the behaviour. Using this model in coaching allows the coachee to examine their beliefs and behaviours in the context of particular relationships and also to understand the default position they tend to take in times of stress. Through this understanding they are better able to make different choices.

I’m not OK – you’re OK -+

I’m OK – you’re OK ++

Helpless Get away from

Healthy Get on with

I’m not OK – you’re not OK --

I’m OK – you’re not OK +-

Hopeless Get nowhere

Hostile Get rid of

Figure 23.3

The OK Corral – ways of seeing ourselves in relation to others 305

Sandra Wilson

Which coachees benefit the most? People need different things at different stages in their development, and the range of approaches to coaching gives potential coachees the choice to work with the approach that will best suit their needs. The human psyche is varied and unpredictable and ‘normal behaviour’ is an elusive state, with many ‘abnormal behaviours’ being seen every day. The TA coaching psychologist pays attention to an accumulation of signs, changing behaviours and puzzling responses as a way of noticing possible issues that need deeper exploration. TA coaching offers a reflective space in which supportive theories reveal the power of the unconscious mind and create insight into how individuals sabotage their potential. These insights create opportunity for change. The TA approach to coaching is best suited to individuals who want to develop self-awareness, selfunderstanding and self-regulation. The underlying aim of TA coaching is to increase the individual’s autonomy in relation to their personal, professional, social and cultural operating environment. The coachee must be willing to engage in self-reflection and be committed to change for the process to work.

Case study Peter is a recently promoted senior manager within a large local authority. The organisation has a welldeveloped coaching strategy and coaching is perceived as a robust development intervention. Peter is now line managing a group of ten people who were formally his peers, and he is finding it difficult to assert his authority with individuals and the whole team. At his three-month review meeting , his manager suggested coaching might help him to work through the challenges of his new role. Peter had prior experience of coaching which had a limited long-term effect. In the chemistry meeting Peter shared that he had always had issues asserting himself and taking a position of authority. He was open to engaging in a coaching contract with a view to better understanding himself and as a result developing and implementing strategies for change. The following transcripts demonstrate the TA coaching psychologist working with Peter using the two models given earlier in the text.

Surfacing the psychological level of the contract The following is an example of surfacing underlying dynamics at the psychological level. In a contracting session with a line manager and coachee, the coach is inviting the line manager to consider what he wants to know about the coach and her style of working. Coach:

“I am wondering what questions you have about how I work as a coach?”

Line Manager:

“Well, I have checked your credentials and I hear you have a ‘black belt’ in coaching”. (Laughs)

Coach:

“And you laugh when you say that. What does that mean for you?”

Line Manager:

“I guess I have heard you are tough and you don’t let people off the hook”.

Coach:

“And how might that be influencing your expectations of how I work with Peter?”

Line Manager:

“Good question. I am not sure what the answer is but Peter has had a coach in the past and it made no difference. I can tell you that coach won’t work in this organisation again”.

At this stage, the coach picks up the social level message and reads the psychological level message: Line Manager:

Social level: “I guess I have heard you are tough and you don’t let people off the hook”. Psychological level: “I need you to be tough with Peter”.

306

Transactional analysis approaches to coaching

Line Manager:

Social level: “Good question, I am not sure what the answer is but Peter has had a coach in the past and it made no difference. I can tell you that coach won’t work in this organisation again”. Psychological level: “You better be tougher than the last coach he worked with or you won’t work in this organisation again”.

The potential in this scenario is for the line manager to have unspoken expectations of how the coach will work with the coachee and to be angry or frustrated if he feels nothing has changed as a result of the coaching intervention. The coach stays with the process: Coach:

“So help me understand what you mean when you say you want me to be tough”.

Line Manager:

“Hmm, I want you to challenge Peter; I don’t think his last coach did that.”

Coach:

“And how will you know that I am challenging him?”

Line Manager:

“I expect I will see the changes that we have already talked about”.

Coach:

“And Peter, what are your thoughts on what is being said?”

Coachee:

“I think John is right; I do need to be challenged”.

Coach:

“And how ready are you for the challenge?”

Coachee:

“I think I am, more so that the last time”.

Coach:

“And John, how will you challenge Peter as part of this contract we are making today?”

Line Manager:

“You are tough, I am feeling challenged by this and that seems like a good thing, because it is making me think about what I need to do differently”.

Coach:

“I think it is important that we get clarity about the process of coaching and the roles and responsibilities we each have which is my reason for pushing this”.

Line Manager:

“I get what you are doing here. I have to be prepared to support Peter; so I need to be challenging him in a different way, more directly”.

Coach:

“Peter, for you to achieve the goals of coaching, what do you need from John by way of challenge?”

Coachee:

“Well, I would like him to hold me to account, perhaps check in with me at our fortnightly meetings. I guess I would also like you (speaking directly to John) to tell me when you notice I am doing things differently”.

Coach:

“So let me summarise what I am hearing . . . ”.

Further into the conversation: Coach:

“John, you mentioned that one outcome from the coaching is to help Peter develop his capacity to be assertive. How will you deal with Peter being more assertive with you?”

Line Manager:

“It’s not me he needs to be assertive with, it is with his team”.

At this stage the coach picks up a social level message and reads a potential psychological level message: Line Manager:

Social level: “It’s not me he needs to be assertive with, it is with his team”. Psychological level: “I don’t want him to be assertive with me”. The voice tone was quite harsh and potentially conveyed a threat at the psychological level “don’t you be encouraging him to be assertive with me”. Or, “he better not be assertive with me”.

307

Sandra Wilson

The coach stays with the process: Coach:

“I heard a more general desire for Peter to be more assertive in our earlier conversation and my thinking is that if this is the desire, then there may be occasions when it would be appropriate for him to be more assertive with you”.

Line Manager:

“I’m not sure about that”.

Coach:

“How willing are you to hear what Peter has to say?”

Line Manager:

“Go ahead Peter”.

Coachee:

“I am finding it hard to say this, but John I do think I need to be more assertive with you. I tend to defer to you and agree to things that I don’t think are feasible”.

Coach:

“What I have just heard is Peter being assertive with you John. How do you feel about that?”

Line Manager:

“I suppose I want to justify myself and I hadn’t thought that he would be more assertive with me”.

Coach:

“And as you realise that this is a possibility, given that he has just done it, how will you deal with this in future?”

Line Manager:

“I will do my best to support him and I will pay attention to you deferring to me Peter. I suppose thinking about it, it is better for you just to say what you are thinking Peter”.

The conversation unfolded in such a way as to establish clarity not only of outcomes from the coaching process but of our different roles and responsibilities in working to achieve those outcomes. Using the TA contracting framework will go a long way to ensuring an effective contract is established. It not only establishes the boundaries of the relationship but it brings into awareness those aspects of the unconscious that most often get in the way of good work.

Understanding life positions In this session the coachee is working on being more accepting of challenge from others. He finds it difficult to accept challenge from his CEO. Coach:

“What do you notice is different for you when you are challenged by the CEO?”

Coachee:

“I feel more nervous. I expect to be put on the spot”.

Coach:

“Put on the spot?”

Coachee:

“Mmm, you know I will get caught out, I won’t know the answers”.

Coach:

“So you have to know all the answers for the CEO?”

Coachee:

“Hmm – well I will look like a fool if I don’t – I mean I am supposed to be an expert”.

Coach:

“Sounds like you believe experts have all the answers.”

Coachee:

“Well it is funny – I don’t feel like that when I am just having a conversation with a peer. I am more open, asking the questions, and I am still the expert”.

Coach:

“So what happens to you when you are challenged by the CEO?”

Coachee:

“I don’t know, it is not just him though. I can be like that with people I think are better than me”.

Coach:

“When you say better than me, what does that mean for you?”

Coachee:

“People that are more senior or better qualified. I have always had that going on for me with certain people”.

Coach:

“Sounds as though this is a familiar pattern for you”.

Coachee:

“Yes, I guess it is. Not always, but it is definitely there”.

308

Transactional analysis approaches to coaching

Coach:

“I challenge you. How do you feel about that?”

Coachee:

“You are not trying to catch me out?”

Coach:

“You sound convinced that others are trying to catch you out”.

Coachee:

“Well they are”.

At this point, the coach offers to share the OK Corral model and the coachee agrees this could help. Coach:

“So looking at the model then, which window are you looking through when the CEO challenges you?”

Coachee:

“I’m not okay – you are okay”.

Coach:

“If I remember rightly, you mentioned that it is not just with the CEO, but with people you think are better than you”.

Coachee:

“It is the same position, I do want to get away from people I feel like that about, before they see me for the fraud I am”.

Coach:

“I hear a powerful judgement of yourself in what you just said. In what way are you a fraud?”

Coachee:

“Well, when you put it like that, I am not. But I don’t feel okay about myself in certain situations.”

Coach:

“And when you do feel okay about yourself, what is different?”

Coachee:

“Well, I am looking through the okay/okay window”.

Coach:

“And what makes that possible?”

Coachee:

“I feel confident and sort of grounded, you know knowledgeable”.

Coach:

“And what makes it possible for you to feel confident and grounded and knowledgeable?”

Coachee:

“Hmm, you know I think it is an authority thing. I get anxious around people who have more authority than I do.”

Coach:

“And how familiar a pattern is that for you?”

Coachee:

“Very. I think I have always been like that.”

Coach:

“And yet I hear that there are times when you are different”.

Coachee:

“Yeah, it is the gremlin we talked about the last time. The gremlin pops up and whispers in my ear”.

Coach:

“So it sounds to me that in certain circumstances with certain people you default to, I’m not Okay; You’re Okay – and it is because your gremlin is active?”

Coachee:

“Yes that it is it exactly”.

Coach:

“What is the gremlin saying?”

Coachee:

“You better shut up, you’ll get found out”.

Coach:

“What’s in it for you to listen to the gremlin?”

Coachee:

“Well I haven’t been found out”. (Laughs) “It is really unhelpful. I think it limits me”.

Coach:

“So the next time you feel yourself listening to the gremlin and veering toward that place, what can you do to ground yourself in, I’m Okay; You’re Okay?”

Coachee:

“I think noticing it is happening. It almost seems to be unconscious. I start to feel inadequate. So there must be something I can do to get grounded”.

Coach:

“What might that something be?”

Coachee:

“Well this might sound a bit daft, but I am going to a meeting with the CEO tomorrow and I am going to write ++ on the palm of my hand; I think that will remind me of this theory and help me stay grounded. I think it will help to have something visual to counter the gremlin’s voice”.

In this example, the coachee starts to understand that this is an authority issue and that he is replaying an old message. The simplicity of the model allows him to explore what is happening and to develop strategies to counter the old message and stay in the here and now.

309

Sandra Wilson

Summary This text has been written to give the reader an overview of two pieces of theory from Transactional Analysis. The case study gives excerpts from live coaching work using the theories as stand-alone models. In reality, the TA coaching psychologist when working with a coachee would be connecting the different pieces of the coachee’s story and helping create an integrated picture of the coachee’s unconscious. The TA coach partners the client on the journey to autonomy, helping them recognise old unhelpful patterns and supporting them to make different choices.

Discussion points In Transactional Analysis we use the theory to understand and change ourselves before we use it with others. With this in mind: 1 2 3 4

Given what you have read, what draws you to TA and what moves you away from it? What might you take from the contacting model that would enhance the way you develop contracts with clients? How might you start to work the theory offered to generate insight and create awareness in yourself and in your clients? Thinking about a professional relationship that you have been challenged by, how might life positions theory help you to understand the dynamic?

Suggested reading Hay, J. (2009). Transactional Analysis for Trainers, Second Edition. Watford: Sherwood Publishing. Mountain, A., & Davidson, C. (2011). Working Together. Farnham: Gower. Stewart, I., & Joines, V. (2010). TA Today, Second Edition. Nottingham: Lifespace Publishing. Widdowson, M. (2010). Transactional Analysis: 100 Key Points and Techniques. London: Routledge.

References Berne, E. (1964). Games People Play. New York: Grove Press. Berne, E. (1966). Principles of Group Treatment. New York: Grove Press. Berne, E. (1972). What Do You Say After You Say Hello? New York: Grove Press. Ernst, F. (1971). The OK Corral: The Grid for Get on With. Transactional Analysis Journal, 1, 4, pp. 231–240. Hay, J. (1995). Donkey Bridges for Developmental TA. Watford: Sherwood Publishing. Hay, J. (2000). Organizational TA: Some Opinions and Ideas. Transactional Analysis Journal, 30, 3, pp. 223–232. Howard, S. (2006). Psychodynamic Counselling in a Nutshell. London: Sage Publications. International Transactional Analysis Association. Definition of TA. www.itaaworld.org Stewart, I. (1992). Key Figures in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Eric Berne. London: Sage Publications. Stewart, I. (2007). Transactional Analysis Counselling in Action, Third Edition. London: Sage Publications. Stewart, I., & Joines, V. (2010). TA Today, Second Edition. Nottingham: Lifespace Publishing. Widdowson, M. (2010). Transactional Analysis: 100 Key Points and Techniques. London: Routledge. Wilson, S. (2010). Autonomy & The Growing Edge: The Coaching Journey. In Keeping the TAO Torch Alight: Reading after Berne. Utrecht: PD Publications.

310

24 Systemic constellations approach to coaching and coaching psychology practice Jake Farr and Matt Shepheard

Introduction The systemic constellations approach to coaching views the coachee and their issues in the context of the systems to which they belong. It uses a mapping methodology that illuminates underlying dynamics, information and resources that are often not seen (or available) using more linear, intrapersonal, interpersonal or cognitive methods. Working with principles that underpin and influence all systems and relational interactions, the coaching constellator, with the coachee, attends to the elements of the system that are out of balance in order to re-establish flow. As everything takes place within the context of a system, using the systemic lens allows the coachee to take in more, often revealing complex patterns and entanglements that they may only be aware of through a feeling of stuck-ness or because issues keep repeating or resurfacing in different places in the same system. Although the work has been taken on and adapted by people from different disciplines (notably gestalt practitioners) it is a holistic approach that can be viewed as humanistic, transpersonal and trans-generational.

Development of systemic constellations in coaching Systemic constellations began as ‘Family Constellations’ with the work of Bert Hellinger, (Hellinger, Beaumont, and Weber 1998) and draws on many theoretical strands including particularly four prominent system-oriented psychologists: Jacob Moreno, Eric Berne, Virginia Satir and Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagi (Cohen, 2009). The work was first developed from the late 1970s through to the mid-1990s, mainly in Germanspeaking countries. Hellinger’s approach to working with family systems is unique, however, in its use of constellations (essentially a physical mapping of the system) and has been developed and applied in many other system settings and fields, such as couples therapy, team and organisational work, work within education and working with illness and disease. Gunther Weber is widely credited for bringing Hellinger’s work into the public domain with the publication of Zweierlei gluck (1993), which he edited and was translated into English by Hunter Beaumont (Hellinger, Beaumont, & Weber, 1998). Beaumont introduced Hellinger’s work to the English-speaking world at a training session at the Gestalt Centre in London in 1991. The application of systemic constellations has moved beyond the family setting and also beyond the large workshop setting of Hellinger (although this is often many people’s first encounter with the approach). 311

Jake Farr and Matt Shepheard

Systemic coaches will most often work 1:1 using a tabletop and ‘pieces’ to represent elements of a system or a whole room with floor markers to represent elements.

Theory and basic concepts The philosophy and approach of this work takes time to learn and embody, but below are some of the fundamental aspects and underlying principles.

Not knowing The importance of not having an intention in your attention and taking a phenomenological approach is central to working as a systemic coach (Ulsamer, 2008). The systemic coach looks at the coachee and the constellation without preconceptions or intent to change, with an emphasis placed on seeing and acknowledging ‘what is’ rather than pushing for solution. Holding this place of observation and resting with the ‘not knowing’ allows for something new to arise (Schneider, 2007). As such the systemic coach holds the tension between pattern recognition and phenomenology. Essential to working in this way is how the coach holds the idea of ‘not knowing’ (Whittington, 2012). If we are able to face respectfully and openly into the unknown, creating an empty space inside that is protected from the rushing to know or the need for a solution, then we take our place in relation to the greater unknown and the organising forces we are subject to (Ulsamer, 2008). Taking this place with humility and respect for what is can support arising insight.

Field, system, self Stated succinctly, the underlying principle of this approach is that an individual operates as a member of a system, and this membership comes subject to underlying, unconscious dynamics that influence and impact the individual (Horn & Brick, 2009). These dynamics exist in the system and act upon the individual. It’s helpful to view the system as a living organism in its own right. Humans are fundamentally social or herd animals, and belonging is linked to survival. (Ruppert, 2008) Much the same as observing a herd of buffalo, flock of birds or school of fish instinctively moving together, there is a governing principle that guides the individual and protects the collective (Schneider, 2007). Systemic coaching takes a bird’s eye view, zooming out from the coachee to see the larger system they are located in. Seen in this expanded context, issues or challenges are illuminated and understood differently. With this lens, problems, issues or challenges arising for an individual are located within the system and considered through a ‘whole system’ view. The systemic practitioner takes a friendly view on symptoms, holding them as signposts which can lead the coachee to the true causal point or original event that is leading to imbalance in the system and manifesting for them as a problem (Franke, 2005). This is as opposed to locating the root of the block or problem in their personal sphere of influence or personal competencies and resources (Franke, 2005). This view can require us to challenge notions of cause and effect, as we begin to see that these don’t always relate in time and space in a linear way. Systemic constellations help us see when we have been looking in the wrong place for a solution or simply trying to treat the symptom rather than the cause. Senge (1990) highlights that interventions that focus on symptomatic quick fixes rather than underlying causes result in only temporary relief and can create greater pressures further down the line. A systemic view, by contrast, views the problem as a solution to, or reflection of, a systemic imbalance. We ask where the dynamic or the symptom really belongs in the system, and where it would make more sense. What purpose is the symptom serving, and what is needed to address this systemically? The systemic lens requires the individual to move from a subjective point of view, where they perceive themselves as the central figure, to a place where they are part of a system of many parts, just like everyone else. What is important becomes located in ‘the space between us’ rather than directly in ‘you’ or ‘I’. Gestalt theorists 312

Systemic constellations approach to coaching and coaching psychology practice

would express this as ‘the self being a function of the field’. The founders of gestalt therapy cite this as “Experience occurs at the boundary between the organism and its environment” (Perls, Hefferline, & Goodman, 1951, p. 227). We are required to move beyond the idea that there is a single fixed ‘me’ and become open to the idea that our notion of self, and our behaviours and capacities, are dependent upon the environment we make contact with. A systemic constellating coach might express this as ‘being reliant on our place in a matrix’. This work brings awareness to the shifting sense of self that occurs as we stand in different places in different systems. We begin to look more at the pattern of relationships and the context in which these relationships are taking place. As we enlarge the picture, our stories and ideas are challenged, and new possibilities can emerge. The coachee and coach’s explanations are necessarily incomplete until we include this expanded view. The systemic constellation approach supposes the presence of an informing field that connects us all and can be drawn on for information. Rupert Sheldrake’s work on morphic fields and morphic resonance points to this connecting field (Sheldrake, 2004). The famous example is of the dog at home that senses and knows when his owner sets off on his return journey, registering this through the connecting field of knowing. Sheldrake talks about a collective memory that individuals draw on and contribute to (Sheldrake, 2009), and it is this field that systemic coaches explore.

Conscience Belonging to a group is connected to notions of survival, and it is this need to belong that influences our behaviour and choices within human systems (Schneider, 2007). In systemic work the notion of ‘conscience’ is used to describe the inner sense that guides our belonging to groups (Horn & Brick, 2009). Personal conscience is the level at which we innately scan and adhere to the rules of belonging within a group (Hellinger, Beaumont, & Weber, 1998). We have a felt sense of whether we are acting loyally or whether our actions threaten our belonging. This conscience is beyond ideas of right and wrong or moral compass – rather it is primarily concerned with maintaining personal belonging (Schneider, 2007). We adopt the belonging rules and behaviours of the systems to which we belong. What is demanded of a coachee in order to belong to their family system and/or their organisational system? How do the belonging rules of a particular system limit or block the coachee? To what extent can a coachee move beyond these limitations once they are seen? As well as a personal conscience guarding belonging, there is a systemic or collective conscience that serves the integrity of the whole. At this level, group members are called to safeguard the survival of the group, and the system takes precedence over the individual (Schneider, 2007). Here the conditions of membership that are in support of the organisation’s sense of completeness, integrity and survival are prioritised. Where a herd of animals is threatened by a predator, one member may break off from the herd in order to save the group. The social critic Barbara Ehrenreich discusses the concept of the sacrificial victim that dies to protect the herd, showing how the herd relaxes and is safe for a while when the predator has a victim (Ehrenreich, 1998). The systemic conscience summons us into service of the greater whole as the system seeks balance, completion and inclusion. This collective conscience works out of awareness and does not consider the needs of the individual. Constellations can bring the different levels of conscience into view, illuminating these powerful dynamics and how they limit or support our coachees. We ask what the presenting symptom is an unconscious expression of. What is out of balance at a systemic level? In a constellation, the coach offers the coachee the opportunity to suspend personal conscience and to see how the conscience of the larger group is summoning them into service, and how this is manifesting for them as an individual.

The orders Hellinger, Beaumont, and Weber (1998) proposes that operating within systems are instinctive ordering forces, invisible and powerful, operating conclusively and unseen, much like gravity. Although there are 313

Jake Farr and Matt Shepheard

subtle important differences in how these operate within organisations as opposed to families, the ordering dynamics are concerned with belonging, hierarchies of time and place and the balance of give and take or exchange between members. When considering what is blocking an individual, we look to the natural systemic orders and see where they have been blocked within the family or organisation. When these orders aren’t respected or attended to, a system will seek to compensate and balance itself, often at the cost of individual members. This shows up as repetitive behaviours or stuck-ness, as a block to fulfilling potential or even as physical symptoms.

Belonging This ordering force is concerned with the right to belong to a system and is out of balance when people are unfairly excluded or dismissed (Horn & Brick, 2009). Where this order is violated, an excluding impulse may arise in an organisation, or individuals may be called in to represent the history of those who were excluded, unconsciously repeating the pattern, or limiting their potential. When belonging and leaving are properly honoured, then the system has a sense of ease and people feel comfortable and are prepared to agree to the belonging rules of the group.

Time and place These orders are about hierarchy and function within the group. Time as an organising principle positions people and events in the past, present and future. This principle is concerned with the influence of history and the linear flow of time from the past to the present and into the future. Within this, people or events that came first in time have a certain precedence over those that came later. When the past is honoured, respected and has its place, then those who come later can draw on this as a resource, standing in the present and facing forwards into the future (Whittington, 2012). When everyone occupies the ‘right’ or optimum place in a system then there is flow, ease and empowerment. Being in the right place makes a difference to who you are and how you experience yourself (Whittington, 2012). In an organisation we hold several places – how long have I been here? How old am I? What is my functional position in the hierarchy? How much responsibility do I hold? In a family it is more obvious – am I the first born or the second? Am I the parent or the child? Am I the child or the spouse? When individuals inadvertently act out of their true place in order to fill a systemic gap, they become limited or limit the abilities of those around them.

Exchange This ordering force is concerned with the need for a balance of give and take between the elements and people in a system – it’s the drive for a just exchange and a regulating rhythm that creates and bonds the relationship. This sense of balance in giving and taking is registered at a personal level and also works across the system as a whole (Whittington, 2012). Exchange is a calibration of giving and receiving. The act of receiving triggers an impulse to give. People flourish when a just balance of giving and taking is a quality of the organisation they belong to, where the relationships are based on an interdependence of needs. Over-giving, receiving too much, or unfair advantage can all lead to a symptomatic response in the system (Hellinger & ten Hovel, 1999). We can view giving and receiving as activities that require each other and support bonding and belonging.

Consequences and qualities Where later members of a system are called to address imbalances in the orders, individuals can become entangled with the fate of others, unconsciously over-identify with another part of the system, unwittingly 314

Systemic constellations approach to coaching and coaching psychology practice

carry a burden that belongs to someone else or attempt to atone for the actions of an earlier member of the system. This is the systemic conscience in action seeking balance and completion (Franke, 2003). The qualities that the systemic coach is seeking to cultivate are respect, gratitude and inclusion, both in themselves, the coachee and the system, with a clear intent to move beyond blame.

Practice The principles of systemic constellations can be applied in both individual coaching and team/board coaching settings. The aim through constellations is to reveal what has been previously hidden or obscured in order to enable everyone to find a right place in the system such that the system’s purpose can be served with greater ease, allowing leadership to flow. For ease we will demonstrate the techniques within the individual context, however, many of the stages can be directly or indirectly translated into team/board coaching.

Box 24.1 Rumi Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’ does not make any sense. Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, 13th century

Contracting and the initial interview The coach and coachee work together to clarify the issue and the system they are exploring. The work gathers around the need of the coachee and is most effective where the questions and investigation are connected appropriately to this need and clearly in areas that are actionable for the coachee. Once the issue has been clarified, including an articulation of what would be different for the coachee if the issue were resolved, the coach and coachee work together to identify the key elements relevant to the issue in the system. The coach must be mindful of not being too confluent with the coachee’s presentation of the issue. By definition the coachee comes with a story, and this will likely be incomplete from a systemic perspective. If the coach ‘agrees’ to the whole story, then they also agree to the blind spots of the individual and their system. Examples of key elements that may be identified from the initial interview are listed in Table 24.1. Table 24.1 Example of key elements Groups of People

Abstract Elements

Individuals

Founders Consultants Potential employees The executive board Customers The next generation Finance department Operations The directors Trustees The Irish employees

The original purpose The current purpose Our resources Leadership Innovation My fears My hopes Our products Economic environment Brand Profit Organisational values

The coachee My old boss My new boss Director X Director Y Sacked finance manager HR director My predecessor The founder The MD of NW Region

315

Jake Farr and Matt Shepheard

Mapping A physical map (Box 24.2) enables the coachee to see their sense of the system in physical form enabling them to interact with it. The coachee is first invited to map the elements in the system in relation to each other by connecting with their own felt sense and putting their stories or ideas aside. The coach can be creative about what is used to represent the elements, either found objects in the office (a cup, keys, paper weight, etc.), sticky notes (with the element name written on by the coachee) or purposely made constellating ‘pieces’ to create a tabletop map. Floor markers can also be powerful, allowing the coachee to bring more of their body awareness into the process by standing in the map. Whatever is used, it is important that there is some directional marker to indicate direction of focus. The coachee usually places the marker for themselves first, followed by the next important element and so on. It is useful to encourage the coachee to take this slowly, feeling into the relationship and their felt sense of it, considering both distance between the elements and the system boundary and their direction of focus. It is often best to keep it simple to begin with, using only essential elements and incrementally adding to the map. The coach and coachee then discuss what they see and interact with the map to get a sense of the relationships between the elements and how it is to occupy certain places in the system. The coach supports the coachee to dis-identify from their current narrative in order to more fully step into the shoes of the other elements. The coachee can also take a meta-position by looking at the whole from a distance, useful as a practice in itself.

Box 24.2 Reasons to create a physical map •

to create an embodied 3D testing ground



to get a bird’s eye view



to give form and shape to an internal sense of a system



to create a new picture

Interventions Drawing on the coach’s understanding of the ordering principles within systems, interventions should seek to illuminate and amplify the coachee’s experience of ‘how it is’. This process in itself may well be enough for the coachee, particularly if the coachee is new to this way of working. With a richer picture of the whole system, the coachee and coach can explore what’s different as a result of the mapping exercise and from that place move to a more classic coaching conversation (from whatever modality). The two key interventions in the constellating process are the use of sentences and spatial positioning, both offered in the spirit of exploration. These are used to test out hypotheses and find release, flow and possible resolution in the system. Systemic sentences give the map a voice and allow the coachee to test out what feels true and the coach to offer systemic insights. Sentences are an important part of the constellations method, but many coaches will find the ‘putting words in the coachee’s mouth’ an anathema. However, coachees have a good internal sense of what feels right in relation to the system and should be invited to test this out, trusting their own inner sense of how a suggested sentence lands. Sentences are given and delivered without adding dramatic or emotional tone. Coachee and coach work together to find the statements and sentences that are accurate and helpful. Ulsamer (2005) noted that sentences, under the guidance of a facilitator, lead to outcomes that “can stimulate change, move the client in the right direction and have a positive effect” (2005, pp. 3–8). 316

Systemic constellations approach to coaching and coaching psychology practice

Sentences range from those that simply acknowledge what is to phrases designed to highlight the symptom or systemic imbalance, as well as those that offer resolution. The right sentence has the power to cut to the heart of the matter, bypassing limiting narratives, illuminating blind spots and creating connection. Some examples of sentences: Relating to the order of belonging, when members of a system have turned away from a person or event that was too painful to look at, creating an exclusion: “We tried to forget you” – “I see you now, you will always have a place in the history of this organisation”. Relating to the order of place, when a member of a system is acting out of place and taking on more authority than is due in their role: “I’ve tried to be a bit bigger than I am” – “I hate to admit it but you are the boss and I work for you”. Relating to the order of time, when a new leader joins and is resisted by her team, whose members have worked in the organisation for many years: “You came first in this organisation, and I came later. I can only do my work today because of all that has come before me”. Relating to the order of exchange, attending to the impact of redundancies: “The price you paid through the loss of your jobs meant that the organisation could survive, and we could keep ours. Your loss was our gain, thank-you”. Spatial repositioning of (or moving) the tabletop pieces or floor markers after the initial mapping allows another form of testing hypothesis and impact. For example, moving the coachee’s piece towards the boundary of the map to investigate the impact on the elements of the system. Movements should be done carefully, with one element at a time, to allow the map to unfold and for the coachee and coach to absorb the additional information. At a fundamental level, a movement should be tested for whether the shift makes the conditions better or worse. Changing the distance (particularly increasing it) between elements can lower the intensity of the contact and facilitate more openness and dialogue. Changing the direction of the coachee’s piece (towards another) can increase contact and intensity and invites the coachee to look at what he and the system avoid. Be mindful that one small change to a part of the constellation affects the whole, and a change to the whole affects a change in the part. Ending a constellation by inviting the coachee to move their piece to face the future can be useful (but should not be overused) and allows the coachee to get a sense of how it is to face the future following the mapping process. However and wherever the coach chooses to end the constellating process, it should allow for a new picture of the system to be internalised without rushing to analysis or interpretation where old narratives may get overlaid onto the new picture. The mapping process can, however, give useful information both to the coachee and coach for further consideration in future coaching sessions and give clues to what additional resourcing the coachee may need to move forward with greater ease.

Structured constellations – getting started Structured constellations (Sparrer, 2007) can be used for diagnosing situations, resourcing and testing scenarios or decisions. Rather than taking an open form, these follow set movements around a pre-decided structure. One simple form is to explore options. Select four markers to represent four possible options in relation to a question or choice point. Place them next to each other, and then have the coachee stand back, looking at the four places. The coach can then 317

Jake Farr and Matt Shepheard

Figure 24.1 Positions of the markers and the coach

stand on and off the four options as the coachee explores and comes into relationship with each, approaching and distancing, while tracking somatic and relational experience. Figure 24.1 illustrates this.

The stance of the systemic coach The stance or attitude of the systemic coach is crucial and must be cultivated along with the theory and techniques (Whittington 2012). Some of the key qualities to hold are respect, gratitude, inclusion, appropriate authority, attention, focus and breadth of vision, comfort with not knowing, comfort and honesty with personal limitations, non-judgement and a gentle but dynamic curiosity in the unknown. When one holds a systemic stance whilst coaching, the conversation will inevitably be influenced by the coach’s frame and, even without the use of markers and literal mapping, the coachee can be guided to hold an inner map of the system (through visualisation) or, at an even simpler level, to have the coaching conversation with the system in mind. Having the system in mind allows for systemic loyalties to be revealed and can bring relief from the ‘I-centricness’ of many coaching conversations and release something in the coach-coachee relationship itself (another system, of course). Through this process the coach models a meta-position, stepping back and viewing the whole whilst supporting herself and her coachee to disentangle from the stories. It is vital to develop the capacity to be present and centred for this work, and an inner stillness, familiar to mindfulness practitioners, is required to calmly move around the system, sensing the systemic pushes and pulls, harmony and disharmony. The breath is a deeply important tool in achieving this state, for both the coach and coachee. When you’re moved to create a physical map on a tabletop or floor, it is important to engage in a process of collaborative exploration rather than expert interpretation; the coach should go at a pace that allows the coachee to fully participate. Finding ways of deepening the experience for the coachee (using sentences and movements) and noticing and enquiring how the coachee is absorbing and responding both at a bodily level and cognitively require the application of phenomenological enquiry (see Chapter 13, An Existential Approach in this handbook for more detail). It is important to be able to be guided by what emerges, so hypotheses, whilst influenced by the coach’s knowledge of systems, are lightly held. In systemic constellations, the facilitator places their trust in a larger context, and in the information and wisdom that emerge from the field of the constellation. Some of the 318

Systemic constellations approach to coaching and coaching psychology practice

key points of working with emergence are summarised below (Box 24.3). All behaviour, however difficult, has a function, and enquiring systemically as to the purpose behind the behaviour can be useful at a systemic coaching conversational level or when mapping.

Box 24.3 Summary of key points Key points •

Hold the tension of not knowing for both yourself and the coachee.



Lean in to the wisdom of the field.



Look for what strengthens the system rather than what is right or wrong.



Be inclusive and non-judgemental.



Look for what or who has been excluded.

Team coaching Systemic coaching with teams can be helpful in enabling team members to feel themselves in relation to their organisation as a part of the whole. It is important when working at a team level not to have team members representing each other. They can, however, represent abstract elements or themselves in relation to ideas and concepts. Getting a felt sense of their place in the system and how this is impacted with sometimes relatively small changes elsewhere in the system can be extremely impactful, supporting individuals in teams to recognise that they are part of a dynamic interplay of people and energies.

Which coachees benefit most? Systemic work is often a process of experimentation and testing as the coach supports the coachee to uncover the issue and find possible resolution or movement. The following situations are indications that a systemic approach could be useful: A department head notices that no matter who fills a role within an organisation, they always fail or leave quickly. Maybe a coachee has found themselves disproportionately impacted by, or drawn into, dynamics or events at work. Maybe a leader finds they are continually undermined or their ideas are not finding traction, or a coachee feels that a recurring issue or block doesn’t really add up or make sense when they reflect on it. A general list of issues that might lead a coach to work systemically are: • • • • • • • • • • • •

Where problems are repetitive or stuck Where usually successful approaches or models aren’t helping Where there are conflicting stories and judgements Where the relational or organisational dynamics feel complex and confusing When it feels like there is a lot unsaid or it is hard to express clearly Where there is conflict Where there are issues that are hard to pinpoint or act upon Where the reasons behind patterns or challenges won’t become clear Where apparently sensible solutions keep failing When change initiatives repeatedly fail Where competent people don’t seem able to act to their potential or fully draw on their skills and experience Where the coach sees that the systemic orders have been ignored. 319

Jake Farr and Matt Shepheard

Limitations and considerations Introducing this way of working to a coachee requires a certain level of trust, along with a mutual willingness to step into the unknown. Creating and navigating a systemic map requires a level of collectedness along with a readiness to put aside cognitive rationalisation in favour of connecting to an embodied felt sense. The coachee has to temporarily prioritise a less habitual way of listening and relating to information. To a certain extent setting is important here, in that the conditions should support the possibility of connecting to felt experience. As the systemic approach reveals hidden dynamics and releases places of stuck-ness in the system, it can also connect people to particular feelings of sadness, loss or emotional release. This needs to be given context in the set up and, depending on the coach’s contract with the coachee, held in a way that either sensitively brackets for the person to attend to in a more personal setting or deepens the work in the present. The coach will need to set, enable and respect the boundaries and permissions that they have with their coachee.

Case study The following work was conducted by Jake Farr with the executive board of global humanitarian charity with the core objective of supporting them to operate as one team leading one organisation. The initial contract was to work together for one year, recognising that we were on a journey together to gather information, deepen relationships and respond to team and organisational needs resulting from our work or changes in the environment. This case study demonstrates some team systemic constellation work with eight executive board members. For the purposes of demonstrating the systemic coaching undertaken with this team, other lenses and frameworks that were applied have not been included. The systemic approach is easily woven into the fabric of work as an organisational or coaching psychologist and sits easily and helpfully alongside other frameworks. Prior to the first team session, a meeting was held with the chief executive to explore the dynamics of the board and the pushes and pulls facing them. A brief history of the organisation was gathered along with the contextual challenges. The chief executive expressed a wish that the coaching would support the executive board to work more collaboratively with each other, to get to a place where they functioned as ‘one team leading one organisation’. A way of approaching this is by acknowledging some simple truths of the organisation to get the board on the same page. This is also a way to introduce a systemic approach, in particular the physical mapping process. The starting point in this case was to highlight simple but often unacknowledged truths around history and the place of events in time. During the first day together, holding the orders of time and place, the systemic lens was introduced as a means of supporting the board to get a sense of themselves in the context of the history of the organisation and in relation to each other. This first constellation was embedded within a day that included establishing a way of working; sharing expectations, fears and personal stories and finding a creative way of looking at the destination of our journey.

Constellation – creating an organisational timeline The team were invited to create a timeline of pivotal moments, achievements, setbacks and changes in the history of the organisation by capturing these separately on sticky notes and placing them on the wall. It was important to gather sufficient facts about each point such that all team members understood the events but

320

Systemic constellations approach to coaching and coaching psychology practice

with as little judgement or embellishment as possible. Fifteen pivotal moments in the organisation’s history spanning 65 years were captured on the wall. By creating a visual map of key events over time, the orders of time and place were attended to and supported the inclusion of events from the past. Looking back over a timeline and truly taking in the formative moments, particularly those that people would rather forget, strengthens the experience of the organisation in the present. It was suggested that the board experiment with sentences like, “today’s organisation was built by all the events and people from the past”. The team were then asked to order themselves according to how long they’d been employed by the organisation. The timespan of connection to the organisation ranged from 16 years to 6 months. The chief executive had been with the organisation for 2.5 years. There are multiple hierarchies within a team, and by acknowledging some of them a team member becomes clearer on their place and more able to contribute from that place. After some time to adjust to this sense of each other, there was an overall settling amongst the team through this acknowledgement, and an increased sense of ease amongst team members was noticed. Where the leader of the team has less time in the organisation than other team members, this must be respected. A sentence might be, “Although I am the leader, you were working here before me, I joined the team later. I’ll build on the work of those that came before me”. With an intention to amplify the orders of time and place within the organisation, each team member, starting with the longest-serving member, was asked to choose an event from the timeline they had created. Once chosen they would be representing that event in a living timeline. Each member in turn took a sticky note – a moment from the timeline they had created. The longestserving member took the founding of the organisation, the most recent joiner took the ‘new HQ building’. Other events included the merger with another organisation, a pivotal strategy spearheaded by the last CEO and a change in the law that had significantly impacted the organisation at the time. Starting at the beginning of the timeline, the representative of ‘founding of the organisation’ was invited to step onto a floor marker and speak from that place. Questions were asked to elicit information that would be useful to give a full and rich somatic history of the organisation that each board member would be a part of. •

How does it feel to be there?



What’s your focus?



What assumptions, forces and constraints are prevalent in that place?



What would you like to say to the current leaders of the organisation?

Once each board member had taken their place in the timeline and spoken as representative of that event, some systemic insights were offered by the team coach from an outsider perspective. Each member was invited to step out of the constellation one at a time and reflect on the whole. This systemic lens enabled the board to shift their perspective so that it became less about themselves as individuals in this moment in time and offered a way of including respect for the past and previous contributions. Noticing this, they appeared more settled and able to look at their present tasks with an embodied sense of the history. Knowing that they too would one day be a part of that history seemed to give them an appropriate sense of size – neither too big nor too small. The exercise allowed the board to step back from their current focus of concern and take in the big picture. Remembering and including the history and connecting with it viscerally and somatically enabled the board to get a felt sense of themselves as a point in time and reminded them that there would be a future executive board that in turn would look back on their stewardship of the organisation. In addition,

321

Jake Farr and Matt Shepheard

the learning and perspectives that were drawn from the representatives began to influence their current thinking on issues. One aspect that seemed to stand out, indicated by the discomfort and restlessness of the representative for a merger, was the possibility of unfinished business from this event. The board reflected and resolved to attend more fully to organisational tensions, including the facing and naming of elephants in the room as well as completing on existing initiatives and interventions, rather than turning too quickly to the next challenge. The board were reminded of the highs and lows of the last strategy and how that also reverberated. Both of these gave additional wisdom to how they prioritised the coming organisational challenges and their approaches to them. The representative of the significant change in strategic direction from the past, which was generally considered by the board to have not had the impact that the old board may have intended, was reconnected with what were considered to be the good intentions behind the strategy. The sentence “standing in your role, at that time, I may not have done anything differently” was offered. This had the impact of softening their view and building a greater respect and appreciation for the old board and more humility in relation to their current challenges. Looking forward they could see how they would want to say to later generations, “we made the best decision we could at that time, with the resources and information available”. Some reflections two months after the coaching programme: “Having the opportunity to stand in someone else’s shoes has changed me”. “It was so impactful to realise our position in the timeline. That we were following in the footsteps of others who had done their best, and others would follow who would build on our work. We didn’t need to achieve the world, simply continue to lay the best ground for others to follow upon”.

Discussion points 1

2 3

4

Systemic work looks to the wider system rather than the individual. What is the place of personal accountability and responsibility in an organisation when you look to the system for root cause and solutions? To work effectively as a systemic coach requires a depth of personal work first, including attending to your own family system issues. Discuss. Looking at the actions and decisions of people in an organisation’s history, the systemic lens asks us to hold the non-judgmental orientation of “in your shoes I may have done nothing differently”. Reflect further on the impact of this stance when considering an organisation’s history, predecessor roles and actions of colleagues. Think of an unhelpful repetitive pattern or unresolved challenge in an organisation you are familiar with (or in your own work). Using Post-it notes, create a visual map of all the elements (people, concepts, roles, departments, etc. – including a marker for the challenge itself) that are part of the system in which this challenge/pattern exists. Using this map as a bird’s eye view, reflect on the challenge seen in this systemic context.

Suggested reading Horn, K., & Brick, R. (2009). Invisible Dynamics: Systemic Constellations in Organisations and Business. Heidelberg: Carl Auer. The Knowing Field (www.theknowingfield.com) – International Constellations Journal. 322

Systemic constellations approach to coaching and coaching psychology practice

Ulsamer, B. (2008). The Art and Practice of Family Constellations. Heidelberg: Carl Auer. Whittington, J. (2012). Systemic Coaching and Constellations: An Introduction to the Principles, Practices and Applications. London: Kogan Page.

References Cohen, D. B. (2009). I Carry Your Heart in My Heart: Family Constellations in Prison. Heidelberg: Carl Auer. Ehrenreich, B. (1998). Blood Rites: Origins and the History of the Passions of War. London: Virago. Franke, U. (2003). The River Never Looks Back: Historical and Practical Foundations of Bert Hellinger’s Family Constellations (translated by K. Leube). Heidelberg: Carl Auer. Franke, U. (2005). In My Minds Eye: Family Constellations in Individual Therapy and Counselling. Heidelberg: Carl Auer. Hellinger, B., Beaumont, H., & Weber, G. (1998). Loves Hidden Symmetry: What Makes Love Work in Relationships. Phoenix, AZ: Zeig & Tucker. Hellinger, B., & ten Hovel, G. (1999). Acknowledging What Is: Conversations with Bert Hellinger. Phoenix, AZ: Zeig & Tucker. Horn, K., & Brick, R. (2009). Invisible Dynamics: Systemic Constellations in Organisations and Business. Heidelberg: Carl Auer. Perls, F.S., Hefferline, R.F., & Goodman, P. (1951). Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality. New York, NY: Julian Press. Barks, C. (Translator) (1995). The Essential Rumi. New York, NY: Quality Paperback Book Club. Ruppert, F. (2008). Trauma, Bonding and Family Constellations. Somerset: Green Balloon Publishing. Schneider, J. (2007). Family Constellations: Basic Principles and Procedures. Heidelberg: Carl Auer. Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York, NY: Doubleday Business. Sheldrake, R. (2004). The Sense of Being Stared At. London: Arrow. Sheldrake, R. (2009). A New Science of Life. London: Icon Books. Sparrer, I. (2007). Miracle, Solution and System. Cheltenham: SolutionBooks. Ulsamer, B. (2005). The Healing Power of the Past: The Systemic Therapy of Bert Hellinger. Nevada City, CA: Underwood. Ulsamer, B. (2008). The Art and Practice of Family Constellations. Heidelberg: Carl Auer. Weber, G. (1993). Zweierlei Glück: Konzept und Praxis der systemischen Psychotherapie. Heidelberg: Carl Auer. Whittington, J. (2012). Systemic Coaching and Constellations: An Introduction to the Principles, Practices and Applications. London: Kogan Page.

323

25 Psychodynamic and systemspsychodynamics coaching Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning

Introduction The term ‘psychodynamic’ links two ideas: ‘psycho-’ comes from the Greek word psyche, meaning soul or mind, and ‘-dynamic’ from the Greek dynamis, meaning strength or power, used in physics and other fields to denote forces causing movement, action or change. Thus, psychodynamic coaching is based on a way of understanding how the mental forces operating in and between individuals and groups affect their thinking and behaviour. Practitioners of psychodynamic approaches to coaching vary both in their theoretical orientation and in their practice. Many are therapists with a training grounded in one or other ‘school’ of psychoanalytic theory. Others practice from a systems-psychodynamics perspective. This brings together elements of psychoanalytic theory with its focus on the influence of unconscious mental life on individual and group behaviour, with elements of open systems theory with its focus on role, authority and the design of work systems and processes. Because of the centrality of role in this coaching process, the approach is often referred to as role consultancy or role analysis.

Development of psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamic coaching The history of psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamic coaching is given a useful contextual background by examining the typology of coaching proposed by Roberts & Jarrett (2006), who studied the key differences between the main approaches to coaching currently practised in the UK. The grid shown in Figure 25.1 is based on their interviews of leading practitioners of different kinds of coaching regarding the main aims and focus of their work. The primary aim of the coaching intervention is shown on the vertical axis, with insight at one end of the spectrum and outputs (e.g. higher sales) at the other. The horizontal axis indicates whether the primary focus of the coaching is on the individual or on the organisation or organisational role. The information is gathered in ‘clouds’ to show that these are not rigid categories but clusters of types of coaching interventions. A striking finding was that whereas most of the leading approaches to coaching fell fairly clearly into one or other quadrant, psychodynamic coaching found a place in both lower quadrants: the more purely ‘therapeutically informed’ approach on the left and the systems-psychodynamics (role consultancy) approach on

324

Psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamics coaching

COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL MODELS

GROW MODEL Based on Gallway’s ‘Inner Game’, seeks to increase awareness and responsibility for action. Often associated with Sir John Whitmore, Myles Downey

Primary aim

Focus on behavioural outcomes in terms of action and performance Psychology-based firms may adopt this approach

Individual

Primary focus of attention

THERAPEUTICALLY INFORMED

Organisation

ROLE CONSULTANCY Based on systems psychodynamic. Focus on increasing awareness of relatedness of person, work system and organisational context, so as to improve effectiveness in role

Most often used by independent practitioners trained originally as therapists of various schools e.g. Rogerian, gestalt or psychodynamic models of coaching Focus on personal development

Insight

Figure 25.1

Four models of coaching

the right. In essence, the top two quadrants are based on goal attainment, whereas the bottom two quadrants are based on meaning making. In the sections that follow, we will therefore consider both what these two main ‘streams’ of psychodynamic coaching share in common and how they are different. The actual development of psychodynamic therapies can be traced back to the earliest years of the twentieth century when Freud developed his ‘talking cure’. However, the development of psychodynamic coaching is relatively recent. We can trace the origins of psychodynamic coaching to two main sources, as follows.

325

Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning

From psychodynamically informed work with organisations During the Second World War, psychoanalysts from the Tavistock Clinic, London, were involved in various ways in applying their clinical understanding to the war effort, notably to the selection of offcers and to the rehabilitation of mentally traumatised soldiers. After the war, some of these psychoanalysts joined with social scientists, anthropologists and other disciplines at the newly established Tavistock Institute of Human Relations where they developed a body of theory and worked with a wide range of organisations including coal mines, factories, children’s nurseries, hospitals and many others (see Trist & Murray, 1990). The first applications of systems-psychodynamics to addressing individuals’ workplace issues (precursor of coaching) probably goes back to the late 1950s when the Christian Teamwork Trust (later the Grubb Institute of Behavioural Studies) provided a variety of training events aimed at developing participant understanding of organisational behaviour and dynamics. Organisational role analysis (ORA), a method to enable leaders and managers to take up their roles more effectively, emerged from this work (Reed, 1976; Reed & Bazalgette, 2003). ORA has been adapted by many practitioners of systems-psychodynamics who work with individual coachees, often under the title ‘organisational role consultancy’ or more recently (for marketing purposes), executive coaching (Newton et al., 2006).

From psychodynamically oriented therapy and counselling with individuals Since the mid-1990s, there has been a growing trend for psychotherapists and counsellors of all persuasions, including psychodynamic, to extend their practice to the workplace in the form of coaching. In part, this may be driven by their need to find alternative ways of deploying their skills as long-term therapy wanes in popularity. As Peltier puts it, ‘the talking cure . . . is too slow, too personal, it provides no guarantees, and it lacks the punch and focus demanded by those in the fast lane’ (Peltier, 2001: xvi). However, there is also an awareness within many organisations that something is missing which a psychodynamically oriented coach might provide. At one level, there is some recognition of the need for ‘space to think’, away from the results-driven pressures of everyday life in most contemporary organisations, so as to develop deeper understanding of some of the less obvious or less conscious factors contributing to work diffculties.

Theory and basic concepts Psychodynamic coaching draws on theories and concepts stemming from the work of Freud and those who followed him, originally developed in the context of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically-informed therapies.

Concepts from psychoanalytic theory Unconscious mental life The cornerstone of psychodynamic thinking is the assumption that there is an unconscious – a part of our mental life which is hidden and affects us in ways we are not aware of. While it is easy to demonstrate that there are thoughts and memories lodged in our brain but out of conscious awareness – for example, when we suddenly remember a forgotten name or telephone number, or details of past experiences are recalled when electrodes are planted in certain parts of the brain – psychoanalytic theory proposes that particular aspects of our experience become unconscious as a way of protecting us from anxiety and pain.

Unconscious anxieties and defences Like ‘unconscious’, the word ‘anxiety’ is part of our everyday language, generally referring to a disturbing emotional state evoked by anticipating a threatening future event. The anticipation of the threat is suggested to mobilise us to create a set of defences. In the workplace, for example, staff may have many conscious 326

Psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamics coaching

anxieties such as fear of redundancy, worries about accidents and dangerous mistakes and so on. They are then likely to take certain actions in order to manage or reduce these anxieties; for example, trade unions are formed, or elaborate protocols are set up to prevent errors. Freud and subsequent psychoanalytic theorists put forward the notion that some anxieties are unconscious. For example, we may have impulses which we consider unacceptable – wanting to hurt someone we love, or sexual feelings towards a parent or child. If these feelings were to be fully conscious, they could pose a threat to our sense of ourselves as loving and generally decent people. Psychoanalytic theory suggests these feelings are pushed out of awareness into our unconscious through the use of defence mechanisms. These include denial (the feelings do not exist), projection (the feelings belong to someone else), idealisation and denigration (seeing others as all-good or all-bad to avoid painful mixed feelings) and intellectualisation (explaining feelings away), among others (Freud, 1966). Psychonalytic theory suggests we all need defences to prevent our being flooded by unconscious anxieties. While some defences are helpful, others prevent our dealing adequately with reality or prevent us using our full capabilities. For example, excessive use of projection can lead to blaming others rather than seeking ways of improving our own practice. It can also lead to feeling more helpless than we actually are, as when we locate all power and strength in our managers and feel ‘prevented’ from using our own initiative.

Containment It is hypothesised that as infants and young children, we begin a lifelong process of learning to manage our anxieties, largely thanks to caretakers who are emotionally in touch with us and who, by attending ageappropriately to our needs, give us a sense of security (that the things we fear are manageable) and of being understood. The infant is thought to project their feelings into caretakers who ‘absorb’ and process the feelings in such a way that they are no longer so frightening. Transferring this idea to the workplace, it suggests good management can perform an analogous function, containing both our conscious and unconscious anxieties suffciently so that we can think and act effectively rather than needing to get rid of our feelings through counterproductive defence mechanisms. However, if our parents or managers are themselves overly anxious or preoccupied, they may not be able to assist us in managing our anxieties. At this point, we may become overwhelmed and resort to using unhelpful defence mechanisms. For example, faced with a takeover, we are likely to have anxieties about loss of identity. Regarding the other organisation as an evil empire-builder may temporarily serve to strengthen internal cohesion and identity, but in the longer term it mitigates against engaging in appropriate pre-joining work.

Transference This concept is based on the idea that there is a universal tendency to bring our experience of early life figures into the present, i.e. to transfer them so that our perceptions of other people are coloured or even distorted. For example, someone whose ‘internal’ authority figures are benign (‘my parents set limits which were helpful to me’) is more likely to react to authority figures at work in a positive way, expecting a positive relationship with them. Someone who has experienced oppression, bullying or abuse in early life may have similar feelings at work and perhaps be either overly compliant and dependent or overly aggressive and defensive with people in positions of authority in their organisation.

Counter-transference and unconscious communication Counter-transference is a term from psychoanalysis referring to the feelings evoked in the analyst by the patient – for example, feeling a strong urge to protect or rescue. Since the analyst was supposed to be emotionally neutral, listening to and interpreting the patient’s communications, counter-transference was initially regarded as a source of disturbance. However, gradually it came to be recognised that it could be 327

Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning

understood as the analyst’s response to unconscious communication from the patient and, hence, as a crucial source of information about what was going on for the patient at an unconscious level. For example, the impulse to protect the patient might on the surface seem to have nothing to do with what the patient was actually saying, and the analyst might assume it came from some personal need in him or herself. This might of course be the case, but another possibility is that the patient is unconsciously communicating his or her fears and also longings for protection from someone perceived as stronger (feelings about parents transferred to the analyst). It is this unconscious communication which might be stirring up the analyst’s protective feelings.

Concepts from open systems theory A living organism can survive only by exchanging materials with its environment, that is, by being an open system. This requires having an external boundary, a membrane or skin separating inside from outside. This boundary must be solid enough to prevent leakage and to protect the organism from disintegrating, but permeable enough for the necessary exchanges with the environment to take place. The simplest living system is a single cell; in more complex organisms, there will be a number of open systems operating simultaneously, each performing its own specialised functions but coordinated with the activities of other systems so as to serve the needs of the organism as a whole. The work of Kurt Lewin (1947) in applying these ideas to human systems was extended and developed by Miller & Rice (1967) to provide a framework for studying the relationships between the parts and the whole in organisations and also between organisations and their environment.

The primary task This is the task the organisation must perform in order to survive (Rice, 1963). An organisation as an open system can be schematically represented as in Figure 25.2. The box in the centre represents the system of activities required to perform the task of converting inputs into outputs – for example, turning leather (A) into shoes (B). The primary task is defined by the main throughput. Inputs might be raw materials (e.g. leather), with outputs being finished products (e.g. shoes). In organisations working with people, such as the NHS, inputs are people in state A (e.g. people with an illness) and outputs are people in state B (e.g. people in better health). Enterprises are far more complex than Figure 25.2 denotes, with many different kinds of inputs and outputs. A shoe factory, for example, also takes in information from the environment and uses it to produce financial plans and marketing strategies. It is likely to have different departments such as production, sales, personnel and marketing, all of which need to be coordinated. However, how to allocate resources and how to prioritise among the organisation’s various activities is determined by its primary task. The concept of the primary task, despite its limitations in complex systems, remains extremely useful. Clarity about the aims and intended outputs of one’s work-system provides a kind of yardstick by which one can continually evaluate whether one is on course and whether the design of the system and working

Inputs: A

Figure 25.2 The primary task 328

Conversion process

Outputs: B

Psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamics coaching

practices remains appropriate. It also helps in identifying and linking the particular contribution of each subsystem to the primary task of the organisation as a whole.

Management at and of the boundary Living organisms need a membrane which is neither too permeable nor too impermeable. Similarly, organisational systems need boundaries that regulate transactions with the environment. This regulation is a core function of management. For example, a manager needs to ensure that staffing levels and other resources match the production targets or the changing needs of consumers. For this reason, the open systems model locates the manager at the boundary of the system they manage (see Figure 25.3). In Figure 25.3, m1, m2, etc. represent managers of subsystems such as teams or departments. M represents the line manager of all the m’s. Their position at the boundary of the system they manage enables them to be simultaneously in touch with inside and outside and indicates their function as regulating transactions across the boundary. This position at the boundary of the system enables the manager to be in contact both with the external environment and with the internal state of the system. This includes being in touch with the emotional state of the staff he or she manages in order to provide the necessary containment of conscious and unconscious anxieties, as described above. The manager who loses this boundary position, either by being drawn too far into the system or by being too cut off, can no longer manage effectively. More senior managers or directors overseeing the work of multiple subsystems (shown as M in Figure 25.3) need also to coordinate the work of these subsystems. This requires vision and a broader grasp of how the specific purposes and activities of each link to each other and to the whole. It also requires the capacity to communicate this understanding to those he or she leads and manages.

Bringing the two theoretical strands together: systems-psychodynamics Social defence systems In his groundbreaking paper on ‘The dynamics of social structure’, Jacques (1953) proposed that ‘one of the primary cohesive elements binding individuals into institutionalised human association is that of defence against anxiety’ (In Trist & Murray, 1990: 420–421). Within social structures, including

M

Figure 25.3

m1

m2

m3

m4

Management at the boundary 329

Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning

organisations, individuals and groups take up unconscious as well as conscious roles. Jaques gives the example of the first offcer of a ship who ‘is regarded by common consent as the source of trouble’ for everything that goes wrong. This allows the ship’s captain, on whom all lives depend, to be idealised as a reliable protector. Here, the whole ‘social system’ of the ship’s crew is using the defences of splitting (into all-good and all-bad) and projection. Thus, all badness, weakness, etc. are projected into the first offcer, and all goodness, strength and knowledge are projected into the captain. These defences enable the crew to feel they are in safe hands, thus protecting them from the potentially terrifying reality that the captain is not omnipotent. While this kind of splitting may be useful aboard ship or in an army in time of war, it is often dysfunctional in organisations, leading to blaming, scapegoating and a reduction in realistic problem-solving capacities. Furthermore, the person who is the locus for projections may well experience these projections as intensely personal. The first officer might actually start to feel inadequate, and the captain could come to overestimate the value of his own judgement. Either or both could then be at risk of losing touch with reality as a result of the collective projective processes at work. Awareness of these kinds of systemic projections can reduce stress and conflict and enable people to regain a more accurate perception of reality, which in turn enables them to take more effective action. As already stated with regard to defences operating at the individual level, systemic defence systems are inevitable and necessary if we are not to be overwhelmed by anxiety. The question is whether existing defence systems in an organisation are working, and at what cost. We tend to take ‘the way things are done around here’ as a given. Insight into counterproductive systemic defences can provide an opportunity to do a kind of cost-benefit analysis and, if necessary, to rethink how roles, systems and working practices are designed. An example of this might be to question whether existing bureaucracy and protocols are effective in preventing mistakes or actually preventing the degree of flexibility required to meet constantly shifting demands.

The design of work systems Boundaries around systems and subsystems within organisations serve an important function. They help to identify who is inside and who is outside the system, thus fostering a sense of group and also of individual identity: I am a member of team X, which has a task to which I contribute. Thus, they enable us to create mental maps of the system(s) of which we are a part. On the other hand, rigid boundaries can impede collaboration between teams, departments and organisations, or even fuel conflict. Again, a useful question is to ask whether the current boundaries are supporting task performance or inhibiting it.

Exercising authority and leadership The exercise of authority can be understood using either psychodynamic or open systems theory or, ideally, both. From a psychoanalytic perspective, one’s unconscious relationships with authority figures will affect how able we are to use our authority appropriately. Inappropriate exercise of authority includes being authoritarian (for example, over-controlling or over-punitive) and also the opposite, abdicating authority (like the manager who joins his or her staff in feeling victimised by more senior management, rather than identifying actions which could be helpful). However, the design of reporting relationships (system element) also has a significant impact on how authority is experienced and used in an organisation. For instance, nowadays many people have more than one line of accountability, perhaps one within their professional discipline and another in relation to their role in a multidisciplinary team. This may be a necessary and useful design, in which case people might need help in understanding how the different lines relate to each other. On the other hand, the design may have an unconscious defensive function, such as obscuring who is responsible for what, which can be both counterproductive and stressful. 330

Psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamics coaching

Person

Figure 25.4

Role

Organisation system

Role

Bringing the psychodynamic and systemic perspectives together helps us to see that authority is both given (by delegation, formal authority lines) and taken (interpreted by the role-holder) in light both of one’s own psychological make-up and the culture of the system (Krantz & Maltz, 1997). Closely related to this is the question of how leadership is exercised. Is it entirely left with the most senior executives to provide leadership? Turquet (1974) proposes that in healthy creative teams, leadership can shift depending on who has what strengths to bring to bear on the situation in hand.

Role All these concepts come together in the concept of role, where role is located at the intersection of person and organisation, as shown in Figure 25.4. Role can be defined as ‘the pattern of ideas in the mind by which one organises one’s behaviour in relation to a specific situation’ (Grubb Institute, 1991: 8). Aspects of role are given by the employing organisation in the form of job descriptions, organisational charts, policies and so on. However, role (see the section on exercising authority and leadership above) is also taken: the person-in-role makes of it something personal based on their skills, ideals, beliefs, unconscious relations with internalised past authority figures and their understanding of what is required of them by the system in which they are located and what is required of the system and themselves by the changing context.

Practice It is easy to identify the goals of psychodynamic coaching by looking again at the typology of models of coaching (see Figure 25.1). Therapeutically informed coaching will have as its core goal the development of personal insight by the coachee: to bring into conscious awareness what has previously been outside their awareness. They may, for example, develop insight into the drivers of repetitive patterns in their behaviour and interpersonal relations and therefore be in a better position to choose to change these. The primary goal of role consultancy is to increase the coachee’s capacity to use multiple perspectives in making sense of and meeting work challenges and contributing to organisational purpose. This includes developing a deeper understanding of their role: which system(s) or subsystem(s) they are in, which boundary or boundaries they are on, the sources of their authority and how they are using it, how well the organisational design of their role and system match the requirements of the primary task and so on. In addition, the coachee becomes more aware of systemic defensive processes of which they are a part, which makes for a greater level of choice about how they will act. They may of course also develop personal insights along the way, but these are not the primary goal of the coaching (see Figure 25.1). 331

Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning

Tools and techniques drawn from psychodynamic therapy Bringing into view what is out of awareness Psychodynamically informed therapies are based on bringing what has been unconscious into conscious awareness in order to bring about greater integration of the patient’s self or, in Freud’s terms, to enhance the capacity to love (to engage in meaningful and satisfying relationships) and to work (to be productive and creative). Techniques such as free association (the patient is encouraged to say whatever comes to mind without censoring) and analysing dreams make unconscious material available, and the therapist helps the patient to make integrating connections and gain insight through the use of interpretation. Core tools include working with transference and counter-transference (see earlier) as providing crucial information about the patient’s inner world. Psychodynamic coaching is clearly distinct from therapy. Coachees are not patients, and coaches are not in the therapist role. On the whole, psychodynamic coaches do not deliberately attempt to surface deep unconscious material, nor do they directly interpret it. However, sessions are likely to be relatively unstructured compared to most other coaching techniques, in order to allow unforeseen connections to emerge. Less conscious material may also be surfaced through the use of drawings. (For an illustration of insight brought about through drawing, see Brunning (2001) and the second case study in this chapter.) The coach will not offer ‘deep’ interpretations of unconscious material but is likely to offer hypotheses about what might be causing some of the coachee’s difficulties. This may include the coach pointing out links of which the coachee was previously unaware and encouraging the coachee to become curious about these – in other words, to enable them to become less rigidly defended. What is transferred from therapeutic practice is not so much what psychodynamic coaches do but how they think and how they take up the coaching role. Key features include the following.

‘Listening with the third ear’* This is a particular kind of listening, not only to what is said but also to what is being communicated at other levels, in order to make new connections with the coachee. What is unsaid is not necessarily unconscious but may for some reason be unsayable. For example, a manager was talking angrily and defensively about a recent inspection of his service. He felt he could not say that he actually agreed with many of the criticisms in the inspection report. Subsequent exploration of why this felt too dangerous to say was very significant in changing a whole range of assumptions that had inhibited him from mobilising his full range of abilities at work.

Using one’s own feelings as data This is another kind of psychoanalytically informed listening, sometimes described as listening to ‘the music behind the words’ or ‘parallel process’. It is based on the idea that the coach’s feelings are not just their own but may mirror the coachee’s out-of-awareness emotional state and, therefore, serve as essential information about what is going on under the surface. Some people listen to themselves in this way naturally, which may be the basis of intuition. However, it is also a skill that can be learned and practised, not only by coaches and therapists but also by managers and others in the workplace, adding richly to the other sources of data on which they base their actions and decisions.

Providing containment and staying in role In order for potentially disturbing unconscious thoughts and feelings to come to the surface, the coachee needs to feel safe. The therapeutic setting has a number of features to provide this safety, in particular the boundaries of fixed session times at a frequency that prevents the patient being excessively flooded by 332

Psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamics coaching

anxiety, boundaries around the relationship between patient and therapist, confidentiality and the therapist’s stance of total attention and careful non-judgemental listening with the sole object of assisting the patient to ‘get better’. These together provide containment, that is, keep the coachee’s anxieties at a tolerable level so that they are able to relax some habitual defences and thus become more available to learning something new. Psychodynamic coaching has different boundaries. The venue for meetings may change, sessions may take place at irregular intervals and so on. But the coach is attentive to the impact of these changes and, regardless of changes in the external environment, strives to stay in role throughout the work with the coachee. This includes remaining focused on understanding what is going on, even when the coachee is disengaged, denigrating or over-idealising the coach. Coachees’ idealisation of their coach is potentially just as much of a threat to the coaching task as negativity: both can pull the coach out of role. When coaches are at the receiving end of negative projections, they may act out the feelings put into them rather than using them as information. When they have too glowing a rapport with their coachees, they can become vulnerable to colluding unconsciously with the coachee in avoiding the difficult issues that need to be named and addressed.

The six domain model

Own aspirations, career progression to date, future options

TIONS ICA IF

Own skills, competencies, abilities and talents

Current workplace environment EXECUTIVE COACHING

T

Current organisational role

Life story

MICS NA DY

Personality

TH

SO

CH

NA

L

PSY

O

Figure 25.5

NISATION GA AL OR

SELLING UN O C

BU S S IN CONTEX ES T IN

G AND Q UA ININ L RA

NAL DEVE LO SIO ES

T EN PM

PR OF

As described above, systems-psychodynamics coaching takes account of the connections between person, role and organisation (P/R/O: see Figure 25.4). Brunning (2001, 2006) has developed a model of coaching practice called the ‘six domain model’, as illustrated in Figure 25.5. In this version of the P/R/O model the three basic elements of person, role and organisation are opened up to also include more information about the coachee’s personality, life story, set of skills, talents and competencies brought into the role. All six domains are considered to be contemporaneously present during the

ER ER APY AND P DE VELO MENT P

The six domain model 333

Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning

coaching sessions and any or all of them constitute a legitimate and appropriate focus of work. Figure 25.5 also identifies additional sources of expertise and knowledge that might inform or complement coaching; these feature in the diagram on the outside of each of the domains to which they relate. The six domains are seen as being in continuous dynamic motion, as if they were a set of six interlinked cogwheels, each able to affect the movement of the neighbouring cogs. Thus, a disruption in the domain of ‘current organisational role’ is likely to affect the domain of ‘life story’ and vice versa. Each domain can influence others in ways that are either harmonious or disharmonious. For example, some personalities and some life stories might predispose a person-in-role to work more effectively or less effectively under different sets of external conditions and circumstances. This will be illustrated in the first case study in this chapter. To practise within this model requires that the coach negotiate with the coachee relatively free access to relevant personal data and information so as to deepen the discourse that takes place within the coaching session. At the same time, it is crucial to be vigilant not to drift into providing psychotherapy instead of coaching and to ensure that the coachee is clear about this. It is not uncommon for coachees to choose coaching as a less threatening option when at some level they ‘know’ they need psychotherapy and may be hoping the psychodynamic coach will provide this. In many such instances, referral for psychotherapy, either instead of or in tandem with coaching may be the intervention of choice.

Tools and techniques used in role analysis Thinking systemically All of the tools described above are used in role consultancy. What is different is the assumption that whatever the presenting issue, it needs to be understood systemically. For example, psychodynamic coaches are often referred to ‘problem’ individuals who are seen as the cause of difficulties in their organisation. As Obholzer (2003) puts it, it is absolutely essential to see individuals, or roles or subsets, as different but interconnected parts of the whole. Any ‘individual’ presentation thus always, and first and foremost, needs to be seen as a systemic symptom and addressed at that level. (Obholzer, 2003: 156).

Organisation-in-the-mind A key element of systems-psychodynamic coaching or role consultancy is to surface and articulate the coachee’s internal picture of the organisation: their ‘organisation-in-the mind’. This was defined by Hutton et al. (1997) as the idea of the organization which, through experiencing and imagining, forms in my inner psychic space and which then influences how I interact with my environment. (p. 114) Over time, the coachee learns to become aware of and reflect on their emotional experience as crucial data. The coach is always alert to the organizationally determined dynamic in the coachee’s material, whether the conversation is about a critical incident at work, a new strategy or project or an anecdote apparently unrelated to the coachee’s work preoccupations. The assumption is that whatever the coachee brings is at some level an echo or reflection of the organisation ‘in’ them and, therefore, relevant as a ‘diagnostic’ tool (Armstrong, 2005). At times, the coach may invite the coachee to make a drawing of themselves in their organisation (as a way of surfacing what is less conscious) and will work with the drawing as representing something about the coachee’s inner experience of themselves in their organisational system and not just about the coachee’s ‘personal’ internal world.

334

Psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamics coaching

Using experience as evidence As organisation-in-the-mind comes ever more sharply into view, the coachee gains both a deeper understanding of their organisation as a system in a context and an enhanced capacity for using the full range of their experience as a resource for understanding their own and others’ behaviour. Coach and coachee together develop working hypotheses about what is going on, which the coachee then tests out in the workplace. There is thus an iterative process as the coachee moves back and forth between the organisation and the coaching sessions: the learning in each setting informs and feeds into learning in the other. Over several such cycles, the coachee also ‘learns how to learn’ in this new way: the process becomes internalised.

Which coachees benefit most? Peltier (2001) suggests that psychodynamic ideas can be extremely useful when the coachee wants to develop interpersonal skills, enhance their self-understanding, deal with ‘difficult’ subordinates, peers or bosses and/or overcome self-defeating behaviour. To this we would add that role consultancy, as a particular form of psychodynamic coaching, is particularly valuable in helping people discover what connections might exist under the surface between person/personality, the role and the organisational culture so that they can both separate and link what is me and not-me, thus creating space for reflection and constructive action. Once this is achieved, there is a greater chance to enter into a conscious, rational and more determined pursuance of various professional options and to achieve congruence between self and role for the benefit of the organisational system. For coaching from a systems-psychodynamic perspective to be delivered successfully, it is generally essential for there to be face-to-face interaction between coach and coachee. The work is likely at times to stir up difficult feelings as it taps into unconscious anxieties, and there is a risk with work at a distance (by telephone or email) that the coach may be unable to pick up vital clues about this or to contain the coachee sufficiently. Distance coaching can also diminish the coach’s ability to ‘hear’ unconscious communication. This said, email and telephone contact can provide essential continuity and containment under certain circumstances, as when the coachee’s job requires frequent protracted travel. Since the publication of the first edition, technology has improved and the use of distance communication for coaching, particularly Skype and other platforms that allow visual contact, has increased exponentially, including among psycho- and systems-psychodynamic coaches. However, most practitioners would advocate having at least occasional face-to-face sessions for the reasons described above. Generally, both coachee and coach find it helpful if at least their first session is face-to-face. Psychodynamic coaching has been used successfully in both the public and private sectors, for coachees from all kinds of organisations from banking to hospitals, multinational corporations to schools and nurseries and across all hierarchical levels from chief executives to front-line team leaders. It can help people with a wide variety of presenting issues, from ‘difficult’ colleagues to career progression, and is particularly relevant where there are issues around the exercise of authority and leadership. It can also benefit young people – for example, those having difficulty making the transition from school to work. However, role consultancy with its focus on role is relevant only in situations where the young person wishes or needs to explore and work on role issues. For most difficulties, children and adolescents are likely to get more appropriate help from coaching, counselling or therapy. Regardless of age, the type of employing organisation, or the coachee’s hierarchical position, psychodynamic coaching requires openness and a spirit of enquiry. The coachee who seeks a structured predictable approach to achieve pre-determined goals is likely to do better elsewhere. Indeed, both coach and coachee need to share the capacity to be curious and to tolerate ‘not knowing’ beforehand where the coaching journey will take them.

335

Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning

Case study 1: P/R/O in action Karen was a senior manager in a public sector organisation. (The material described here comes from coaching a real coachee. The coachee’s permission has been obtained. Some details have been changed.) Karen referred herself for coaching in order to be able to take a critical look at her current role and to decide what she could do about her work in the immediate and longer term. The issue that bothered Karen in particular was a persistent lack of clarity about her current job description within her own organisation. Each time she attempted to address this with her line manager she ended up feeling more confused and nothing was ever resolved or clarified. Given her under-defined role within the organisation and the autonomy usually expected of her profession, she had taken her own authority to redefine her own role to ensure that it was beneficial to her organisation, meeting the needs of the external customers and based in her own areas of knowledge and expertise. As a result of this redefinition of her own role, she had begun to organise a number of training initiatives for external customers. These were appreciated and positively evaluated by all who attended but were never formally acknowledged by her line manager. During a hectic period of preparation for a training event for a hundred external participants, Karen felt yet again totally unsupported and isolated within her own organisation. As the deadline for the event approached, she worked excessively long hours on her own, without much administrative support. She felt overburdened and angry but unable or unwilling to confront anybody within her own organisation. Despite the lack of support, the training event took place as planned and was a great success. The second coaching session took place soon after this event. In listening to Karen’s story, a seemingly small incident struck the coach as highly significant. On the surface, this was simply about a difference of opinion between Karen and her personal assistant (PA) concerning a crucial document that had apparently been lost on the computer. The PA protested that Karen must have deleted it herself; Karen on the other hand was convinced that she would never delete anything as vital as that particular document. The word deleted suddenly became a metaphor for talking and thinking about a whole range of Karen’s experiences and feelings. Karen realised that she felt ‘deleted’ within her organisation, just as her vital document had been deleted from the hard disk. Could it be that this tendency to ‘delete’ also existed in the third domain, namely within Karen herself, not just in her role or in the organisation? As the session progressed, Karen recognised that she had a tendency to ‘delete’ herself, ignoring her own needs and aspirations resulting in her not being sufficiently demanding of others in getting these met. This presented a new perspective. There were now three overlapping domains in view in the coaching process – the person, the role and the organisation. In all three, the same imperative to delete was operating. Each domain was influencing and amplifying the other: Karen felt devalued; her talents were not being fully used and her organisation seemed also to be using the ‘delete’ button by ignoring the successful training initiatives for which it was fast becoming well known outside its own boundaries. At the same time, she could not value her own expertise and abilities enough either to renegotiate her role or to leave. Instead, she got stuck in an endless repetition of the dynamic as the interplay of person, structure and culture locked her into a position of being overworked and undervalued. Discovering this overlap opened up a number of options for Karen, including: • •

asking her line manager for specific feedback about the conference requesting a 360-degree appraisal as a way of gathering further evidence to support or disconfirm her new insight



renegotiating her job description in such a way that her training work would be more clearly recognised and sanctioned



336

or alternatively taking steps to find another job.

Psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamics coaching

It is important to note that the coach deliberately chose not to explore in depth the reasons why Karen had developed a tendency to ‘delete’ her own needs and why she allowed others to do this to her: this is clearly the domain of personal therapy. For the purpose of coaching it was sufficient that the existence of this tendency was now within her conscious awareness, freeing her to address her current situation and longer-term career needs more effectively. Of course, Karen had been to some extent aware of this tendency before she came for coaching, but she had not realised until now how significant this tendency was in maintaining her work-related difficulties nor how profoundly it resonated with the prevailing organisational culture so that she felt deleted in her professional role.

Discussion Whenever the same issue or dynamic is expressed simultaneously in all three P/R/O domains, there is a greater likelihood that the coachee will be unduly affected by their work role and will experience less freedom do anything constructive about their situation. This is due to the heavy unconscious fusion between the me (the person-in-role) and the non-me (the role-in-the-organisation) and the attendant difficulties of separating what belongs to the person and what belongs to the organisation. Once the personal element is recognised and owned, it becomes easier for the coachee to begin to separate the other two elements (the role and the organisation) from this heady fusion, to look at the inter-connections more dispassionately and to recover the capacity to act with authority on their own behalf and to the benefit of their organisation.

Case study 2: role analysis Gerald was a senior manager in a public sector organisation. He felt his successes were ignored by his line manager, Keith, who often stopped his initiatives from going forward. Gerald came to coaching partly to think about career development and about leaving his present job. Over the previous 18 months, the culture of the organisation had changed radically from being missiondriven to being target-focused. Keith had been in post just over a year, and to Gerald and his team he embodied everything they hated about the changes. Meetings with Keith focused almost entirely on how to achieve the government-imposed targets. In the first coaching session, Gerald remarked, ‘I am more interested in making things happen than in targets’, as if these two things were necessarily mutually exclusive. He saw Keith as repeatedly trying to ‘kill off’ his ideas. When the coach asked him to draw his work-system with himself in it, Gerald drew a picture of himself and his team at the hub of what looked like a wheel, the spokes being lines between the team and the external stake-holders. Neither Keith nor the rest of the directorate were in the picture. Might Gerald also be doing some ‘killing off’? The lines in the picture looked like spears flying inward and outward: Gerald’s organisation-in-the-mind seemed to be of an isolated group under siege. In the second coaching meeting, Gerald talked about a ‘crushing’ email he had received from Keith, full of criticism of a recent decision he had made which he had thought was quite innovative. He contrasted this with his experience of his previous line manager who ‘valued my delinquent creative bits’. It was as if creativity and delinquency (e.g. resisting being controlled by performance targets) were one and the same. As Gerald and the coach read the email together, it became apparent that the underlying complaint was that Keith had not been involved. The coach then invited Gerald to imagine he were Keith: what might Keith say about Gerald to a close colleague or friend? ‘That man is a loose cannon, just does his own thing and ignores me. I never know what he’s up to. And it’s my head on the block if we don’t meet these b****y targets’. The picture was shifting. Keith now emerged not simply as a force to squash Gerald but also as

337

Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning

frightened of him and the damage he might do. And for the first time, there was a hint that Keith was not happy about the targets either. Gerald had arrived at the session very worried about a meeting with Keith scheduled for the next day, unsure whether or not to present his latest initiative. He could imagine only two scenarios: either he would share his ideas and Keith would crush them, or he would keep his ideas to himself and the initiative would ‘get unravelled’ later. In an attempt to find a third way, the coach wondered what might happen if he went into the meeting with a blank sheet of paper and did some brainstorming with Keith. Gerald was sceptical but agreed to try this. Afterwards, he described the meeting with amazement. Keith had covered the blank sheet with ideas in many colours. He had been full of an energy Gerald had never seen before. The final shape of the initiative was very little different from what Gerald had wanted to do in the first place, but Keith saw it as radically different and was backing it whole-heartedly. Not only did Gerald now have his manager’s support, but also he had discovered a new side to him, a genuine passion for the ‘real work’ of the organisation. Over the remaining coaching sessions, Gerald shifted his energy from resisting Keith to thinking about how his own passions and interpretation of the aims of his department contributed – and could be seen to contribute – to the aims of the directorate. Rather than putting his energy into keeping others out, Gerald started having conversations not only with Keith but also with other departmental managers about the vision and purposes of the work they were doing. Gradually, a number of people began to recover a sense of meaning which had got drowned by the tide of recent government directives. Gerald’s thinking about his next career move also changed. Whereas before his primary objective had been to find a job under a boss who would support and value his delinquency and creativity, it now became important to find an organisation whose core purpose might give more scope for doing the kind of work that mattered most to him. Leaving his present job no longer felt urgent, but at the same time he realised that his deepest aspirations and desires required a different arena.

Discussion In psychodynamic terms, one could understand the change as a shift in the projective system. The two tasks of the directorate – meeting targets and doing meaningful work that made a positive difference to coachees – had been split. This split was a system-wide defence, acted out by Gerald and Keith, the one becoming more and more ‘delinquent’ as the other became more and more rigid and bureaucratic. This working hypothesis, developed during the coaching sessions, could then be tested in the workplace. Once a space opened for Keith to get back in touch with his own passion for the work – and for Gerald to share more responsibility for meeting targets – the whole system became more integrated and creative. Although insight played a part, the shift was prompted largely by attention to systemic elements and to organisation-in-the-mind. Gerald’s drawing indicated he had lost his boundary position: he was in touch with what was inside (the work of his team) and with the external world (the needs of coachees and the community), but he had obliterated the rest of the organisation. As a result, he had restricted his role to fighting for the good of the coachees and protecting his team’s autonomy, ignoring the performance targets. This put the survival of the directorate at risk, and in the longer term therefore also threatened its capacity to continue to benefit coachees. Bringing the missing bits of the organisation into view was a crucial first step. As Gerald worked at redefining the core purpose of his own subsystem and how it connected with that of other parts of the organisation, new conversations became possible at work. He was able to exercise leadership beyond his own team by engaging with others to forge some essential connections which had been lost as a result of the anxieties stirred up by the rising level of government control.

338

Psychodynamic and systems-psychodynamics coaching

Comment As can be seen from these case studies, the outcomes of psychodynamic/ systems-psychodynamic coaching in terms of options opened up for the coachee are not always very different from those of other coaching methods. What is distinctive about psychodynamic coaching is that it focuses on helping the coachee to address, understand and harness some of the unconscious drivers of their situation. When the systemspsychodynamics perspective is added, the coachee is helped to make links between the organisational dynamic and structures, their personal dynamic and the wider context. This makes it possible for them to ‘re-imagine’ their role. (For a discussion of reimagining one’s role and organisation, with case studies illustrating the centrality of reflective thinking as an activity of management, see Hutton, 1997.)

Acknowledgements This chapter draws extensively on two previously published chapters: V. Z. Roberts (2004) Psychodynamic approaches: organisational health and effectiveness, in E. Peck (ed.) Organisational Development in Healthcare: Approaches, innovations, achievements. Abingdon, UK: Radcliffe; V. Z. Roberts and M. Jarrett (2006) What is the difference and what makes the difference: a comparative study of psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic approaches to executive coaching, in H. Brunning (ed.) Executive Coaching: Systems-psychodynamic perspective. London: Karnac. By express permission of the respective publishers to reprint in part the previously published work and associated diagrams.

Discussion points 1 2

3 4

When you are working with unconscious dynamics, how do you ensure you are not straying from coaching into therapy? This chapter is about the value of attending to person, role and the organisational system. What will help you to pay attention to all three rather than privileging only one or two of these domains while coaching? What elements of psychodynamic thinking could enrich your coaching practice even if you do not agree with other aspects of psychoanalytic theory? Earlier in this chapter we note, ‘The exercise of authority can be understood using either psychodynamic or open systems theory or, ideally, both’. Think of a particular coachee who is presenting difficulties taking up their role with sufficient authority. How might drawing on both strands of theory shed new light on their experience?

Note * This is Theodor Reik’s term for describing a particular way of listening to patients’ com- munications, again referring to listening for what is not necessarily put into words (Reik, 1948).

Suggested reading Brunning, H. (ed.) (2006). Executive Coaching: Systems-Psychodynamic Perspective. London: Karnac. Hutton, J., Bazalgette, J., & Reed, B. (1997). Organisation-in-the-mind. In J. E. Neumann, K. Kellner, & A. DawsonShepperd (eds.) Developing Organizational Consultancy. London: Routledge. Newton, J., Long, S., & Sievers, B. (eds.) (2006). Coaching in Depth: The Organisational Role Analysis Approach. London: Karnac. Obholzer, A., & Roberts V. Z. (eds.) (2018). The Unconscious at Work: A Tavistock Approach to Making Sense of Organisational Life. London: Routledge. 339

Vega Zagier Roberts and Halina Brunning

References Armstrong, D. (2005). Organization-in-the-Mind. London: Karnac. Brunning, H. (2001). The six domains of executive coaching. Journal of Organizational and Social Dynamics 1(2): 254–263. Brunning, H. (ed.) (2006). Executive Coaching: Systems-Psychodynamic Perspective. London: Karnac. Freud, A. (1966). The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence. New York: International Universities Press. Grubb Institute (1991). Professional Management: Notes prepared by the Grubb Institute on Concepts Relating to Professional Management. London: Grubb Institute. Hutton, J. (1997). Re-imagining the organisation of an institution: Management in human service institutions. In E. Smith (ed.) Integrity and Change. London: Routledge. Hutton, J., Bazalgette, J., & Reed, B. (1997). Organisation-in-the mind. In J. Neumann, K. Kellner, & A. DawsonShepherd (eds.) Developing Organisational Consultancy. London: Routledge. Jacques, E. (1953). The dynamics of social structure: A contribution to the psycho-analytical study of social phenomena deriving from the views of Melanie Klein. Human Relations 6: 3–24. Reprinted in E. Trist, & H. Murray (eds.) (1990). The Social Engagement of Social Science, Volume 1: The Socio-Psychological Perspective. London: Free Association Books. Krantz, J., & Maltz, M. (1997). A framework for consulting to organizational role. Consulting Psychology Journal 49(2): 137–151. Lewin, K. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics, Parts I, & II. Human Relations 1: 5–41; 2: 143–153. Miller, E. J., & Rice, A. K. (1967). Systems of Organisation: The Control of Task and Sentient Boundaries. London: Tavistock. Newton, J., Long, S., & Sievers, B. (eds.) (2006). Coaching in Depth: The Organisational Role Analysis Approach. London: Karnac. Obholzer, A. (2003). Some reflections on concepts of relevance to consulting and also to the management of organisations. Organisational and Social Dynamics Journal 3(1): 153–164. Peltier, B. (2001). The Psychology of Executive Coaching: Theory and Application. London: Brunner-Routledge. Reed, B. (1976). Organisational role analysis. In C. L. Cooper (ed.) Developing Social Skills in Managers. London: Macmillan. Reed, B., & Bazalgette, J. (2003). Organizational role analysis at the Grubb Institute of Behavioural Studies: Origins and Development. In J. Newton, S. Long, & A. Sievers (eds.) Coaching in Depth: The Organisational Role Analysis Approach. London: Karnac. Reik, T. (1948). Listening with the Third Ear. New York: Pyramid. Rice, A. (1963). The Enterprise and its Environment. London: Tavistock. Roberts, V. Z. (2004). Psychodynamic approaches: Organisational health and effectiveness. In E. Peck (ed.) Organisational Development in Healthcare: Approaches, Innovations, Achievements. Abingdon, UK: Radcliffe. Roberts, V. Z., & Jarrett, M. (2006). What is the difference and what makes the difference: A comparative study of psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic approaches to executive coaching. In H. Brunning (ed.) Executive Coaching: Systems-Psychodynamic Perspective. London: Karnac. Trist, E., & Murray, H. (eds.) (1990). The Social Engagement of Social Science, Volume 1. London: Free Association Books. Turquet, P. (1974). Leadership: The individual and the group. In A. D. Colman, & M. H. Geller (eds.) Group Relations Leader 2. Washington, DC: A. K. Rice Institute.

340

Part 3

Application, context and sustainability

Introduction

Part 3 covers aspects of the context including where the coaching is applied and what coaching is applied to, as well as considering how coaching is being applied in different situations. This part, as the title suggests, explores approaches and theories that are relevant to understand how to generate robust and sustainable coaching interventions. In the first grouping, the focus is on creating resilient and robust coaching interventions with individuals in a range of contexts and facing a number of major transitions and choice points. The second grouping looks at approaches that are aimed at creating sustainable, robust coaching interventions in a wider, more complex field.

Individual transitions in life and work We start this section with ‘Personal and life-coaching psychology’ (Chapter 26). Ole Michael Spaten’s particular focus in sharing this chapter is how coaching can be applied to facilitate coachees’ experiences of achievement in their lives. The particular methodology for working in this space may vary – however, the chapter focuses on a number of methodologies and techniques that have been found to be particularly helpful, raising coachees’ awareness and clarity around their personal core values, personal aspirations and the sense of meaning they bring to their life. Following from this, Sheila Panchal, Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer present ‘Developmental coaching across life transitions’ (Chapter 27). The view developed in this chapter covers life transitions and generational perspectives as well as positive growth. Coaching applied in this context is purposefully designed to facilitate the effective negotiation of key life transitions in a way that supports positive growth and development. A range of theoretical underpinnings and development theories may be usefully applied when coaching in this context. In the next chapter, ‘Adult learning as an approach to coaching’ (Chapter 28), David Lane, Marc Simon Kahn and Lloyd Chapman draw on a particular group of approaches and theories that have influenced many in the coaching field. Theories in this area are concerned with how adults learn, the core assumption being that people tend to have preferred ways of grasping and transforming experience that influence both what and how they learn and that understanding this will assist coaches in delivering more effective services. This chapter looks at how these theories and perspectives might be usefully applied in coaching and coaching psychology practice. Following from this, we explore ‘Career coaching’ (Chapter 29) together with Peter Fennah. The perspective taken regarding career coaching is a wide lens where career coaching is defined as the exploration of an individual’s willingness and capability to manage changes at work. Work fulfils a variety of practical

343

Introduction

and motivational needs for individuals globally, which can have positive impacts on individuals’ well-being and sense of identity as well as on their families, communities and society. The landscape of the workplace is changing rapidly, much of which is technology driven. Given the importance of work and the pace of change regardless of personal life choices, this is a rich area of coaching practice where coaching interventions can make a significant difference potentially impacting across the coachees’ span of employment. Strengthening resilience and creating a robust capability to thrive and sustain ourselves through all of life’s experiences and transitions is the subject of Chapter 30. Helen Williams, Stephen Palmer and Kristina Gyllensten integrate four niche areas of coaching in ‘Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching’. These four areas are linked through their shared aim of helping coachees achieve their health-related goals. Stress and lifestyle-associated illnesses are a serious and growing cost to individuals, business and wider society. With growing evidence that coaching is an effective intervention in stress management and resilience, as well as in the broader areas of health and wellbeing, this chapter offers insight into how specific models and approaches can be adapted for use in this context.

Coaching, complexity and system level interventions The first chapter in this section sets the scene: ‘Coaching at the edge of chaos: a complexity informed approach to coaching psychology’ (Chapter 31). Written by Lesley Kuhn and Alison Whybrow, coaching is viewed from a complexity sciences perspective with a view that complexity informed approaches might expand the knowledge base of coaching psychology. Some of the major organising principles and associated concepts of complexity are introduced and suggestions are offered for using complexity in practice. Chapter 32 looks at coaching interventions in whole organisational systems, providing insight into the psychological underpinnings around work design and coaching skill development. ‘Developing coaching in organisations: moving towards a coaching culture,’ by Alison Whybrow and Ed Nottingham, offers a framework and ways of approaching the development of coaching in organisations. Two case studies are included which offer very different approaches and highlight the diversity of approaches organisations might take with regards to whole system coaching interventions. Following from whole system interventions, one important and sizeable application intervention is that of ‘Leadership and executive coaching’ (Chapter 33). Here, Vicky Ellam-Dyson, Dasha Grajfoner, Alison Whybrow and Stephen Palmer discuss the role of leadership and executive coaching (LEC) in leadership development and explore the role of psychology in LEC, integrating psychological theory and practical application of interest to practitioners as well as researchers. Looking at the current leadership context and how coaching psychology has addressed these, the chapter then signposts the psychological underpinnings and offers implications for practice. The final chapter in this grouping comes from Sandy Gordon and Doug Mackie on the subject of ‘Team coaching’ (Chapter 34). This type of coaching intervention, whilst well established in sport, is relatively new in other contexts. The practice, definition, and the evidence-based literature on team coaching appears fragmented and inconsistent. At the same time, this is considered to be a significant area of growth for coaching application. The purposes of this chapter is to offer some clarity on accepted and contemporary theory and practice regarding team coaching and to introduce a strengths-based approach to coaching teams and creating coaching cultures.

344

Section 1

Individual transitions in life and work

26 Personal and life-coaching psychology Ole Michael Spaten

Introduction Personal coaching and life-coaching psychology is for assisting individuals to clarify values, visions and meaning of life through a systematic process in which the coach facilitates improvement of satisfying and fruitful life experiences and achievement of personal life goals. Personal coaching and life-coaching psychology has a specific focus and is delivered in a specific context (Dunbar, 2010; Palmer & Whybrow, 2008; Grant, 2003; Zeus & Skiffington, 2000; Neenan & Dryden, 2014). The focus is to identify each individual’s core values and aspirations and align them with goal attainment. Therefore, the focus of personal and life-coaching differs from, for example, executive and sports performance-focused coaching. According to Dunbar, “life coaching is the label that has been put on any kind of coaching that doesn’t relate to business or sports performance” (2010, p. 9). From this, all aspects of a coachee’s life apart from these may be explored in the coaching process. Moreover, personal coaching and life-coaching is usually delivered to (and paid by) individual, non-clinical clients, and the context is typically not organizational settings or team-coaching sessions. In this chapter, we first describe the development of the life-coaching approach, then definitions and theoretical foundations will be discussed, and then the chapter will extend how assumptions and theories are applicable to coaching psychology.

Development of personal coaching and life-coaching psychology Life-coaching emerged in the late 1970s alongside growth in the self-improvement field, the ‘new-age’ wave and the positive psychology movement (Dunbar, 2012). Being linked to the rise of human resource management (HRM) (Grant, 2003), ideas from these diverse fields have since then developed into a route for personal development (Whitmore, in Kauffman & Bachkirova, 2008) and turned into a booming business with enormous revenues worldwide (Coutu & Kauffman, 2009). While inspirations seem clear, we are not able to honour one singular scholar for the development of life-coaching, as it is associated with several well-known theoretical traditions comprising humanistic theory, cognitive-behavioural approaches, positive psychology, solution-focused coaching, goal setting theory and traditional psychoanalysis (Dunbar, 2012; Rogers, 1957; Palmer & Whybrow, 2008; Grant & Cavanagh, 2010; Bachkirova, 2011). Furthermore, Grant mentions that notwithstanding their different names, humanistic coaching, person-centred coaching, positive psychology coaching and relational coaching are put forth by the same basic principles (Grant, 2003). 347

Ole Michael Spaten

The somewhat eclectic theoretical base of the approach might show a dynamic strength but might also raise challenges regarding coherence. In the course of development, life-coaching has pragmatically been based on a broad range of methodologies from, for instance, education, psychology, sport and management (Palmer & Whybrow, 2008). Albeit the roots from coaching might have a long, broad tradition and history, personal and life-coaching is still a relatively new discipline working to create solid empirical foundations. The introduction of coaching courses, programmes and postgraduate degrees at universities worldwide signifies that significant progress has been made (Grant, 2016) since late 1970s. In spite of professionalization over the last few decades (Atad, Galily & Grant, 2013; Moore, 2010) and major constructive development (Grant, 2011), an academic vacuum seems to have emerged regarding the quality in life-coaching; specifically the lack of empirical research that examines whether and how lifecoaching works (Palmer & Whybrow, 2008). Consequently, the field can be illustrated as “developing in the reverse order, with the cart coming before the horse” (Grant, 2011, p. 112). This is seen, for instance, in the fact that training skills and the applied aspect of life-coaching was settled faster than the theoretical field and research.

Theory, basic concepts and assumptions in personal coaching and life-coaching Primarily, personal coaching and life-coaching derives from a fundamental belief that each person (coachee) is, and should to be treated as, a unique person of worth, dignity, capacity and significance. Most central is the belief in the person’s inherent capacity embodied by the organism’s self-regulation, self-motivation and self-determination. Traditional humanistic theory suggests that people have an inherent tendency toward growth and development. This tendency combined with organismic self-regulation will lead people toward actualizing of their full human potential (Maslow, 1943; Rogers, 1963). Self-determination theory was built upon a set of comparable organismic meta-theoretical assumptions (Ryan, Kuhl & Deci, 1997). Personal coaching and life-coaching share this fundamental belief that people are inherently active, curious, vital and self-motivated (Schneider et al., 2011). The coach collaborates with the coachee for a negotiation of changes and then follows a process with an awakening of inner determination and motivation in the coachee towards these desirable life changes, which points to a non-directive role of the coach. Each person is seen as having a fundamental capacity to understand herself, her problems, goal(s), intentions and direction and is considered to be an expert in her own life. Each person has the capacity to develop and initiate change in the direction of psychological growth, maximizing potential and maturity towards becoming an authentic self.

How can we understand: “towards being an authentic self”? Congruence indicates that the coach is real, genuine and open during interactions with the coachee. The coach is authentic and does not have a facade; that is, the internal and external experiences are one and the same. Congruence happens on a continuum rather than on an all-or-nothing basis (Corey, 1996). By pointing to this intentional aspect of ‘becoming’ rather than ‘being’, Rogers (1986) permits the therapist to work as a human being, including mistakes, flaws and all towards becoming an authentic self.

The coach-coachee relationship The interpersonal relationship between the coach and the coachee is viewed as being of paramount importance for the outcome of the coaching process (Gregory & Levy, 2013; O’Broin & Palmer, 2010). A good coaching relationship is characterized by the facilitation of the best environment, contract and contact in 348

Personal and life-coaching psychology

which the coachee can feel relaxed, equal, confident and free to bring personal issues into the coaching session (O’Broin & Palmer, 2010). Fundamentally, this means that the coach is skilled at: • • •

Making a quality setting of genuine acceptance and warmth; Developing a subtle capacity to take the coachee’s perspective; Sharing with the coachee the understanding of the inner world of the coachee, when appropriate.

Other important techniques could be listening skills, questioning skills, the general ability of self-understanding, the ability to validate and show an understanding for the coachee and the ability to reflect upon the coachee’s thoughts, feelings, words and body-language so the coachee feels relaxed and heard. As a result of these qualities, the coachee is more likely to: • • •

Find it safe to explore fearful aspects of life experiences Move to a more profound understanding and acceptance of all aspects of herself/himself Be able to restructure ‘self ’ in the direction of an ideal and healthy self; find it more fulfilling to be this restructured self; and finally realise that you no longer need a coach and are, as Rogers put it, ‘growing into independence’ (Rogers, 1940).

Assumptions Earlier life-coaching was defined more broadly and encompassed ‘the enhancement of work performance’; however, Grant tightened the context of life-coaching, stating that it “. . . typically tends to focus on goals that fall within the personal sphere rather than the work or employment sphere” (Grant & Cavanagh, 2010). It is likely that the field will continue to develop its orientation and as a science take part in a systematic process, open to new ideas and directions and associated with rigorous, critical thinking. A relevant question can be raised regarding whether distinct classifications are achievable. People’s daily life is often entwined with their work life, making any endeavour of a dichotomous distinction inevitably blurred. People are sometimes struggling with work-life balance and, in these instances, work life can become a subject for coaching. Aforementioned, life-coaching is primarily for non-clinical coachees who function well during everyday life but wish to improve certain aspects of their daily living. In agreement with this, Griffith and Campbell expressed that coaching clients “seek this form of help, when they are doing well, but wish to do better” (Griffith & Campbell, 2008, p. 166). Notably, different scholars through historical time have divergently defined life-coaching, but one mutual focus seems to be the view of life-coaching as a facilitation of people’s journey, moving forwards to generate transformation. The means of achieving this is by a systematic process where coach and coachee in collaboration examine the coachee’s values, visions, meaning of life and goal(s) through dialogue (Socratic dialogue, see below). This process might also include revisions of unhealthy patterns of thought and behaviour. More in-depth specifics of personal and life-coaching psychology will be presented in the next paragraph and through the case study well ahead.

Socratic ‘maieutic’ dialogue Within this perspective it is argued that coaching is about optimizing human growth and potential (Stober, 2006) through dialogue and knowledge about the coachee’s positions. The dialogical endeavour has been called guided discovery or Socratic dialogue in cognitive and behavioural coaching and therapy (Neenan & Palmer, 2012; Szymanska & Palmer, 2012). The explorative dialogue has roots in the Socratic philosophical tradition with questions, answers, reflections and recognition in turn. The process was originally framed ‘maieutic’ as in Greek for midwife – a helper at birth and delivery. This indicates a function of the philosopher (the coach) as a midwife of the soul (Steinmetz, 2012). 349

Ole Michael Spaten

The coachee’s journey in search of values, meaning of life, self-actualization and growth could yet be of importance to further reaching transformations because “coaching helps build responsibility into the other person by enhancing their capability to make choices and decisions on their own. Coaching can be the midwife of this transformation in the evolution of the mankind” (Kaufmann & Bachkirova, 2008, p. 11). Thus, this form of dialogue has a long historical tradition, and the metaphor of the coach taking the role of a midwife underlines the transformative role of the coach. When the idea of acting as a midwife (Steinmetz, 2012) is seen through this theoretical prism, it illustrates a particular relation between the life coach and the coachee characterized by the coach being ‘leaned back’, genuinely accepting, understanding and observant, and ‘leaned forward’, encouraging, positive, confident, authentic, enduring and reflectively listening – all at the same time!

Practice The interventions done in personal coaching and life-coaching cover an extensive thematic range, and interventions can encompass, for instance, the coachee’s experience of dilemma, of something new happening, something being over, or generally lacking satisfaction. It could also regard health-related matters, and several scholars also include performance-related matters (Dunbar, 2010; Newnham-Kansas, 2011; Schneider et al., 2011; Holland, 2007; Grant, 2011; Neenan & Palmer, 2012).

Values, meaning of life, visions and goal setting Evidently, a life coach is typically visited during times of change and transition, where the client usually needs help to be moved forward. The notion of a ‘coach’ derives from the Hungarian word ‘kocgsci’, which translates to a wagon – a method of transportation that moves you from one place to another. In coaching this metaphor refers to a mental move. Therefore, the overall goal of personal and life-coaching is to help coachees move towards somewhere better and different. It is therefore essential that the coach and the coachee in collaboration specify this ‘somewhere better and different’ in terms of goal(s), and that they explore the usable values, and meaning of life. The coachee’s meaning of life, values, visions and goal(s) could be the focal point during the foundational phase or later on. However, the timing of the determination of goals is a matter of discussion. As Clutterbuck points out, “fixing upon specific goals at the start of a relationship can sometimes be a crutch for the coach, rather than for the benefit of the coachee” (2010, p. 73), so is important that the coach is aware of the repercussions of goal setting on the process of change. Following this, the negotiation of goal(s) could be a continuous creation around sessions and therefore rather be a consequence of the coaching process instead of a fixed goal during the foundational phase of the coaching sessions.

Making contact and a contract In personal coaching and life-coaching, the interpersonal relationship between coach and coachee is of vital importance for the coaching outcome (Gregory & Levy, 2013; O’Broin & Palmer, 2010). Both parties assess their interpersonal relationship throughout the contracting process (O’Broin & Palmer, 2008), and with the ambition to achieve a capable coaching relationship, it is indispensable to negotiate a clear contract from the beginning of the coaching sessions (Dunbar, 2010). Establishing psychological contact and contract is a conjoint practice. The contract and establishment of a fruitful working alliance includes: 1) a clarification of the purpose of coaching and, if possible, coaching goals, 2) transparency about the tasks of the coach and the coachee and 3) an agreement on mutual respect, empathy and a continual validation process with genuine regard and acceptance (O’Broin & Palmer, 2010; Bluckert, 2006). Empathy is primarily an attitude and a way of being in tune with another person’s experience, but skills could be trained to achieve an optimal relationship. Skills for building relationships have shown to be of upmost importance (Rogers, 1957). 350

Personal and life-coaching psychology

A proper negotiation of contract is conducted because it reduces the probability of misunderstandings and failed expectations and can assist the formulation of goal(s). Contracting also includes informed consent and confidentiality issues; furthermore, it differentiates what issues are to be part of the coaching dialogue and what will not take part: what is inside and what is outside the coaching agreement, so to speak (Hudson & McLean, 1995). Negotiation of contract also comprises an agreement upon frequency, time schedule and structure of sessions, fee and cancellation policy among others. Expectations, agreements, commitments may change during coaching sessions and therefore the contract could be understood as a dynamic tool.

Boundaries and distinctions between coaching and therapy When we analyse boundaries and distinctions between these fields of intervention, two of the most commonly (de Freitas, 2014; Cavanagh & Palmer, 2006; Grant, 2014; Spaten, 2013) applied demarcations are: 1) 2)

Is it a “clinical” or a “non-clinical” population? Is there a distinct goal(s) for the coaching intervention, or is it therapy?

These distinctions can be elaborated based: 1) a) on an assessment of whether it is a so-called clinical or non-clinical problem/population on the foundation of diagnostic criteria. The following two variations are modifications of the first one: b) the distinction between clinical or non-clinical is individually based on the client’s and psychologist’s assessment, c) it is based on the framework for the conversation: Is the dialogue defined as coaching or is it defined as therapy? Voids will be addressed. Regarding the goals for coaching: 2) the boundaries and distinctions between therapy and coaching are drawn by stating that the core goal(s) of coaching and therapy are always very different. Virtually all coaching is directed against a specific benefit, goal focused and well defined; whereas the therapeutic work in a broader sense seeks to improve or cure conditions and mental health problems (Berg & Szabó, 2005). Life-coaching will usually focus on a future perspective, and the awareness and self-consciousness of the coachee is aimed to increase in the here-and-now with a goal of accumulating meaning and value to future actions. In (humanistic) therapy or counselling, this self-awareness in itself could be the aim, and often therapy is characterized by an emotional retrospective focus in relation to the opportunity of future changes (Stober, 2006). As mentioned above, the coachees differ in the sense that personal coaching and life-coaching concerns people from a population who are well functioning (non-clinical). Contrariwise, humanistic therapy or counselling concerns people who are dysfunctional (clinical), largely able to function fairly normal, with an aim to expectantly experience a kind of well-being (Joseph, 2006; Joseph & Bryant-Jefferies, 2007; Stober, 2006). However, this distinction is dubious, because as Palmer and Whybrow (2006) suggest, even non-clinical populations contain potentially vulnerable coachees. This may infer that some coachees may be experiencing psychological difficulties and should be referred to counselling or therapy before or during coaching sessions.

Some pitfalls in the grey zone area between coaching and services besides As stated above, coaching is an intervention designed for a non-clinical population, i.e. ‘mentally healthy’ people. Nonetheless, the discipline of personal coaching and life-coaching certainly shares boundaries with interventions such as counselling, mentoring, consulting and therapy; imminent there is sensible concern that ‘deep personal issues can shallow’ throughout coaching sessions (Cavanagh, 2005). Thus the professional requirements of the coach need to be considered, such as the following: •

The coach should be educated enough to distinguish between the scope of these services, and thereby be able to maneuvers the grey zones coaching inescapably has, so that the coach does not try to deal with issues outside jurisdiction and the agreed coaching contract, (Grant, 2007). 351

Ole Michael Spaten



Furthermore, the coach must carefully assess the coachee and decide if the coachee is able to participate in personal coaching and life-coaching or should be referred to other services.

In a survey conducted by Harvard Business Review with 140 respondents, it was presented that coaches were not hired by private companies to deal with personal issues (Coutu & Kauffman, 2009). The question was: “Are you frequently hired to address personal issues”? Only 3 per cent answered yes to that question. However, personal issues may be raised by the coachee during a coaching session. In the same survey the question was raised: “Have you ever assisted executives with personal issues?” In this investigation, 76 per cent answered yes to that question (Coutu & Kauffman, 2009). If coaches are not sufficiently informed, educated and qualified to work with such issues, this might pose the alarming notion that these coaches maltreat their coachees (Beagles, 2002). Other studies have shown that 52 per cent of a sample number of people who signed up for coaching suffered from ‘significant levels of depression, anxiety and stress’ (Green, Oades & Grant, 2006). It is stated in the ethical guidelines and conduct (e.g. BPS) that a psychologist must be aware of the limits of their competence and knowledge. It is therefore of the uttermost importance that they can make accurate and correct assessments of a potential coachee’s psychological conditions. This involves the coach being able to refer coachees assessed with clinical problems to suitable specialized professionals in the treatment system (Spence, Cavanagh & Grant, 2006; Grant, 2007). A coach is disqualified if the coach offering personal coaching or life-coaching is not skilled enough to differentiate which coachees should be signed up for coaching and which should be referred to other services. We shall return to this theme in relation to the forthcoming case study, seeing as it is utterly important to assess potential coachees before an engagement. The consequences of misplacing the coachees may be fatal for the coachees and for the credibility of the profession. (For a fuller discussion, see Chapter 36 on boundaries).

Ending the session Endings have a tendency to bring forth essential events, so it is vital to plan ahead for the termination of a relationship (Clutterbuck & Megginson, 2004). As every coaching session must come to an end, so too must the coaching collaboration. One of the main reasons to plan for a good ending is to foresee how a positive, fruitful and valuable ending to the coaching alliance can be achieved and possible main issues brought forward for the benefit of the coachee (Cox, 2010). Often each personal and life-coaching session, as well as a series of such, ends by the coach asking the coachee to summarize what has been meaningful during the session(s). The aim of this practise is to increase the coachee’s awareness of what has been accomplished as well as to offer the coach some feedback. Unlike therapy, the termination of coaching sessions will presumably not raise feelings of grief, loss and anxiety, but ending a coaching relationship should be designed to address whatever feelings may arise. Experiencing a proper good-bye can be helpful for the coachee in the work to continue the development of meaningful and authentic relationships. In the everyday life of most coachees there will be a series of beginnings and endings in relationships, and the aim of life-coaching is to return the acquired awareness into everyday life and exercise the findings in real life. Ultimately, some final comments can be added regarding the process of ending the sessions. It is considered helpful to look back, evaluate, look forward and say good-bye. Although life-coaching usually is not open-ended, it is the duty of the coach to signal that the process should come to an end if it is obvious that the coachee will have no benefits from continuing sessions. Furthermore, from the contractual beginning a fixed amount of sessions was assigned and clear and consistent goals were negotiated, and it is obvious to end the sessions when these goals are met.

Which coachees benefit most? Most coachees can benefit from personal coaching and life-coaching, but those who share its fundamental beliefs and are willing to explore, experiment and engage in the process will benefit the most. The coach should have relevant training and an understanding of clinical disorders, so as to be able to 352

Personal and life-coaching psychology

precisely exclude coachees belonging to a clinical population who would benefit instead from counselling or therapy. Part of the coaching process is about awakening the coachee’s internal motivation, so coachees referred for coaching by their company need to consider their personal values and the purpose of engaging in the coaching process and an exact personal description of the problem at stake. Part of the coaching process is about setting goal(s) regarding whatever issues need to be worked through and solved. The nature of personal coaching and lifecoaching relies on the ability to raise awareness and discuss values and meaning of life, and as such the approach seeks coachees able to base the coaching dialogues on verbal communication and reflections about these issues.

Case study Jack and Carol The following case study contains an assembly of several differentiated coaching sessions in regards to its content and character, and hence the dialogue excerpts are not verbatim but reconstructed. This is done for the sake of clarity of the case study, to underscore certain points and ultimately to shield the real identity of Jack and Carol. At 9 a.m. Monday morning Jack enters the psychologist’s office at Primrose Hill High School. He is offered a seat and informs the psychologist what he had previously disclosed to his teacher regarding some problems he was experiencing. He had told his teacher that his childhood was characterized by instability. His father was absent a lot from home, and neither he nor Jack’s mother seemed able or willing to talk to Jack about feelings or perceived conflicts. Only when Jack talked about situations at school where he had performed well was his mother able to listen attentively. For several years after the divorce the contact with his mother was volatile and occupied by the persistent conflict between father and mother. To this day his relationship with her remains characterized by a sense of failure. All these experiences he had revealed to his teacher on the previous Friday. They had a useful talk and in the end she recommended Jack to visit the school’s psychologist, Carol, whereas she also offers personal and life-coaching. A sharp sound of a chair scratching made Jack realise that he was not fully present in the office, and he continues “. . . and here I am. I really don’t know if you’ll be able to help me, but . . .” Carol takes note of his wandering mind and ascribes it to be of disassociating character. Carol: “Well, let’s see what we can make of it. Today we’ll have an initial coaching session and then we can decide if you would like further sessions. The coaching sessions will be strictly confidential, and I’ll not report anything to anybody, unless you tell me you are going to do harm to yourself or others or to the world we live in. Do you agree to participate under these conditions?” Jack:

“Yes, that’s ok”.

Carol: “Ok, let’s begin. I would like you to start by tell me about the most important of your problems which you encounter during these days”. Jack:

“I think my problems are kind of intertwined and it started just shortly after I began high school this fall. I’ve always been close with my grandmother, and it was her idea that I join Primrose Hill. I think it’s necessary to work hard and perform more than one hundred per cent to get through. I want to study chemistry. But I failed from the beginning in this class, so I tried to work harder….”

Carol thinks “it is necessary to work very hard” is one of Jack’s core beliefs. Carol: “Hmm, so you worked very hard and I understand you really want to work very hard to reach your goal?”

353

Ole Michael Spaten

Jack:

“Yes, I must”.

Carol: “Hmmm, you must, and you tried to, but anyhow then you said you failed. Tell me more about what you mean by that”. Jack:

“I felt sad in the new class. Where I went to school before I had this superb standing as a very good pupil. Now I feel like I can’t keep up, and I feel like a complete failure”.

Carol notices that Jack seems to be thinking in all or nothing terms. Carol: “Hmm, I see”. Jack:

“Already from the first week of the class, I was very surprised that the commonly positive feedback from teachers I received in elementary school was suddenly not present anymore. And I felt a kind of an unknown ‘anonymity’ around me! I felt very insecure, and I didn’t know what I could do to ‘become more visible’ in class”.

Carol thinks that Jack’s feeling of anonymity around him might be reactivating his early childhood attachment issues, and now a lack of acknowledgement. Carol: “I can understand that you felt surprised, but right now let me try to understand you in the best possible way: Is the most important problem right now ‘to be visible in the class’?” Jack:

“I’m confused and I don’t know what the most important problem is right now, because I also have been experiencing lately, for the first time ever, a lack of desire for leaving to go to school in the morning. I had these big expectations when I entered school earlier this year, but now everything seems different!”

Carol: “What do you do when you feel this way?” Jack:

“I don’t know, I feel lonely, and my teacher thinks that I’ve become increasingly gloomy”.

Carol thinks he is dissociated and begins pondering whether he experiences other symptoms that can be associated with a depressive state. Carol: “Hmm. How is it to be you when this happens?” Jack:

“Well, I’m frightened that it won’t get better. The relationship in my family has become increasingly tense. I’m so angry with my mum. . . . Sometimes I’m unable to fall asleep and sleep through the night; instead, I wake up while I torture myself with awful thoughts”.

Carol notes that lack of sleep is one of the classic signs of depression. Carol: “So you’re not able to sleep at night sometimes. I would like to know how often this happens to you and for how long has it been like this?” Jack:

“It’s on and off, but I guess it happens once or twice every week, and it’s been like this for the last month or two”.

Carol: “Can you explain to me what you tell yourself when you have these awful thoughts?” Jack:

“For instance that I’m no good at all and so on”.

Carol: “Hmm, so you tell yourself that you’re no good at all. These awful thoughts, torturing yourself and that you sometimes don’t sleep at night are all very important signs to take seriously regarding your well-being. We shall revisit this at the end of the session today. Before that I would like to return to your daily life at school, ok?” Jack:

354

“Ok, that’s fine”.

Personal and life-coaching psychology

Carol: “So, could you describe your experiences in school?” Jack:

“I feel unable to do my homework, which means that I get started very late in the evening with my homework, and I’m often unsure if it is done properly. So I often go to bed late and feel exhausted the next morning . . .”

Carol thinks she needs to assess if there have been any thoughts about suicide, because many symptoms point towards depression. She continues for some time to examine whether the symptoms revealed by Jack could lead to a hypothesis about clinical depression. How would Carol understand and interpret Jack and his situation: Is Jack suitable for coaching? The essential question is whether the coachee (Jack) is ready for coaching, i.e. is he and his problem ‘non-clinical’, or if he should be referred to counselling, a clinical psychologist, a psychiatrist or a doctor. His inability to sleep could threaten his well-being, and it can make him vulnerable. His sleep difficulties could be understood as a maintaining factor for clinical disorders and one of several signs of depression. This ‘red flag’ should alert Carol to raise further questions to possibly exclude the risk of a clinical depression.

Schoolwork and being good enough Jack worries a lot about being good enough and executing his homework at a satisfactory academic standard. Carol would like to explore whether his aspirations are at a somewhat perfectionistic level. Jack often works very late to finish his homework and then goes to bed too late – this becomes a vicious circle, which will leave him sleep deprived and still unsure whether he is doing fine or good enough. Carol understands this vicious circle and wants to explore if there exists concrete evidence that supports his assumptions about not being good enough. Jack seems to be motivated by good grades and acceptance from teachers, peers and family members. He must perform at a high and almost perfect level to be good enough. Carol asks herself if his sense of a fundamental lack of love, lack of an unconditional positive regard and lack of a sense of belonging drive him to overcompensate. A goal for Jack is to function better during daily life and to come back on track towards self-actualisation by choosing educational ambitions according to his own valuing process. Carol understands that many of Jack’s worries and negative automatic thinking could denote Jack’s rather difficult childhood. His conditioned self-regard leaves him able to accept himself only when living up to high demands.

From his parents’ divorce to him feeling alone at high school Carol wants to understand what meaning of life and which values motivate Jack. He is advised to start college and actualise and fulfil his potentials and dreams about studying at University level and through this endeavour realise his true self. This decision is made by Jack and his grandmother in unison. Now at high school, he experiences being in an environment without much positive acknowledgement from peers or teachers. A pathogenic environment can inhibit our potentials, and in college Jack longs for his earlier and frequent academic recognition. He loses hope, distorts his self-image and perceives a rather unknown sense of an insecure base. All these huge changes in life conditions shatter his visions, dreams, meaning of life, values and self-respect. It is likely that the following sessions will explore these conditions further. Furthermore, Carol thinks he is at risk to re-activate his old story about being “left alone” by his parents and should consider how his current situation is different from his childhood situation. In the end of next session, Carol will decide whether Jack is more suitable for counselling instead of personal and life-coaching.

355

Ole Michael Spaten

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

How can coachees identify if they are moving towards their authentic and genuine selves instead of following the coach’s itinerary? Can coaches learn to execute a genuine relationship, be authentic, show empathy, and respond with unconditional positive regard? Are there certain challenges encountered by coachees to which personal and life-coaching is the superior approach and other challenges where the approach has limited value? What tools and techniques from this approach enable personal and life-coaching to generate long-time, permanent positive changes, and to which extent do you think the approach has this outcome?

Suggested reading Grant, A. M., & Cavanagh, M. (2010). Life coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The Complete Handbook of Coaching (pp. 297–310). London: Sage. Joseph, S., & Bryant-Jefferies, R. (2007). Person-centred coaching psychology. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners (pp. 211–228). London and New York, NY, US: Routledge. Neenan, M., & Dryden, W. (2014). Life Coaching: A Cognitive Behavioural Approach (2nd ed.). New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. Nelson-Jones, R. (2006). Life Coaching Skills: How to Develop Skilled Clients. London, GB: SAGE Publications Ltd.

References Atad, O. I., Galily, Y., & Grant, A. M. (2013). Life coaching in Israel: An overview of Israel’s burgeoning life coaching industry. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 11, 112–121. Bachkirova, T. (2011). Developmental Coaching: Working with the Self. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Berg, I. K., & Szabó, P. (2005). Brief Coaching for Lasting Solutions. New York, NY, US: W W Norton & Co. Berglas, S. (2002). The very real dangers of executive coaching. Harvard Business Review, 80(6), 86–93. Bluckert, P. (2006). Psychological Dimensions of Executive Coaching. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press. Cavanagh, M. (2005). Mental health issues and challenging clients in executive coaching. In M. Cavanagh, A. M. Grant & T. Kemp (Eds.), Evidence-Based Coaching (Vol. 1, pp. 21–36). Bowen Hills, Qld: Australian Academic Press. Cavanagh, M., & Palmer, S. (2006). The theory, practice and research base of Coaching Psychology is developing at a fast pace. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(2), 5–7. Clutterbuck, D. (2010). Coaching reflection: The liberated coach. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 3(1), 73–81. Clutterbuck, D., & Megginson, D. (2004). All good things must come to an end: Winding up and winding down a mentoring relationship. In D. Clutterbuck & G. Lane (Eds.), The Situational Mentor: An International Review of Competences and Capabilities in Mentoring (pp. 178–193). Aldershot: Gower. Corey, G. (1996). Theory & Practice of Counselling and Psychotherapy. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. Coutu, D., & Kauffman, C. (2009). What can coaches do for you? Harvard Business Review, 1, 1–7. Cox, E. (2010). Last things first: Ending well in the coaching relationship. In S. Palmer & A. McDowall (Eds.), The Coaching Relationship: Putting People First (pp. 159–181). New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. de Freitas, S. B., Habib, L. R., Sardinha, A., King, A. L. S., Barbosa, G., Coutinho, F. C., Martiny-Costa, C., de Carvalho, M. R., Palmer, S., Nardi, A. E., & Dias, G. P. (2014). Cognitive-behavioural therapy and cognitive-behavioural coaching: Differences and similarities between the two approaches. Revista Brasileira de Terapias Cognitivas, 10, 1. Dunbar, A. (2010). Essential Life Coaching Skills. New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. Grant, A. M. (2003). The impact of life coaching on goal attainment, metacognition and mental health. Social Behavior & Personality, 31(3), 253–264. Grant, A. M. (2006). A personal perspective on professional coaching and the development of coaching psychology. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(1), 12–22. Grant, A. M. (2007). A model of goal striving and mental health for coaching populations. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2(3), 248–262. Grant, A. M. (2011). Workplace, executive and life coaching: An annotated bibliography from the behavioural science literature. Coaching Psychology Unit, University of Sydney: Sydney. Grant, A. M. (2014). Autonomy support, relationship satisfaction and goal focus in the coach–coachee relationship: Which best predicts coaching success? Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 7(1), 18–38 .

356

Personal and life-coaching psychology

Grant, A. M. (2016). What can Sydney tell us about coaching? Research with implications for practice from down under. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 68(2), 105–117. Grant, A. M., & Cavanagh, M. (2010). Life coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The Complete Handbook of Coaching (pp. 297–310). London: Sage. Green, L. S., Oades, L. G., & Grant, A. M. (2006). Cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused life coaching: Enhancing goal striving, well-being, and hope. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(3), 142–149. Gregory, J. B., & Levy, P. E. (2013). Humanistic/person-centered approaches. In J. Passmore, D. B. Peterson & T. Freire (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring. (pp. 285–297). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Griffith, K., & Campbell, M. (2008). Semantics or substance? Preliminary evidence in the debate between life coaching and counselling. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 1(2), 164–175. Holland, A. (2007). Counseling/coaching in chronic aphasia: Getting on with life. Topics in Language Disorders, 27(4), 339–350. Hudson, F. M., & McLean, P. D. (1995). Life Launch: A Passionate Guide to the Rest of Your Life. Santa Barbara, CA: The Hudson Institute Press. Joseph, S. (2006). Person-centred coaching psychology: A meta-theoretical perspective. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1, 47–54. Joseph, S., & Bryant-Jefferies, R. (2007). Person-centred coaching psychology. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners (pp. 211–228). London and New York, NY, US: Routledge. Kauffman, C., & Bachkirova, T. (2008). The evolution of coaching: A cottage industry grows up. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 1(1), 10–14. Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396. Moore, M. (2010, Sept. 25). From coaching evidence to coaching demonstrations. A speech given during the Coaching in Medicine & Leadership Conference, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Boston, MA. Neenan, M., & Dryden, W. (2014). Life Coaching: A Cognitive Behavioural Approach (2nd ed.). New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. Neenan, M., & Palmer, S. (2012). Cognitive Behavioural Coaching in Practice: An Evidence Based Approach. Hove: Routledge. Newnham-Kanas, C., Morrow, D., & Irwin, J. D. (2011). Participants’ perceived utility of motivational interviewing using co-active life coaching skills on their struggle with obesity. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 4(2), 104–122. O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2008). Reappraising the coach-client relationship: The unassuming change agent in coaching. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.) Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners (pp. 295–324). New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2010). Exploring key aspects in the formation of coaching relationships: Initial indicators from the perspective of the coachee and the coach. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 3(2), 124–143. Palmer, S., & Whybrow, A. (2008). Coaching psychology: An introduction. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of Coaching Psychology. Hove: Routledge. Rogers, C. R. (1940). The processes of therapy. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 4(5), 161–164. Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), 95–103. Rogers, C. R. (1963). Actualizing tendency in relation to “Motives” and to consciousness. In Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (pp. 1–24). Oxford: University Nebraska Press. Rogers, C. R. (1986). Reflection of feelings and transference. Person-Centered Review, 1, 375–377. Ryan, R. M., Kuhl, J., & Deci, E. L. (1997). Nature and autonomy: An organizational view of social and neurobiological aspects of self-regulation in behavior and development. Development and Psychopathology, 9(4), 701–728. Schneider, J. I., Hashizume, J., Heak, S., Maetani, L., Ozaki, R. R., & Watanabe, D. L. (2011). Identifying challenges, goals and strategies for success for people with diabetes through life coaching. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 34(2), 129–139. Spaten, O. M. (2013). Coachingpsykologi i Danmark – forskning, teori og praksis. [Coaching-Psychology in Denmark – Research, Theory and Practice]. Psyke & Logos, 34(2), 421–442. Spence, G. B., Cavanagh, M. J., & Grant, A. M. (2006). Duty of care in an unregulated industry: Initial findings on the diversity and practices of Australian coaches. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(1), 71–85. Steinmetz, J. (2012). Life coach as midwife: Reflections on a Socratic metaphor. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 5(1), 43–54. Stober, D. R. (2006). Coaching from the humanistic perspective. In D. R. Stober & A. M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence Based Coaching Handbook: Putting Best Practices to Work for Your Clients (pp. 17–49). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Szymanska, K., & Palmer, S. (2012). Understanding CBT: Develop Your Own Toolkit to Reduce Stress and Increase Well-Being. London: Kogan Page. Zeus, P., & Skiffington, S. (2000). The Complete Guide to Coaching at Work. Roseville, NSW: McGraw-Hill.

357

27 Developmental coaching across life transitions Sheila Panchal, Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer

Introduction Various views of developmental coaching exist, and indeed it could be a term that is applicable to all coaching. By some it has been used to refer to an approach which encompasses the whole person rather than focusing on skills and performance (Leonard-Cross, 2010). The particular view of developmental coaching that is explored in this chapter covers three key facets: life transitions, generational perspectives and positive growth. It acknowledges the inevitability of growing older, whilst recognising individual differences. To summarise, the definition of developmental coaching underpinning this chapter is: Developmental coaching facilitates the effective negotiation of key lifespan transitions, supporting positive growth and development. It draws insight from the relevant broader context influencing the coachee’s experience of transition, such as cultural factors and generational influences. Palmer and Panchal (2011, p. 5) To further set the scene, there are a number of important considerations that are appropriate to highlight within the context of developmental coaching: •

• • •

Social context is important in that cultural and generational factors influence coaching work in this area. These themes might also help to determine how conflicts, challenges and opportunities may be experienced in the coachee’s current social setting. However, an important caveat is that we avoid stereotypes and generalisations when working in this coaching context. All coaching may be developmental to some degree (e.g. moving beyond skills progression). This is a broad, diverse and at times complex coaching psychology topic. There are a range of child and adult developmental theories in this area.

The development of developmental coaching The approach presented here is significantly influenced by lifespan development theory. Key theorists such as Erikson (1950), Levinson and associates (1978) and others have discussed the idea of ‘transition’ during the lifespan. These have contributed key concepts to the formation of developmental coaching across life

358

Developmental coaching across life transitions

transitions. From this perspective coaching can be seen to be a helpful way to support an individual to negotiate significant life transition points and, therefore, grow and develop. Specific to developmental coaching across life transitions is the idea that there may be challenges associated with a particular stage, or phase, of life that need to be addressed. Key developments and considerations in this application of coaching include: life transition points, social and generational factors, and possibilities associated with positive ageing. An important idea to note at this early point, though, is that the coachee may not always perceive challenges negatively, even though action may be needed.

Life transition points A number of life transition points have been considered within this area, and the definition presented in Palmer and Panchal’s (2011) introduction of Developmental Coaching can be helpfully related to how coaches and coaching psychologists support their coachees at these times (also see O’Riordan, Palmer, & Panchal, 2017). In this text, Palmer and Panchal (2011, p. 4) defined a life transition point as “ . . . key turning points that many of us are likely to experience during the lifespan, with varying degrees of opportunity and challenge”. Life transitions can include specific events such as a career transition or moving job or house, as well as more global life transitions, such as parenthood, divorce or retirement. Levinson and associates (1978) stated that “the primary tasks of every transition period are to question and reappraise the existing structure, to explore the various possibilities for change in self and world, and to move toward a commitment to crucial choices that form a basis for a new life structure in the ensuing stable period”. Life transitions can thus be considered as opportunities for learning and development (e.g. Merriam, 1998), which is an important theoretical and philosophical underpinning for the developmental coaching process.

Social and generational factors The second important concept allied to developmental coaching is that of the wider social context and generational factors. This means having a view of cultural and generational trends that may impact upon a person’s experience of life transitions (Palmer & Panchal, 2011, p. 4). For example, in what ways does retirement differ today from 40 years ago? Recent work has looked at the changing features and experiences of later life that have perhaps been overlooked thus far in the literature, such as the health and well-being of grandparents caring for grandchildren (Glaser, di Gessa, & Tinker, 2014).

Possibilities associated with positive ageing Finally, a central assumption associated with developmental coaching is to facilitate a positive stance towards growing older consistent with work on ‘positive ageing’ and positive psychology in general. This allows individuals to focus on their strengths and take advantage of the developmental and transformational opportunities associated with each transition rather than become mired with anxiety or concern. A study by Levy and associates (2002) noted a link between positive self-perceptions of ageing and longevity. Strenger and Ruttenberg (2008) highlighted that the notion of ‘midlife change’ and associated opportunities is more prevalent than the trauma of mid-life crisis (Jacques, 1965).

Theory and basic concepts of developmental coaching A range of theory and research informs the field of developmental coaching across life transitions and draws on many areas of psychology. The breadth of this domain of coaching also introduces insights from other allied disciplines such as anthropology, politics, sociology, economics and management theory.

359

Sheila Panchal et al.

As mentioned, a key focus is on lifespan development theory; key theorists include Erikson (1950, 1995) and Levinson and associates (1978), who describe adult development in terms of stages or phases. Theories such as Erikson’s draw attention to universalities within the life cycle yet tend to neglect the individual differences involved in adult development and arguably lack an adequate explanation around later life transition. As individuals we are unique with a particular set of experiences that impact our personality and developmental journey. Hendry and Kloep (2002) describe “a dynamic lifelong process of accumulating and losing resources, which is different for every individual”. The notion of consistency across the lifespan as opposed to discrete stages as supported by life course perspectives (Kim & Moen, 2002), and continuity theories (e.g. Atchley, 1989), is also worth noting. In addition, theories of self can provide an insightful perspective for coaches and coaching psychologists supporting coachees through life transitions. Markus and Nurius (1986) asserted that all individuals have a range of ‘possible selves’. This can include the people we would like to become, expect to become, or fear becoming: Possible selves are the ideal selves that we would very much like to become. They are also the selves that we could become and are afraid of becoming. The possible selves that are hoped for might include the successful self, the creative self, the rich self, the thin self, or the loved and admired self, whereas, the dreaded possible selves could be the alone self, the depressed self, the incompetent self, the alcoholic self, the unemployed self, or the bag lady self. (Markus and Nurius, 1986, p. 954) These examples or the coachee’s own personal constructions can be explored through the coaching conversation. The use of imagery and visualisation can be used to assist the process by the coachee imagining, in their mind’s eye, the various future selves. In our experience coachees can benefit from discussing their negative, neutral and positive future selves they have created. Their fears may not be realistic, or they may realise that there are alternative and desired possible selves they could work towards. The outcome does not have to be bleak. According to Palmer and Panchal (2011), transition psychology is an additional key theoretical underpinning of developmental coaching (e.g. Kubler-Ross, 1969; Bridges, 1995). This field explores the range of emotions associated with transitions, and the concepts of both challenge and opportunity. Often applied to specific life changes such as redundancy, it also offers a useful perspective on broader life transitions such as mid-life. It can be helpful as a way to see emotions as a ‘normal’ aspect of personal change. There are a number of additional fields that have contributed to the development of developmental coaching, including positive psychology. Four key closely related areas that inform developmental coaching are stress, resilience, coping and wellbeing theories and research (e.g. Palmer & Cooper, 2013; Palmer & Gyllensten, 2015a, 2015b). It can be important that the coach or coaching psychologist acknowledges that transition can be a stressful and challenging period which can negatively impact upon their coachee’s resilience and well-being. One role of the coach or coaching psychologist is to build coping strategies and resources in individuals. These can range from challenging thinking styles to physical exercise. These strategies can be applied from one transition to another. For example, if a teenager learns how to maximise the benefits of social support and ‘ask for help’ during these years, they can draw on these skills when negotiating later transitions, such as ‘turning 30’. Schlossberg and associates’ (1995) transition theory identifies four sets of factors that impact a person’s ability to cope with transition – situation, self, support and strategies. At the extreme, transitions can be the catalyst for severe anxiety and depression. Stanley and associates (2009) suggested that transition is a useful concept when considering risk factors for suicide. They studied student suicide in higher education, based on 20 case studies.

360

Developmental coaching across life transitions

Generational factors Another key aspect of developmental coaching across life transitions is to consider how broader social factors can affect how life transitions are experienced today. Although generational definitions and age ranges may differ slightly, the following categories can be a guide (adapted CIPD, 2008): • • • • • •

Veterans (or Traditionalists), born 1939–1947 Baby Boomers, born 1948–1963 Generation X, born 1964–1978 Generation Y (or Millennials/Generation Next), born 1979–1991 Generation Z, born 1991–2009 Generation A/Alpha, born 2010+.

There are some broad social themes that affect how we live today which transcend all generations. Our view of developmental coaching keeps these influences in mind as useful context when coaching individuals (Palmer & Panchal, 2011): • • • • • •

Consumerism and materialism Social mobility Technology Choice Legislative changes Demographic shifts.

As noted at the start of this chapter, stereotypes and assumptions are to be avoided. The discussion about broad social trends and generational differences aims to contextualise how life transitions may be experienced in today’s Western society. Over time, these trends will evolve, and the overriding message within developmental coaching is to maintain awareness of broader influences on the experience of coachees.

Developmental coaching in practice Developmental coaching can be delivered via various media including face-to-face, telephone and online communication systems such as Skype or VSee. This tends to take place in a one-to-one setting. A key skill of the coach or coaching psychologist is to be flexible and work ‘in the moment’ to engage in coaching conversation with the coachee rather than there being a typical or set structure and format to the session. Whilst by no means an exhaustive list, coaching psychology approaches that are usefully applied in developmental coaching include: • • • • • •

humanistic/person (coachee) centred – focusing on the whole person and aspects such as self-continuity solution-focused coaching – moving beyond problem talk and focusing on transferable skills narrative coaching – storytelling cognitive behavioural coaching – supporting coachees to think in a healthier and more helpful way behavioural coaching – offering facilitation towards behavioural action and the building of self-efficacy positive psychology – with a focus on strengths and positive ageing.

A model to support our view of developmental coaching was developed by Palmer and Panchal (2011, pp. 20–21). Figure 27.1. combines generational factors and life transitions so a coach can identify where a particular coachee could be placed and, therefore, what types of developmental and social context may be helpful to understand. Figure 27.2 uses the flexible INSIGHT framework to look at different

361

Sheila Panchal et al.

coaching approaches and techniques that can be applied to developmental coaching. It is not necessary to apply all the concepts of the framework with coachees as this may depend upon the presenting issue, the coachee’s life experiences and particular skills and competencies. The coach should maintain focus on individual differences and avoiding stereotypes. The INSIGHT framework can potentially facilitate positive transitions. There is an important observation we can reflect upon in relation to developmental coaching: in general, it is unlikely that the coachee approaches each new experience as a novice. So, even though we must be mindful of varying life experience and individual differences, there are likely to be some commonalities for people as they negotiate different transitions across their lifespan. This fits well with the philosophy of coaching in general. In support of this perspective, Palmer and Panchal (2011, p. 19) have suggested that, “successful negotiation of one transition can set up success for future changes”. Thus positive transitions can lead to enhanced self-efficacy. There are a range of techniques and specific approaches that can be particularly helpful in this setting to offer the coachee a sense of continuity during the change process, including: • • • • • •

Picture cards and stories Psychometrics Normalising transitions (e.g. discussing models, theories) Working on physiological and behavioural strategies Reviewing individual context (e.g. generational, cultural, spiritual) Goal setting

Developmental Coaching: Transitions Continuum Current social context [e.g. consumerism, technology, mobility, choice] Gen Alpha

Gen Z

Gen Y

Gen X

Influences

Social networking Global climate

Climate change Recession ‘Digital natives’

Terrorism Technology boom ‘Helicopter’ parenting

Commercialism Computers Working parents

Civil rights Television Medical progress

Great depression WW2 Nuclear families

Characteristics

Self-sufficient? Entrepreneurs? (NB. Characteristics still emerging)

Environmental Impatient Introverted Imaginative

Positive Entrepreneurial Socially aware Keen on flexibility

Self-reliant Sceptical Adaptable to change

Educated Independent Question authority Quality focused

Hard workers Loyal to institutions Private Dependable

Cultural context

Coachee

Coachee

Baby Boomers Traditionalists

Coachee

Lifespan

Developmental transitions

Childhood

Teenage

e.g. starting nursery/ school, growing independence from parents

e.g. puberty, starting college, making academic choices

Twenties to thirties e.g. career choices, relationship commitments

Mid-life

Retirement

e.g. empty nest, career change, caring for elders

e.g. physical health, redefinition of roles

Parenthood

e.g. ongoing adjustment to self and relationships

Ongoing development and transition Who am I? What do I want? What is important to me? What is my purpose?

Figure 27.1 Developmental coaching: transitions continuum Source: (adapted Palmer and Panchal, 2011, p. 20)

362

Developmental coaching across life transitions

Developmental Coaching: INSIGHT Framework Goal: To facilitate a positive experience of transition and enable self-management of future transitions Element

Aims

Example techniques

Increase self-knowledge

To gain greater self-insight and highlight the value of this as a basis for life decisions (vs. external expectations).

Exercises/psychometrics to surface values, strengths, motivators, drivers etc. Lifeline tools to promote learning from past transitions.

Normalise transitions

To counter feelings of isolation by creating awareness of life transtions as an integral aspect of development, and acknowledge range of associated emotions.

Discussion of developmental models (e.g. Erikson, 1950) or transition models (e.g. Bridges, 1995).

Support positive coping

To build effective coping strategies to deal with challenges of transition.

Strategies could include health (nutrition/exercise), social support, relaxation and cognitive reassessment.

Integrate past, present, future

To promote positive evaluations of the past, present and future.

Gratitude exercises (past), taking stock/optimism (present) and vision/purpose (future). Discussion of possible selves, time orientations and life stories/links across transitions.

Give time and space

To allow sufficient time and space to work through the process of transition.

Mindfulness and acceptance & commitment techniques. Creating opportunities for reflection.

Highlight broader context

To draw attention to broader influences and expectations impacting experience of transition.

Review relevant cultural and generational factors. identify expectations of key individuals/society and surface coachee’s own expectations.

Tailor solutions

To enable sustainable change via goals, strategies and solutions.

Goal setting, solution-focused questioning, action plans, understanding the process of change and celebration of success.

* Not all of these elements will be relevant for all transitions and individuals. Coaches can select the elements that may support their coachee most effectively.

Figure 27.2

Developmental coaching: INSIGHT framework

Source: (adapted Palmer and Panchal, 2011, p. 20)

• •

Working towards greater self-acceptance e.g. The Big I/little I (Lazarus, 1973) Encouraging the coachee to list resources such as knowledge, skills and social networks/groups/transitions to support them during their transition.

A lifeline map can also be a useful technique to help build self-efficacy and encourage learning and resourcefulness within a developmental coaching context. This is a life course approach that is based on the coachee’s own experiences. Events and milestones that have occurred across the coachee’s lifespan (e.g. first job, having a baby, buying a house, retiring) are noted on a line. Life stages and labels are assigned from the coachee’s perspective. This approach can lead on to a coaching conversation that also maps future goals and expectations. The Transition Triangle (O’Riordan & Panchal, 2012; O’Riordan, 2013) is a technique that can be used to encourage coachees to reflect on their resourcefulness and learned coping from previous transitions and how this might help them in their developmental and goal achievement. Working with the Transition Triangle, in simple terms, involves the practitioner encouraging the coachee to note past and current transitions on a sliding scale of minor to major transition in relation to levels of coping. A point to consider here is that this relates to ‘amount of coping’ for the coachee, rather than being a measure of success (or failure). Coping strategies might also include positive coping such as ‘humour’ or ‘distraction’ (going to the gym). Key points are written on the triangle in a place that makes most sense to the coachee. This step is important because what people consider to be minor or major in transitional terms or high/low amounts of coping might vary depending on individual differences. In summary, each point plotted should represent 363

Sheila Panchal et al.

In di vi du al D iff er en ce

Parenthood

s Job loss

Relationship breakdown

House move New job role

C O P I N G

III health (bad back) Challenging feedback

Minor transitions

Major transitions

Figure 27.3 The transition triangle Source: (O’Riordan and Panchal, 2012, adapted 2013).

each of the coachee’s experiences on a minor to major transition scale and the level of coping that occurred, from their own perspective. A general expected pattern might resemble a triangle shape with what might be significant life events involving more coping resources (e.g. Holmes & Rahe, 1967), although this could vary based on the coachee’s experience. This technique is then a useful springboard to a coaching conversation on learned coping, resourcefulness and building self-efficacy. Figure 27.3 provides an illustrative example of a Transition Triangle. Interestingly, both of these approaches offer a holistic ‘joined-up approach’ where coachees can share insights about how transitions in other areas of their life might be helpful in their current coaching situation – for example, coping with loss.

Which coachees benefit most? Key themes that coachees commonly present in developmental coaching relate to their values, identity and purpose (VIP), and coachees focusing on these areas might benefit the most from developmental coaching. Further, it has been observed that issues relating to VIP seem to be common across key life transition points (Liston-Smith, O’Riordan, & Panchal, 2009, 2010). Within the workplace, O’Riordan and Panchal (2012) noted that developmental coaching can include transitions such as: 364

Developmental coaching across life transitions

• • •

Early career coaching (e.g. growing confidence, moving from present to future) On boarding/at recruitment (e.g. new starters, graduate programmes, encouraging employee retention and engagement) Senior talent development (e.g. growing senior leaders, mid-life challenges, caring responsibilities, asking broader questions).

They suggested that whilst this approach is of less benefit around skills based goals, it is useful to take a developmental approach in a business setting where it might: • • • • • • •

Enhance performance Enable retention of key knowledge and talent Promote diversity (e.g. gender, generational) Encourage maintenance of gains and learning Offer proactive help versus reactive or ‘just in time’ help Support a coaching culture of supporting transitions (e.g. don’t need to ask for help but it is given) Encourage synergy between ‘what the manager thinks’ and ‘what the employee thinks’.

Further theoretical and practical questions also merit future consideration and research to advance our understanding of how to effectively support individuals through key life transitions. Such questions have been raised by O’Riordan and Panchal (adapted 2008): • • • • •

How much ‘big picture’ knowledge is useful to us as coaches and coaching psychologists? Does the personal experience of a particular life transition point help to coach others? Do I need to have experienced what you have to help you? How do we avoid age-based stereotypes when coaching? As coaches, what impact are we having, if any, on future generations? How might life transitions differ across cultures, and what are the implications for coaches?

Maintaining a good coach-coachee relationship can help the coach support the coachee during times of transition. The practitioner may find that can increasing their knowledge about the relationship and may benefit their practice (see Palmer & McDowall, 2010). The coaching conversation should focus on the coachee’s issues and goals and, regardless of developmental coaching theory and models, the goals should not be coach driven. The successful application of developmental coaching is also dependent upon the skills and competencies of the coach. It is important that the practitioner maintains appropriate boundaries and refers the coachee for counselling or therapy if appropriate, as certain transitions can trigger high levels of stress and anxiety for some people. Supervision can help the practitioner to tackle these issues as they arise.

Case study: Erica Erica is a 44-year-old financial executive who was in the process of evaluating her career and life as she approached her 45th birthday. She wanted to use coaching as an opportunity to think through her feelings about this milestone and any associated changes she may want to make. She felt that people were telling her that “time is running out”, and “if she wanted to change her life she needed to do it now”. Her career had been successful throughout her twenties and thirties, yet now she felt stagnant and craved a new challenge. She had been reflecting on her experiences so far and what she wanted the rest of her life and career to be about.

365

Sheila Panchal et al.

The coaching psychologist drew upon the INSIGHT framework (see Palmer &Panchal, 2011) and selected a number of coaching tools/techniques to support her work with Erica.

Normalise transitions Initially, the coaching psychologist introduced Bridges’ (1995) transitions model to promote discussion about life transitions. She felt that was the most critical aspect of the INSIGHT framework to provide useful context to Erica and to facilitate her ability to change. Erica found this helpful in terms of normalising many of the negative feelings she was having as well as recognising the opportunities presented. She was also able to discuss past transitions and appreciate that she had coped effectively with them.

Increase self-knowledge The coaching psychologist considered how to increase Erica’s self-knowledge and decided that an exploration of values would be the most useful technique, rather than strengths or a lifeline perspective. This discussion enhanced Erica’s self-knowledge by raising the topic of values and probing into what Erica’s core values were, in order to surface these as a basis of future decision-making. After some debate and reflection, Erica settled on ‘creativity, family and security’ as her key values.

Support positive coping The coaching psychologist considered the topic of positive coping, which includes aspects such as nutrition, relaxation and social support. She settled upon a cognitive approach, as the coaching psychologist identified a number of cognitive blockers impacting Erica’s ability to cope with the transition. These included “I’m running out of time”, “I will be old before I know it”, “Life seems to be passing me by” and “I don’t have enough free time to do what I want”. A discussion about psychological barriers and unhelpful thinking proved highly insightful for Erica. She came up with a more helpful and practical ways of thinking about her transition, for example: “I can’t control time but I can control what I do with it”, “The clock might keep ticking but it doesn’t help me to constantly think about that” and “Thinking I can do nothing is just getting in my way, I need to do something”.

Tailor solutions In order to move forward, Erica came up with a short-term three-month action plan. Breaking the change into small steps was a useful strategy for Erica as she found the idea of making significant life changes overwhelming. Her actions included: updating her CV, reaching out to people in her network, making a promise to spend two evenings per week on art classes. She committed to keeping a daily diary to note her feelings and thoughts as well as any further ideas about small changes. She decided to meet with the coaching psychologist in three months’ time to explore insights she had gained about herself, discuss actions already taken, review how she was feeling about the transition and agree on next steps.

Further reflections Again drawing upon the INSIGHT framework, the coaching psychologist believed that the coaching sessions themselves provided Erica with the time and space she needed to reflect on her transition in a safe and accepting environment. Some of the coaching conversations did touch on broader contexts as

366

Developmental coaching across life transitions

Erica shared her concerns about how she felt she was expected to continue to pursue increasing levels of seniority in her current career and how this conflicted with her own feelings. In addition, Erica talked about past transitions in her life, both minor and more significant, which enabled her to make relevant links between her past, present and future both in terms of her coping mechanisms and her evolving set of values.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

Developmental coaching facilitates the effective negotiation of key lifespan transitions, supporting positive growth and development. Discuss. Noting the various theories and models that inform developmental coaching, what is your perspective of developmental coaching? What key turning points have you experienced in your life that have triggered opportunity and challenge? How would you use imagery and visualisation in developmental coaching?

Suggested reading Bachkirova, T. (2010). The cognitive-developmental approach to coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (eds.), The Complete Handbook of Coaching. London: Sage. Bridges, W. (1995). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd. Garvey, B. (2009). Coaching people through life transitions. In J. Passmore (ed.), Diversity in Coaching: Working with Gender, Culture, Race and Age. London: Kogan Page. Palmer, S. & Panchal, S. (2011). Developmental Coaching: Life Transitions and Generational Perspectives. Hove: Routledge.

References Atchley, R. C. (1989). A continuity theory of normal aging. The Gerontologist, 29(2), 183–190. Bridges, W. (1995). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd. CIPD (2008). Gen Up: How the Four Generations Work. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Retrieved from http://www.cipd.co.uk/onlineinfodocuments on 10 January 2009. Erikson, E. (1950). Childhood and Society. New York: Norton. Erikson, E. (1995). Childhood and Society. London: Vintage. Glaser, K., di Gessa, G., & Tinker, A. (2014). Grandparenting in Europe: The Health and Wellbeing of Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren: The Role of Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage. Grandparents Plus. Hendry, L. E., & Kloep, M. (2002). Life-Span Development: Resources, Challenges and Risks. London: Thomas Learning. Holmes, T. H., & Rahe, R. H. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213. Jacques, E. (1965). Death and the mid-life crisis. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 46(4), 502–514. Kim, J., & Moen, P. (2002). Retirement transitions, gender, and psychological well-being: A life-course approach. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 57B, 212–222. Kubler-Ross, E. (1969). On Death and Dying. London: Macmillan. Lazarus, A. A. (1977). Towards and egoless state of being. In A. Ellis and R. Greiger (Eds.), Handbook of Rational-Emotive Therapy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Leonard-Cross, E. (2010). Developmental coaching: Business benefit – Fact or fad? An evaluative study to explore the impact of coaching in the workplace. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(1), 36–47. Levinson, D. J., Darrow, C. N., Klein, E. B., Levinson, M. H., & McKee, B. (1978). The Seasons in a Man’s Life. New York, NY: Knopf. Levy, B. R., Slade, S. V., Kasl, S. V., & Kunkel, S. R. (2002). Longevity increased by positive self-perception of aging’. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(2), 261–270. Liston-Smith, J., O’Riordan, S., & Panchal, S. (2009, December 16). Life transitions and turning points: Using a developmental coaching psychology approach. Masterclass at the 2nd European Coaching Psychology Conference, British Psychological Society’s Special Group in Coaching Psychology, Egham.

367

Sheila Panchal et al.

Liston-Smith, J., O’Riordan, S., & Panchal, S. (2010). Transitions and the meaning of life: The vital role of coaching psychology. Workshop at the Going Global 2010 International Conference, London, Association for Coaching. Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954–969. Merriam, S.B. (1998). Adult life transitions: Opportunities for learning and development. In M.A. Wolf & M.A. Leahy (Eds.), Adults in Transition (pp. 8–18). Washington, DC: American Association for Adult and Continuing Education. O’Riordan, S. (2013). Developmental coaching: Supporting later life and retirement transitions. 3rd International Congress of Coaching Psychology, Division of Work and Organisational Psychology Coaching Psychology Group, Psychological Society of Ireland, Dublin, 15th June. O’Riordan, S., Palmer, S., & Panchal, S. (2017). The bigger picture: Building upon the ‘Developmental Coaching: Transitions Continuum’. European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 1(6), 1–4. Retrieved from: www.nationalwellbeingservice. org/volumes/volume-1-2017/volume-1-article-6/ O’Riordan, S., & Panchal, S. (2008, December 17). The Big Picture: Placing life transitions in today’s generational context for coaching psychologists. Skills-based session at the 1st European Coaching Psychology Conference, London, British Psychological Society’s Special Group in Coaching Psychology. O’Riordan, S., & Panchal, S. (2012). Workshop at the Coaching and Mentoring at Work Conference, London, 11th July. Palmer, S., & Cooper, C. (2013). How to Deal with Stress, 3nd edition. London: Kogan Page. Palmer, S., & Gyllensten, K. (2015a). Psychological Stress: The History and Development of Theories: Stress. Volume 1. London: Sage. Palmer, S., & Gyllensten, K. (2015b). Psychological Resilience and Wellbeing: The History and Development of Theories. Volume 1. London: Sage. Palmer, S., & McDowall, A. (2010). The Coaching Relationship: Putting People First. Hove: Routledge. Palmer, S., & Panchal, S. (2011). Developmental Coaching: Life Transitions and Generational Perspectives. Hove: Routledge. Schlossberg, N.K., Waters, E.B., & Goodman, J. (1995). Counseling Adults in Transition, 2nd edition. New York, NY: Springer. Stanley, N., Mallon, S., Bell, J., & Manthorpe, J. (2009) Trapped in transition: Findings from a UK study of student suicide. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 37(4), 419-433. Strenger, S., & Ruttenberg, A. (2008). The existential necessity of mid-life change. Harvard Business Review, February 1st, 82–90.

368

28 Adult learning as an approach to coaching David Lane, Marc Simon Kahn and Lloyd Chapman

Introduction Adult learning forms part of a group of approaches that has influenced many in the coaching field. Some contributions have been widely quoted, including the work of David Kolb (1984, 2015), whereas other major contributions, such as work on expert learning, have not found their way into the general coaching literature. Theories in this area are concerned with how adults learn and, from a coaching perspective in particular, how they learn in the workplace. The assumption is that people tend to have preferred ways of grasping and transforming experience that influence both what and how they learn and that understanding this will assist coaches in delivering more effective services. This chapter first explores seminal ideas in adult learning theory and then moves on to consider adult learning in the context of work-based coaching. In the latter, the importance of seeing learning as a twoway relational process between individual and organisation is explained and linked to adult learning theory. Two case examples are used to illustrate this.

Adult learning theory: concepts and origins Unlike many other approaches to coaching, adult learning theory was not derived from a therapeutic context. It has always been about how people learn from the experiences they encounter. As such it has direct applications to coaching which do not have to be filtered through assumptions about the relationship between psychotherapy and coaching. In a recent review, Gray, Burden, and Lane (2015) draw on Daloz (1999) and refer to the influence of three main theories in this field: 1

2

3

Phase Theory (Jung, Levinson, Buhler, Neugarten): People go through chronological phases of learning and development. Key transitions between ages and the cultural context of those changes are seen as important. Stage Theory (Kegan, Piaget, Gilligan, Kohlbergh): People learn in stages: the Preconventional Stage, where one’s own survival is important, through to the Conventional Stage in which people seek to fit and belong, and then the Postconventional Stage in which broader issues beyond survival or fit are considered. Journey Theory (Perry, Daloz): People move from naïve or simplistic thinking to complex relativistic reasoning, and choices are made as the journey progresses. 369

David Lane, Marc Simon Kahn and Lloyd Chapman

Hence there are many places we could explore, but in making our choice we have focused on ideas that have been particularly influential in coaching and coaching psychology. Although adult learning theories have been concerned with the particular experience of mature learners rather than children, many in the field trace their work back to the philosopher and educator John Dewey. However, looking back at the origins of Dewey’s work we see an even earlier, turn of the century origin in the work of the Chicago teacher Ella Flagg Young (Barden, 2015; McManis, 1916). It is this work that we have chosen to illustrate as it is the most widely referenced in the coaching literature. We focus on the work of Kolb and Wilbur. We present a discussion of Kolb’s work and then explore the contribution of Wilbur. Some of the critique of their work is explored before considering the synthesis and development of these ideas by Chapman. This provides a core framework, which we then extend by consideration of the concept of identity and learning. We see this as a bridge between the focus on the learner and the relational nature of coaching as explored in the work of Kahn. Taking these ideas together, we propose a way to conceptualise practice and subsequently a case study is offered. By structuring the chapter in this way we hope our readers may find ways to incorporate adult learning theory into their own practice.

David Kolb’s (1984) adaptive Experiential Learning Model David Kolb also drew on Dewey’s work and developed perhaps the most influential approach to understanding adult learning. Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Model drew from Dewey, Lewin and Piaget’s cognitive development tradition as well as elements of Phase Theory mentioned above. His model follows a cycle involving four adaptive learning modes as follows (Kolb, 1984, pp. 68–69): 1 2 3 4

Concrete experience: the ability to involve oneself fully and openly, without bias, in new experiences Reflective observation: the ability to reflect and observe one’s experience across perspectives Abstract conceptualization: the ability to create concepts and theories from observations Active experimentation: the ability to use constructed theories to make decisions and experiment with new behaviours and thoughts.

Within this model there are two distinct dimensions, representing two dialectically opposed adaptive orientations: 1 2

Concrete experience vs. abstract conceptualization Active experimentation vs. reflective observation.

These dimensions are independent but mutually enhancing, and each makes a contribution to the learning process requiring the resolution of conflict between the dialectics. Hence, by its very nature, learning is a conflictual and tension-filled process that is not always joyful, stimulating and fulfilling (Brookfield, 1986; Chapman, 2010). Kolb (1984, pp. 43–51) refers to the first orientation as the prehension dimension, as it represents opposing ways of experiencing the world. First, comprehension, where there is a reliance on symbolic representations or the use of concepts, and second, apprehension, which is more tangible and uses directly felt experience. He refers to the second orientation as the Transformation dimension. It represents opposing ways of transforming experience, either by reflecting on it, called intension, or through active manipulation of the external world, called extension. This dimension creates meaning and the awareness of consciousness. As the psychoanalyst Victor Frankl (1988) explained, an individual does not normally discover meaning in life by thinking it out. It is a tensioned-filled process of discovery and learning. In his view, the discovery of personal meaning is itself a form of therapy. Given that Kolb’s (1984) model sees learning as a meaning making process, learning itself may be seen as a transformative process that facilitates development. 370

Adult learning as an approach to coaching

Learning and development may be seen to happen as a result of the transaction between Kolb’s four adaptive modes and the resolution of tension between them (ibid.). Unlike the classical Piagetians who believe that learning is a subordinate process that is not actively involved in human development, Kolb (1984) exposes learning as a process through which development occurs, dividing such into three developmental stages: 1 2 3

Acquisition extends from birth to adolescence and is the stage where basic learning abilities and cognitive structures are acquired. Specialization extends through formal education into early adulthood. Integration is ushered in when people face the existential challenge of finding personal meaning in the face of meeting social demands. In this stage individuals strive more to influence than to be influenced by their environment.

Despite Kolb making this interaction with the environment and social context very explicit, Merriam & Bierema (2014) point out that Kolb’s Model has often been criticised for being “context free” because the reflection on experience can be done in a vacuum outside of a social context. This criticism of being context free is addressed in the Integrated Experiential Model (Chapman, 2010) by integrating Kolb’s (1984) Model with the work of Wilber (1995).

Ken Wilber’s (1995) integral theory The contribution of Wilber (1995) is his ability to synthesise an enormous amount of information. He is well known for his work in integrating Western psychology and Eastern spirituality. One of Wilber’s central postulates is that everything exists within a context. He asserts that it is very difficult to understand an individual without understanding the culture from which they arise because nothing about a person can be fully understood independently of their context. He developed a four-quadrant model that corresponds to Schumacher’s (1978) four fields of knowledge. Wilber’s quadrants offer a multi-dimensional approach to understanding human experience that incorporates both the individual and social context (collective) as well as the external and internal world of experience. Ken Wilber’s (1995) four-quadrant Integral Model (Figure 28.1):

Individual

Communal or collective

Figure 28.1

Interior

Exterior

Individual experience and consciousness • Thoughts/ambitions • Feelings • Mood • Sensory input • Images Group membership • Language • Social world • Rituals/history • Customs • Culture – organization/family

Body and behaviour • Neuro-muscular system • Genetics • Body sensations • Behaviour • Actions Social system • Natural and human-made systems • Technology • Processes and structures • Physical laws • Objects

Wilber’s four-quadrant Integral Model

Source: Adapted from Wilber (1995, p. 71).

371

David Lane, Marc Simon Kahn and Lloyd Chapman

For both the individual and the communal there is an exterior and an interior domain. The upper-right quadrant deals with the individual’s exterior domain and is identified with the senses. It can be seen and measured and consists of things like the neuromuscular system, genetics, behaviour and actions. For example, if an individual is depressed, a CAT scan can sometimes reveal neurological patterns for which antidepressants may be prescribed. However, identifying why the person is depressed cannot be determined by making use of right-hand quadrant dimensions. To do this, one must move to the upper-left quadrant and enter into a dialogue with the patient to explore their interior world. This is the world of inner experience and consciousness, the domain of thoughts, ambitions, feelings, moods and images. The lower-right quadrant is the exterior manifestation of the collective. It is the domain of social systems and include things like natural and humanmade systems, technology, physical laws and objects. This quadrant reveals how a system behaves but does not expose why it behaves as it does, for that is left to the final remaining quadrant. The lower-left quadrant is the domain of group membership, including the phenomena of language, custom, ritual, history and culture. Wilber’s (1995, 1995, 2001) model is, however, not limited to the four fields of knowledge as it also incorporates evolutionary levels of consciousness. Like Smuts (1973) and Schumacher (1978), Wilbur maintains that we evolve from matter to life, from life to mind, from mind to soul, from soul to spirit, and that human development is an evolutionary processes from the pre-personal to the personal and then transpersonal levels of consciousness.

Lloyd Chapman’s (2010) Integrated Experiential Coaching Model Wilber’s (1995) model provides the meta-framework for integrated growth and development, while Kolb’s (1984) model provides a practical, experiential way to learn and grow in an integrated way. Chapman (2010), in considering the learning process in coaching, offers a synthesis of the strengths of both to arrive at his Integral Experiential Coaching Model (Figure 28.2). The Integrated Experiential Coaching Model proposes that coaching is about facilitating integrated experiential learning in individuals in order to enhance personal growth and development. It integrates Schumacher’s four fields of knowledge as well as Wilber’s Integral Model catering for personal development through various levels of consciousness, especially in the personal and transpersonal levels. It is experiential in that it uses Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model as the developmental tool. The Integrated Experiential Coaching Model (Chapman, 2010) honours body, mind, soul and spirit and provides a practical methodology to help facilitate their integration. Interior

Reflective Observation

Exterior Individual

Transformation via Intention

Abstract Conceptualization

Grasping via Comprehension

Grasping via Apprehension

Concrete Experience

Transformation via Extension

Collective Active Experimentation

Figure 28.2 Integrated Experiential Coaching Model Source: Chapman (2010). Adapted from Wilber (1996, p. 71); Kolb (1984, p. 42).

372

Adult learning as an approach to coaching

Merriam & Bierema (2014) believe that there are five traditional learning theories that are relevant to understanding adult learning, namely: humanist, behaviourist, constructivist, cognitivist and social cognitivist. All five of these theories are incorporated into the Integrated Experiential Coaching Model. The behaviourists believe that observable behaviour determines whether learning has occurred. That is the domain of the upper-right quadrant; the model is an evidence-based approach that seeks out observable affective changes. The humanist perspective believes that human beings have the potential to grow and develop. At its core the Integrated Experiential Coaching Model is humanist in its approach in that that it allows for continuous growth and development in the personal and transpersonal levels. For the cognitivists, the emphasis moves to learning as a mental process of information processing. The cognitivist approach is an integral part of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle. It is at the heart of reflective observation and abstract conceptualisation. Social cognitivists hold the assumption that human learning happens in a social context. In the Integrated Experiential Coaching Model this is a function of the upper left and lower left quadrants. The constructivists believe that learning is about creating meaning from experience. Constructivism is inherent in the transformation dimension of Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Model.

Learning and identity in coaching Coaches have a role in helping clients look at their life-long learning and the formation of their identity in the work context (Chappel et al., 2003). As Lo Meng-cheng (2006) argued, identity arises in sites of action, thus in organisations it is shaped by the engagement with the client in the context of their work. Negotiating that moving agenda is part of the task coaches increasingly face. In this sense, the learning process can be conceived as a narrative in which a person continually negotiates their identity with others in a social context, commonly a career or work context. (Lane & Corrie, 2006) In looking at identity through the narratives coaches create, it is helpful to consider the notions of reflexive and relational narrative identification (Chappel et al., 2003). Reflexive identification refers to the way a person can construct their own identity through a process of self-narration. So for a coach, a series of events may be involved in the way he or she plots a narrative of their identity. When a coach starts an engagement with an organisation, this pre-existing narrative provides their entry point. However, as the coach works with people in the organisation, a re-negotiation occurs. Each person will have their own definitions of the coach and there are organisational definitions as well. These impact the identity of the coach as the process of relational narrative identification unfolds in each interaction. A similar process happens for clients. They start with a self-narration (the reflective process in the Kolb cycle) that gradually evolves into a relational narrative. A narrative will be constructed between coach and client as the characters evolve in the emerging story (Corrie & Lane, 2010). What it is to be a coach or coaching client in an organisation is co-constructed (as a process of relational narrative identity). It is in this relational process that adult learning emerges in the context of coaching. Hence, purpose is defined through engagement in each and every relationship. We are always, as Kahn (2014) points out, achieving understanding across a relational axis between the players in an organisational story.

Relational approaches to learning – Marc Kahn’s (2014) coaching on the axis Many have asserted the value of a relational approach to learning in coaching (e.g. Brunning, 2006; Cavanagh, 2006; De Haan, 2008; Huffington, 2006; Kahn, 2011, 2014; Kemp, 2008; Passmore, 2007). In their view, “success derives from the quality of the coaching relationship and the degree to which it aligns with the sponsoring organisation” (Kahn, 2014, p. 1). Coaching is therefore an engagement of relatedness more so than the deployment of a particular method or skill. Central to this notion is the fundamental principle that the sponsoring organisation and the individual being coached are equitable clients (ibid.). Kahn (2011), therefore, insists that “successful approaches to business coaching incorporate significant consideration of the relational dynamics between the triad of coach, individual client and organisation, and 373

David Lane, Marc Simon Kahn and Lloyd Chapman

focus on the coaching relationship and its systemic interface with the business environment” (p. 194). He offers the concept of a “Coaching Axis” between individual and organisation as the place of focus for the work. Here the coach acts as translator, mediator or even broker of the narrative axis between the two, the ultimate purpose of which is the improvement of their relational state and, through this, the delivery of meaningful outcomes. Kahn’s work (amongst others) is based on the fact that organisational environments consist of complex relational systems, overt and covert. And that, furthermore, a person’s ability to deliver value in such an environment is largely dependent upon the extent to which they are able to create relationships with others which, in turn, facilitates the conversion of their talent into real outcomes. For example, consider the case of Ben, a recently recruited salesperson with strong technical skills who is battling to work well in his new company. Ben resists taking direction and is fiercely independent. He reports having been unhappy with managers in the past and maintains the belief that “God helps those who help themselves.” On the other hand, the organisational culture in his new company is highly collaborative and draws heavily on teamwork to achieve outcomes. Here one sees two competing relational narratives across the axis of individual and organisation. In such a context, the fact that Ben has the technical sales skills necessary for the role would not be sufficient for him to sustainably perform in the organisation because his psychology, based in his personal story (reflexive narrative), positions him to resist his manager’s direction and avoid working with his colleagues. The problem lies in the relational narrative between Ben’s psychology (personal story) and the organisation’s culture (organisational story). For example, team members report that Ben is technically excellent when it comes to product knowledge and sales skills, but unfortunately he is difficult to work with because he will not work as part of the team and hence can sometimes work against the business strategy. This is made worse by the fact that he does not participate in team meetings, often not attending, and when given feedback complains that he is being “micro-managed.” Whereas his manager says that Ben works without thinking about the impact of his actions on others in the team or the collective sales strategy that has been carefully put in place. From a coaching point of view, this case illustrates that in order to promote success for the individual being coached, and for the organisation as a whole, it is critical that a coach access both the individual’s and organisation’s story and the way they interact to create outcomes, which in turn facilitates the possibility of learning for both. A new relational narrative thus emerges. For Ben, he will need to address the intensity of his need to work independently, probably through an interrogation of the underlying assumptions he holds about being closely managed and working in a team that stem from his previous experience. The learning challenge will be for him to come to appreciate his new organisation’s teamwork culture as potentially valuable and, to that extent, see if he can adopt some of those assumptions for himself and adjust his relational behaviour accordingly. However, Ben’s manager and team also have something learn, both about Ben as an individual and about their assumptions concerning independent work. The extent to which the team is able to understand and indeed even accept some degree of independence for Ben will significantly increase the probability of success for the coaching intervention. For this to happen the team needs to learn on two fronts. First they need to learn about Ben’s personal story and better understand his psychology so as not to adopt negative assumptions about why he likes to work independently. And second, they need to consider the notion of independent work for themselves and see it in a more constructive way, even if such remains less than acceptable in the culture of the company. Only when both Ben and his team work to learn relationally (across the axis) in this context is the probability of success maximised. Kahn (2014) offers the following diagram (Figure 28.3) to illustrate this, showing how the focus point of coaching exists at the relational interface, the axis, between individual and organisation, “upon which rests the degree to which both the person and the organization ultimately succeed or fail” (p. 6). In this view, coaching interventions create relational bridges (axes) that facilitate learning through an intersubjective story-making process. This process delivers value because it facilitates learning through the creation of a shared success story; “a story that emerges from a meeting of meaning between the individual and the organisation that is based in a sense of mutual responsibility for the business” (p. 6). Here the entire 374

Adult learning as an approach to coaching

Success

Failure

AXIS

PERSON

ROLE

ORGANISATION

Coaching’s axial orientation Figure 28.3

Coaching on the Axis

Source: Kahn (2014, p. 7) (adapted from Brunning, 2006).

organisation is seen as “the client” in as much a way as the individual, and neither organisation nor individual can be approached as separate entities. Ultimately, this means that learning in the context of coaching, even when deeply intrapsychic in nature, is always embedded in relationship and emerges as a course of the interpersonal experience of organisational or marketplace life.

Practice – building a model to structure coaching work In contextualising an approach to coaching based in adult learning theory shared above, the following is offered as an example of structuring a coaching intervention or an individual session. It must, however, be pointed out that whenever a model is written up it always appears to be very logical, structured and neat. In reality, a learning conversation can actually be very messy, and it is only upon reflection that we structure it into a neat logical process. We find it interesting that in teaching this model, students try to apply the model mechanistically. What they soon discover is that when they try and force themselves to follow the experiential learning cycle, the model actually becomes an obstacle. They are so busy trying to do it “right” that they start trying to force the client into the various steps and end up frustrating themselves and the client. First, we would encourage our readers to think about the model not as fixed steps but as a learning conversation with the client. You may soon discover, upon reflection, that together you have gone through the experiential learning cycle. The learning cycle is actually a very natural process. We all have experiences and we tend to reflect on those experiences to varying degrees. Based on our reflections, we form a hypothesis or an opinion about what it means to us and, based on that, we act. Second, the process as it is outlined below happens on a macro and micro level. The stages cover the coaching process as an entire intervention, the same process can happen within one coaching session.

Stage 1 involves establishing contact with the client In Lane’s Case formulation method (1990, 1998), which was initially used in work with children and school systems and later adapted to coaching (Lane & Corrie, 2009), this stage is about trying to define a shared concern that both parties are interested in exploring. Here the coach and the client discuss and agree on 375

David Lane, Marc Simon Kahn and Lloyd Chapman

things like the purpose of coaching, the process, the players and which stakeholders should be involved. The aim is to arrive at a contracted piece of work based on a shared concern. The process of finding the shared concern is one of starting to move from individual reflexive narratives towards an agreed relational narrative. It is important that both parties define a shared concern; if no shared concern can be defined, it is better for the coach to walk away from the situation. At a macro level it is the beginning of a coaching intervention. On a micro level this step happens at the beginning of every coaching session. Kahn (2014) asserts the importance of creating this alignment at the outset of the coaching intervention (and, indeed, continuously throughout its life cycle) by explaining that achieving such is not simply a preamble to the coaching but is itself very much part of the coaching process. In other words, the activity of finding a shared purpose and set of goals between the individual being coached and the organisation (often represented by their manager or HR) is a primary learning event and forms part of the coaching process – this is the entry into the Coaching Axis. When considering the case of Ben mentioned earlier, consider this early contracting aspect of the work and how important it would be to bring his manager (and possibly even his team members), into a contracting dialogue in which both sides of the axis commit to learning from each other through the exploration of issues of interdependence and dependence.

Stage 2 involves presenting the current situation and exploring the client’s concrete experience Here the client is asked to share their life story. Critically important is that it is the client’s story, not the story as told or understood by a third party. The self-disclosure at this point helps reduce the initial stress of the engagement, helping the client get things out in the open which, in turn, has a cathartic effect (Egan, 2002). The aim is to help the client build on their own resourcefulness. Good coaches, although not blind to the person’s deficits, rather capitalise on the person’s resources and resourcefulness. Through storytelling it is possible for the coach and the client to spot and develop unused opportunities. It must, however, be stressed that the client leads. It might mean that they are only comfortable to share their work life experiences as that is all that they feel is relevant within that particular coaching content. It is critical for the coach to respect the limitations and boundaries that the client puts in place. In our experience we have found that storytelling is impacted by the culture that the client operates within. In Ben’s case, this would involve him sharing, amongst other things, the series of disappointments he experienced in his prior work contexts and how these experiences may have formed the way he behaves in his current context. The coach would look to acknowledge Ben’s resourcefulness in having managed these difficult historical relationships and seek to frame the learning achieved. In this view, Ben’s independence would be seen as a positive and be respected and even admired. From a Coaching on the Axis point of view, the manager and team members’ stories would also need to be explored in a similar way. What were some of the events in their past which shaped the way they choose to operate today? Specifically, it would be powerful learning to unpack the way teamwork helped them succeed historically and acknowledge this as a form of resourcefulness on their part as well. On a macro level the story will be told at the beginning of the coaching intervention. However, as the trust relationship develops it is not uncommon for various pieces of the client’s life story to be expanded on or explored further within the individual coaching sessions. Once again it is driven by the client as to when they feel it is helpful for them to share it.

In stage 3 the coach and the client explore the current situation even further and start moving into reflective observation and abstract conceptualisation Lane (1990) refers to this stage as the exploration and testing of hypotheses of cause and maintenance. Every problem and/or opportunity that is selected is a hypothesis. It is a hypothesis because at the time it is the most obvious leveraged problem and/or opportunity with which to work. The hypothesis might change over time, and it is therefore an open-ended experiment. This is a very dynamic process. Consider, for a 376

Adult learning as an approach to coaching

moment, how many times you as a coach have ended your coaching interventions exactly at the point you contracted in the first session. Very often we do not. The reason for this being that the first piece of contracted work is only a hypothesis based on what was known at that point. But as the coach and client learn from each other, their understanding of the issues will change over time. In stage 3 the client and the coach therefore experiment with various options and hypotheses. Once again this applies to the macro (overall) and micro (at this moment) level. For Ben, it would entail testing the meaning making narratives that were uncovered in the prior stage. How “hard-wired” are the beliefs that he created as a course of his experience? Are there other meaning making options he missed or avoided in the past, and for what reason did that happen? Also, in the moment, in the context of this team, what hypotheses emerge about his relationship with others given this understanding?

In stage 4 the emphasis moves on to the desired future The client is encouraged to spell out possibilities for a better future. This is the domain of abstract conceptualisation. This is where the coach helps the client to choose realistic and challenging goals which are real solutions to the problems or unexploited opportunities identified in stage 3(Egan, 2002). Lane (1990) refers to this stage as the formulation of the hypothesis to be tested. In the Integrated Experiential Coaching Model this is done by means of a Personal Learning Contract (PLC). The client defines their purpose, how they will know whether they have been successful and the strategies that they will implement to achieve their purpose. Given the dynamic nature of the learning process, it is not uncommon for the initial learning contract to change from session to session. For some clients, even though they have an overarching Personal Learning Contract (PLC), micro level contracts evolve out of individual sessions that seemingly have nothing to do with the overarching contract. In practice they can be necessary steps in achieving the overall PLC. So for Ben and his team, this stage would involve the experimental interaction of their respective stories across the axis. The coach might ask about what is possible for them as a whole team (including Ben, of course) given their intersecting stories. Is it possible that the resourcefulness of the team could be further developed if they could find a way together to work with independence in the context of teamwork? And equally so, for Ben, is it possible for him to adopt a different perspective on interdependence in the context of this new team that has a different reality to his prior work contexts? And in all of this, what could we experiment with in testing out these possibilities?

Stage 5 moves into active experimentation and involves implementing and going through a number of learning conversations for the specified contractual period According to Lane (1990), this is the process of applying and experimenting with the new understandings gained in the coaching sessions. An individual will generally experience something concrete in the context of the collective, unless the individual lives in complete isolation. To make sense of that experience the individual needs to make use of the intension dimension, move inwards and reflect on the experience. Having reflected on it, the individual starts to develop some theory or concept about the experience. Abstract conceptualisation, however, is not something that belongs purely to the individual; it is influenced by the culture or system in which the individual finds him or herself. The individual’s state of development flows from the transaction of the individual’s personal experience and the particular system of social knowledge with which they interact (Kolb, 1984). Having developed a theory or hypothesis, the individual then needs to engage the extension dimension and actively experiment within the collective environment. Done well and in a disciplined way, experiential learning will automatically move the individual through all four quadrants and develop all four learning capabilities that are (according to Kolb) a prerequisite for human growth and development. And the more developed the person becomes, the more integrative the experiential learning experience becomes (as illustrated in Figure 28.2), thereby facilitating personal growth, development and the transformation of consciousness (Chapman, 2010). Once again it needs to be emphasised that this takes 377

David Lane, Marc Simon Kahn and Lloyd Chapman

place on a macro and micro level. So for Ben and his team, this is the place where a set of commitments, actions and behavioural reframes are proposed and activated for experimentation. And these are continuously reworked and processed across the coaching axis by the coach until a new state of relationship is achieved that satisfies all parties.

The final stage, stage 6, is closure and review Here the coach, client and often an organisational representative will review the process and decide on whether to renew the contract or to terminate the coaching relationship.

Which coachees benefit most? This approach is clearly about learning; it is not therapy and is unsuitable for dealing with mental health issues that might manifest as coaching concerns. It is about using the existing process of meaning making and the progress of emergence from reflexive to relational narratives. It requires a degree of openness to learning from each key player in any encounter and a willingness from the coach to allow those narratives to emerge rather than compose theoretical assumptions of cause and effect from coachees’ stories.

Case study: learning across the Coaching Axis What does this mean for the way learning occurs in the course of coaching? Clearly, when adult learning theory is placed in the context of a Coaching Axis, the interrelationships between individual and organisation become the learning landscape. In conclusion, we offer the case of Leigh, adapted from Kahn (2014, pp. 85–86), to illustrate: Leigh, a smart middle manager in the distribution arm of a large FMCG business, was referred to coaching by her manager, Mike. Mike explained that whenever he gave Leigh instructions she challenged the thinking behind them “to the point of frustration.” He accused her of “challenging for the sake of challenging” rather than for the purpose of understanding or improving the distribution processes. Leigh rejected this interpretation and explained that she “needed to know why she was required to do something before doing it” because she “was not a robot, but a thinking human being.” This relational dynamic had deteriorated to the point that other members of the team complained that Leigh’s need to challenge everything Mike said derailed the effectiveness of team meetings and was a constant irritation. Everyone acknowledged that Leigh was a clever and hardworking manager who delivered against expectations. She was regarded as someone who could see beyond the obvious and had several times solved bottlenecks in the distribution process with insightful solutions. Unfortunately, the continuous challenging from Leigh had gotten to the point where both Mike and the team were so frustrated that they were prepared to lose her “if her difficult challenging behaviour didn’t significantly reduce.” In a briefing meeting with Leigh and her coach, Mike said he was happy to be challenged by Leigh, and that she had really good ideas and insightful questions. However, for every one of these she had five comments or challenges which were poorly thought through, and she often came across as “nitpicking and introducing unnecessary noise for personal reasons unknown.” Leigh offered some acknowledgement of her behaviour but believed it to be far less severe than was being suggested. Leigh and her coach spent several sessions exploring her personal story. A breakthrough came when she explained that she had grown up in a family with two older brothers, now well-known attorneys in their father’s firm, who “always knew everything,” and a father who

378

Adult learning as an approach to coaching

seemed only to value and acknowledge her when she “could contribute to the conversation by showing one of them up.” When asked what “showing one of them up” meant, she explained that it meant “finding a hole in their argument.” It emerged that the “roots” of Leigh’s “difficult challenging behavior” with her current manager were located in this personal story. Leigh interpreted the present in terms of the past by reading each interaction with Mike as requiring her to “find a hole in his argument” in order to feel valued and acknowledged. Coaching proceeded with a focus on reframing Leigh’s story in a way that worked both for her and for the organisation. Eventually, she was able to see that her ability to “find a hole in any argument” was both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. It was her strength when it was appropriately used to help the business. It was her weakness when it was inappropriately used to serve her need for acknowledgement, which ultimately backfired anyway. The real change in behaviour came when she was “able to move from automatic to manual,” as she put it, so that she could choose to use her “challenging ways” when it served her and the business but could “choose to be quiet when it didn’t.” On the other end of the coaching axis, her manager, Mike, learned about her story in a facilitated conversation with Leigh, which, in turn, helped him understand her behavior and, more importantly, opened their relationship to learning conversations that helped Leigh “stay in manual.” Without this relational alignment and resultant support, the probability of transformation for Leigh would have been significantly lower. And, in the process, Mike also learned because it increased his capability as a leader. This case illustrates how adult learning unfolds in a coaching intervention. The process unlocks the relational dynamic between individual and organisation across the coaching axis, and both learn as a result. The learning results in insight and with it, new options for behaving are made available – options which, when taken, simultaneously deliver value to the rganization and increase the success of the individual.

Discussion points 1 2 3

4

How can clients be helped to reflect on their learning? How does understanding of the learning cycle help or hinder client reflection? What narrative do you carry into an encounter with a client, and how do you enable the client to challenge that narrative in order for a shared understanding of the purpose of the coaching engagement to emerge? How do you see the relationship between personal learning and organisational learning and apply that to your Coaching on the Axis?

Suggested reading Chapman, L. (2010). Integrated Experiential Coaching. London: Karnac Books. Corrie, S., & Lane, D. A. (2010). Constructing Stories and Telling Stories. London: Karnac Books. Gray, D. E., Burden, R., & Lane, D. A. (2015). An Introduction to Coaching and Mentoring: Thinking Critically about Theory, Practice & Context. London: Sage. Kahn, M. S. (2014). Coaching on the Axis: Working with Complexity in Business and Executive Coaching. London: Karnac Books.

References Barden, S. (2015). Top leaders’ experiences of learning. DProf thesis, Middlesex University/The Professional Development Foundation. 379

David Lane, Marc Simon Kahn and Lloyd Chapman

Brookfield, S. D. (1986). Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Brunning, H. (2006). Executive Coaching: Systems-Psychodynamic Perspective. London: Karnac Books. Cavanagh, M. (2006). Coaching from a systemic perspective: A complex adaptive conversation. In Strober, D. R. & Grant, A. M. (eds.) Evidence-Based Coaching Handbook. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Chapman, L. A. (2010). Integrated Experiential Coaching: Becoming an Executive Coach. London: Karnac Books. Chappel, C., Rhodes, C., Soloman, N., Tennant, M., Yates, L., et al. (2003). Reconstructing the Life Long Learner: Pedogogy and Identity in Individual, Organisational and Social Change. London: Routledhe-Falmer. Corrie, S., & Lane, D. A. (2010). Constructing Stories Telling Tales a Guide to Formulation in Applied Psychology. London: Karnac Books. Daloz, L. A. (1999). Mentor: Guiding the Journey of Adult Learners. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. De Haan, E. (2008). Relational Coaching: Journeys towards Mastering One-to-One Learning. Chichester: Wiley. Egan, G. (2002). The Skilled Helper: A Problem-Management and Opportunity-Development Approach to Helping. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Frankl, V. E. (1988). The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy. New York, NY: Meridan. Gray, D. E., Burden, R., & Lane, D. A. (2015). A Critical Introduction to Coaching and Mentoring. London: Sage. Huffington, C. (2006). A contextualised approach to coaching. In Brunning, H. (ed.) Executive Coaching: SystemsPsychodynamic Perspective. London: Karnac Books. Kahn, M. S. (2011). Coaching on the axis: An integrative and systemic approach to business coaching. International Coaching Psychology Review, 6(2): 194–210. Kahn, M. S. (2014). Coaching on the Axis: Working with Complexity in Business and Executive Coaching. London: Karnac Books. Kemp, T. (2008). Self-management and the coaching relationship: Exploring coaching impact beyond models and methods. International Coaching Psychology Review, 3(1): 32–42. Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Kolb, D. A. (2015). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Kindle. Lane, D. A. (1990). The Impossible Child. Stoke on Trent: Trentham. Lane, D. A. (1998). Context focussed analysis: An experimentally derived model for working with complex problems with children, adolescents and systems. In Bruch, M. & Bond, F. W. (eds.) Beyond Diagnosis: Case Formulation Approaches in CBT. Chichester: Wiley. Lane, D. A., & Corrie, S. (2006). The Modern Scientist-Practitioner: A Guide to Practice in Psychology. Hove: Routledge. Lane, D. A., & Corrie, S. (2009). Does coaching psychology need the concept of formulation? International Coaching Psychology Review, 4(2): 193–206. Lo Meng-cheng, M. (2006). Professions: Prodigal daughter of modernity. In Adams, J., Clemens, E. S., & Orloff, A. S. (eds.) Remaking Modernity: Politics, Processes and History in Sociology. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. McManis, J. T. (1916). Ella Flagg Young and a Half-Century of the Chicago Public Schools. Chicago, IL: A.C. McClug & Co. Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult Learning Theory and Practice. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass. Kindle. Passmore, J. (2007). An integrative model for executive coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 59(1): 68–78. Schumacher, E. F. (1978). A Guide for the Perplexed. New York, NY: Harper and Row. Smuts, J. C. (1973). Holism and Evolution. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Wilber, K. (1995). Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (2001). No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth. Boston, MA: Shambhala.

380

29 Career coaching Peter Fennah

Introduction Career coaching is the exploration of an individual’s willingness and capability to manage changes at work. In society the centrality, mobility, volatile and changing nature of employment and the relationship that individuals have with it is often overlooked. About 70% of the 7.2 billion global population work. In the UK, 33 million people are formally employed in full- and part-time jobs. This does not mean that everyone is content. Almost 50% of employees keep an eye out for a better role, according to a 2015 survey by the London School of Business and Finance. Reasons for searching out a better role go beyond just enhanced financial security. Work shapes our self-identity and mental well-being (McGregor & Little, 1998) and offers a sense of meaningful connection in our wider life through the relationships we create. The nature and pace of work is shifting due principally to technology. The move to a knowledge-based economy led to greater job choice and mobility as compared to society before 1950. The emerging innovation economy, where distributed relationships rather than formal organizational structures drive change, is being heralded as the next wave of change to impact upon the world of work. William Gibson’s quote that “the future is here, it’s just unevenly distributed” (1993) illustrates our role in helping coachees who are dissatisfied to locate a brighter future. Helping our coachees construct a working narrative to their past, current and future employment allows them to explore and create informed choices leading to more meaningful employment. Savickas (2005) gives a helpful description of careers: Careers do not unfold; they are constructed as individuals make choices that express their self-concepts and substantiate their goals in the social reality of work roles. (p. 43) The challenge for career coaches is how to help the diverse individuals and organizations who are seeking change within their role or seeking new jobs, career paths or new ways in which work is conducted. In this chapter we will focus upon coaching individuals. We look first at the development of career coaching and key theories influencing the discipline today. We’ll then look at how to put these into practice exploring key concepts and case studies to highlight how coaches can help coachees.

381

Peter Fennah

Development of career coaching Careers as a field of academic study is young. Career theory only received legitimacy in the 1970s largely through the work of Michael Arthur, Edgar Schien, Tim Hall and Barbara Lawrence. Multiple academic behavioural science disciplines, such as psychology, counselling, sociology and economics all offer input. These eclectic underpinnings led to a very diverse field, in particular with regards to the approach to career advice and the diverse backgrounds of coaches. When you consider the public stereotype of career advice, it is fair to say that it has received a mixed reputation over the years. Poor or simplistic career advice often received whilst in education is a common story. Often this was due to an overly narrow focus such as ensuring the critical skills for work were addressed. This prioritized approach to meeting high volumes of need neglected the individual’s complex situation, notably their evolving personal motivations and implicit needs. Another example of this is where career advisors sought to create a ‘perfect’ job match through using interest inventories which put career advisors into an ‘expert’ technician role rather than coach. With improved training it is hoped these perceptions will be buried in the past. However, there is a risk that due to the commodification of career advice – for example, through IT apps – such blunt forms of career guidance could yet return (Watts, 2009). As an industry in the UK, career coaching is fragmented partly due to the diverse backgrounds of coaches as well as coachee group needs, e.g. youth, un/employed and management and late-career individuals who are now ‘second curving’, or seeking a second career option. The careers field in the UK is a largely unregulated industry where few restrictions to practice are present. There is plenty of opportunity for niche specialisms, e.g. career coaching for specific professional groupings. This presents a challenge for coachees who typically seek services at a point of crisis, as there is little consistency or quality of service provision due to the large number of self-taught practitioners who operate outside of professional, ethical or supervisory frameworks. Most career coaches have not had a structured academic education in relation to career management and how it varies across the diverse workforce population as a result. With the support of the UK government, the career development industry is likely to become a more regulated space in the future, driven by professional membership bodies who currently shelter formally taught career coaches. This is occurring in alignment with the professionalization of coaching in general as seen in America and Australia. The Career Development Institute (CDI) brought four UK professional bodies together in 2013 to help give greater cohesion to the industry, providing the foundations for professional accreditation and registration of practitioners across the industry. Such consolidation offers a clear point of contact for the public and service providers alike, with more robust training leading to reassurance of the quality of coaching received.

Theory The decline of the traditional organizational career led to two new career theories that have shaped career coaching. First, the Protean Career (Hall, 1976, 2002), which highlights the importance of achieving personal whole-life, as well as career, success. This shift to focusing upon exploring personal career values, rather than reinforcing the organization’s values or simply securing financial security, was an enlargement of traditional career decision-making. Second, attention to the increased mobility of an individual’s career was labelled by Arthur (1994) as the new Boundaryless Career. This involves going beyond conventional organizational promotion pathways to include multiple levels of responsibility. So, you could be a business leader and voluntary junior operational team member in another, or the same, company at the same time. The increase in flexibility by location, duration of work and the kind of lateral opportunities taken as a result offer a greater degree of fit to an individual’s interests. Creating and managing commitment to such a portfolio of activity potentially across a range of companies allows for the combination of Protean and Boundaryless careers to manifest. 382

Career coaching

The impact of both these theories has enriched the role of career coaches tremendously as the coachee’s unique potential for change, development and contribution to their organization/society are uncovered topics of discussion. These two theories challenged conventional career models, which still remain deeply embedded in the psyche of coachees and coaches. For example, consider how tightly you are wedded to the following PersonEnvironment Matching or Trait and Factor Models.

Challenging traditional career theory The Person-Environment approach developed in 1909 by Frank Parsons, known as the Father of Vocational Guidance (Zunker, 2002), continues to have a pragmatic appeal and may be intuitively familiar. At its core Parson’s structure assists individuals to take an informed career decision through relating self-knowledge to their environment: • • •

“First, define a clear understanding of yourself, aptitudes, abilities, interests, resources, limitations, and other qualities Second, gain knowledge of the requirements and conditions of success, advantages and disadvantages, compensations, opportunities, and prospects in different lines of work Third, attain true reasoning of the relations of these two groups of facts”. (Parsons, 1909, p. 5)

This trait and factor framework, e.g. taking personal traits (aptitude, abilities, resources, personality) and matching these with job factors (wages, working environment, etc.) offers a highly appealing approach to forming an ideal career decision. The idea of matching our personality to a ‘perfect’ job has sparked a host of different inventories to assist the industrialization of career decision-making. Holland’s Occupational Interest Types (1959) describes six personality types and relates individuals to suitable categories of employment as a result (realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, conventional). This led to the Dictionary of occupational titles that allows people to review broad job categories that are most suited to their personality, giving focus to their career planning. Despite its limitations the trait and factor matching approach remains the most dominate career theory guiding career coaching today. However, both the coach and the coachee can collude with the assumption that this rather mechanistic ‘one hole, one peg’ theory will generate the best outcome. It is easy to fall into this trap when a career decision needs to be taken urgently, especially if the defined needs of the coachee and measurement of success is taken to be the speed of finding a job. This is where Hall and Arthur’s theories broaden out the debate, allowing the coachee to take a more informed view when navigating their immediate situation. The Person-Environment and trait and factor models are overly positive mirages that trap unwary coachees and coaches. They offer an illusion of what could be rather than dealing with what things are likely to be. Tinsley (2000) identified that the relationship between such job choices and job satisfaction was weak, highlighting the limited empirical evidence for the utility of this approach. Fundamentally, the Person-Environment approach does not accommodate the notion of change in both people and role over time and, thus, fails to address the risk of stagnating in a job. By contrast, the emphasis on career management addresses both job role transitions as well as progression within the job itself. Career management is a core component of our continuing employability (Bridgstock, 2009) and consists of using social networks and taking risks in order to learn and adapt to change. Building self-awareness, exploring occupations and improving career decision-making are all elements that Tony Watts (2009) termed ‘career development learning’ which seeks to ensure coachees continue to lead meaningful working lives. The active reflection on how we learn to improve our career decision-making as well as how we develop our courage to affect change offers fruitful conversation for career coaches. 383

Peter Fennah

The focus on personal learning means the responsibility of career management is firmly focused upon the individual to self-direct their search for meaningful employment. This creates greater opportunity for a more sophisticated form of career coaching due to the variation of coachee need. For example, many individuals still seek to navigate traditional organizational structures and in these cases increased emphasis upon navigating the formal/informal social and power structures within companies can often be of greater significance than identifying a specific job role. All of this means career coaching can be a more complex undertaking than simply helping individuals locate and secure a reasonably well-paid job. It is also more than situational coaching such as mapping out stakeholders to influence if adopting a business coaching frame of reference.

Reconfiguring career theories The coachee can often be overwhelmed by choice and can lose confidence in the face of complexity. To help the coachee engage with their ambiguous future a career coach can both educate and encourage the coachee to create a set of principles that meet the coachee’s emerging range of needs. A career coach’s depth of theoretical understanding can set them apart from other coaches. For example, this can help the coachee build a more confident self-concept and working identity. Creating an understanding of the games people play and a sense of what rules they may willingly choose to ignore in order to break free and set their own direction may be appropriate. This can generate courage, resilience and agility – important elements when encountering some of the harsher realities of the workplace. Ultimately, this can generate greater success for the coachee than holding onto the mirage of trait and factor thinking which starts to crumble when reality is encountered. Or as Mitchell & Krumboltz (1996) said: Trying to place an evolving person into the changing work environment . . . is like trying to hit a butterfly with a boomerang. (p. 263) Deeper understanding of career theories, such as social learning theories, shift the importance in career decision-making away from investigating the individual’s personality traits to exploring the social context within which the work is embedded. The resources of the individual (economic, cultural and social) according to Hodkinson (2008) are of equal importance to the individual’s personality preferences when forming career decisions. For example, the social benefits of the job title and position may be more important than what the job actually involves to some people. Gaining higher status in job roles and developing a defined social identify (Ashforth & Mael, 1989) are examples of how other social factors may impact upon career decision-making, moving coaching from: What you are good at? to What is important to you and how will you engage with others in this social environment?

Life stage theory Given the range of social factors involved in work as we live our lives, there are many theories that can be helpful in appreciating shifts in priorities over time. One common framework for understanding where the coachee may be and what might be an emerging issue for them to consciously consider is Donald Super’s (1990) Life Stage or Rainbow Model (author’s model pictured). Attaining qualifications and skills (a driving focus in early life stage/young people) is given less weighting compared to reconnecting with the individual’s innate motivations and values as their life stage progresses. For the coach this model helps to recognize what progress may have occurred and what the next transition stage may be for the individual. Such a model normalizes issues for individuals as well as providing focus for the different challenges yet to come as they consider their career over time. 384

Career coaching

LIFE RAINBOW Establishment 25-44

35 30 Exploration 15-24

25

50

Homemaker or parent Worker

Leisurite

Child

10

60

Decline 65+

65 70

75 80

Life rules

Ages

Lifestyle factors

Environmental determinants Labour market Employment practices Situation determinants Historical Socioeconomic

Figure 29.1

55

Student

15

5

45

Citizen

20 Growth Birth-14

40

Maintenance 45-64

Personal determinants Psychological Biological

Life Stage or Rainbow Model

As people approach new life stages there is typically recognition that they are searching for something different in their lives. The search for challenge, authenticity and improved work/life balance are recognized in the Kaleidoscope Career Model (Mainiero & Sullivan, 2005). Whilst individuals and as genders we may prioritize these elements differently, the impact of such choices can be off putting to coachees. With the rising importance of pursuing a more active leisure life, and greater emphasis on ‘work to live’ rather than ‘live to work’ in Western economies, people’s priorities are being challenged, increasing the prevalence of career decisions that afford individual work/life balance regardless of traditional ideas of life stage or caring priorities. Some coachees present the tension of moving between life stages as a ‘midlife crisis’. Crisis symptoms include: anxieties over what has been achieved so far which can cause a period of depression or trigger rash decisions such as quitting a ‘good job’ as they grapple with the question of ‘Is this it?’ Research indicates that the midlife crisis is in fact a myth as the symptoms are not restricted to those in their forties. These issues equally arise for those in their twenties suffering a ‘quarter-life crisis’ where letting go of the magical thinking of childhood, e.g. ‘I am going to be an astronaut’ or ‘I am immortal’, and the adolescent exploration thinking of ‘I’m not going to make the same mistakes as my parents’ or ‘I’m going to write a great novel’ kick in. Similar tensions occur for those in their sixties, which appears to align with key life stage transition points (Whitbourne, 2012, 2015).

The importance of confidence In recognizing career coaching deals with the whole person as they navigate the complexity of life, another key theoretical development was Albert Bandura’s 1977 research focusing upon self-efficacy. This work cast a light on how an individual internalizes learning experiences to build or lose self-efficacy: the dynamic “belief in one’s capabilities to organise and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” Bandura (1997, p. 25). 385

Peter Fennah

Building on this, Ibarra (2002, p. 10) encourages coachees to focus upon ‘crafting experiments’ that allows them to explore and develop their sense of an evolving career identity. Career identity is the way individuals see themselves in their career context and incorporates career interests, motivations, personality traits, values and beliefs (McArdle et al., 2007). The way the coachee has chosen to learn from experience and had courage (or not) to take risks, change and deal with social anxieties around experimenting with forming a new identity is all part of building an updated sense of career identity. The career coach can play an enabling role to foster insight in this space by drawing upon these social models of career development theory.

Complexity and chance Krumboltz challenged the Person-Environment theory with his Planned Happenstance Learning Theory (Krumboltz, Mitchell, & Jones, 1976; Krumboltz & Nichols, 1990; Krumboltz, 2009). This moves attention away from emphasizing the process of occupational choice to capitalizing upon those unplanned opportunities that occur in our environment. Consider the role of chance in your early life and how this has affected your early career choices. How many people end up in careers they planned for at 16 years of age? Random chance, as also characterized by Chaos Theory (Gleick, 1987), has significantly impacted your working life. To capitalize upon pure chance opportunities, Krumboltz describes five attributes in Table 29.1: Table 29.1 The five personal attributes 1. Curiosity: be more open so you don’t miss what is within your reach 2. Persistence: if you don’t hang around the goal mouth in football you are less likely to score 3. Flexibility 4. Optimism 5. Willingness to take risks

Roberts and Daws (1968) found career choices aren’t influenced so much by personal choices but rather the resources close to hand. Their Opportunity Structure Theory suggests career coaches can focus more upon the coachee’s social proximity to opportunities as interpreted by gender, ethnicity and social class. More recently, Social Capital theory also looks at an individual’s networking access to information, resources and sponsorship (Seibert et al., 2001) as a key element of career management. For example, Margaret Thatcher received elocution lessons to change her accent and mannerisms in order to influence those from a higher social class. This may be a lot to ask for of some coachees who view authenticity to be a static concept of who they used to be rather than who they wish to be.

Adaptability and resilience It is important to recognize that the ability to adjust to change and the notion of career resilience are often overlooked in the quest to make a speedy career decision. The ability to sustain motivation and manage the negative stresses associated with work, even work that you love, are inherent elements of career coaching. The high frequency of restructures, mergers and the temporary nature of jobs, etc. can place great strain on people seeking job security, mastery of role, identity, social status and a sense of meaning. Fostering career resilience can be achieved by reframing career development around: learning; adopting a wellness/fitness philosophy; including regular review points to benchmark work content and those strategic work skills required to allow appropriate career progression; developing a future focus and the practice of career self-reliance (Brown, 1996). In this way the new arenas for career coaches to attend to are how the coachee actively incorporates key learning experiences to form social and psychological constructs of use to them (Bassot, 2012). 386

Career coaching

Practice Pressured contracting Most career coaching is sought by individuals who are facing an impending crisis from an immediate career-related event (redundancy, completion of a course/employment contract or growing dissatisfaction with existing work). Limited time, high levels of ambiguity and complexity of choice combined with high stakes (financial security, status and identity) all create a strong sense of urgency and anxiety to the request for help. The coachee may also have exhausted their own network of contacts such as friends and family who are usually approached first for help (Hughes & Graton, 2009). Managing coachee expectations at this point can be a challenge for the coach, especially when deadlines are pressing and only a small number of sessions are available. This showcases the need to prioritize, something the coachee may not have chosen to do. Agreeing to the working contract to ensure success is important here. The additional strategic benefits on offer from career coaching, such as greater self-awareness, understanding recurrent themes in their lives and ongoing improvement of career decision-making, may become aspects for exploration as the true situation emerges (Bimrose & Barnes, 2006). Do they really need to get a perfect job tomorrow, and do they have the skills to deliver it if they get it? Part of the contracting process is often challenging the mirage of the ‘one peg, one hole’ trait matching approach. Giving the coachee support and challenge to their conception of what career decision they are making and how this meets both their context and strategic aims is part of the coaching offering. Building strong rapport is critical to creating the safety and professional credibility fundamental for trust in this exploration.

Chemistry and orientation Career coachees can have higher levels of anxiety attached than many clients as livelihood and personal identity may be threatened. Consequently, relating with the coachee’s situation, helping them to understand the presenting issue(s) and to normalize these where relevant are all-important first steps for the coach. A career coach typically provides more directive advice and feedback to enable the coachee to develop new skills at speed (CV, interview, self-marketing, manage politics, influence, etc.). Effective career coaches do this with sophistication to enable rapid client learning and to ensure the range of alternatives are understood. The coach needs to develop a mutual sense of how they and the coachee will work together. Typically, this might involve exploring how the coachee learns at their best and what degree of support and challenge they are seeking. By understanding their skill level to address recruitment barriers and their own understanding of jobs, the coach is able to clarify where input and advice is needed in addition to a more reflective coaching style. Six example areas that can help you explore why career coaching is important for the individual are shared in Table 29.2. Table 29.2 Exploring coachee motivations for career coaching 1. Is the coachee seeking learning “for career progression and effective work” or “learning about careers and work”? (Andrews, 2013) 2. Is the coachee seeking to: begin, develop, reposition, diversify, sustain or conclude work? 3. What degree of gap exists between current, near-term and longer-term career aspirations? 4. What key factors are keeping the coachee stuck? (Consider Opportunity Structure Theory, self-efficacy, and other social learning theories.) Often the process of naming the issue itself can unlock and empower ‘stuck’ clients. 5. What factors are driving the need for change? Understand the organizational and family context that they are embedded in, the search for new appropriate challenges, authenticity or work/life balance (Kaleidoscope theory) and any wider life stage emerging transitions. 6. How does work relate to their sense of identity at an emotional and conceptual level? Exploring the questions of ‘Why do you work?’ and ‘What does work mean to you?’ as much as the rational and pragmatic aspects of ‘What work do you want to do?’ or ‘What work is needed?’ allows the coachee to be more explicit about what they want to work on

387

Peter Fennah

Similar to other forms of contracting, career coaching typically includes agreement about: goals, format and number of sessions including flexibility if a pressing deadline emerges, homework, sign posting for any issues outside of the coach’s coaching or career advisory competence, openness to feedback and evaluation of the sessions/process result. The range of topic areas to be worked on can be extremely varied; four loose coaching categories are listed in Table 29.3:

Table 29.3 Example career coaching categories Coaching Category

Associated questions and interventions

Identifying strategic ‘X’ factor capabilities/ resources

• What can I inherently excel at and gain rewards for? • How do I make use of networking (social capital resources) to help me advance my career? • What capabilities can I quickly develop and leverage that have a recognized value within market(s) that are important to me and stable over time so I can rapidly progress? • Where am I going with my life? I’m overwhelmed, lost and demotivated. Is this all there is? I have lost my sense of true self, value and purpose. • What has meaning, heart and soul for me? • Who am I becoming: as a person, team member, professional and leader? • How do I regain work/life balance or integrate the two effectively? • Where, how and with whom can I thrive? • What’s my signature professional/leadership style? And, how can I leverage it at work? • How do I research options, network and create opportunities? • How do I project my brand through social media (LinkedIn, etc.); write a motivational cover letter, CV, application form, etc.? • How do I prepare and perform well when formally assessed, e.g. interview, psychometric tests, assessment centres, etc.? • How do I (re)negotiate my package, i.e. entry/exit? • How do I influence and co-ordinate others to get a promotion and cope with the new responsibilities? • What plan and ‘stepping stones’ do I need to connect me to my future aspirations? • How do I make a decision between these future options? • How do I develop the confidence and courage to let go of the familiar and explore uncertain options? • How do I cope with professional setbacks, e.g. failure to secure a promotion, making mistakes, bullying, political assassination or recover from redundancy? • How do I personally change to meet the demands of the role, context and people within it? • How do I accommodate a less than perfect current/future situation whilst still making progress towards a better future? • How do I cope with a difficult manager and team?

Authenticity

Advice, planning, strategizing and deciding

Transition coaching

Informing theories Whilst the array of career theories can initially feel overwhelming, they offer multiple perspectives from which to help the coachee understand and navigate the complexities they face. A sample of theories are offered in Table 29.4, which theories dominate your approach? 388

Career coaching Table 29.4 Guiding theory Theory

Leads a career coach to…

Trait Matching Life Stage development, Career Narrative, Self-efficacy, Constructivism, Narrative theory and similar social learning models

Act as an expert, measuring, diagnosing and directing style Working from how people see their world, exploring their constructs in the guidance process. The importance of intuition.

Planned Happenstance and Chaos Theory

Community Interaction, Opportunity Structure and Social Capital Career Learning and Cognitive Stage Development

Either: Directing people towards expected roles as they emerge encouraging social conformity Or Encouraging people to break out of conventional roles and take advantage of opportunities Facilitating and coordinating resources to provide new experiences Teaching and motivating the coachee to engage in experiments with subsequent learning reflection and forecast planning

Table 29.5 Four fundamental employability trends 1. People need to expand their capabilities and interests: Helping individuals explore more of themselves can illicit new opportunities to improve existing and future job roles. 2. People need to prepare for changing work tasks: Learning new skills for changing labour markets can be perceived as stressful. Developing resilience, through effective coping strategies that are sensitive to the coachee’s needs and onward journey are important. It is also worth recognizing that there are gender differences in how people make career decisions. Women are more likely to stay in a role until they feel they have exploited almost 100% of the role before seeking to actively look for a new opportunity. By contrast many men will often hunt out new opportunities despite only just starting in a role. 3. People need to be empowered to take action: Exploring limiters and enablers of decisions as part of the career coaching process is key to ensuring action will be taken. The Western individualistic and often secular approach is not necessarily shared across the diverse range of our coachees. For example, an influencing Indian cultural heritage may make moving away from high social prestige roles (Doctors, dentists, lawyers & engineers) difficult. Those from the Middle East may have an increased need to work within extended family businesses that also have religious alignment requirements. Considering how family and friends may react to career decisions can be an important factor, but delay decision-making where unfamiliar or less acceptable choices are being considered. 4. Career Coaches need to play an extended role: Issues such as burnout, building strong team and peer relationships, managing obstacles to career advancement and delivering high performance in the role itself are all roles the career coach can work on with individuals, their line managers and other organisational representatives such as HR. We often overlook the opportunities to hold coaching conversations within the wider environment.

The coaching process: practical considerations Career management As a career coach, it is important to explicitly maintain a strategic career management outlook on behalf of the client. Mitchell & Krumboltz (1996) offer four fundamental trends with which people must cope when making career choices in modern society (see Table 29.5). As a career coach, consider how your interventions enhance and sustain the employability of the client. 389

Peter Fennah

Which coachees benefit most? The greatest benefit of career coaching appears to be with coachees who have some idea of what they want to do. Focused transition coaching then allows the coachee to work on what is possible and how they can influence or address the variables that they face. The contracted role of the coach in this situation is one of co-production (Boyle & Mitchell, 2009) where a partnership between the coachee’s experience and expertise offered by the coach is developed on the basis of mutual equality. It is best to place value upon the coachee’s experience and avoid positioning yourself as an authority. Where low levels of self/labour market awareness are present or deeper needs exist, coachees typically benefit from guidance, education and transformative career coaching rather than skills or transition-based coaching. Putting aside the urgency to fix the CV or get a new job may be important expectation management. This can allow more time to explore the psychological issues related to life purpose, self and work identities and the construction of career narratives that deepen the conversations. However, this doesn’t require exhaustive introspection and counselling sessions as it is important to ensure the coachee engages with people to explore the labour market.

Case study The coachee John had been working as a sales director in a medium-sized business for four months after gaining an MBA. Previously he had worked as a sales manager for four years in a competitor company. It was his first time in a senior management position and he was taking the sales force through a restructure when a new CEO came into the business. The relationship quickly broke down due to a fundamental difference over the vision of how the business should position itself in a recessionary market. John left the business within seven months of starting.

The coaching John explained his situation in an initial 45-minute meeting. Reassurance was provided around the confidential nature of the session. His key theme of anxiety about how other employers would view his short period of employment and lack of bottom line sales success emerged. Goals were explored and then summarized in a written proposal outlining six coaching sessions over three months.

Coaching goals John sought career coaching to help gain closure on his turbulent departure and regain confidence. He sought assistance in positioning his experience when networking and presenting his CV to new employers so that they wouldn’t see him as a failed director. He wanted to springboard from a medium-sized business to a larger business in order to weather the recessional market and was keen not to move back to a sales manager role, which would be a mark of failure in his perception with his MBA peer group. He also sought onboarding support in the next role so that he could be more effective in managing relationships with senior stakeholders, as he was aware that his analytical and introverted preference often led to being seen as cold, withdrawn or aloof from others. These were all areas that he recognized would need attention if he was to be successful in becoming a managing director or CEO of a business as per his longer-term aspiration. The six coaching sessions were:

390

Career coaching

Closure and career narrative In discussing his exit from the business, John was encouraged to apply his own analytical strength to examine the facts of the situation. He became aware that it wasn’t a personal decision but, in fact, it was an inevitable and legitimate move of the new CEO to ask him to leave. However, the way it had been done was not, in his perception, delivered with sufficient care and empathy. We discussed who was responsible and his resulting feelings of guilt and shame over the ending of his employment. Cognitive behavioural techniques were applied to facilitate letting go of the negative impact of this chapter of his work history. Homework actions were set. John was invited to draw and articulate his Career Narrative Lifeline and extend it into the future. This helped to normalize his situation and allowed discussion on what resources (Opportunity Structure Theory/ Social Capital) he had used on occasions when he had encountered previous setbacks. It was helpful to recognize key patterns, such as linking people, places, pace of change and events in addition to his search for variety. An appreciation of being influenced by random meetings (Happenstance) led him to move jobs frequently under his own terms as he sought out variety and a fast pace of work. We closed the session noting that the career narrative at its heart remains a story embedded in an old context and that leaving the job was the closure of one period. The challenge for John in his homework was to write a possible next chapter. This was to be done after the second coaching session.

Individual exploration We discussed positive and energizing elements of what he was like at his best in the workplace. This involved the identification of strengths; motivational drivers; personality (using psychometrics from his recent MBA Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and FIRO B plus previous 360 feedback and appraisal reports); values (Schien’s Career Anchors); key skills and interests. Further homework was provided to develop his awareness of what meaningful work meant to him and to write a subsequent next chapter in his career narrative.

Review and external exploration Reviewing the pattern of information from the initial sessions, John became aware of the importance of autonomy and that roles celebrating his analytical strengths would fit that of a consultant. We explored his age, background and network and compared this to typical management consultancies with their ethos. John’s homework was speaking with a range of management consultants and independent business owners to explore his interest in operating as an entrepreneur (Happenstance and Social Capital). We discussed enablers and limitations to networking, specifically focusing upon building confidence (self-efficacy) to engage productively with this phase of his research.

Brand Concurrent to John’s continuing research of possible options we discussed ways to articulate his career story to recruitment consultants and employers. Directive input was provided due to limited experience of writing cover letters, tailored CVs and LinkedIn profiles. Homework was set and frequent feedback was provided on these materials to improve their impact. John gained feedback from the labour market that there were few opportunities to move into another sales director role given the economic conditions and that his limited experience operating at this level meant he was less attractive.

391

Peter Fennah

After reviewing his resources (Social Capital), John decided to set up his own business and, using his contacts, gained an assignment focusing on reviewing sales force strategy. John gained an interview opportunity with a large business, which was a competitor to his previous company.

Interview skills A mock interview with feedback and presentation training was provided. Subsequently, John gained a shortterm consultancy assignment. This met John’s desire for financial reward, variety and autonomy. It also allowed him work/life balance (Kaleidoscope), which was one of the reasons he turned down joining a national management consultancy.

Transition On attaining the short-term consultancy role, John engaged in further coaching to support his relationship engagement with senior stakeholders in the business. Our conversation focused upon appreciating diversity and building his confidence to be more open. In this way John developed more human warmth in his interactions with others. After each session John was invited to reflect upon what worked and didn’t work for him in order to enhance the coaching and learning process. John subsequently returned for further coaching in developing his leadership impact in the hopes of securing a future sales director role.

Summary This case study highlights the importance of balancing individual reflection with exploring the social resources available and being open to forms of employment that initially were not considered. The importance of building self-efficacy and having a strong narrative in branding oneself were all instrumental to John’s success, particularly over the initial short time scale of the coaching. Other exercises or approaches could have been used in order to lift out key patterns and themes and build a case for employment. The initial three-month contract was extended more than once. After two years John realised his career aspiration becoming director of sales.

Discussion points 1 2

3 4

How do you avoid colluding with the anxieties of your coachee and contract against explicit coaching needs? Drawing upon your coaching process and theoretical approach, what experiments do you create for your coachees to check out assumptions and capitalize on chance encounters? What might you do differently to prepare your coachees to convert such encounters into meaningful opportunities? What limits your coachees from engaging with actions? How are you attending to the social views of significant others and building confidence (career self-efficacy) into your homework action plans? How does the case of John presented in this chapter fit with your own approach? What stands out for you that confirms or challenges your current way of working as a career coach?

Suggested reading Dickmann, M., & Baruch, Y. (2010). Global careers. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Barach, Y. (2004). Managing careers: Theory and practice. Harlow, Essex: FT Prentice Hall. 392

Career coaching

Hoffman, R., & Casnocha, B. (2012). The start-up of you: Adapt to the future, invest in yourself, and transform your career. London: Random House Business. Ibarra, H. (2004). Working identity: Unconventional strategies for reinventing your career. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press Books.

References Andrews, D. (2013). The future of careers work in schools in England: What are the options? Self published whitepaper. Arthur, M. (1994). The boundaryless career: a new perspective for organizational inquiry. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 15, pp. 295–306. Ashforth, B. E., & Mael, F. (1989). Social identity theory and the organization. Academy of Management Review, 14(1), pp. 20–39. Bandura, A. (1997). Self efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. Bassot, B. (2012). Career learning and development: A social constructivist model for the twenty first century. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 12(1), pp. 31–42. Bimrose, J., & Barnes, S.-A. (2006). Is career guidance effective? Evidence from a longitudinal study in England. Australian Journal of Career Development, 15(2), pp. 19–25, pp. 1038–4162. Boyle, B., & Mitchell, R. (2009). Knowledge creation measurement methods. Journal of knowledge management, 14 (1), pp. 67–82. Bridgstock, R (2009). The graduate attributes we’ve overlooked: Enhancing graduate employability through career management skills. Higher Education Research and Development, 28(1), pp. 31–44. Brown, B. L. (1996). Career resilience. Education Reform Information Centre Digest, 178, pp. 1–6. Gleyic, J. (1987). Chaos: Making a new science. London: Cardinal. pp. 17. Hall, D. T. (1976). Careers in organizations. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman. Hall, D. T. (2002). Protean careers in and out of organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Hodkinson, P. (2008). Understanding career decision-making and progression: Careers hip revisited. John Killeen Memorial Lecture, 16 October, CRAC/NICEC, London. Holland, J. L. (1959). A theory of vocational choice. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 6(1), 35–45. Holland, J. (1996). Exploring careers with a typology: What we have learned and some new directions. American Psychologist, 51(4), pp. 397–406. Hughes, D., & Graton, G. (2009). A Literature review of research on the impact of careers and guidance-related interventions. Reading: Cabot Education Trust. Ibarra, H. (2002). How to stay stuck in the wrong career. Harvard Business Review, 80(12), pp. 40–48. Krumboltz, J. D., Mitchell, A. M., & Jones, G. B. (1976). A social learning theory of career selection. The Counseling Psychologist, 6(1), pp. 71–81. Krumboltz, J. D., & Nichols, C. W. (1990). Integrating the social learning theory of career decision making. In W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.), Career Counseling: Contemporary Topics in Vocational Psychology (pp. 159–192). Hillsdale, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Krumboltz, J. D. (2009). The happenstance learning theory. Journal of Career Assessment; 17, p. 135. Mainiero, L. A., & Sullivan, S. E. (2005). Kaleidoscope careers: An alternate explanation for the “opt-out” revolution. The Academy of Management Executive, 19(1), pp. 106–123. McArdle, S., Waters, L., Briscoe, J. P., & Hall, D. T. (2007). Employability during unemployment: Adaptability, career identity and human and social capital. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 71(2), pp. 247–264. McGregor, I., & Little, B. R. (1998). Personal projects, happiness, and meaning: On doing well and being yourself. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(2), pp. 494–512. Mitchell, L.K., & Krumboltz, J.D. (1996). ‘Krumboltz’s learning theory of career choice and counseling’. In Brown, D., Brooks, L., & Associates (Eds.), Career Choice and Development (3rd ed., pp. 223–280), San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass. Parsons, F. (1909). Choosing a Vocation. Boston, MAS: Houghton, Mifflin and Company. Roberts, K. (1968). The entry into employment: An approach towards a general theory. Sociological Review, 16(2), pp. 165–184. Savickas, M. L. (2005). The theory and practice of career construction. In Brown, S. D. & Lent, R. W. (eds.) Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work. New Jersey: John Wiley, & Sons, pp. 42–70. Seibert, S. E., Kraimer, M. L., & Liden, R. D. (2001). A social capital theory of career success. Academy of Management Journal, 44(2), pp. 219–237. Super, D. E. (1990). A life-span, life-space, approach to career development. In D. Brown & L. Brooks (Eds.), Career choice and development. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass. Tinsley, H. E. A. (2000). The congruence myth: An analysis of the efficacy of the personal-environment fit model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56(2), pp. 147–179.

393

Peter Fennah

Watts, A. G. (2009). Career development learning and employability. York: The Higher Education Academy. Whitbourne, S. K. (2012). The me I know: A study of adult identity. New York: Springer-Verlag New York Science & Business Media. Whitbourne, S. K. (2015). Identity centrality and psychosocial functioning: A person-centered approach A Meca, RA Ritchie, W Beyers, SJ Schwartz… - Emerging Adulthood. Journal of Emerging Adulthood, 3(5), pp. 327–339. Zunker, V. G. (2002). Career counseling: Applied concepts of life planning (6th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

394

30 Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching Helen Williams, Stephen Palmer and Kristina Gyllensten

Introduction Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching have been described as speciality or niche areas of coaching with the shared aim of helping coachees achieve their health-related goals (Palmer, Tubbs, & Whybrow, 2003; Palmer, 2004). Coaching psychology has a significant contribution to make to this field of work. Underpinning the traditional health educational approach with psychological theories and models has been found to increase the likelihood that the individual will achieve and maintain the desired change (Palmer et al., 2003; Wolever et al., 2013). This chapter aims to provide an overview of the role of coaching psychology in stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching, primarily focusing on the solution-focused, cognitive behavioural (SF-CB) approach and highlighting with case studies how SF-CB models have been effectively adapted for use in this context.

Development of stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching Stress impacts upon the quality of people’s lives and relationships and the ability to perform, both at home and in the workplace (Palmer & Cooper, 2013). This has led to coaching being developed to assist coachees to prevent or tackle stress and enhance performance (e.g. Gyllensten & Palmer, 2012). Lifestyle illness presents an increasingly significant cost to health care systems worldwide and has led to the current rise of the development and delivery of health and wellbeing coaching (Palmer, 2004; Palmer, 2012a, 2012b; Wolever et al., 2013; Moore & Jackson, 2014). Unhealthy behaviours relating to a lack of physical exercise, diet, weight and stress management are resulting in increased risk of illness, stress and chronic disease (Moore & Jackson, 2014). On the other hand, positive psychological wellbeing has been found to be associated with lower mortality and reduced cardiovascular mortality (Chida & Steptoe, 2008). There is a growing body of evidence, from both research and practice, to suggest coaching is an effective intervention in stress management and resilience, as well as in the broader areas of health and wellbeing (Palmer et al., 2003; Gyllensten & Palmer, 2005; Butterworth, Linden, McClay, & Leo, 2006; Gyllensten & Palmer, 2012; Moore & Jackson, 2014). Many of the coaching models being used in this health coaching context have been derived from their respective therapeutic approaches, such as solution-focused and cognitive behavioural (Neenan & Palmer, 2012; O’Connell, Palmer, & Williams, 2012; Grbcic & Palmer, 2007) and Motivational Interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2002, 2009, 2012; Palmer, 2012b). 395

Helen Williams, Stephen Palmer and Kristina Gyllensten

Theory and basic concepts As concepts, and as topics raised in a coaching context, stress and resilience go naturally together, as do health and wellbeing.

Stress Richard Lazarus proposed that stress was a result of a perceived imbalance between demands and resources (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). A simple cognitive description is ‘Stress occurs when the perceived pressure exceeds your perceived ability to cope’ (Palmer, Cooper, & Thomas, 2003: 2). In this respect ‘it’s the meaning (attitudes and beliefs) we attach to events, not the events themselves, that largely determines how we react to them’ (Neenan, 2018: ix). In the author’s [SP] experience with people seeking counselling or coaching for stress, it is often a combination of problems, issues or events that tips the balance.

Resilience The word resilience comes from the Latin word resilire meaning ‘leap back’ or ‘rebound from’. There is no agreed universal definition of resilience (Palmer & Gyllensten, 2015). Luthar, Cicchetti and Becker (2000: 543) assert that ‘resilience refers to a dynamic process encompassing positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity’. In a coaching context, Neenan (2018: 6) advocates the use of the phrase ‘coming back from’ in place of ‘bouncing back’, as when resilience is low, recovery is more of a gradual process requiring time and effort and facilitated by the use of external support as well as internal resources.

Health and wellbeing The World Health Organization (WHO, 2001) vision promotes health as a complete state of optimal physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity. In a report in 2004 the WHO expanded upon the definition of a complete optimal state as a ‘state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community’ (WHO, 2004: 12). A review of the wellbeing literature in 2005 suggests that the concept of wellbeing has great potential to bring together the different sectors contributing to health promotion (de Chavez, Backett-Milburn, Parry, & Platt, 2005).

Theoretical perspectives Our intention here is to provide an overview of some of the theoretical perspectives pertinent to stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching. For more detailed theoretical accounts please refer to the relevant chapters of this handbook.

Transtheoretical model of change Prochaska and DiClemente’s (1983, 1998) transtheoretical model of change describes how individuals move through, or become stuck within, various stages of the change cycle, from 1) Precontemplation to 2) Contemplation, 3) Planning/Decisions, 4) Action, 5) Maintenance and then in somes cases onto 6) Relapse. This model is particularly pertinent for understanding the coachee’s motivational state and readiness to change, and as such it can inform the Motivational Interviewing approach (see Chapter 11 for a fuller explanation and Table 11.1). 396

Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching

Bandura’s (1977) Social Cognitive Theory highlights the importance of self-efficacy, the extent to which an individual believes that they are able to achieve a goal or perform a specific behaviour even if there may be hindrances. The coach can use many strategies and techniques to increase a coachee’s self-efficacy including action planning, the implementation of small achievable manageable steps, cognitive/imaginal coping techniques and Motivational Interviewing techniques. The Theory of Planned Behaviour was developed by Ajzen (1985) and is relevant to health and wellbeing coaching. It asserts that a person’s behaviour is determined largely by their intention, or motivation, to perform that behaviour. The health coach can use several interventions to enhance self-efficacy including Motivational Interviewing, implementation of small achievable manageable steps, and cognitive/imaginal coping techniques.

The solution-focused approach The solution-focused approach was developed by Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg and associates in the late 1970s (de Shazer, 1984) and has its origins in brief family therapy. Solution-focused therapy and coaching views everyone as a skilled problem solver and promotes the basic belief that people are more likely to achieve and maintain behavioural change if they tap into their own resources and solutions (O’Connell et al., 2012). At the heart of the solution-focused approach is a set of principles including working with the person not the problem, engaging in problem talk, shifting the focus from the past to the future, asking questions rather than offering answers, highlighting strengths and resources and realising small steps to make a big difference (O’Connell et al., 2012).

Goal setting, self-efficacy and problem solving frameworks Goal-setting theory was initially developed by Locke (1968) and Locke and Latham (Locke, Shaw, Saari & Latham, 1981; Locke & Latham, 1984), who highlighted the importance of the goal being specific, attainable and set at the right level of difficulty. The concept of self-efficacy, defined by Bandura as ‘one’s perceived abilities and intentions for effort allocation’ (Bandura, 1977), was also incorporated into the goal-setting model as an important determinant of goal acceptance and commitment (Locke & Latham, 1990). The subsequent two-stage theory of goal setting postulates that first, the individual forms their choice, or intentions, based on outcome value and expectations and second, forms their commitment, assessing current feasibility of action as determined by personal and situational constraints (Heckhausen & Kuhl, 1985; Corno & Kanfer, 1993; Gollwitzer, 1990). Problem solving and solution seeking frameworks such as PRACTICE (Palmer, 2007, 2011) provide a helpful structure for this goal-setting stage of stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching. The PRACTICE framework enables discussion around the seven steps of Problem identification, Realistic and relevant goal development, Alternative solution generation, Consideration of consequences, Targeting of most feasible solution(s), Implementation of Chosen solutions and Evaluation (Palmer, 2007).

Rational emotive and cognitive behavioural theories Rational emotive and cognitive behavioural theories propose that the way we think largely determines the way we react to events. Cognitions, attitudes and rules that are repeated often enough over the course of time can become ingrained. These thoughts and beliefs can be helpful, neutral or unhelpful to the individual in the pursuit of their health-related behavioural goals and, as such, may induce stress, undermine resilience or inhibit healthy behaviours (Palmer, 2003; Palmer et al., 2003; Palmer, 2012c, 2012d). For example, Neenan ( 2018) identifies several unhelpful attitudes undermining resilience, such as ‘It’s not my fault’, ‘I’m a failure’ and ‘I’ll never get over it’ and alternative cognitive behavioural strengths such as self-belief, self-acceptance and seeking support from others (Neenan, 2018). Cognitive behavioural and rational emotive coaching 397

Helen Williams, Stephen Palmer and Kristina Gyllensten

can be used to help coachees both identify stressors and develop strategies for lasting change (Gyllensten & Palmer, 2012; Palmer & Gyllensten, 2008). Richard Lazarus developed the ‘transactional theory of stress’ (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), which focuses on the interaction between the person and their environment and their cognitive, emotional and behavioural responses to it. The stress response is determined by the person’s appraisal of both the stressor and their personal resources (psychological, social or cultural) with which to cope with the stressor (Montaño & Kasprzyk, 2008). Cox (1978) developed a five-stage transactional model of occupational stress, whilst Palmer and Dryden (1994) developed a multimodal transactional theory of stress to underpin the multimodal approach which incorporated the BASIC ID framework (see below). Rutter (1985) described ‘protective factors’ that give individuals resilience in the face of adversity, including personal qualities, how they cognitively appraise the situation and how they interact with others. For example, Ong, Bergeman, Bisconti and Wallace (2006) found that daily positive emotions helped moderate a person’s response to stress and mediated the recovery process. Similarly, flexible thinking rather than holding a fixed viewpoint allows the person to adapt (Neenan, 2018). In a recent meta-analysis of 33 studies on psychological resilience, Lee and colleagues (2013) found protective factors had the largest effect on resilience, more so than risk and demographic factors. The ABCDEF model (Ellis, Gordan, Neenan, & Palmer, 1997) is fundamental to the rational emotive behavioural and cognitive behavioural approaches, encouraging the coachee to identify the Activating event, Beliefs and Consequences before going on to Discuss or Dispute those beliefs to generate Effective new approaches. Finally, the Focus is on what has been learnt from this process (Palmer & Cooper, 2013). In health coaching the ABC can also focus on behaviour instead of beliefs so the ‘B’ becomes ‘Behaviour’ (Mitchie et al., 2008). Other cognitive behavioural coaching models include the SPACE model (Edgerton & Palmer, 2005; see Chapter 9): Social context, Physical reaction, Action or inaction, Cognitions and Emotions. Multimodal therapy (Lazarus, 1973; 1989) and coaching (Palmer, 2008b) models are underpinned by social and cognitive learning theory (Bandura, 1977, 1986) and multimodal transactional theory of stress (Palmer & Dryden, 1994). The health coaching conversation focuses on seven modalities: Behaviour, Affect, Sensations, Imagery, Cognition, Interpersonal and Drugs/biology, with the acronym, BASIC ID (Lazarus, 1973; Palmer, 2008b, 2012a Palmer, Cooper, & Thomas, 2013). An individual seeking to change their diet, for example, may realise their efforts are impeded by tiredness and negative affect/emotion as well as a lack of belief in their ability to change. By identifying emotive, behavioural, imaginative, interpersonal and physiological factors as well as cognitive factors, an individual can be helped to make several cumulative changes to improve performance, enhance wellbeing and/or prevent stress (Palmer, 2008b). The CLARITY coaching model (Williams & Palmer, 2010) is an adaptation of other widely used and recognised rational emotive and cognitive behavioural models (Ellis et al., 1997; Edgerton & Palmer, 2005). Each letter represents a different area for exploration, namely Context, Life event, Action/inaction, Reaction (physiological and emotional), Imagery/Identity, Thoughts and Your future choices. In the first phase of discussion the coach and coachee explore what is currently happening, capturing helpful/less helpful cognitions, identifying what is causing the most difficulty or concern and rating the strength of related emotional states. In the second phase of discussion the coach uses Socratic questioning and other solution-focused, cognitive behavioural coaching techniques to challenge less helpful thoughts, imagery and behaviour and to generate alternatives. The coachee may be provided with a CLARITY model template to note down their observations throughout the coaching conversation.

Positive psychology Positive psychology, originating in earnest with the work of Martin Seligman (1999), has been described as the study of optimal human functioning and considers topics such as happiness, wisdom, creativity and human strengths (Linley & Harrington, 2007). In this respect the theory and concepts of positive psychology are of great significance to stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching. Positive psychology promotes 398

Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching

viewing the individual as a whole, focusing on strengths, positive behaviours and purpose (Boniwell, Kauffman, & Silberman, 2014).

Eco-psychology There is increasing concern that the disconnect between human communities and the natural world is negatively impacting upon health and wellbeing (Berger & McLeod, 2006). Similarly, a growing body of research suggests that exposure to nature can reduce stress levels and enhance self-esteem, health and wellbeing, whether it be time spent walking in urban green or the countryside (Brown, Barton, & Gladwell, 2013; Crust, Henderson, & Middleton, 2013; Marselle, Irvine, & Warber, 2014; O’Donovan, 2015), viewing photos of nature scenes (Brown, Barton, Pretty, & Gladwell, 2012), gardening (Van den Berg & Custers, 2011) or exercising (Gladwell, Brown, Wood, Sandercock, & Barton, 2013; Duncan et al., 2014). In addition, access to an outdoor environment at work has been found to enhance perceived wellbeing and reduce levels of stress in the workplace (Lottrup, Grahn, & Stigsdotter, 2013). As the importance of nature and its role within health and wellbeing education is recognised, so ecopsychology research and practice is growing as an area in counselling, positive and coaching psychology (Palmer, 2015; Totton, 2003; Berger & McLeod, 2006). A multimodal health coaching model facilitates discussion of how the coachee might benefit from and utilise nature to achieve their health-related goals (Palmer, 2008b). Berger and McLeod (2006) discuss the merits of incorporating nature into therapy, encouraging therapists to ‘open the doors’ and conduct their therapy in nature (Berger & McLeod, 2006: 1). In this respect the coach might also consider ways in which nature may help to facilitate the coaching sessions, from placing pictures of nature scenes in the coaching meeting room to walking whilst coaching.

Practice Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching share the fundamental goal of coaching psychology of ‘enhancing wellbeing and performance in personal life and work domains’ (adapted Grant & Palmer, 2002). From the perspective of health education, the aim of the coaching is to complement and enhance the educational approach by underpinning it with a psychological model. Use of coaching at the goal-setting stage, for example, promotes a facilitative as opposed to directive approach, ensuring the individual is identifying and selecting their own priority goals and maximising levels of commitment to actions and behaviour change (Simmons & Wolever, 2013).

Strategies Perhaps the most important strategy for any stress, resilience, health or wellbeing coaching session is to gauge the individual’s motivational state, disposition towards the issue or goal in question and readiness to change, as this will indicate the most appropriate starting point for the coaching intervention (Gale, 2012). If the individual is in the Precontemplation or Contemplation stages of the change model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983; DiClemente & Prochaska, 1998), then Motivational Interviewing techniques will be useful to facilitate an increase in readiness to change. If the individual is in the Planning or Action stages, they may be ready to engage in solution-focused goal setting. Goal confidence can be assessed using the readiness to change scale, whereby the individual rates themselves on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is ‘not at all interested in changing’ and 10 is that the individual has ‘already made the change’ (Palmer, 2012c). Where behavioural, cognitive or emotional barriers to behavioural change are identified, cognitive behavioural techniques may be used to challenge these unhelpful thoughts and actions and to generate alternatives. A multimodal approach to coaching affords the individual consideration of cognitive, behavioural, emotive and physiological symptoms and responses to stress and health issues. Multiple points of action also help to maximise the likelihood of sustained behavioural or psychological change. A further strategy aimed at equipping 399

Helen Williams, Stephen Palmer and Kristina Gyllensten

the individual to sustain change is the transfer of knowledge, sharing the coaching models, tools and techniques transparently such that the individual may internalise these insights and effectively become their own coach.

Typical process Palmer (2012b: 36) describes the stages in a typical health-related coaching session: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Check in with the coachee to see how they are Collaboratively develop an agenda for the current meeting (e.g. develop health-related goals and action plan) Feedback and link to previous meeting and review progress and any assignment Discuss the agenda items Collaboratively develop an in-between session assignment related to coaching goals (e.g. join a gym, walk 5,000 steps daily) Seek feedback about the session at the end of the meeting.

There are likely to be up six sessions over a six-to twelve-month period. However, this can vary depending upon the presenting issues and/or number of goals agreed.

Techniques In the following section, we summarise some of the techniques developed from the theoretical perspectives and models described above that may be instrumental in the context of stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching. For more details of each of these techniques and how to apply them, we refer the reader to the references listed.

Measurement tools There are a wide range of measurement and psychoeducational tools available to assess stress, resilience, health and wellbeing. Palmer and Cooper (2013) provide a broad collection of psychoeducational questionnaires in their self-coaching book How to deal with stress, which can be used within health and wellbeing coaching. Stress measurement tools include the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) and the Organisational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET) (Cartwright & Cooper, 2002). Visual techniques such as stress mapping can be used to assess subjective levels of stress of individuals, teams or families, using a scale of 1 to 10 (Palmer, 1990). iResilience tool focuses on confidence, adaptability, purposefulness and the need for social support and is freely available online (see: www.robertsoncooper.com/iresilience/). Subjective wellbeing measures include the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). Charlemagne-Badal, Lee, Butler and Fraser (2015) provide a useful review of wellbeing tools.

Mindfulness Mindfulness involves focusing attention on the present, heightening awareness and accepting what is (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). The basic principles of mindfulness include purposeful attention, being present in the moment, non-judgemental self-observation, appreciation of what is and mindful action (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programmes have been found to reduce stress and improve quality of life (Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt, & Walach, 2004), and to increase self-acceptance and wellbeing (Ivtzan, Gardner, & Smailova, 2011). Mindfulness training prior to cognitive behavioural solution-focused coaching has also been found to facilitate attainment of health goals (Spence, Cavanagh & Grant, 2008). In addition, the coach may consider how the practice of mindfulness can enhance their own performance as a coach (Passmore & Marianetti, 2013). 400

Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching

Mindfulness techniques that may be instrumental in helping to focus the individual’s attention on their health-related goals include breathing exercises (Kabat-Zinn, 1994), non-judgemental self-observation, daily practice of mindful attention, detection of novelty (Langer, 2009) and physical activities such as yoga and walking (O’Connell et al., 2012). There are a number of useful publications teaching mindfulness, including Mindfulness for Health (Burch & Penman, 2013) and Mindful Walking (O’Donovan, 2015).

Motivational Interviewing techniques Miller and Rollnick (2009: 137) describe Motivational Interviewing as ‘a collaborative, person-centered form of guiding to elicit and strengthen motivation for change’. The four general principles of Motivational interviewing (MI) are suited to the purpose of facilitating health behaviours, namely to Express empathy, Develop discrepancy, Roll with resistance and Support self-efficacy. In MI coaches listen for ‘change talk’ and position the importance of using OARS: Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening and Summaries (Palmer, 2012a). Motivation can be particularly relevant in health and wellbeing coaching, as ambivalence towards the required behaviour change is not uncommon for health-related goals, and in these instances MI can be used to establish motivation before setting behavioural goals and plans. The role of the MI coach is to ‘[facilitate] the client in persuading themselves into change’ (Palmer, 2012a: 33). Motivational Interviewing has been found to be an effective intervention for modifying health behaviours such as diet and exercise (Martins & McNeil, 2009). It also is effective as part of a solution-focused, cognitive behavioural approach to health coaching (Gale, 2012) and as part of an integrated health coaching approach (Simmons & Wolever, 2013). (See Chapter 11 for a more in-depth explanation of MI.)

Solution-focused approach Several solution-focused techniques may be effectively used within the context of health coaching, including drawing attention to past successes, highlighting strengths, noticing change and establishing small next steps (Palmer, 2012c; O’Connell et al., 2012). The core principles of solution-focused coaching are highly applicable in a health coaching context: keep coaching as simple as possible; do something different; if it doesn’t work stop doing it; if it works keep doing it and if it isn’t broken don’t fix it (O’Connell, 2001). The miracle question (de Shazer, 1988) may also be instrumental in solution-focused coaching, asking, ‘Imagine one night while you are asleep, a miracle happens and the issues we’ve been discussing disappear. As you were asleep, you didn’t know that a miracle had happened. When you wake up what will be the first signs for you that a miracle has happened?’ (de Shazer, 1988; O’Connell et al., 2012).

Cognitive behavioural approach In cognitive behavioural health coaching, coachees are encouraged to record their Stress Inducing Thoughts (SITS) and Stress Alleviating Thoughts (SATS) (Palmer, 2003), Resilience Undermining Thoughts (RUTS) and Resilience Enhancing Thoughts (RETS) (Palmer, 2013) or Health Inhibiting Thoughts (HITS) and Health Enhancing Thoughts (HETS) (Palmer, Tubbs, & Whybrow, 2003; Palmer, 2012c). Examples of HITs and, following modification through discussion, their corresponding HETs are illustrated below (Palmer et al., 2003: 92): HIT: Exercise makes me sweat, so it can’t be good for me. HET: Sweating isn’t a pleasant feeling but I know it is good for me because it takes all the waste products out of my body, allowing energy to flow better. HIT: I’ve got to eat something to stop me being upset. HET: I’m allowed to be upset, but what am I getting upset for? I can do this without bingeing. HIT: I can’t stand this pain. I need more medication. HET: This pain is bad at times, but I can stand it. I’m living proof I can stand it. When I use deep breathing or distraction exercises the pain eases. 401

Helen Williams, Stephen Palmer and Kristina Gyllensten

HIT: I must get a prescription when I leave or they will think I am faking it. HET: I need the doctor to acknowledge that the way I feel is real. Alternatively, the coach may encourage the individual to explore their Health Inhibiting Behaviours (HIBS) and existing or potential Health Enhancing Behaviours (HEBS) (Palmer, 2012d). Exploration of imagery is a further cognitive behavioural coaching method that may be useful in a health coaching context, enabling the individual to become aware of unhelpful imagery and to develop more constructive ones. Imagery techniques include end-goal imagery, mastery imagery, rehearsal imagery and coping imagery (Palmer, 2008a), as well as resilience enhancing imagery (Palmer, 2013).

Multimodal approach The BASIC ID multimodal framework lends itself particularly well to coaching on health-related goals, affording the opportunity to explore physiological interventions, such as breathing, relaxation exercises and changes to diet, as well as cognitive, emotional and behavioural ones (Palmer, 2008b). The coach and coachee collaboratively develop a Modality Profile that can be drawn on paper on a preprepared three-column blank Word document that includes relevant items or problems from the BASIC ID modalities and develop possible interventions taken from the same modality. For example (Palmer et al., 2013: 38): Behaviour: Smokes at meal times. Remove cigarettes, ashtray and lighters from the flat Affect: Easily irritated and quick to feel angry when not smoking. Breathe slowly when in stressful situations

Multimodal self-coaching books (e.g. Palmer et al., 2003) can be used to support the coaching process.

Which coachees benefit most? Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching interventions can and have been effective at both the individual and group level (Wolfe, Parker, & Napier, 1994; Parks & Steelman, 2008; Schmitt, 2008; van Daele, Hermans, van Audenhove, & van den Bergh, 2012) and may also be disseminated across wider organisations through knowledge sharing tools such as self-coaching manuals that provide access to written information (Grbcic & Palmer, 2007). For the adolescent population, Motivational Interviewing (Martins and McNeil, 2009; Flattum, Friend, Neumark-Sztainer, & Story, 2009) and solution-focused coaching (Green, Grant, & Rynsaardt, 2007) approaches have been found to be effective. Health coaching has been utilised with adults both in the workplace and in a wider life coaching context (Palmer et al., 2003; Butterworth et al., 2006, Olsen & Nesbitt, 2010).

Case study The following case study (adapted from Williams & Palmer, 2018) demonstrates how solution-focused cognitive behavioural coaching may be used to help a coachee manage stress and anxiety and enhance overall wellbeing.

The coachee At the time of meeting, the coachee was concerned about the need to deliver an upcoming presentation to a large-scale corporate audience. She was anxious to appear credible when leading these presentations, and the prospect of doing so was starting to preoccupy her thoughts, keeping her awake at night and increasingly filling her with dread. Assessing the coachee’s motivational state, it was clear she was in the Planning and Action stages of change.

402

Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching

The coaching The coachee defined her goal as increasing confidence with making formal presentations, developing a more positive mindset and managing physiological and emotional responses. The coach shared a CLARITY model template (Williams & Palmer, 2010), which was used as a framework for discussion: Coach:

Can you tell me more about the forthcoming presentation?

Coachee:

It’s to a big external audience and will be very formal. The enormity of the situation is what makes me feel sick, I can feel the butterflies now!

Coach:

Write those words down. . . . You can capture the feeling sick and butterflies under the ‘physiological reactions’. You said the enormity of the situation – how enormous is it?

Coachee:

When you hear those words back, of course it isn’t enormous. Actually, it is a relatively short presentation, ten minutes, my boss will be there and the content is not controversial so shouldn’t lead to difficult questions.

Coach:

These are good challenges you’ve made – note these alternative perspectives down in the next column.

Subsequent exploration of the situation highlighted key performance inhibiting thoughts (PITs) and negative imagery that seemed to trigger the coachee’s stress response: Coach:

What else happens when you think about the presentation? Maybe you can get into that moment now . . .

Coachee:

I imagine getting up from my seat which will be facing the screen. . . . I imagine standing up and turning around to face the audience and then – eeeugh – oh my gosh.

Coach):

Ok. Let’s note that down. . . . So, you just took a deep in-breath -

Coachee:

Yes, quite terrified.

Coach:

And what else is going on in that moment?

Coachee:

I can feel my mouth getting dry and my hands feeling a bit sweaty and shaky. . . . I imagine having to speak and it being quite difficult to get the words out properly because I’m feeling nervous. I’m worried that then other people will pick up on the fact that I’m nervous, and that makes me more nervous. . . . And probably then I think that I’m failing and everyone must think I’m hopeless at my job.

Coach:

Do write those thoughts and images down.

Coachee:

I definitely fear failure at something, it’s a big inhibitor in my life. I only want to do things if I can be brilliant at them. If I think I’m going to fail, I’d rather not try. That’s my natural reaction. . . . Always wanting to get everything right and be perfect and be the best.

The coach and coachee discussed perfectionism and its origins, advantages and disadvantages for the coachee. The coachee believed perfectionism had been a trait since childhood and that it did at times negatively impact upon her overall wellbeing. The concepts of flexible thinking and ‘good enough’ were introduced and, overcoming her initial resistance, the coachee utilised these to manage her anxiety and expectations around the forthcoming presentation. Once all aspects of the situation had been explored, the coach and coachee took a step back to identify and challenge what was causing the most difficulty and disturbance: Coachee:

Sometimes if I’m really nervous my breathing gets affected and then I worry about having to swallow . . . and my voice being affected. That’s my biggest worry actually – people being able to

403

Helen Williams, Stephen Palmer and Kristina Gyllensten

see that I’m nervous through my voice. . . . That’s impossible to recover from. If I get to that point where I feel that nervous that my voice is a bit shaky or, I’m worried that I’m going to swallow at the wrong time or it’s going to be obvious, then it’s all over. I can’t recover while I’m speaking if I’m thinking about that. Coach:

So, if the voice goes, it’s all over. It will be impossible to recover from . . . [gentle smile] You might want to challenge that a bit.

Coachee:

It’s true!

Coach:

Let’s imagine your voice does break. But if this belief that if that happens it’s all over isn’t true, what happens instead?

Coachee : The best thing that could happen would be that I just forgot about it and took a deep breath, got on with it and did a good job, with more expression. Feeling more relaxed . . . I’d probably be breathing more normally, deliberately speaking more confidently and positively. . . . That links back to believing what I’m saying is interesting, because then it’s easier to do all those things, because you do actually believe that they do want to hear what you have to say. Coach:

Great. Have you captured all of that in terms of what this alternative response looks like?

Coachee:

I think so – pacing words, emphasizing them, using hand gestures, intonation, looking at the audience, focusing on projecting my voice rather than letting something happen to it.

Using the solution-focused technique of exploring past exceptions, the coach and coachee generated further performance enhancing thoughts: Coach:

What might have been different in the previous presentation you mention, where you were feeling confident?

Coachee:

It was something that I knew quite a lot about. It’s something they [the audience] were all quite interested in, they were asking lots of questions. And I had a feeling of, ‘I want to tell you about how much work I’ve done’ and ‘I want to make you feel confident’ . . . I just felt enthusiastic about it and wanted to give them some comfort that we were looking after things.

Coach:

It might be worth noting these things down.

Coachee:

Yes. . . . It’s feeling passionate about what you’re doing and wanting to share it with other people.

The coachee described having used mastery imagery to help her complete marathons. The coach highlighted this skill as a strength the coachee could now apply to presenting, using her visualisation skills to develop new coping imagery: Coach:

Is it worth us talking that through in terms of what this coping imagery looks like?

Coachee:

Yes. My major anxiety is that I turn around and sort of freeze. I know I will try and talk . . . because I’ve never frozen in the past, but I’m worried that my voice will be shaky and I’ll have sweaty palms, and I’ll be feeling really anxious and everybody will be looking at me. I don’t particularly like being the centre of attention in that sort of situation.

Coach:

So what might you do? Let’s assume for a minute that the voice does go a bit shakier in that moment of turning around and first speaking. What can you see yourself doing to cope with that and move on from that?

Coachee:

I’m imagining myself feeling very comfortable with what I’m going to say. So even if my voice goes a little bit shaky, I’ll know what words I’m saying next . . . and just get into it.

404

Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching

This dialogue also reminded the coachee of the benefits of exercise for her health and wellbeing, and an action was taken to start running again. Table 30.1 provides a summary of the coachee’s observations and the alternative thoughts, imagery and actions generated across two coaching sessions. Table 30.1 CLARITY coaching model case study Phase 1: Identification

Phase 2: Generation of alternatives See it as an opportunity.

L Life experience

Uncertainty over promotion, see presentation as part of interview. Big external audience, very formal. Enormity of the situation.

A Action / inaction

Worried about forgetting or saying the wrong thing.

C Context

Relatively short, not controversial. Ten minutes and my boss will be there to copresent. It will be well scripted and rehearsed. Focus on expression, practice in presentations. Pacing, eye contact, gestures, actively project voice. Sound confident and authoritative. Observe the level of prep that is useful.

Read book on how to present. R Reaction Anxious, terrified, nervous. Sequence of Describe as ‘twitchy’ instead of anxious as (physiological; responses: 1) sick, 2) butterflies, 3) dry mouth/ saying I’m anxious triggers other physical emotional) swallowing, 4) sweaty. reactions.

I

Imagery / Identity

Voice going (worst thing as then others know). Monitoring emotions and physical reactions; recognise early warning signs. Be enthusiastic, passionate. Trying to speak, not being able to. Voice going. New coping imagery of the build-up to the presentation: Image of standing up, turning around, facing audience – intake of breath, Oh my goodness! See myself prepare and then park it. Voice shaky, sweaty palms. Freezing, forgetting. Image of taking deep breath and carrying Image of build-up, just waiting, pacing. on. Breathing.

T Thoughts

Getting though it and it being good enough. Good enough, being good enough! Not very good at presentations, worry others I want to do this presentation. I have will see I’m not confident. Worried it will information I want to share with you. I be failure. Thinking ‘I’m doing a bad job’. want to make you feel confident. I know Worried what others will think, see I’m nervous the words. I know exactly what I’m doing. and think I’m failing and useless at my job. It is interesting to this audience, it’s what If the voice goes that’s it – impossible to get over. the audience want to hear. Want it to be perfect, the best. Want it to be right. It will be good enough. Thinking it’s not interesting; dull. Thinking Even in the worst case scenario, if the audience is thinking this isn’t interesting. Judged. voice goes, it won’t be awful. Will get through it but it won’t be good.

It won’t be the end of the world.

Thinking ‘I will be nervous, my voice will shake’. Y Your future choices

1) Monitor helpful and unhelpful imagery, develop new coping imagery of the preparation time and of delivering the presentation. 2) Practice expression. 3) Plan how to co-deliver with boss.

Source: (Williams & Palmer, 2018). © Williams & Palmer (2018), reprinted with permission

405

Helen Williams, Stephen Palmer and Kristina Gyllensten

The coachee was very engaged and committed to the change process, attending presentation skills training, practising the performance enhancing thoughts and coping imagery, monitoring her response states, re-engaging in exercise and utilising breathing exercises. She experienced significant reductions in her stress and anxiety levels in advance of, and during, the delivery of the presentation and has since reported that these larger, more formal presentations no longer cause her concern.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

What are the next steps in researching and/or applying coaching psychology in stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching? How does coaching psychology enhance the educational approach to help clients achieve their healthrelated goals? What might an integrated coaching psychology model of stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching look like? How would you introduce eco-psychology research into your health and wellbeing coaching practice?

Suggested reading Arloski, M. (2014). Wellness coaching for lasting lifestyle change, 2nd edition. Duluth, MN: Whole Person Associates. Neenan, M. (2018). Developing resilience: A cognitive-behavioural approach, 2nd edition. London: Routledge. Palmer, S., & Cooper, C. (2013). How to deal with stress, 3rd edition. London: Kogan Page. Rogers, J., & Mani, A. (2016). Coaching for health: Why it works and how to do it. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

References Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In Action control (pp. 11–39). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Berger, R., & McLeod, J. (2006). Incorporating nature into therapy: A framework for practice. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 25(2), 80–94. Boniwell, I., Kauffman, C., & Silberman, J. (2014). The positive psychology approach to coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The complete handbook of coaching (pp. 157–169). London: Sage Publications. Brown, D. K., Barton, J. L., & Gladwell, V. F. (2013). Viewing nature scenes positively affects recovery of autonomic function following acute-mental stress. Environmental Science & Technology, 47(11), 5562–5569. Brown, D. K., Barton, J. L., Pretty, J., & Gladwell, V. F. (2012). Walks4work: Rationale and study design to investigate walking at lunchtime in the workplace setting. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 550. Burch, V., & Penman, D. (2013). Mindfulness for health: A practical guide to relieving pain, reducing stress and restoring wellbeing. London: Piatkus. Butterworth, S., Linden, A., McClay, W., & Leo, M. C. (2006). Effect of motivational interviewing-based health coaching on employees’ physical and mental health status. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 11(4), 358–365. Cartwright, S., & Cooper, C. L. (2002). ASSET: Management guide. Manchester: Robertson Cooper. Charlemagne-Badal, S. J., Lee, J. W., Butler, T. L., & Fraser, G. E. (2015). Conceptual domains included in wellbeing and life satisfaction instruments: A review. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 10(2), 305–328. Chida, Y., & Steptoe, A. (2008). Positive psychological wellbeing and mortality: A quantitative review of prospective observational studies. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70, 741–756. Corno, L., & Kanfer, R. (1993). The role of volition in learning and performance. Review of Research in Education, 19, 301–341. Cox, T. (1978). Stress. London: Macmillan. Crust, L., Henderson, H., & Middleton, G. (2013). The acute effects of urban green and countryside walking on psychological health: A field-based study of green exercise. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 44(2), 160–177. 406

Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching

de Chavez, A. C., Backett-Milburn, K., Parry, O., & Platt, S. (2005). Understanding and researching wellbeing: Its usage in different disciplines and potential for health research and health promotion. Health Education Journal, 64(1), 70–87. de Shazer, S. (1984). The death of resistance. Family Process, 23(1), 11–17. de Shazer, S. (1995; 1988). Keys to solutions in brief therapy. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. DiClemente, C. C., & Prochaska, J. O. (1998). Towards a comprehensive transtheoretical model of change: Stage of change and addictive behaviors. In W. R. Miller & N. Heather (Eds.), Treating addictive behaviors (2nd edition, pp. 3–24). New York, NY: Plenum. Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75. Duncan, M. J., Clarke, N., Birch, S., Wilson, L., Tallis, J., Hankey, J., Bryant, E., & Eyre, E. (2014). The effect of ‘green exercise’ on post exercise hypotension in children. An Exploratory Study: Appetite, 76, 199. Edgerton, N., & Palmer, S. (2005). SPACE: A psychological model for use within cognitive behavioural coaching, therapy and stress management. The Coaching Psychologist, 1(2), 25–31. Ellis, A., Gordan, J., Neenan, M., & Palmer, S. (1997; 2003). Stress counselling: A rational emotive behaviour approach. London: Cassell/Sage. Flattum, C., Friend, S., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Story, M. (2009). Motivational interviewing as a component of a schoolbased obesity prevention program for adolescent girls. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(1), 91–94. Gale, J. (2012). A Practical Guide to Health Behaviour Change Using the HCA Approach. Health Change Australia. Gladwell, V. F., Brown, D. K., Wood, C., Sandercock, G. R., & Barton, J. L. (2013). The great outdoors: How a green exercise environment can benefit all. Extreme Physiology & Medicine, 2(1), 1–7. Gollwitzer, P. M. (1990). Action phases and mind-sets. In Handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behavior (Vol. 2, pp. 53–92). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Grant, A. M., & Palmer, S. (2002). Coaching psychology. Meeting held at The Annual Conference of the Division of Counselling Psychology, British Psychological Society, Torquay, 18th May. Grbcic, S., & Palmer, S. (2007). A cognitive-behavioural self-help approach to stress management and prevention at work: A randomised controlled trial. The Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapist, 12(1), 41–43. Green, L. S., Grant, A., & Rynsaardt, J. (2007). Evidence-based life coaching for senior high school students: Building hardiness and hope. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2(1), 24–32. Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57(1), 35–43. Gyllensten, K., & Palmer, S. (2005). Can coaching reduce work-place stress? The Coaching Psychologist, 1, 15–17. Gyllensten, K., & Palmer, S. (2012). Stress and performance coaching. In M. Neenan & S. Palmer (Eds.), Cognitive behavioural coaching in practice: An evidence based approach (pp. 153–177). New York, NY: Routledge. Heckhausen, H., & Kuhl, J. (1985). From wishes to action: The dead ends and short cuts on the long way to action. In M. Frese & J. Sabini (Eds.), Goal directed behavior: The concept of action in psychology (pp. 134–160). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Ivtzan, I., Gardner, H. E., & Smailova, Z. (2011). Mindfulness meditation and curiosity: The contributing factors to wellbeing and the process of closing the self-discrepancy gap. International Journal of Wellbeing, 1, 316–327. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation for everyday life. London: Piatkus. Langer, E. J. (2009). Mindlessness-mindfulness. In R. J. Corsini (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of psychology. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Lazarus, A. A. (1973). Multimodal behavior therapy: Treating the “BASIC ID.” Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. Lazarus, A. A. (1989). The practice of multimodal therapy: Systematic, comprehensive and Effective psychotherapy. Baltimore, MA: Johns Hopkins University Press. Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Co. Lee, J. H., Nam, S. K., Kim, A. R., Kim, B., Lee, M., & Lee, S. M. (2013). Resilience: A meta-analytic approach. Journal of Counselling and Development, 91, 269–279. Linley, A., & Harrington, S. (2007). Integrating positive psychology and coaching psychology. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of coaching psychology (pp. 40–56). East Sussex: Routledge. Locke, E. A. (1968). Toward a theory of task motivation and incentives. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 3(2), 157–189. Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1984). Goal setting: A motivational technique that Works! Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting & task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Locke, E. A., Shaw, K. N., Saari, L. M., & Latham, G. P. (1981). Goal setting and task performance: 1969–1980. Psychological Bulletin, 90(1), 125. Lottrup, L., Grahn, P., & Stigsdotter, U. K. (2013). Workplace greenery and perceived level of stress: Benefits of access to a green outdoor environment at the workplace. Landscape and Urban Planning, 110, 5–11. Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the depression anxiety and stress scales. Sydney: Psychology Foundation Monograph. 407

Helen Williams, Stephen Palmer and Kristina Gyllensten

Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71(3), 543–562. Marselle, M. R., Irvine, K. N., & Warber, S. L. (2014). Examining group walks in nature and multiple aspects of wellbeing: A large-scale study. Ecopsychology, 6(3), September, 134–148. Martins, R. K., & McNeil, D. W. (2009). Review of motivational interviewing in promoting health behaviors. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 283–293. Miller, W.R., & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2009). Ten things that motivational interviewing is not. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 37, 129–140. Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2012). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change. New York, NY: Guilford press. Mitchie, S., Rumsey, N., Fussell, A., Hardeman, W., Johnston, M., Newman, S., & Yardley, L. (2008). Improving health: Changing behavior: NHS health trainer handbook. London: Dept of Health. Montaño, D. E., & Kasprzyk, D. (2008). Theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behavior, and the integrated behavioral model. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, & K. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior and health education: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 67–96). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Moore, M., & Jackson, E. (2014). Health and wellness coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The complete handbook of coaching (2nd edition, pp. 313–328). London: Sage. Neenan, M. (2018). Developing resilience: A cognitive-behavioural approach, 2nd edition. New York, NY: Routledge. Neenan, M., & Palmer, S. (2012). Cognitive behavioural coaching in practice: An evidence based approach. Hove: Routledge. O’Connell, B. (2001). Solution-focused stress counselling. London: Sage Publications. O’Connell, B., Palmer, S., & Williams, H. (2012). Solution focused coaching in practice. Hove: Routledge. O’Donovan, H. (2015). Mindful walking: Walk your way to mental and physical well-being. Dublin, Ireland: Hachette Books. Olsen, J. M., & Nesbitt, B. J. (2010). Health coaching to improve healthy lifestyle behaviors: An integrative review. American Journal of Health Promotion, 25(1), e1–e12. Ong, A. D., Bergeman, C. S., Bisconti, T. L., & Wallace, K. A. (2006). Psychological resilience, positive emotions, and successful adaptation to stress in later life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(4), 730–749. Palmer, S. (1990). Stress mapping: A visual technique to aid counselling or training. Employee Counselling Today, 2, 9–12. Palmer, S. (2003). Whistle-stop tour of the theory and practice of stress management and prevention: It’s possible role in postgraduate health promotion. Health Education Journal, 62(2), 133–142. Palmer, S. (2004). Health coaching: A developing field within health education. Health Education Journal, 63(2), 189–191. Palmer, S. (2007). PRACTICE: A model suitable for coaching, counselling, psychotherapy and stress management. The Coaching Psychologist, 3: 71–77. Palmer, S. (2008a). Coping imagery. The Coaching Psychologist, 4(1), 39–40. Palmer, S. (2008b). Multimodal coaching and its application to workplace, life and health coaching. The Coaching Psychologist, 4, 21–29. Palmer, S. (2011). Revisiting the P in the PRACTICE coaching model. The Coaching Psychologist, 7(2), 156–158. Palmer, S. (2012a). Health coaching toolkit Part 1. Coaching at Work, 7(3), 36–38. Palmer, S. (2012b). Health coaching toolkit Part 2. Coaching at Work, 7(4), 32–34. Palmer, S. (2012c). Health coaching toolkit Part 3. Coaching at Work, 7(5), 36–37. Palmer, S. (2012d). Health coaching toolkit Part 4. Coaching at Work, 7(6), 38–39. Palmer, S. (2013). Resilience enhancing imagery: A cognitive behavioural technique which includes resilience undermining thinking and resilience enhancing thinking. The Coaching Psychologist, 9, 48–50. Palmer, S. (2015). Can ecopsychology research inform coaching and positive psychology practice? Coaching Psychology International, 8(1), 11–15. Palmer, S., & Cooper, C. (2013). How to deal with stress, 3rd edition. London: Kogan Page. Palmer, S., Cooper, C., & Thomas, K. (2003). Creating a balance: Managing stress. London: British Library. Palmer, S., Cooper, C., & Thomas, K. (2013). Health coaching toolkit Part 5. Coaching at Work, 8(7), 37–39. Palmer, S., & Dryden, W. (1994). Counselling for stress problems (therapy in practice). London: Sage Publications. Palmer, S., & Gyllensten, K. (2008). How cognitive behavioural, rational emotive behavioural or multimodal coaching could prevent mental health problems, enhance performance and reduce work related stress. Journal of RationalEmotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 26(1), 38–52. Palmer, S., & Gyllensten, K. (2015). Introduction: The history and development of theories: Resilience and wellbeing. In S. Palmer & K. Gyllensten (Eds.), Psychological resilience and wellbeing (Vol. 1). London: Sage Publications. Palmer, S., Tubbs, I., & Whybrow, A. (2003). Health coaching to facilitate the promotion of healthy behaviour and achievement of health-related goals. International Journal of Health Promotion & Education, 41(3), 91–93. Parks, K. M., & Steelman, L. A. (2008). Organizational wellness programs: A meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 13, 58–68.

408

Stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching

Passmore, J., & Marianetti, O. (2013). The role of mindfulness in coaching. The Coaching Psychologist, 3(3), 131–138. Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1983). Stages and processes of self-change of smoking: Toward an integrative model of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51(3), 390–395. Rutter, M. (1985). Resilience in the face of adversity: Protective factors and resistance to psychiatric disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 147(6), 598–611. Schmitt, L. (2008). OHP interventions: Wellness programs. Society for Occupational Health Psychology, 2, January, 6–7. Seligman, M. E. P. (1999). The president’s address. American Psychologist, 54, 559–562. Simmons, L. A., & Wolever, R. Q. (2013). Integrative health coaching and motivational interviewing: Synergistic approaches to behavior change in healthcare. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 2(4), 28–35. Spence, G. B., Cavanagh, M. J., & Grant, A. M. (2008). The integration of mindfulness training and health coaching: An exploratory study. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 1(2), 145–163. Totton, N. (2003). The ecological self: Introducing eco-psychology. Counseling and Psychotherapy Journal, 14(9), 14–17. Van Daele, T., Hermans, D., Van Audenhove, C., & Van den Bergh, O. (2012). Stress reduction through psychoeducation: A meta-analytic review. Health Education Behaviour, 39, 474–485. Van Den Berg, A. E., & Custers, M. H. (2011). Gardening promotes neuroendocrine and affective restoration from stress. Journal of Health Psychology, 16(1), 3–11. WHO (2001). Basic documents, 43rd edition. Geneva: World Health Organization. WHO (2004). Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence, practice (Summary report). Geneva: World Health Organization. Williams, H., & Palmer, S. (2010). CLARITY: A cognitive behavioural coaching model, Cognitive Psychology International, 3(2), 5–7. Williams, H., & Palmer, S. (2018). CLARITY: A case study application. European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 2(6), 1–12. Retrieved from: http://www.nationalwellbeingservice.org/volumes/volume-2-2018/volume2-article-6/. Wolever, R. Q., Simmons, L. A., Sforzo, G. A., Dill, D., Kaye, M., Bechard, E. M., Southard, M. E., Kennedy, M., Vosloo, J., & Yang, N. (2013). A systematic review of the literature on health and wellness coaching: Defining a key behavioral intervention in healthcare. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 2(4), 38–57. Wolfe, R., Parker, D., & Napier, N. (1994). Employee health management and organizational performance. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 30, 22–42.

409

Section 2

Coaching, complexity and system level interventions

31 Coaching at the edge of chaos A complexity informed approach to coaching psychology Lesley Kuhn and Alison Whybrow

Introduction Our aim in this chapter is to set out a way that coaching might be viewed from a complexity sciences (hereafter referred to as complexity) perspective and to highlight how complexity-informed approaches might expand the knowledge base of coaching psychology. The major organising principles and associated concepts of complexity are introduced and suggestions are offered for using complexity in practice. Cavanagh and Lane’s observation, ‘It may be that coaching psychology will emerge as a new kind of discipline, one that can embrace rigour and the chaotic in the service of its clients, science and the profession’ (Cavanagh & Lane, 2012, p. 75), heralds interest in exploring the potential of complexity for coaching psychology. With complexity offering an established paradigm of enquiry concerned specifically with rigorous understanding of complex (or chaotic) phenomena (Kuhn, 2002; Lewin, 1999; Morin, 2008), a complexity perspective has been suggested by Whybrow, Grant, Palmer, & Kemp (2012) and Cavanagh & Lane (2012) as useful to the expanding knowledge base of coaching psychology. Complexity, as a paradigm, refers to the study of complicated relational states and dynamics where there are a great number of variables with the potential to evolve over time, interacting and influencing one another (Coveney & Highfield, 1995; Gleick, 1998; Kuhn, 2009; Lewin, 1999; Wolfram, 2002). Complexity draws attention to the way that living phenomena (such as people and organisations) are recursive, not linear. Responses and outcomes change depending on what has gone before. In coaching practice, there are a great number of variables and agents, limited only by the imagination of those involved and, therefore, the study of relational states and dynamics from a complexity perspective seems appropriate and useful for coaching psychology theory and practice. Additionally, the common thread across coaching definitions relates to raising awareness or enhancing learning so as to provide greater choice of thought and action. Coaching psychology approaches emphasise: • • •

the emergent nature of our interaction with our context; that what is known at any one point is constantly shifting and changing; and that nothing is ever fully known.

From this viewpoint, a complexity perspective is appropriate to coaching practice. As coaching psychology practitioners, taking a complexity perspective can support clients and coachees to develop essential skills for thriving in a world that is volatile, ambiguous and ever changing. 413

Lesley Kuhn and Alison Whybrow

Complexity ideas can offer powerful ways of understanding and coping with the uncertainty, unpredictability and the paradoxical nature of situations produced through everyday relational exchanges. By extension, complexity ideas can assist coaching practice: . . . to continue to develop models of practice that assist clients to make sense of unpredictable and ambiguous challenges without seeking to oversimplify, or control via the imposition of past solutions and standardised models that assume the dynamics and trajectory of the present will be the same as those of past challenges. (Cavanagh & Lane, 2012, p. 83) Philosophically, complexity has been approached as a paradigmatic framework that sets out basic assumptions about the nature and organisation of the world and that provides metaphoric images for sense making (Kuhn, 2007). Through exploring this approach in this chapter, we bring ideas about complexity that have originated in the physical sciences and interpret these in relation to coaching practice.

Major central concepts and theoretical underpinnings of complexity Complexity takes a radically relational perspective in focusing on how relationships between constituent parts give rise to collective behaviours and emergent phenomena. People and organisations from this perspective can be viewed as ‘contingent assemblages’ that emerge from ‘modes of relating’ (Dillon, 2000, p. 9). Morin (1992) describes this as a process of ‘eco-auto-causality’ or recursive causality, where the organising processes elaborate the products, actions and effects. Thus, with a complexity perspective, prediction is not possible and uncertainty is inevitable. This view contrasts with the idea that our actions and thoughts are independent of our relational field and contradicts the notion that a ‘heroic’ leader (Wilson, 2013) can charismatically take responsibility to ‘control’ and ‘direct’ the outcome of increasingly complex and difficult challenges. A complexity perspective helps us notice that there are many useful possibilities as to how to move forward in any situation and to understand that each step taken brings a new configuration of the relational field, which then enables new choices to be considered and decisions made. A complexity view has ontological and epistemological implications. Ontologically, complexity construes ‘reality,’ as self-organising, dynamic and emergent (Lewin, 1999; Morin, 2008). Similarly, epistemologically, complexity construes knowing or sense making as self-organising, dynamic and emergent (Kuhn, 2009; Morin, 2008). From this perspective, the continuing dance between being and knowing could be said to be at the fulcrum of coaching and coaching psychology practice. Self-organisation, dynamism and emergence can be drawn upon as three generic, basic organising principles of complexity (for a more detailed exposition on complexity, see Coveney & Highfield, 1995; Johnson, 2001; Lewin, 1999; Kauffman, 1995; Waldrop, 1992). Self-organisation describes the capacity of living entities (such as individual people, departments and organisations) to evolve according to internal, evolving structures and principles (Kauffman, 1995; Kuhn & Woog, 2007; Kuhn, 2009). Self-organisation means that it is simply through local interactions that ‘global order emerges without plan, programme or blueprint’ (Stacey, 2012, p. 94). This adaptive self-organising process has been described as self-eco-organising (Morin, 2008), as it is situated within, and in part constitutes a response to, an exterior environment that also self-organises. Dynamism describes the capacity of living entities to respond to and influence others and the environment (psychological, social, physical, etc.) within which they exist. Dynamism can mean more than merely reacting. We can learn through experience to change our self-organising responses. For example, at a cellular level, our brain cells ‘constantly communicate electronically with one another and form and re-form new connections, moment by moment’ (Doidge, 2015 p. xvii). At a conscious level, we may choose to change behaviour in a way that we hope will elicit a positive response from others.

414

Coaching at the edge of chaos

In contrast to classical science, rather than emphasise stability in the form of optimum states, or progress within a pre-existing landscape, complexity expects ongoing adaptability (Allen, 1998). Adaptive self-ecoorganisation and dynamism indicate that context and circumstances continuously change for all and that both social systems and individuals arise simultaneously as each self-organises. For example, the experience of oneself in any historical epoch is understood to be ‘shaped by the social relations of the period, so that the self which emerges through the conversations and texts of the times is an expression of the social context’ (Burkitt, 1994 p. 252), which also changes as perceptions of self change. Emergence describes the capacity of living entities to exhibit unexpected and novel properties or behaviours not previously observed. Paying attention to the principle of emergence means seeing organic phenomena as created through a ‘bottom up’ process, where micro phenomena (such as local interactions between individuals) give rise to macro phenomena, with characteristics observed in the macro phenomena not reducible to the micro-phenomena. Understanding of emergence means that emphasis is placed on the spontaneous creation of new patterns through processes of interaction. This means ‘giving up control, letting the system govern itself as much as possible, letting it learn from the footprints’ (Johnson, 2001, p. 234).

Complexity-based images Seven complexity-based images are outlined below that we think show promise for use in coaching psychology. Exploration of implications for thinking about and practicing coaching psychology are given for each image. Interested readers may find additional information and images or metaphors through some of the further reading at the end of this chapter.

Phase space – phrase space Phase space refers to a multidimensional plotting of all of the possible states of a complex entity over time (Nolte, 2010). For example, the phase space portrait of H2O would show H2O existing as ice, water or steam/ air. Phase space shows that although there are many possibilities, a complex entity typically occupies only a minute proportion of its possible phase space. Phrase space takes the idea of phase space and develops it in relation to the way that people’s habits of thought and being are mediated through language (Kuhn & Woog, 2007). People too can be considered to live within a restricted range of possibilities, shaped by social and cultural settings (Heidegger, 1966; Wittgenstein, 1988), and a phrase space portrait is useful in illuminating this. While phase space depicts states, paying attention to phrase space makes available alternative explanations and states. Coaches may find it useful to work with phase space/phrase space to assist coachees to notice and reflect on his/her stages of life, career development, preoccupations or habitual ways of being, doing and thinking and together to think through possibilities. Whereas we can appreciate our physical appearance by seeing a photographic portrait of ourselves, a phrase space portrait provides a visual map of patterns of being: narratives, beliefs, stories, values, experiences, possibilities and future dreams, and insight into alternatives. Thus, a phrase space portrait would not only provide insight into the qualitative themes that are pertinent to the individual coachee but also provide insight into the breadth of possibilities and options that have not yet been considered. It can assist the coachee in opening up possibility thinking, noticing their self-imposed limits and the ‘choices’ they have made consciously or unconsciously. In particular, as in phase space, a phrase space portrait would illustrate for a person that they are limiting their phrase space compared to what is available to them. Having created a phrase space portrait, there are almost limitless ways of enquiring further into the possibilities available. Similarly, phase space/phrase space portraits can be utilised to assist coachees in noticing and reflecting on the characteristics and preoccupations of an organisation or sector.

415

Lesley Kuhn and Alison Whybrow

Communicative connectedness Complexity highlights how human activity systems are generated, sustained and changed, depending upon interactions between people. Communicative connectedness (Woog, 2004) describes the quality of interconnectedness between people, which can be understood as bringing about forms of joint action, shaping shared assumptions and future practice and assisting people in coping with the unfolding character of their situation. Conversations form the primary means of communicative interaction, and these are influenced by many factors such as personality, past experiences, cultural norms, ethical preferences, the presenting context and the range of interpretations of it made by those involved. As a coach, mapping communicative connectedness with a coachee can generate personal as well as interpersonal and system insight. This can lead to awareness that provides further choice in ways of interacting with others. Recognition that it is through micro interactions that macro phenomena are generated directs attention to the small asides, the very way that language is constructed and misconstrued. It requires the coach to ‘catch’ and draw attention to the very words that are being used and which shape interaction and hence emergence.

Attractors An attractor functions as an organising principle (Lewin, 1999). A magnet, for example, functions as an attractor by ‘organising’ the state to which a pile of iron filings settles. In the social realm, attractors can be thought of as the organising principles that motivate behaviour and guide social evolution. Even in the most chaotic situations, organising principles can be identified which on careful examination reveal what is guiding the evolution of a complex entity (from individual, to tribe, department, society and so on). People’s lives can be understood as being governed by attractors, which may evolve over time. Certain attractors or attractor sets may be influential for prolonged periods with these gradually or abruptly changing. A person’s core values, beliefs, needs and narratives can be thought of as attractors that guide choices and what is possible. A phrase space portrait can be used to generate awareness of the attractors guiding a person or social grouping, and from this raise greater awareness of the patterns guiding choice for individuals and a system.

Fitness landscape The concept of fitness landscape draws on the imagery of a landscape to provide a visual representation of the fit between an entity and its environment (Lewin, 1999). Fitness landscapes show ‘mountain peaks’ where an entity fits well with its environment and its chances of survival are strong, or valleys, where the entity does not match well with its environment and thus its chance of survival is poor. In complex entities, small, coevolutionary matches determine fitness. For a complex entity (such as an individual person or organisation) to survive and thrive, there needs to be continuing coherence between the self-organising emergence of the entity and its landscape (or wider environment). Applying this image to a coaching intervention, it is easy to see that the construction of a life-line using level of coherence as the organising principle along which events are noted can provide a fitness landscape diagram that can offer further insight and awareness.

Sensitive dependence on initial conditions Colloquially referred to as the butterfly effect, sensitive dependence on initial conditions refers to the dramatically disproportionate influence of initial conditions and small perturbations on shaping the emergence of a complex system (Gleick, 1998).

416

Coaching at the edge of chaos

The idea of initial conditions offers a means of enquiring into the very beginning of the story. How were things set up? What was important at the beginning of this story? Under what conditions was this entity (individual, section, organisation, etc.) able to thrive? What was the nature of the very first challenges to this complex entity’s survival? Imagine an organisation where early existence was determined by the focus on price points and undercutting the competition at all costs. This will become the organisation’s way of being and a lens through which the organisational system, choices and possibilities are understood. Imagine a very different organisation, where early existence was determined by its ability to creatively interrupt the established way of doing things. This will again become, in part, the organisation’s way of being and inform the decisions and choices that are made as long as the organisation exists. At an individual level, working with initial conditions does not provide permission for coaches to become counsellors or psychotherapists, as is often feared when the past or early life intrudes into the coaching conversation. However, there are ways in which the past may be appropriately worked with. Take, for example, a coachee who offers that at age two her parents divorced very acrimoniously. Reflection on that event, where survival might have felt to be on the line, may help the coachee gain some understanding and insight as to their current level of anxiety about being ‘good enough’ and how this shapes their views and behaviours. Or it might be that noting this very significant early experience provides the coachee with some solace and acceptance as to why ‘anxiety’ has been a constant part of their narrative and felt ‘impossible’ to shift.

Edge of chaos – chaotic edge The edge of chaos describes a zone between order and chaos (Lewin, 1999). From a complexity perspective, the edge of chaos is where a complex entity is best positioned, as this is where there are the most possibilities for adaption and development. However, people often become fearful when they perceive themselves to be at the edge of chaos, as they see this as a place of uncertainty and threat. This response has been described as chaotic edge thinking (Kuhn, 2009). In the social realm, how people feel and think about a situation shapes their responses. Edge of chaos thinking is characterised by a willingness to experiment and facilitates resourceful and effective ways of handling change. In contrast, chaotic edge thinking leads to rule-based, tightly prescribed behaviours that are designed to minimise chaos. Complexity habits of thought enable coaching psychologists to function effectively in the ambiguous space of the edge of chaos. Mindful exploration of stories in the edge of chaos may support reflective responses and may assist in mitigating against the reactivity engendered by chaotic edge thinking. In practice, the edge of chaos is in a different place for each coaching coachee. As coaches, how might we support our coachees to grow their own capability to function at the edge of chaos, developing habits of thinking that sustain their ongoing development, long after the coaching assignment is complete?

Fractality The term fractal is used to describe an entity with look-alike features and characteristics that are simultaneously apparent across multiple scales of reference (Mandelbrot, 1977), such as in the repeated branching of a river or tree or our circulatory, lymph and respiratory systems. Working with fractality metaphorically may aid in developing awareness of pervasive qualitative themes present across, for example, individuals, departments, organisations and sectors. As coaches, working with this image requires careful attention to what is happening in the coaching relationship, in how the coachee is showing up to the coach and in how the dynamics are unfolding. It is this information that offers insight into the dynamics of the coach and the coachee in general and may be the basis for how they show up and interact in all other relationships.

417

Lesley Kuhn and Alison Whybrow

Complexity in practice Working as a coach from a complexity perspective requires both (1) new ways of perceiving and thinking about coaching interventions and the possibilities inherent within a coaching conversation; and (2) underlining some existing aspects of practice. A complexity-informed coaching approach facilitates reflective exploration, which according to Stacey (2012), is ‘the most useful way that a coach can work to sustain and develop the capacity for practical judgement which is the hallmark of the expert practitioner’ (2012, p. 95). In a world that is ever changing, as coaches we work with our coachees to: (1) assist them to pause and think about what they are doing or how they are operating; (2) support them in analysing their decision processes; and (3) from insights gained during their evaluation, generate new ideas, knowledge and perspectives as they take action (Schon, 1984). From the basic organising principles and images, we see that a complexity approach has implications for how we conceive social interactions and institutions. As coaches, a complexity approach might have us focus on how our way of being as a coach impacts on what emerges in a programme of coaching. A complexity approach reminds us that the world is undifferentiated and that people subjectively organise divisions and dichotomies based on their assumptions and perspectives. Coachees too engage in such processes of subjective categorisation. Perhaps it is attention to our ‘taken-for-granted’ assumptions and categorisations that is most worth drawing attention to when considering how to bring complexity perspectives more fully into coaching practice. Below, we describe three aspects of coaching practice understood from a complexity perspective. While describing each aspect separately, we view each as integrally related to the others.

Coaching practice as co-created Complexity describes responsive living entities as constantly self-organising, learning and responding to each other in a process of recursive causality that elaborates actions, effects and contexts. Thus from a complexity perspective, coaching practice is understood as being co-created. Coaching is recognised as an emergent process where the space for attention to thinking about thinking and critical reflection is necessarily co-created. The coaching space can be made significantly more useful by careful attention to how the coaching dynamic is being co-created. As a simple example of this, when teaching people how to become coaching practitioners and how to develop their own skills as professional coaches, the question of who does what and role definition is typically addressed. The coach is often described as ‘expert in the coaching process,’ whilst the coachee described as ‘expert in themselves and their context.’ This early guidance, whilst offering useful handrails as people find their feet, creates an imposed dichotomy. Utilising a complexity perspective, we might expect the coach to offer up the coaching process for overt shaping between the coachee and the coach. Some examples of this might be the coach asking: What question might you ask yourself? How would you like to use this next part of the session? How might we work together today to get to where you want to go? Similarly, we might expect to see the coach offering insights and helping the coachee notice him or herself more fully. It is worth remembering that the coach and coachee are learning and responding to each other in context and that, for many coachees, coaching is a new type of intervention. Consequently, a key part of the coach’s role might be to help the coachee to learn how to use the coaching opportunity well and how to more thoughtfully take ownership of their role in co-creating the coaching space. Even for individuals and groups who have experienced coaching previously, careful attention to articulating one’s unique approach, and clarifying what that means in practice through pragmatic modelling, is likely to mean a more consciously co-created space emerges.

Coaching practice as situated within narratives As noted above, local connections or relationships are recognised as critical to the self-organising process as these constitute an intimately influential dimension of an entity’s environment. For people, local connections are mediated through narrative-based interactions. With this in mind, a coach working from a 418

Coaching at the edge of chaos

complexity perspective might be more likely to use story either explicitly or implicitly as a means of exploring what is connected to what and understanding emerging connections that are starting to form. Similarly, attention to self-story can increase insight and self-understanding, thus creating a platform for generating greater awareness and learning. For example, insights may illustrate patterns of thought that are no longer helpful from a pragmatic perspective or ideas that are no longer relevant (Drake, 2015). The seven complexity-based images described above offer ways of enquiring into narratives in order to bring aspects of what we have construed to be true into the light for further examination and questioning. The images offer a way of discerning what is emerging by focusing the enquiry into a narrative that enhances specific aspects so that they can be seen and receive attention. In considering these different images, it is useful to remember that the practice of coaching is imbued with values and ethical considerations. Complexity is descriptive and, by its very nature, is not bound by these aspects. Therefore, whether and how complexity images are engaged will depend on the sense making preferences and the professional and personal ethics of each individual coach.

Coaching practice as reflective and emergent If we consider Stacey’s assertion that reflective exploration is ‘the most useful way that a coach can work to sustain and develop the capacity for practical judgement’ (2012, p. 95), we might more often take an approach to dialogue that enables the coach and coachee together to think about how they are thinking and the impact that has on practical experience. The principle of dynamism removes the idea of trajectory and requires a way of pausing to notice responses and adaptations to unfolding events and the impact of these. Building the skills of reflection-in-action and creating the space for reflective activities in our coaching practice as well as in our coaching interventions is, it seems, critical to a complexity approach. Such an approach, according to Cavanagh & Lane (2012), would be characterised by creativity, openness to diversity, connectivity and adaptive order. From this perspective, a point we might make for the coach practitioner is that any formal coaching intervention, model or analysis is necessarily lightly held and easily discarded if practically unhelpful. Similarly, choosing a particular technique or approach to enquire into what is emerging would be a shared endeavour. A second point is worth noting in relation to reflectivity and emergence. When setting up a coaching assignment, it is often requested that the goals and outcomes for the intervention are considered and specified when the assignment starts. As a coaching practitioner, there is a tension between what can actually be committed to and the certainty that might be desired from different stakeholders in the coaching process. In addition to setting outcomes in principle, there is a question of how the coach develops the coaching contract in a way that respects the inevitable emergence, dynamism and self-organisation that occurs during the assignment. How is reflectivity built into the contract to enable the system to notice what is emerging and comment on the pragmatic utility of that emergence? These three aspects describe indicative characteristics of a complexity-informed coaching practice and offer a means of considering how a complexity perspective might be consciously integrated into coaching and coaching psychology practice. They are highly pragmatic and take a contextualist standpoint. A contextualist approach is advocated by Atkins: “To understand the act, we must understand the context, including the historical and current systemic influences from a contextualist standpoint” (Atkins, 2012,p. 102). Such an approach leads to questions from the coach such as: Given this context, what behaviours in the past have moved us towards what we value? Questions like this get right to the heart of pragmatic impact and give some insight into workability in context. Coaching from a complexity perspective may be conceptualised as a recursive process that involves: 1

Making evident for the coachee that social phenomena are self-organising, adaptive and emergent (supports awareness of ever-changing nature of the world); 419

Lesley Kuhn and Alison Whybrow

2

Reflective engagement (support for the coachee to pause and think about what they are doing and how they are operating); Awareness of options (supports the coachee in analysing their decision processes); Informed choice (based on new ideas, knowledge and perspectives as the coachee takes action).

3 4

Which coachees benefit most? A complexity approach to coaching brings uncertainty and ambiguity about our existence into the very centre of the coaching process. Coachees with greater tolerance for ambiguity and an existing skill at working with self and the world as subjective rather concrete entities are likely to find complexity ways of construing the world engaging and helpful. In coaching assignments, a complexity approach is likely to add value, although the coachees existing skills and perspectives may mean that the skills of reflection, noticing, extracting personal and situational narratives and co-creation may need to be built, rather than assumed. Given the purpose of coaching and coaching psychology and the thinking around complexity, it seems difficult to conceive of a coach who does not in some way take a complexity perspective to their work, although they may not label it or perceive it as such. When working with children and adolescents, it is much more likely that there is a pre-disposition towards more concrete thinking. Given this, it is more important to create the space in the coaching programme to support the individual to explicitly gain insight into ‘how’ they are thinking (thinking about thinking) and how they are applying that thinking in service of their aspirations and goals. When working with organisations and coaching buyers, or when developing leaders as coaches under the umbrella of coaching culture, it seems even more imperative that a complexity approach is adapted. There are so many moving parts that embedding any belief-based rigidity is unlikely to be helpful. When we start to hold things rigidly, we become distant from what is unfolding and don’t pay close enough attention to what is emerging. As with one-to-one coaching, the complexity skills of the organisational stakeholders and the ability to hold the tension between delivering outcomes whilst enabling emergence is perhaps more challenging.

Case study The coaching case study below highlights the application of a complexity mindset from the coach’s perspective. This case study draws on experience of working with those individuals for whom interpersonal connectivity seemed to be a particularly important and perhaps distinctive feature. The purpose of the coaching in this case was to foster development as a leader, increase presence and impact and, within that, confidence. Having had an initial phone call to establish the need for coaching, explore how the coach works and describe how the coaching programme would work in practice, the coach identified a pattern emerging around connection. At the start of session 1, the coach (AW) noticed that she had been thrust into what seemed like an ongoing conversation without so much as a pause to say hello. Becoming immediately curious about this feature of connectivity, AW wondered whether she would be brave enough to bring her coachee’s attention to this aspect of their interpersonal repertoire. It turns out that on this occasion she was. AW:

‘One thing that I was curious about that I wanted to share with you was the way that you greeted me as I arrived. I noticed that you didn’t pause to say hello, you continued as I walked in as if we had been working together already this morning, knew what we were here for and yet we have only just met.’

420

Coaching at the edge of chaos

MT:

paused and looked thoughtful. After about 30 seconds she said, ‘Yes, I did didn’t I – hmmm.’

AW:

‘I wonder what that might be about?’

MT:

‘Hmmm – I do that with people, I don’t want them to feel that they are not part of my inner group of people, I want them to feel accepted right from the start of our interaction, not overburdened by formalities.’

AW:

‘I wonder what the impact of that approach might be?’

MT:

‘I hope it makes them feel welcomed.’

AW:

‘I experienced disorientation and some confusion – I wondered what I was here for.’

In session 2, MT shook AW’s hand and greeted AW warmly, enquiring as to her journey and discussing what was needed in the session. She proudly advised that she had been practicing pausing and connecting with people before starting her meetings and it had had a positive impact. She had noticed more space and clarity to shape meetings and different roles in meetings. In this session, AW had the opportunity to observe MT in a number of interpersonal situations. One of these was a meeting with MT’s senior team. During the first half of the meeting, AW noticed some tension between one team member and MT. There was a pause for a comfort break during which AW and MT discussed this: MT:

‘How do you think the meeting is going? Do you have any feedback for me?’

AW:

‘I noticed BC seemed tense and his contributions quite forceful.’

MT:

‘Yes, I wondered about that – any thoughts on what I might do or say?’

AW:

‘Let’s look at how you’re sitting, your body position is slightly cutting BC out of the conversation. You are sitting towards RE, MM and me – being more open to this side of the table.’

MT:

‘I hadn’t realized, if I sit more like this (moves chair and physical posture), I’m now open to both sides of the table.’

AW:

‘Great.’

The second half of the meeting was much smoother in terms of the interpersonal interactions. The tension between BC and MT dispersed and MT was ensuring that her physical approach included everybody in the room. The following was noted when MT and AW were reviewing at the end of the day: MT:

‘I was reflecting through that meeting about how I usually interact with BC. I am more likely to cut him out and not be as open to him when speaking with him. I’m not sure why that is. Perhaps I find his role, by its very nature, more challenging.’

AW:

‘What was it like once you had changed your position, what impact did that have?’

MT:

‘It felt a lot easier, even though I did very little. I need to work on that.’

In both of these coaching sessions, communicative connectedness was brought to the fore, experiments devised and shaping of new practices explored, leading to a qualitatively different outcome. MT’s body position in her team meeting also lightly highlighted the principle of sensitivity to initial conditions. The tension experienced in the first half of the meeting and, indeed, in that relationship, was at least in part due to the initial conditions around connectivity. The intense, attuned focus of the coach can draw attention and choice of action to dampening or enhancing feedback loops.

421

Lesley Kuhn and Alison Whybrow

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

Reflecting on the complexity principles and images, to what extent does a complexity approach fit with your coaching practice? Are there aspects of a complexity approach to coaching psychology that assist you in developing your practice? How do you see a complexity approach supporting you in maximizing the capacity of coachees to respond flexibly to situations and events? Reflecting on the three aspects of coaching practice highlighted (coaching practice as co-created, situated within narratives and reflective and emergent), what might a complexity approach add to your coaching underpinnings and knowledge base?

Suggested reading Kuhn, L. (2009). Adventures in Complexity for Organisations Near the Edge of Chaos. Axminster: Triarchy Press. This short book provides an excellent, well informed introduction to complexity habits of thought, images and concepts. Kuhn, L., & Woog, R. (2007). ‘From complexity concepts to creative applications’ in World Futures, The Journal of General Evolution 63(3–4) April–June: 176–193. This paper critically reflects on issues implicated in utilizing complexity in the social domain and sets out complexity-based methods and techniques for undertaking social inquiry. Schon, D. A. (1984). The Reflective Practitioner: How professionals think in action. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Group. This book provides solid foundations and practical tips for thoughtfully building a reflective practice. Whybrow, A., Grant, A. M., Palmer, S., & Kemp, T. (2012). ‘Editorial: Coaching Psychology Coming of Age’ in International Coaching Psychology Review 7(1) March 2012: 72–74. This edition of ICPR includes a useful more in-depth discussion about complexity approaches and thinking as applied to Coaching Psychology practice.

References Allen, P. M. (1998). ‘Evolving Complexity in Social Science’. In G. Altmann & W. A. Koch (eds.), Systems: New Paradigms for the Human Sciences (pp. 3–38). New York: Walter de Gruyter. Atkins, P. W. B. (2012). ‘Elemental Realism and Pragmatism in Coaching Psychology: Making Our Assumptions Clear’ in International Coaching Psychology Review 7(1) March: 101–105. Burkitt, I. (1994). ‘The Shifting Concept of the Self ’ in History of the Human Sciences 7(2): 7–28. Cavanagh, M., & Lane, D. (2012). ‘Coaching Psychology Coming of Age: The Challenges We Face in the Messy World of Complexity’ in International Coaching Psychology Review 7(1) March: 75–90. Coveney, P., & Highfield, R. (1995). Frontiers of Complexity. New York: Ballantine Books. Dillon, M. (2000). ‘Poststructuralism, Complexity and Poetics’ in Theory, Culture & Society 17(5): 1–26. Doidge, N. (2015). The Brain’s Way of Healing. Victoria: Scribe. Drake, D. (2015). Narrative Coaching: Principles and Practices for Bringing New Stories to Life. Petaluma, CA: CNC Press. Gleick, J. (1998). Chaos: The Amazing Science of the Unpredictable. London: Vintage Books. Heidegger, M. (1966). Discourse on Thinking (Trans. J. Anderson & E. Freund). New York: Harper and Row. Johnson, S. (2001). Emergence. London: Allen Lane: The Penguin Press. Kauffman, S. (1995). At Home in the Universe: The Search for the Laws of Self-Organisation and Complexity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kuhn, L. (2002). ‘Complexity, Cybernetics and Human Knowing’ in Journal of Cybernetics and Human Knowing 9(1): 39–50. Kuhn, L. (2007). ‘The daily things we do: Towards global citizenship’. In Trois religions, un seul homme (pp. 305–316). Lebanon: Annales de Philosophie & des Sciences Humaines, Universite Saint-Esprit de Kaslik. Kuhn, L. (2009). Adventures in Complexity for Organisations Near the Edge of Chaos. Axminster: Triarchy Press. Kuhn, L., & Woog, R. (2007). ‘From Complexity Concepts to Creative Applications’ in World Futures, the Journal of General Evolution 63(3–4) April–June: 176–193. Lewin, R. (1999). Complexity: Life at the Edge of Chaos. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mandelbrot, B. (1977). The Fractal Geometry of Nature. New York: Freeman. Morin, E. (1992). ‘From the Concept of System to the Paradigm of Complexity’ (Trans. S. Kelly) in Journal of Social and Evolutionary Systems 15(4): 371–384. Morin, E. (2008). On Complexity (Trans. R. Postel & S. M. Kelly). Chesskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

422

Coaching at the edge of chaos

Schon, D. A. (1984). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books Inc. Stacey, R. (2012). ‘Comment on Debate Article: Coaching Psychology Coming of Age: The Challenges We Face in the Messy World of Complexity’ in International Coaching Psychology Review 7(1) March: 91–95. Waldrop, M. (1992). Complexity. New York: Simon & Schuster. Whybrow, A., Grant, A. M., Palmer, S., & Kemp, T. (2012). ‘Editorial: Coaching Psychology Coming of Age’ in International Coaching Psychology Review 7(1) March: 72–74. Wilson, R. (2013). Anti-Hero: The Hidden Revolution in Leadership and Change. London: OSCA. Wittgenstein, L. (1988). Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Trans. D. F. Pears & B. F. McGuiness). London: Routledge and Humanities Press International. Wolfram, S. (2002). A New Kind of Science. Champaign, IL: Wolfram Media. Woog, R. (2004). The knowing of knowledge. Working and Learning in Vocational Education and Training in the Knowledge Era, Australian National Training Authority.

423

32 Developing coaching within organisations Moving towards a coaching culture Alison Whybrow and Ed Nottingham

Introduction Coaching forms a core and relatively stable part of many organisational landscapes, with the belief that it can usefully impact on individual and organisation-level outcomes. Around 90% of organisations in the US top 100 companies use coaching (Bono, Purvanova, Towler, & Peterson, 2009). Similar levels have been reported in the UK (Jarvis, Lane, & Fillery-Travis, 2005). Only a 10% reduction in coaching activity was reported after the global financial crisis (CIPD, 2011). In Australia, many business leaders report using coaches (Leadership Management Australia, 2006) and being involved in coaching activity (McCarthy & Ahrens, 2012). Whilst the landscape of coaching is shifting, with, for example, increased emphasis on internal coaching capability and team coaching (e.g. Mann, 2013, 2016), coaching is viewed as a powerful development intervention. Coaching activities in organisations do not mean a coaching culture is in place but can indicate a move towards its emergence “. . . from the collective impact of multiple feedback loops, actions and reactions, that together, lead to a habitual way of interacting to achieve a specific outcome” ( Whybrow & O’Riordan, 2012, p. 209). A coaching culture might be noticed as: purposeful conversations and proactivity, greater dialogic enquiry, curiosity, reflective listening, ongoing feedback and a palpable energy. In this chapter we cover three areas: • • •

Discussion of the wider landscape that supports coaching activity Psychological roots for developing coaching in organisations Creating and developing coaching practices in organisations.

We end with two short case studies.

Development of coaching interventions and coaching culture in organisations Organisations increasingly need to respond flexibly to rapidly shifting conditions, address problems creatively and navigate risk and uncertainty (e.g. Caldwell, 2006). The past does not offer a blueprint for the future, and a process of experimentation and learning is often required. Building compliance to a pre-set solution is redundant. Leading requires articulating a vision and empowering increasingly self-reliant individuals to 424

Developing coaching within organisations

work towards it (Griffin, Parker, & Mason, 2010). Looking to the future, people will be required to work within role-based rather than hierarchy-based structures. Within this context, coaching offers an adaptive methodology well placed to assist in navigating local and global complexities. Coaching creates opportunities for new thinking and behaviours through cocreation, dialogue, meaning making and learning (e.g. Sonesh, Coultas, Lacernza, Marlow, Benishek, & Sales, 2015; Whitmore, 2009; Blakey & Day, 2012; Diminovitch, 2013). The belief in the viability of coaching to transform stems from: •







The ‘fit’ of coaching with the emergent complexity of systems and the self-organising nature of human interactions (Cavanagh, 2006). Focusing on dialogue, loosening the strength of embedded assumptions, giving space to imagine different possibilities and learning, strengthening relationships – coaching is a pragmatic way of optimizing the neural network of the organisation (Hawkins, 2012) so it can hold and respond to the world. The ability of coaching to support the individual in context, such as: • Raising individual self-insight to build personal resourcefulness and resilience, plus enable further choices and actions (e.g. Section 2). • Developing authentic leadership (e.g. Kinsler, 2014; Williams & Whybrow, 2013), i.e. the desirable characteristics for that leader to develop to play to his/her strengths. • Supporting vertical development, the development of emotionally intelligent and mature leaders (Kegan, 1982; Backhirova, 2011; Hawkins, 2012). Team and group coaching work underlining the idea that the success of any one part is dependent on the group. Here, coaching interventions might be more likely to focus on the purpose, relationship dynamics, group process, dialogue and strengthening of working relationships (Hawkins, 2011; Clutterbuck, 2007; Schein, 1998). The idea of the learning organisation (e.g. Senge, 1994), which has driven organisations to integrate learning into the very fabric of employee roles and systemic structures. Employees are now expected to take a measure of responsibility for driving their own development (St John-Brooks, 2014).

Coaching activities and methodologies can knit across whole organisational systems, providing an integrative framework to guide towards a shared outcome. Even coaching in its simplest form has the potential to impact on the performance of the system.

Theory and basic concepts At the individual level, research into coaching impact continues to gather momentum. Coaching is associated with thriving (Spreitzer & Porath, 2014), resilience, accountability, expansion of thinking, problemsolving ability, goal commitment (Law & Aquilina, 2013); an increase in skills (De Meuse, Dai, & Lee, 2009); greater self-understanding, ability to cope, goal-directed self-regulation, attitudes and well-being (Theeboom, Beersma, & van Vianen, 2013); and sustainable learning (Wasylyshyn, Gronsky, & Haas, 2006; Kombarakaran, Yang, Baker, & Fernandes, 2008). Individual coaching is likely to raise awareness of self and self in relation to others, insight regarding our intrapersonal narratives and their impact and clarity about our deeper psychological patterns that impact subconsciously – both physiologically and psychologically. Through this awareness, individuals are enabled to identify new narratives and contexts that equip them to make more effective choices, find new ways of relating and take more effective steps to achieve desired outcomes in their current and imagined future contexts. This growing body of evidence alone is sufficient to lead organisations to adopt coaching activities. There are still further theoretical underpinnings we can draw on to understand coaching impact at a systems level. 425

Alison Whybrow and Ed Nottingham

Job and work design In the early 1990s organisations wanted to understand how to drive dynamic responsiveness to gain a competitive edge (e.g. Parker, Wall, & Jackson, 1997); shifting employee attitudes was identified as critical (Turnbull, 1986; Taira, 1996). Researchers demonstrated roles can be designed explicitly to enable employees to be more intrinsically motivated and take more proactive, strategic approaches by meeting basic human needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness (e.g. Gagne & Panaccio, 2014). Early work by Karasek & Theorell (1990) demonstrated greater autonomy led to greater engagement and motivation, as employees felt more valued because they could decide what skills to use to deliver particular tasks and outcomes. Greater autonomy also builds capability through learning and knowledge generation, enhancing system performance (Wall, Jackson, & Davids, 1992). Autonomy, together with strategic insight, leads to greater ownership and responsibility over delivery, impacting positively on organisational effectiveness (Parker, Wall, & Jackson, 1997) and individual job performance, career success, innovation and life satisfaction (Strauss & Parker, 2014). In dynamic and uncertain environments, where it’s not possible to anticipate and pre-specify all that is required, employees need to use their initiative and take self-directed action (Griffin, Neal, & Parker, 2007). Individuals need to develop goals, collect information and make prognoses about the future and develop and execute plans before finally monitoring execution and gathering feedback on any adjustments required (Frese & Fay, 2001). Proactivity can be promoted by job enrichment, specifically increasing the autonomy and complexity of the job (Parker & Wang, 2015) and supported experimentation (Bindl, Parker, Totterdell, & Hagger-Johnson, 2012). Karasek & Theorell (1990) also found positive working relationships were key to enabling better mental and physical health outcomes for employees. Aspects of these relationships include an empathic line manager, a cohesive work group, trust and “a positive sense of identity based on the socially confirmed value of the individual’s contribution to the collective goals” (p. 70). Similarly, Parker and Wang found that when doing something new or unclear, where there is risk of failure and the outcomes are ambiguous, individuals need to feel psychologically safe (2015). Work design theory and research provides further underpinning for the value to organisations of coaching activities such as leader as coach programmes that embed the principles of support, challenge, autonomy and learning.

Working in ambiguity and complexity Organisations have often been equated to complex adaptive systems (Stacey, 2012). In such a system, change is emergent and unpredictable. Even more so, hyper turbulence, defined by McCann and Selsky as “when the environmental demands finally exceed the collective adaptive capacities of members sharing an environment” (1984, p. 460), requires radically new strategies where, according to Meyer, Goes and Brooks, “managers . . . must invent ways to slip the bonds of tradition, precedence and past practice” (1995, p. 99). The way things have always been done is a product of a particular industrial environment and associated thinking set. With rapid and radical change, those beliefs may become a survival threat as leaders, driven by outdated assumptions, don’t know that they don’t know. However, what is not known is not unknowable, it just lies beyond the existing frame (e.g. Sternberg, 1990). Enlarging the frame depends on curiosity and humility, unlearning old habits that no longer service the present or future requirements and letting go (e.g. Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, & Flowers, 2005). Slipping the bonds of tradition requires timely execution, making the most of existing approaches before changing, but changing early enough to ensure that leaders and the organisation as a whole do not become defenders of obsolete approaches in the face of a changed industry. There are different ideas as to how to equip people in organisations to work with emergence. Wisdom is associated with tolerance and open-mindedness, awareness of multiple causes and solutions in any given situation, awareness of paradoxes and contradictions and the ability to deal with uncertainty, inconsistency, imperfection and compromise 426

Developing coaching within organisations

(Staudinger, 2008); comfort with ambiguity (knowing that you don’t know) and maintaining a view of the bigger picture and the implications of different outcomes (Sternberg, 1998). Developing complexity habits of thought (Kuhn, 2012) offers a framework to promote openness and reduce rigid attachments to how things ‘should be,’ perhaps enabling greater wisdom. Coaching, as a method designed to promote dialogic enquiry into emerging possibilities, provide space for reflection, receiving and giving feedback, and experiential learning, and can potentially support the growth of wisdom and complexity habits of thought.

Leadership Leadership is increasingly viewed through an interpersonal and relational lens, with an emphasis on building strong and trusted working relationships in order for employees to work effectively in more complex and fast-paced contexts (e.g. Goleman, 2011; Hawkins, 2012). The idea of distributed leadership (Bolden, 2007), leadership as a function of group process rather than position (Lawrence, 2015) and a switch from leaders as expert directors to facilitators, mirrors the rise of coaching implementation (Tamkin, Hirsh, & Tyers, 2003). Indeed, leadership is described as the process of influencing others to enhance their contribution to achieving group goals (Platow, Haslam, Reicher, & Steffens, 2015). Two leadership styles are strongly associated with a positive impact on alignment and goal achievement: transformational leadership and authentic leadership. Transformational leadership occurs when “leaders broaden and elevate the interests of their employees, when they generate awareness and acceptance of the purpose and mission of the group, and when they stir their employees to look beyond their own self-interest for the good of the group” (Bass, 1990, p. 21). Where transformational leadership is experienced, followers feel greater engagement and offer greater discretionary effort, resulting in better business outcomes (Avolio, 2011). Transformational leadership is suggested to foster self-belief, strengthen links with the wider group purpose, develop collective values and raise individual contributions (Strauss, Griffin, & Rafferty, 2009). At least one purpose of coaching in the workplace is to modify behaviour so that coachees have a more transformational impact on those around them (Kochanowski, Seifert, & Yukl, 2010). Authentic leadership is where “individuals know who they are and what they think and are perceived by others as being aware of their own values, moral perspective, knowledge and strengths” (Avolio, Luthans, & Walumbwa, 2004, p. 4). It is “a pattern of leader behaviour [indicating] greater self-awareness, an internalised moral perspective, balanced processing of information, and relational transparency” (Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardener, Wernsing, & Peterson, 2008). Authentic leadership is said to build trust. A final aspect is that of systems leadership. The actions of leaders will not become more effective unless the awareness and thinking behind the action is shifted; to be able to change something ‘out there,’ you first need to change something ‘in here.’ This requires reflection and space for change to emerge and the understanding that learning requires practice (Senge, Hamilton, & Kania, 2015). Leadership coaching programmes are a method of developing the self-awareness, self-management and interpersonal skills that enable leaders to be more skilled at leading with greater autonomy in more complex, uncertain and ambiguous environments. The intention is that the quality of conversations and the capability of leaders to develop the capacity of those that they lead is enhanced (Lawrence, 2015). In addition, such programmes can facilitate the development of reflective leaders who are more likely to listen, give feedback and frame issues with reference to a bigger picture (Lawrence, 2015). Reviewing these underpinnings, the rise in coaching activities and striving for a coaching culture is hardly surprising.

Practice Developing a coaching culture is an ambitious task; the strategy needs to be fluid and flexible, revisited often and tailored where necessary (Power, 2015). 427

Alison Whybrow and Ed Nottingham

Sinek’s (2009) framework is useful when developing a coaching culture, pointing to key elements to create alignment across the system: •

Why: What’s the purpose of coaching and how are coaching activities aligned towards that bigger purpose? How: What are the principles that clients need to consider to intentionally design the conditions in which coaching activities can support the emerging culture? What: What are the coaching activities needed to provide integrity to the system within which coaching can flourish?

• •

This level of alignment enables clarity, trust and a guiding framework when the territory itself is emergent and ambiguous.

Why What is the client hoping to achieve through coaching? What is the difference that the client organisation is here to make in the world, and how will a culture encompassing coaching principles enable that? The development of a coaching culture is more likely and more powerful when strongly tied to business strategy. The ‘Why coaching’ checklist (LaMarsh & Associates, 2005), see Box 32.1 below, starts to build the requisite strategic foundation on which to build a coaching culture (Hawkins, 2012).

Box 32.1

‘Why coaching’ question checklist



What is the business purpose that coaching will serve?



Why are you starting this coaching journey?



What are you trying to achieve?



What happens if you do not introduce coaching successfully?



What forces (internal and external) are driving your desire to integrate coaching into your business practices?



Why haven’t you taken action earlier?



How much time do you have before the impact of not doing this starts to negatively impact the organisation? Adapted from LaMarsh & Associates, 2005

Without this focus, whilst coaching might impact positively in some areas, a wider systemic shift is much less certain (Evans, 2011). The answers to this checklist are not directly transferrable; something that works well in one organisation is unlikely to directly fit the culture of another (e.g. Whybrow & O’Riordan, 2012; St John-Brooks, 2014). The importance of a shared, explicit strategy and purpose is worth emphasising. The clarity of thinking and dialogue that emerges can shape a story and a pathway that others can easily choose to join. To further elaborate the coaching vision, it is useful to draw on solution-focused coaching methodology to create a rich picture with the client organization detailing: • •

What is your vision for coaching? Where are you now?

This offers a useful scoping of the journey ahead. Vision can be further grounded by exploring the structures, processes, people and cultures required to make the vision a reality (see Figure 32.1). 428

Developing coaching within organisations

What infrastructure is required to support this vision of coaching?

What processes will be in place when this vision of coaching is operational?

(How will things be organised? How will things operate, what technology will there be? What tools will we W hat is be using?) your vision for What people will be working Coaching? in and around the organisation I when we have coaching in place? h (What competencies, skills, experiences and knowledge will be in place?)

Figure 32.1

(How will the work flow? How will the boundaries be negotiated and managed?)

What culture will there be in the organisation when we have this coaching in place?

(How will people behave? How will people’s behaviour reflect what they believe? What rules will people follow? What will people say?)

Framework for mapping your vision of coaching

When scoping, it’s important to remember that “culture resides not just inside the organisation, but more importantly in the relationship patterns with all key stakeholders (the lived brand)” (Hawkins, 2012, p. 36). These ends of the dimension, what you are aiming for and the current state, provide one potential pathway forward.

How What principles will clients need to apply and embed to enable a coaching culture to emerge, flourish and achieve the original purpose? The practice of embedding coaching might usefully mirror the principles of coaching itself, building on research in the domains of job and work design, complexity and ambiguity and leadership.

Structures and processes From a meta-theoretical perspective, structures that promote autonomy, choice and ‘wholes’ rather than silos chime well with coaching philosophy.

Build the alliance, sponsorship Senior level sponsorship is essential to embed coaching in the organisational system, and perhaps to release the budget; it’s not necessary to get the initiative started ( Whybrow & O’Riordan, 2012). In the post heroic leader era, and with a more systems leadership approach, it may be less important to focus on senior sponsorship alone and more on the multitude of local sponsors. Local action is more impactful than the overall organisation’s belief in coaching when it comes to shifting behaviours: “A manager who has the privilege of receiving coaching from his or her manager is most likely to emulate the approach and in turn, provide coaching to his or her direct reports” (BlessingWhite, 2016, p. 8). 429

Alison Whybrow and Ed Nottingham

Pull vs push Coaching is an explicitly non-directive approach for most organisations (Mann, 2016). Given this, starting a coaching culture in an organisation by pulling it through the business, lighting fires and following the energy is identified as a credible way forward ( Whybrow & O’Riordan, 2012). As momentum gathers and coaching initiatives build towards a tipping point, things start to take shape and speed. A stronger, more coordinated push may then positively impact and may also be needed as the awareness and appetite for the value of coaching emerges. A dance of sorts seems inevitable.

Contracting In any coaching intervention, contracting in all its forms is critical. In an organisational system, it’s important to clarify: • • • • • •

What coaching resource is available, what’s non-negotiable and how learning is being gathered and integrated. When and how learning and development (L&D) and human resource (HR) functions are involved. Who owns coaching. How to navigate the boundaries as an internal coach. How internal coaches can be accessed. What confidentiality boundaries exist to enable trust and transparency.

As with any coaching relationship, contracting is a dynamic process and requires revisiting.

Co-create and collaborate Coaching is a co-created activity. The philosophical roots of coaching techniques and approaches are participatory, dialogical and emergent and promote learning. In mirroring this aspect, co-creating the wider initiative and allowing emergence seem important in relation to the development of a coaching culture.

Create a learning infrastructure Coaching is a learning intervention (e.g. Wang, 2013). At the system level, creating a learning infrastructure (e.g. supporting internal coaches with supervision structures, peer learning and in-built feedback loops) will embed a mindset of experimentation into the fabric of coaching and allow for the intentional collection of organisational insights.

Note the impact As coaching in organisations is driven by the business for the business, attention to the impact of coaching is important, facilitating ongoing focus and investment. The measures of coaching might include: achievement of goals, coachee testimonials and coachee satisfaction with the coaching process. Whilst highly subjective, coachee satisfaction impacts on coaching outcomes (Boyce, Jackson, & Neal, 2010). Unlike more formally contracted coaching arrangements, the impact of informal arrangements, such as some peer-to-peer coaching or leader as coach initiatives, won’t be picked up. The use of more systems-level measures (e.g. engagement metrics) is adopted by some. The measurement of financial Return on Investment (RoI) is a challenge yet often a focus; a simple measure does not exist (Hofmans, 2017). Organisations where coaching is well developed are much less concerned about financial RoI than those just starting the journey (Mann, 2016).

430

Developing coaching within organisations

An expert lead Coaching interventions require expertise in coaching to optimise success. There are many lessons that seasoned pracitioners who work with a whole-systems approach have learnt. Whether brought in or developed in-house, considering coaching as just another set of skills to train or simply as an L&D intervention will limit the value.

What What needs to be in place to enable coaching to achieve the desired outcome? Whybrow & O’Riordan (2012) offer a broad classification of coaching activities in organisations: • • •

Coaching as an offering: formal 1:1 or team coaching relationships are established by internal or external coaches. Coaching as a style: coaching principles are integrated into organisational behaviours and ways of interacting. Coaching infrastructure: embedded into the fabric of the organisation (e.g. coaching supervision, shifts in rewards and recognition structures).

We have drawn out only some of the key activities below:

Coaching offerings •





Internal coaches contribute significantly to the development of a coaching culture (Mann, 2016). A rapid area of growth in coaching provision, typically designed as a “one-on-one development intervention supported by the organisation and provided by a management peer of those coached who is trusted to shape and deliver a programme yielding individual professional growth” (Frisch, 2001, p. 242). Internal coaches are not or ‘should not’ be in the chain of command of those whom they coach (Frisch, 2001) and potentially should not work in the same part of the organisation as their clients (St John-Brooks, 2014). An additional benefit is that coaches learn alongside their coachees (Mukherjee, 2012), known as the ‘multiplier effect’ (St John-Brooks, 2014). External coaches bring experience across a wide range of contexts; they are not bound by the limits of the organisational frame that the leader operates within. It is assumed that senior leaders may be more likely to share confidential information about themselves and the business with someone outside the organisational system, fostering greater honesty and a ‘cleaner’ working relationship. In terms of coaching skill, professional internal and external coaches are indistinguishable. It is their position in relation to the organisational system that often dictates the choice over which type of coach is suitable. Team and group coaching account for around 10% and 5% of coaching delivered in organisations respectively; most expect these figures, particularly of team coaching, to increase (Mann, 2016). In general terms, team coaching is a collective intervention for groups who work together with a shared, unifying purpose. Group coaching is where individuals receive coaching with people they do not necessarily know or work with; this can offer richer, multi-perspective learning experiences.

Coaching as a style Coaching skills are integrated into the interpersonal repertoire of employees so that it becomes a style of choice in multiple interactions. Leader as coach programmes, where leaders and managers are trained to coach their teams, constitute a key method impacting on organisational culture (Anderson & Anderson, 2004). These programmes consolidate areas of interpersonal skill development (e.g. rapport building,

431

Alison Whybrow and Ed Nottingham

feedback skills, listening, communication) into a structured, systematic pattern of activity integrated with the development of performance-related dialogue skills for leaders and managers (e.g. goal setting, idea generation, awareness, responsibility). For leaders to be effective leader-coaches, they need to be highly sensitive and empathic in building the coaching relationship, aware of power relations and clear about their role boundaries (Spaten & Flensborg, 2013, p. 20). Leader-coaches are not agenda free; their agenda is the effective performance and goal achievement of those they lead. Working with their direct line, the leadercoach has a different role to that of external or internal coach.

Coaching infrastructure Whether group supervision, 1:1 supervision, a learning community or practice community, coaching supervision is invaluable both in terms of coach and system development and learning. Building coaching-focused structures and processes reinforces the skills and habits around coaching, creating a more deeply embedded foundation. For example, organisations are now more likely to include behavioural metrics in the performance review focus, with a significant part of any performance metric assessed through ‘how’ people interact. It is important to emphasise that introducing coaching-related activities is not the same as having a coaching culture. Building a coaching culture is a never-ending journey; rather than ask about success, ask, “has the organisation got the right dialogic processes in place to ensure that culture and strategy remain aligned as they work through their current set of challenges”? (Lawrence, 2015, p. 59).

Which coachees benefit most? All organisations can benefit from some coaching activity; however, there is no one-size-fits-all. Coaching activities are only one part of a wider learning structure for an organisation and need to be integrated as a blend of learning interventions to have the most impact. The development of a coaching culture is not necessarily the direction of travel for all organisations. The sophistication and depth of coaching activity may be dictated by size, market characteristics and the extent to which organisational activity includes ambiguity, uncertainty, complexity and volatility.

Case studies Two short case studies are shared, each illustrating a different journey and context for the application of coaching in organisations.

Case study 1: coaching at KPMG This case study offers insight into a highly pragmatic and systemic integration of coaching into the fabric of one of the big four accountancy firms, based in the UK and part of a global network. The case study is shared by the UK Coaching Centre of Expertise (CoE). With a 20-year history, coaching at KPMG is continuously emerging. “A passionate sponsor of coaching in the People community used a ‘pull strategy’ where each business unit was asked: is this important to you? Do you think it would work well? Invest in it to the level that you want to.” Coaching progressed with the benefit of real business ownership and of absolutely being on the business agenda. However this locally led approach meant that, at times, coaching was not available in a consistent way across the UK firm. “In November 2016 we became one team and a Centre of Expertise as part of a single UK learning function. Now we can be really clear that we offer the same level of service across all parts of the business with consistent coaching programmes that align to our broader learning and people strategy”.

432

Developing coaching within organisations

The Coaching CoE moves with the landscape and develops iteratively. “. . . We don’t have a single definition of coaching, most people (apart from coaches) aren’t too bothered what something is called as long as what you are doing is helpful.” However we have developed a framework for making sense of different types of coaching role from a coaching style conversation right through to professional, psychologically based coaching. This is helpful in deciding where professional, specialist or line manager led coaching is best applied. This framework is used more by us than by our clients or leadership.

Why has coaching remained important to KPMG? “We live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world. Managing ambiguity and complexity is therefore a core skill for our people. If we can move to a more curious reflective conversation, where they work out how to listen and to challenge effectively – they’ll be better leaders, and they will do the same with their clients and be stronger advisors. If we change the conversation [that partners and employees are having] we change the culture.” “We hold the notion that a ‘coaching culture’ is important for a professional services firm, [coaching skills are] part of how we do business. In a partnership, trust is everything, [coaching] is a way of engendering a climate and set of conversations that build trust internally, and with our clients, that enables us to be in a continual learning mode.” “Increasingly, partners are recognizing that coaching is the skill set they need with their clients . . . Our regulators would value a coaching oriented culture because it’s a culture in which people can be more honest and transparent. However, as a team we aren’t seeking to develop a coaching culture for its own sake – our key question is ‘in what way can coaching skills and/or coaching services help build the culture we, as a firm, are seeking to create.”

What roles are in place? •

• •



In house professional executive coaches do most of the coaching, offering 1:1 coaching with partners/ senior individuals for development, transition or thinking partnership work, and systemic team coaching. They are also involved in building a sense of coherence and community for people in the business engaged in coaching activity and in building coaching capability, developing others’ coaching skill. External coaches, used when appropriate for 1:1 coaching, and in partnership with the in-house professional coaches on team coaching. Associate coaches, employees who coach people for up to 2 days a month, specialising in areas such as parental coaching, new director hires, director transition support and follow on coaching from development programmes. Business development coaches, people with key skills in business development who coach others on best practices and embed learning and behavioural change after training programmes.

All formal coaching roles are supported by different levels of 1:1 and group supervision or learning structures, designed according to the need. From the tactical to the strategic, a coaching lens is seen to bring value as a business enabler. The Coaching CoE is very much at the table, informing interventions and engaging in strategic developments around change.

Critical incidents Factors shaping the emergence of coaching include some unexpected gifts. A decision to use coaching to “make the good, great” meant coaching became a core activity supporting leadership transitions to director and partner. “This gets your work to be visible with senior stakeholders in the business quite quickly . . . the demand for coaching grew and got baked into various processes to support our talent agenda. The people we supported into senior roles and the partnership are now coaching advocates.”

433

Alison Whybrow and Ed Nottingham

The consolidation of external coaching providers, making explicit the internal coaching offers, and instigating a clear budget sign-off process was another key stage in the evolution of coaching at KPMG. “We developed a close relationship with Finance enabling us to bring transparency about what was really happening with regards to coaching in the business.” Coaching impact Coaching has multiple impacts on talent, retention and performance. “We know we have kept valuable people in the business. We’ve enabled individuals to perform and be successful faster in their new roles. A big part of what we do is connecting, helping our clients make sense of the whole by helping them see things more systemically. Working across the business as we do now, we have a perspective that few people have. We know what’s going on, the strategic agenda and planned changes, and we know what’s happening on the ground and how people are feeling.” Coaching impact is not just about what KPMG coaches do with the individual or team clients, but also in what they share. “Like most people in the field, while we do some evaluation and measurement of outcomes, it is something we need to keep reviewing and improving. The business sees and ‘gets’ the benefits directly, so we’re focusing our attention on understanding the context in which coaching happens and how we can best evolve our practice as well as inform the system around us. Our learning and insights are shared with our key stakeholders/leaders. This kind of intangible value is really appreciated.”

Case study 2: coaching at VMware This case study introduces coaching into a 20-year-old global technology sales business, with quarterly reporting, headquartered in the US. The story of coaching at VMware is shared by Luca Stigliano, Global People Development, EMEA. After a very positive period of growth leading to a globally scaled business, the market was increasingly competitive in both business growth and talent retention. Coaching was introduced in EMEA in 2015 to develop coaching skills for leaders and managers, supporting a wider business transformation from productled sales to solution selling and the accompanying professionalisation of the management population. The business shift required employees to have greater autonomy to partner with customers and develop the skills to collaborate across internal functions and across business disciplines and to work with complexity. To achieve this, an empowering management style was needed. We had excellent individual contributors, but still operating as individual contributors when managing people. Telling people what to do. We needed to move them to great people managers, able to give power, to use the creativity and brains of the team, and to manage their development and their sales initiatives. It’s not possible to manage by telling. Professional management is not something that just happens. With senior level support in the business and within the HR function, the Global Development Team created a highly practical and pragmatic experiential coaching programme delivering coaching skills training for managers. Initially focused on the EMEA region, this is now rolling out across Asia Pacific and into the US. We have worked with HR business partners, giving them tools about coaching, and worked with leaders themselves. Elements of coaching have been introduced into solutions selling and as an approach or style into the sales areas. Two hundred and fifty managers have started the formal Coaching for Performance programme (50% of the EMEA management population), with 43 managers completing. Eleven have completed an

434

Developing coaching within organisations

additional coaching programme, equipping them to coach employees outside their team, making them even better leader coaches. We have moved attention towards coaching in the company. We are bringing in coaching anytime we can and creating consistency in the core frameworks. For example, the GROW framework is consistent across our mentoring and coaching programme as a foundation. A critical moment occurred at the beginning of 2016; we stopped using ratings as part of our performance assessment and are much more reliant on the quality of conversations through the year. As well as other checks in the system, the impact shows up in our voice of VMware results. We have very few cases of external coaching, maybe five people receiving external coaching in total. Coaching by external professionals is for perhaps 1–2% of the management population, maybe when changing role, or really facing a difficulty. Our focus is on enabling managers and leaders to manage their teams well. We don’t want to create a need for external coaches, or develop an internal team of professional coaches. Here, we see managers as people who impact broadly on peoples lives, with a responsibility to take care of people working in the company, to help them find a meaning, to engage them in doing something important and meaningful. Not just a drive to be more productive. We are about 40% through our journey now. There is quite a lot to do on systems and tools; we are still taking baby steps in terms of data analytics and measurement. In general, the attention to metrics and impact measures is growing and we have to pay attention to that. One challenge is how to sustain and refresh, keeping new habits and not dropping back into old ones.

Discussion points 1 2

3 4

What coaching activities are taking place in your organisation? Given this chapter, what do you need to pay attention to? Why would you consider a culture integrating on coaching principles? What difference would it make to how you operate, what you can do and what you can achieve? What would the business impact of having a coaching culture be? How would you measure that? Where are you on the dimension from no coaching activities at one end of the spectrum to a recognisable coaching culture on the other? What are the potential sticking points to you and your organisation getting the most out of coaching?

Suggested reading Hawkins, P. (2012). Creating a coaching culture: Developing a coaching strategy for your organisation. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. Whitmore, J. (2009). Coaching for performance: Growing human potential and purpose: The principles and practices of coaching and leadership (4th Edition). London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. St John-Brooks, K. (2014). Internal coaching: The insight story. London: Karnac Books. Potts, R., & LaMarsh, J. (2004). Master change, maximize success: Effective strategies for realizing your goals. Vancouver: Duncan Baird Publishing.

References Anderson, D. L., & Anderson, M. C. (2004). Coaching that counts: Harnessing the power of leadership coaching to deliver strategic value. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Avolio, B. J. (2011). Full range leadership development (2nd Edition). London: Sage. Avolio, B. J., Luthans, F., & Walumbwa, F. O. (2004). Authentic leadereship: Theory building for veritable and sustained performance. Lincoln, NE: Gallup Leadership Institute.

435

Alison Whybrow and Ed Nottingham

Backhirova, T. (2011). Developmental coaching: Working with the self. Berkshire, UK: Open University Press. Bass, B. M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18 (3), 19–31. Bindl, U. K., Parker, S. K., Totterdell, P., & Hagger-Johnson, G. (2012). Fuel of the self-starter: How mood relates to proactive goal regulation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97, 134–150. Blakey, J., & Day, I. (2012). Challenging coaching: Going beyond traditional coaching to face the facts. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. BlessingWhite. (2016). The coaching conundrum: Coaching in the post-performance-assessment era. Hamilton, NJ: BlessingWhite Consulting. Bolden, R. (2007). Trends and perpsectives in managemenet and leadership development. Business Leadership Review, 4, 1–13. Bono, J. E., Purvanova, R. K., Towler, A. J., & Peterson, D. B. (2009). A survey of executive coaching practices. Personnel Psychology, 62 (2), 361–404. Boyce, L.A., Jackson, R.J. & Neal, L.J. (2010). Building successful leadership coaching relationships: Examining impact of matching criteria in a leadership coaching programme. Journal of Management Development, 29 (10), 914–931. Caldwell, R. (2006). Agency and Change. Hove, UK: Routledge. Cavanagh, M. (2006). Coaching from a systemic perspective: A complex adaptive conversation. In D. R. Stober, & A. M. Grant (eds.), Evidence based coaching handbook (pp. 313–354). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. CIPD. (2011). The coaching climate. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Development. Clutterbuck, D. (2007). Coaching the team at work. London: Nicholas Brealey International. De Meuse, K., Dai, G., & Lee, T. (2009). Evaluating the effectiveness of executive coaching: Beyond ROI. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2 (2), 117–134. Diminovitch, D. (2013, February 22nd). Edie Seashore: On Coaching. Retrieved May 24th, 2016, from Library of Professional Coaching: http://libraryofprofessionalcoaching.com/applicationsuses/organization-development/ edie-seashore-on-coaching/ Evans, N. J. (2011). The argument against coaching cultures. International Jounal of Coaching in Organizations, 8 (2), 35–48. Frese, M., & Fay, D. (2001). Personal initiative: An active perforamnce concept for work in teh 21st century. Research in Organizational Behavior, 23, 133–187. Frisch, M. (2001). The emerging role of the internal coach. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 53, 240–250. Gagne, M., & Panaccio, A. (2014). The motivational power of job design. In M. Gagne (ed.), The Oxford handbook of work engagement, motivation and self-determination theory (pp. 165–180). New York: Oxford University Press. Goleman, D. (2011). Leadership: The power of emotional intelligence. Northampton, MA: More Than Sound. Griffin, M. A., Neal, A., & Parker, S. K. (2007). A new model of work role perforance: Positive behavior in uncertain and interdependent contexts. Academy of Management Journal, 50 (2), 327–347. Griffin, M. A., Parker, S. K., & Mason, C. M. (2010). Leader vision and the development of adaptive and proactive performance: A longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95 (1), 174–182. Hawkins, P. (2011). Leadership team coaching: Developing collective transformational leadership. London: Kogan Page. Hawkins, P. (2012). Creating a coaching culture: Developing a coaching strategy for your organisation. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. Hofmans, W.J. (2017). ROI: A waste of our time? Coaching at Work, 12, 42–45. Jarvis, J., Lane, D., & Fillery-Travis, A. (2005). Making the case for coaching: Does it work. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Karasek, R., & Theorell, T. (1990). Healthy work: Stress, productivity and the reconstruction of working life. New York, NY: Basic Books. Kegan, R. (1982). The evolving self: Problem and process in human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Kinsler, L. (2014). Born to be me . . . who am I again? The development of authentic leadereship using evidence-based leadership coaching and mindfulness and. International Coaching Psychology Review, 9 (1), 92–105. Kochanowski, S., Seifert, C. F., & Yukl, G. (2010). Using coaching to enhance the effectiveness of behavioural feedback to managers. Journal of Leadership and Organisational Studies, 17 (4), 363–369. Kombarakaran, F. A., Yang, J. A., Baker, M. N., & Fernandes, P. B. (2008). Executive coaching: It works!. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 61, 78–90. Kuhn, L. (2012). Epistemological reflections on the complexity sciences and how they may inform coaching psychology. International Coaching Psychology Review, 7 (1), 114–118. LaMarsh & Associates. (2005). Master of managed change TM. Chicago, IL: LaMarsh & Associates.

436

Developing coaching within organisations

Law, H., & Aquilina, R. (2013). Developing a healthcare leadership coaching model using action research and systems approaches: A case study: Implementing executive coaching to support nurse managers achieve organisational objectives in Malta. International Coaching Psychology Review, 8 (1), 54–71. Lawrence, P. (2015). Building a coaching culture in a small Australian multinational organisation. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 8 (1), 53–60. Leadership Management Australia. (2006). The L.E.A.D. survey 2005/6. Melbourne: Leadership Management Australia. Mann, C. (2013). The 5th Ridler Report: Trends in the use of executive coaching. London: Ridler & Co. Mann, C. (2016). The 6th Ridler Report: Strategic trends in the use of coaching. London: Ridler & Co. McCann, J. E., & Selsky, J. (1984). Hyperturbulence and the emergence of type 5 environments. Academy of Management Review, 9, 460–470. McCarthy, G., & Ahrens, J. (2012). How and why do managers use coaching skills? In G. Heaslip, & R. Galavan (eds.), Proceedings of the Irish academy of management conference 2012. Maynooth, Ireland: Irish Academy of Management. Meyer, A. D., Goes, J. B., & Brooks, G. R. (1995). Organizations reacting to Hyperturbulence. In G. P. Huber, & W. H. Glick (eds.), Organizational change and redesign: Ideas and insights for improving perforamnce (pp. 66–111). New York: Oxford University Press. Mukherjee, S. (2012). Does coaching transform coaches? A case study of internal coaching. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 10, 76–87. Parker, S. K., Wall, T. D., & Jackson, P. R. (1997). ‘That’s not my job’: Developing flexible employee work orientation. The Academy of Management Journal, 40 (4), 899–929. Parker, S. K., & Wang, Y. (2015). Helping people to ‘make things happen’: A framework for proactivity at work. International Coaching Psychology Review, 10 (1), 62–75. Platow, M. J., Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., & Steffens, N. K. (2015). There is no leadereship if no-one follows: Why leadership is necessarily a group process. Internaional Coaching Psychology Review, 10 (1), 20–37. Power, F. (2015, December). Creating a coaching culture: Can training managers to coach their teams result in a coaching culture that will increase employee engagement. Cork. Schein, E. H. (1998). Process consultation revisited: Building the helping relationship. Boston, MA: Addison Wesley Longman. Senge, P. M. (1994). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday/Currency. Senge, P. M., Hamilton, H., & Kania, J. (2015, Winter). The dawn of systems leadership. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 29. Senge, P. M., Scharmer, C. O., Jaworski, J., & Flowers, B. S. (2005). Presence: Exploring profound change in people, organizations and society. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. London: Penguin. Sonesh, S., Coultas, C. W., Lacernza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Benishek, L. E., & Sales, E. (2015). The power of coaching: A meta-analytic investigation. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 8 (2), 73–95. Spaten, O. M., & Flensborg, W. (2013). When middle manageres are doing employee caoching. International Coaching Psychology Review, 8 (2), 18–39. Spreitzer, G. M., & Porath, C. (2014). Self-deterination as a nutriment for thriving: Building an integrative model of human growth at work. In M. Gagne (ed.), The Oxford handbook of work engagement, motivation and self-determination theory (pp. 245–258). New York: Oxford University Press. Stacey, R. (2012). Tools and techniques of leadership and management: Meeting the challenge of complexity. London: Routledge. Staudinger, U. (2008). A psychology of wisdom: History and recent developments. Research in Human Development, 5 (2), 107–208. Sternberg, R. J. (1990). Wisdom: Its nature, origin and development. New York: Cambridge University Press. Sternberg, R. J. (1998). A balance theory of wisdom. Review of General Psychology, 2, 347–365. St John-Brooks, K. (2014). Internal coaching: The insight story. London: Karnac Books. Strauss, K., Griffin, M. A., & Rafferty, A. E. (2009). Proactivity directed toward the team and organisation: The role of leadereship, commitment and confidence. British Journal of Management, 20, 279–291. Strauss, K., & Parker, S. K. (2014). Sustainable proactivity in the workplace. In M. Gagne (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of work engagement, motivation, and self-determination theory (pp. 50–71). New York: Oxford University Press. Taira, K. (1996). Compatibility of human resource management, industrial relations and engineering under mass production and lean production: An exploration. Applied Psychology, 45 (2), 97–117. Tamkin, P., Hirsh, W., & Tyers, C. (2003). Chore to champions: The making of better people managers. Brighton: The Institute for Employment Studies. Theeboom, T., Beersma, B., & van Vianen, A. E. (2013). Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual level outcomes in an organzational context. Journal of Positive Psychology, 8 (6), 174–196. Turnbull, P. (1986). The ‘Japanisation’ of production and industrial relations at Lucas electrical. Industrial Relations Journal, 17, 193–206.

437

Alison Whybrow and Ed Nottingham

Wall, T. D., Jackson, P. R., & Davids, K. (1992). Operator work design and robotics system performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 353–362. Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B. J., Gardener, W. L., Wernsing, T. S., & Peterson, S. J. (2008). Authentic leadership: Development and validation of a theory based measure? Journal of Management, 34–89. Wang, Q. (2013). Towards a systems model of coaching for learning: Empirical lessons from the secondary classroom context. International Coaching Psychology Review, 8 (1), 35–53. Wasylyshyn, K. M., Gronsky, B., & Haas, W. (2006). Tigers, stripes and behaviour change: Survey results of a commissioned coaching programme. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 58, 65–81. Whitmore, J. (2009). Coaching for performance: Growing human potential and purpose: The principles and practices of coaching and leadership (4th Edition). London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Whybrow, A., & O’Riordan, S. (2012). Developing a coaching culture at work. In M. Neenan, & S. Palmer (eds.), Cognitive behavioural coaching in practice (pp. 203–236). London: Routledge. Williams, A., & Whybrow, A. (2013). The 31 practices: Release the power of your organisations values every day. London: LID.

438

33 Leadership and executive coaching Vicky Ellam-Dyson, Dasha Grajfoner, Alison Whybrow and Stephen Palmer

Introduction The terms leadership coaching and executive coaching are often used interchangeably. Both involve working with individuals in leadership positions, though executive coaching is often used to describe coaching with leaders in more senior roles. In this chapter we use the term leadership and executive coaching as a catch-all, and we refer to it using the abbreviation LEC. Whilst there are similarities with other types of coaching (e.g. a relationship based on mutual trust and respect, exploration of news ways of thinking and behaving) there are some key differences for LEC. Compared with career coaching or personal development coaching, for example, the purpose and outcomes of LEC are expected to have a much farther reach. The aim of coaching with leaders is to develop ways of thinking and behaving that impact not just themselves but the whole system as appropriate (e.g. the organisation, the employees, supply chain, customers and other stakeholders). This chapter discusses the role of LEC in leadership development and the role of psychology in LEC, integrating psychological theory and practical application of interest to practitioners as well as researchers. We start with an overview of core considerations when developing leaders today and how coaching psychology has evolved to address these and new challenges before moving onto psychological underpinnings and implications for practice. We end with an illustrative case study. With limited space, we’ve drawn on key elements rather than an exhaustive review. At the end, we provide resources for further reading, including reading into the psychology of leadership (Haslam, Reicher, & Platow, 2011).

Development of leadership and executive coaching LEC can be traced back to the 1940s, when psychologists worked within businesses to improve personal performance (Flory, 1965; Kilburg, 1996). The word coaching was perceived as less threatening than consultations or counselling (Kilburg, 2000). Leadership coaching gained considerable momentum during the 1990s and has grown rapidly since. For example, in a survey by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM, 2011) it was reported that 91% of organisations with more than 2,000 employees used coaching as a method of staff development, with middle to senior managers and directors making up 85% of those receiving coaching. The latest Ridler report indicates LEC continues to strengthen and develop (Mann, 2016). Since these early beginnings, LEC has developed significantly. As business landscapes evolved and the role of leaders became more complex (e.g. Seijts, Billou, & Crossan, 2010), coaching with leaders has had 439

Vicky Ellam-Dyson et al.

to shift gear, refocusing from goal achievement to working with complexity and uncertainty. The agenda for coaching includes personal or self-development, developing others and encouraging and assisting leaders in understanding: • • •

the interrelationships and connections that influence and shape their organisation, their own role in influencing the systems around them and those they lead (followers), and how they are influenced as a leader through the systems and people around them.

In this more complex and uncertain context, it is important to understand what is required of leaders, what constitutes effective, and indeed ineffective, leadership and how to intervene and work with the challenges leaders face.

Theory and basic concepts The shifting story of ‘good’ leadership For over 100 years leadership research has attempted to uncover the secrets to good leadership. From the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century, leadership research was led by trait theorists (e.g. Cowley, 1931). They believed leaders were born and that personal characteristics were the key predictors of effective leadership. Findings across trait-based studies were highly inconsistent, and the idea that personality alone could predict effectiveness was challenged (Colbert, Judge, Choi, & Wang, 2012). A new focus emerged in the 1950s, with researchers working to identify the specific behaviours required for strong leadership. Behaviours were organised into two main categories: relations oriented (those influencing relationships with and between followers) and task oriented (those facilitating followers’ task completion and goal achievement) (Vroom & Jago, 2007). These categories formed the basis of many subsequent behavioural models, including the consistently popular full range model by Bass & Avolio (1995), incorporating Transformational (relations oriented) and Transactional (task oriented) styles. Whilst some researchers focused on the personality and behavioural aspects of leadership, others (e.g. Fiedler, 1967; Lowin & Craig, 1968; Perrow, 1970) suggested effective leadership is dependent on the conditions of the situation in which one leads. Situational leadership theory states that leaders must moderate their characteristics and behaviours to fit different situations in order to be effective, including adapting to different follower needs (Hersey & Blanchard, 1982). Other theories acknowledging the importance of the situation in leadership include contingency theory (Fiedler, 1972), path-goal theory (Evans, 1970; House, 1971) and social psychology theories (Haslam, Reicher, & Platow, 2011). Technological advances, the shift from the industrial era to the knowledge era and globalisation resulted in new organisational landscapes and further change in leadership requirements (Uhl-Bien, Marion, & McKelvey, 2007). Notions of effective leadership had to move beyond focusing on individual characteristics and the situation towards understanding how leaders might adapt to didactic, shared, relational, strategic, global and ever-changing characteristics of the workplace (Avolio, Walumbwa, & Weber, 2009). In line with these developments, newer theories and models have emerged that encourage a more holistic and dynamic approach to leadership to meet the needs of a more complex, volatile, uncertain and ambiguous context. These include adaptive leadership (Salicru, In press; Heifetz, Linsky, & Grashow, 2009), servant leadership (Spears, Lawrence, & Blanchard, 2001), authentic leadership (George, 2003), team leadership (Hallam & Campbell, 1992), complexity leadership (Uhl-Bien & Marion, 2008), ethical leadership (Brown, Treviño, & Harrison, 2005) and cross-cultural/global leadership (see House, Javidan, Hanges, & Dorfman, 2002). A core component of effective leadership in this changing landscape is that of emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1996) and, within that, the ability to develop and sustain adaptive working relationships through an expanded repertoire and choiceful responses (e.g. Torbert, 2004). 440

Leadership and executive coaching

What more is expected of leaders now? Relationship skills With numerous ideas of leadership available and the definitions of leadership exponentially increasing, looking at what is commonly accepted seems useful (e.g. Northouse, 1997). Vroom and Jago (2007) noted that almost all definitions were of the opinion that leadership involves a process of influencing. Hogan, Curphy, and Hogan (1994) emphasised the need for leaders to use influence to build strong performing teams, the characteristics of which they identify as cohesion, engagement, empowerment, trust, respect, innovative thinking and shared vision. Where leaders are unable to do this they put themselves and their organisations at risk of derailment (Hogan, Hogan, & Kaiser, 2010). Leaders must influence not just those they lead but other stakeholders laterally and vertically in the business for the purpose of negotiating resources and budgets, getting buy-in for new projects, challenging competing opinions and ideas, convincing others to do things differently, securing agreement for direction of travel and more. The ability to build and navigate working relationships is key to influencing others and, not surprisingly, seen as core to a leader’s effectiveness, reputation and success (Brent & Dent, 2010), with poor relationship skills contributing to derailment (Van Velsor & Leslie, 1995).

Change skills The dynamic nature of organisations requires leaders to be mindful instigators as well as propagators of change, such that they are on the lookout for new and better ways of doing things and can drive new initiatives forward (De Smet, Lavoie, & Hioe, 2012). In developing new approaches, they are required to support innovation and be open to risk taking (Farson & Keyes, 2002) whilst being conscious of external conditions, such as customer demands, competition and regulations (Yukl, 2006). They are required to also consider the internal conditions and understand the impact of changes on different parts of the organisation (Yukl, 2006). In essence, it could be considered useful for leaders to take a systems-thinking approach, observing how the organisational systems (e.g. external and internal conditions, people, processes) interact and influence each other and how they each contribute to specific issues (Senge, 2006). Three core aspects of systems thinking include: a persistent commitment to learning, readiness to challenge one’s own mental models in problem solving and bring together multiple, diverse perspectives when looking at issues for the purpose of collective intelligence (Senge, 2006).

Diversity skills Working with and harnessing diversity brings further complexity. The development of globally minded leaders is considered a key challenge over the coming decade (Griffith, 2015). Leaders benefit from learning to acknowledge, respect and work with the differing cultural values and beliefs of those around them (Porath, 2014) as they are better able to support all employees to perform well and navigate complex and ever-changing environments. As noted above, harnessing diversity goes further still and includes the ability to bring diverse contributions, thinking and approaches to bear. In a diverse landscape, self-awareness and self-management, the ability to recognise and manage one’s own emotions and the emotions of others, enables leaders to gain the trust of employees, collaborate and co-create with greater skill (Goleman, 2001). Clear links have been found between insensitivity to others, volatility and arrogance, leading to difficulties in forming interpersonal relationships (Dotlich & Cairo, 2003; Van Velsor & Leslie, 1995). Lack of selfawareness is a common theme across the leader derailment literature (Shipper & Dillard, 2000). We see that effective leadership cannot be determined by ensuring certain traits are present or specific behaviours enacted; success requires more dynamic adaptive response capabilities. Research emphasises the importance of relationships, influencing, systems thinking, innovation, cultural awareness, cognitive complexity and emotional intelligence for leader and organisational success. It is perhaps no surprise that LEC 441

Vicky Ellam-Dyson et al.

has become an important part of the leadership development landscape, where the coach is engaged to facilitate high potential performers to develop effective leadership skills (Peltier, 2010).

The role of coaching in leadership development and the application of psychological models and approaches Traditional leadership development programmes remain largely based on behavioural competency models (Bolden & Gosling, 2006), perhaps with the inclusion of role-play to provide some context for raising awareness and developing behavoural skills and cognitive abilities (Kark, 2011). In such learning environments it is difficult to account for cultural complexities and unique individual experiences in the workplace itself. Moreover, on-the-programme practice isn’t sufficient to develop embedded habits of thinking and behaving. For habits to be formed and learning embedded it must be applied repeatedly, both practically and reflexively in significant tasks (Ellington & McFadden, 2013); in parallel, old habits may need to be unlearned. Transfer of learning from leadership development programmes to workplace practice can be low (Waller, 2011). Maximising the likelihood of leaders developing skills in ways that are relevant to their real-life context requires them to be supported through on-the-job learning (McCall & Hollenbeck, 2007). As an intervention grounded in real-life experiential learning, LEC is one very valuable tool to address this need. In the reality of senior leadership and executive positions, where moment-by-moment choices are made about what to focus on and what to ignore and what could be done vs what it is possible to do, LEC can offer a practical way of supporting the development of the necessary psychological, behavioural and interpersonal flexibility. Raising self-awareness through personal introspection and reflecting on past experiences, leaders can become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses and more conscious of the impact of their current style – on themselves, others and the system (Athanasopoulou & Dopson, 2015). The coach may challenge a leader’s mental models and ways of engaging, supporting consideration of more effective approaches, and identify opportunities to experiment and reflect on impact, such as dialing-up or dialing-down certain characteristics and strengths in response to what is happening around them (Linley, Woolston, & BiswasDeiner, 2009). Studies of LEC have found outcomes such as: increased confidence, assertiveness, self-awareness, improved relationships, enhanced networking, stronger interpersonal skills (e.g. Wales, 2003); higher levels of motivation (e.g. Sonesh, Coultas, Lacerenza, Marlow, Benishek, & Salas, 2015); adapting to change more effectively, setting clearer goals (e.g. Smither, London, Flautt, Vargas, & Kucine, 2003) and being more innovative and creative (e.g. Styhre, 2008). Many of the chapters in this handbook refer to the impact of coaching, in particular Chapters 6 and 7. The field of psychology makes important contributions to coaching with leaders, with many theories, models and approaches that can be drawn on during the process of cognitive, behavioural and interpersonal change. Indeed, researchers and practitioners in the field of LEC have noted the importance of psychology in this area of coaching (Bennis, 2007; Berglas, 2002; Kilburg, 2000). Further, Bluckert (2005) suggests that in order to cope with the breadth of issues typically attended to in coaching, coaches benefit from developing psychological skills. Here, we explore some of the many underpinning psychological theories and approaches that together support change across the intrapersonal, interpersonal and systemic domains that LEC can cover. Figure 33.1 provides one overview of the domains of LEC.

Mapping the domains of LEC The diagram is a simple representation of the domains of LEC and where, at any point, the coaching intervention may be choosing to focus as aspects merge through a coaching programme and within a coaching conversation. We look at the intrapersonal, interpersonal and systemic domains in turn, exploring some of the possible psychological frameworks and how they might be applied in each. 442

Leadership and executive coaching

Part of the organisational system

Leader

Intrapersonal domain

Part of the life system

Interpersonal relationships

Stakeholders (e.g.clients, peers, followers, suppliers)

© Alison Whybrow

Figure 33.1

Mapping the domains of LEC

Intrapersonal This area focuses on the beliefs, perspectives, stories and constructs that the leader holds about the world. Where the belief systems are getting in the way or disabling a person from being ‘their best self ’ in relation to the context that they find themselves, intrapersonal work might be required. Examples of psychological approaches and their potential focus in relation to the intrapersonal are discussed here. Mindfulness (Chapter 15) can be useful for exploring values, beliefs, life goals and more, raising awareness of what drives particular behaviours, with the aim of motivating the leader to strive and move towards growth. Where motivation is low, the Transtheoretical Model of Change (Prochaska & Diclemente, 1983) and Motivational Interviewing (MI) (Chapter 11) can help offer insights into what is happening and how to move forward. The Ontological approach (Chapter 17) may involve exploration of the conscious and subconscious narratives that leaders hold that shape their views and the way they observe and exist in the world. Using ontological enquiry in LEC, the coach may facilitate the leader to work with new interpretations. Transactional Analysis (TA) (Chapter 23) also provides the means for exploring the inner world, particularly in relation to limiting beliefs and how one can be released from an inhibiting belief system. Likewise, Cognitive Behavioural Coaching (CBC) (Chapter 9) facilitates insights and adaptative mental models to facilitate the development of more realistic and motivating patterns of thinking and behaving, supporting leaders in taking new perspectives. Positive Psychology approaches (Chapter 5) supports leaders in recognising their strengths and when and how to engage them effectively, acknowledging when these 443

Vicky Ellam-Dyson et al.

may need to be dialled up or down. The benefits of this approach include a stronger sense of competence and reduced stress. These approaches offer diverse ways of intervening in our internal landscape, challenging the idea that we are our stories. They offer both the means to step outside ourselves and observe our beliefs and ideas about the world without getting hooked by them, and the means to examine our stories, beliefs and ideas and robustly challenge, test and transform them.

Interpersonal This domain focuses on the way in which the individual manages their impact and adjusts and develops their interpersonal relationships in the workplace and the wider world. The importance of relationships has been noted earlier. Beliefs, values and personal constructs drive how we engage and interact with others, so the intrapersonal work will impact on what happens interpersonally. However, this insight alone may not provide strategies for how to widen or broaden leadership repertoire. Frameworks that provide insight into different ways of being can be used to develop strategies, experiments and new behaviours. For example, Psychometrics (Chapter 38) help gauge the impact of a leader’s style of relating on followers and other stakeholders. This may involve the use of 360 surveys to gather evidence that can usefully inform coaching conversations. An Emotional Intelligence (EI) tool can highlight aspects of empathy and social skills useful to attend to. Transactional Analysis (Chapter 23) supports leaders in acknowledging and understanding their behaviour in different relationships and helps them to make better choices in order to create more positive relationships and improve their ability to influence. Mindfulness approaches (Chapter 15) include focus on relatedness for engaging better with others and improving communication style. Gestalt (Chapter 14) approaches offer awareness of self in relation to others, supporting people to really understand connection, disconnection and the difference between perception and ‘reality’. As you will see, the psychological frameworks available cut across the intrapersonal and interpersonal domains of focus for the coaching work.

Systems As acknowledged earlier, organisational environments have become more complex and subject to continuous change. The entire planet is a system of dependencies and interdependencies and always has been. The system is always present; naming it allows us to become aware of it differently. It follows that leadership and executive coaching activity will benefit from a systems lens. A number of particular approaches are useful for augmenting or working with the systems lens. Psychodynamic and Systems Psychodynamics coaching (Chapter 25) offers a perspective and way of working that is practical and highly systems aware. Complexity-based approaches (Chapter 31) can support leaders to gain insight and skills into working with what is emerging, assisting leaders to avoid being constrained by past solutions that worked for past challenges. Systemic Constellations (Chapter 24) provide a means for leaders to explore the dynamics of systems that they are part of, offering a lens into what is happening in a way that can enable incisive actions and approaches that are otherwise occluded. This is particularly useful in helping leaders notice limits and opportunities, even where they have no control over changing the system per se. Gestalt approaches (Chapter 14) emphasise holism and field theory, providing a perspective and dialogical approach that offers a way of unifying rather than splitting. As such, individuals are encouraged to notice the patterns between things, to speak from a sense of ‘we’, to withhold judgement, and to allow emergence. Together, these approaches provide insight into both the domain of systems and different ways of operating from that perspective.

444

Leadership and executive coaching

Practice What are the key considerations when practicing as a leadership and executive coach or coaching psychologist? We focus on four aspects in this section and, although these are shared across all coaching assignments, there are particular nuances that we feel worth drawing out as they relate to LEC.

A pluralistic or integrated approach Working holistically, the coach will benefit from skills and experience across all three domains (intrapersonal, interpersonal and systems), often attending to these three domains simultaneously. This involves the coach or coaching psychologist having the theoretical and technical insight into relevant psychological frameworks as well as the understanding and practical experience of relevant leadership and business frameworks. Additionally, the coach needs the awareness of how to work with the psychological, leadership and business frameworks for this individual, given the specific coaching assignment, and, critically, the awareness to understand what they, as a coach or coaching psychologist, bring to the coaching system and the impact of self-adjustments. A coach or coaching psychologist who takes a pluralistic approach is likely to blend together multiple approaches to assist with effective exploration and deeper understanding of the complexities of the leader’s issues. Moreover, the pluralistic approach involves bringing the leader into the decision process around which interventions to use at a particular moment in time, referred to as metacoaching communication (Utry, Palmer, McLeod, & Cooper, 2015). This can build a leader’s capability to self-coach and coach others. Whilst it is unrealistic to expect that practitioners start with mastery of their craft, it is nevertheless useful to start with a multi-theoretical lens that is appropriate for the level of complexity of the coaching assignment in this domain and involves the coachee as a co-creative partner in the design of the coaching work.

A robust working alliance The building of effective working relationships has been flagged as key throughout this chapter. It’s not surprising that the working alliance is considered central to the success of the LEC coaching assignment (De Haan, Culpin, & Curd, 2011; De Haan, Duckworth, Birch, & Jones, 2013). Whilst rapport is assumed as a necessary given, coach credibility and mutual trust (e.g. Bush, 2004) are particularly important and cannot be taken for granted. To foster credibility, the coach not only needs to demonstrate they can hold and support the leader to process their current experience, they also need to be able to challenge their thinking and way of being in order to build trust (e.g. Blakey & Day, 2012). Trust encourages leaders to share concerns, vulnerabilities and ideas and facilitates risk taking (Gyllensten & Palmer, 2007; KampaKokesch & Anderson, 2001). Together this promotes experimentation, which enables the leader to break out of existing ways of being or operating. The greater the trust, the greater opportunity for openness, honesty and challenge, all of which can be lacking as leaders move further up the ranks. To effect a strong working alliance, providing a choice of coach to the leader is important, with two to three potential coaches to choose from. A more in-depth analysis and discussion of the coaching relationship can be found in Chapter 35.

Systemic contracting and boundary management What does this mean when it comes to LEC? One perspective is that the leadership requirement has as much to do with the space that requires a leader as it has to do with the skills that an individual possesses (e.g. Hawkins, 2011). From this perspective, it doesn’t make sense to consider an LEC assignment without a focus on the systemic requirements. Contracting therefore requires attention to the individual development agenda and the purpose of the coaching to effect change in the wider system. Without considering the

445

Vicky Ellam-Dyson et al.

system, the nature of any coaching intervention will at best be limited and could be counter-productive. The contracting focus defines the frame of impact of LEC and defines the thinking landscape of the work. The focus of the intervention is part of the contracting. How you agree to achieve those ends depends on how you choose to operate together and manage your joint boundaries: the level of transparency into the organisation (who gets to know or input into what); the qualities of the coaching space (e.g. level of challenge, listening); the coaching pathway or programme and early indicators of success. Because the landscape, especially for more senior leaders, is ever changing, contracting is very much a live feature of the coaching intervention. There is a skill in reviewing how the coaching work is being done whilst remaining true to purpose. Having identified a coach to work with, it is good practice to meet with one or more organisational stakeholders to help shape the coaching focus and contract and review effectiveness (Clutterbuck, 2015; Hay, 1995).

A flexible format and media Typically, LEC has a defined shape in the market. A typical package is often: six to eight coaching sessions of up to two hours every four weeks. Where a developmental journey is the subject of the intervention, such as a leadership transition or shift of some form, this shape provides a momentum and sharpness that is helpful. Where there is a need for a thinking partner, a different structure or programme may be required that is much more dependent on what is happening in the leader’s world rather than on a specific personal agenda or developmental shift. Here the coach may see their client as little as once a quarter or as often as once a week. For coaching assignments in the LEC frame, the format depends on the nature of the challenge. The ability to navigate and negotiate the format and approach requires insight into what can be achieved in relation to the challenge faced in a particular time frame. Along with a focus on the design of the intervention, it is important to be attentive to the requirement for flexibility in the execution of that programme. Here there is a need for both responsiveness and challenge. Frequent cancellations may indicate a wider or more fundamental habit that needs addressing. A further area of flexibility is the coaching media. A recent survey reported that a significant amount of coaching is conducted face to face, at a level that has been fairly static since first surveyed in 2006 (Sherpa, 2016). The survey also notes that the rate of telephone coaching has decreased since 2006, whilst coaching by web-based applications and high-definition video has increased.

Which coachees benefit most? LEC, combining the psychology of leadership and coaching, is beneficial for leaders, managers and executives who wish to increase their self-awareness, awareness of others and the organisation in which they work (Ely, Boyce, Nelson, Zaccaro, Hernez-Broome, & Whyman, 2010). LEC can improve and move relationships and address specific issues, such as: building leadership skills and competencies, working on leadership style and performance, managing changes and transitions and diversity (Wilkes, Cross, Jackson, & Daly, 2015). In addition to any individual needs identified, leaders may have different requirements from LEC associated with their level and role (e.g. Charan, Drotter, & Noel, 2011). For example, middle and senior leaders are more likely than junior leaders to focus on networking, building alliances and developing others (Grajfoner, Rojon, & Eshraghian, 2017). LEC, whilst potentially beneficial for all, will be an easier choice for those leaders who are more likely to enjoy processing experiences together with others in a confidential space, who perhaps struggle with a more self-reliant mode of development or who are at significant points of transition and transformation. LEC can have tremendous impact not only on the individual leader but also on the development and the culture of the organisation. Finally, with the sophisticated development of internal coaching capabilities, LEC needs, once the domain of coaches external to organisations, are increasingly met by coaches internal to organisations. LEC can be flexible as an intervention, integrated into a broader programme or standing alone. 446

Leadership and executive coaching

Case study The coachee Paul, the CEO of an accountancy firm he founded ten years previously, is experiencing very high levels of stress and is at the point of burnout. He is experiencing emotional outbursts and poor communication with his 27 employees. He is frustrated with many members of staff as he feels they rely too much on him for support, lack initiative, have poor decision-making skills and make an unacceptable level of errors. His lack of trust in his employees has led him to avoid delegating and to check employees’ work before it is submitted to clients. Consequently, his workload has increased and become unmanageable. Energy and motivation in the office is low and absenteeism has increased. The negative atmosphere and constant interruptions have led to Paul working from home more. He feels guilty about his absence and concerned at not being present to control the quality of work produced. The company has no formal structure, with all employees reporting directly to Paul, adding to his frustrations as people management keeps him from doing the work he enjoys and growing the business. Whilst he feels he is not a natural leader and doesn’t find it interesting, he realises for the business to thrive he needs to step up. He has described wanting to create an environment where people enjoy coming to work and feel supported, appreciated and motivated. He wants to feel energised and passionate again and get back in touch with his original purpose for the business. Paul hopes coaching will enable him to: a) develop coping mechanisms to reduce his stress, b) develop leadership skills to engage and empower his employees, c) reduce his own workload to enable him to grow the business and engage in projects that tap into his natural skillset, and d) develop a new structure for the business with additional layers of leadership. The goals cut across all three domains of intrapersonal, interpersonal and systems work, whilst requiring business and leadership input in terms of restructuring. The coach used a pluralistic approach, drawing on several different theories, models and techniques from coaching, psychology and leadership. A number of the interventions are highlighted below.

Getting started A number of measures and models were used to assist Paul to make sense of his current situation, to scope the coaching work and to shift some of the immediate perspectives and narratives. To assist Paul in understanding what kind of leader he might need to become, different styles of leadership were discussed. Paul was drawn to exploring a more transformational approach. Additionally, the Brief COPE questionnaire (Carver, 1997) was used to provide Paul with insight into his current coping strategies and explore which were more or less helpful in reducing stress. The Strengths-spotting approach helped Paul to develop a higher sense of self worth and identify activities to create a positive frame of mind. There was close attention to the intrapersonal domain, particularly using Cognitive Behavioural Coaching (CBC) to help Paul explore unhelpful thinking patterns that contribute to his need for control, micromanaging and aversion to delegating. The following demonstrates briefly the application of CBC: The coach helped Paul uncover key thoughts that led him to micromanage and avoid delegation: Paul:

If something goes out with an error it’s a disaster, it will ruin the company reputation, and mine.

They discussed the emotional and behavioural consequences of this way of thinking: Paul:

I check everything before it goes out to a customer. I’m angry and resentful that I’m so busy and can’t focus on building the business. The stress keeps me awake. I’m so tired, and feel on the edge of breakdown.

447

Vicky Ellam-Dyson et al.

The coach encouraged Paul to acknowledge his proneness to fortune telling and catastrophising and to challenge the logic and rationality of his current way of thinking. Paul considered alternative ways of thinking about the situation: Paul:

I guess that being a leader doesn’t mean having control of everything and everybody. I need to let go, be more collaborative and trusting. Doing things myself might be quicker in the short term but it doesn’t change things for the long term.

The coach facilitated Paul to experiment with identifying new ways of thinking and behaving that would take the pressure off: Paul:

I will delegate more, ask my staff how they plan to do something instead of telling them, and ask them what support they need. I’ll keep in mind the benefits of doing this, though it will be uncomfortable.

They discussed what would help Paul to keep focused and commit to this approach in the future: Paul:

I realise this will take time and practice, and I have to step out of my comfort zone to enable the growth of my staff and therefore the business. I am committed to doing so and will look at working with a mentor to help keep me focused and feel supported in the long term.

Paul wanted his staff to feel more engaged, appreciated and supported. The CBC approach helped Paul to identify and test out ways to demonstrate trust, delegate more effectively, involve others in decision-making, provide feedback, and celebrate successes. In line with the desired transformational leadership style, Paul was supported in understanding how to take an individualised or tailored approach with his employees to support their differing needs. The strengths-spotting tool was applied to Paul’s employees, providing insight into their strengths, supporting a tailored approach. Improving focus on the needs of his team was expected to have a positive impact on absenteeism, the atmosphere and indeed on Paul. In working towards the interpersonal goals, the Transactional Analysis (TA) approach was used to explore and intervene in communications. The coach started with the principles of ego: Coach:

Of the ego states discussed, which are you aware that you adopt in your interactions with your employees – for example, when you assign a piece of work?

Paul:

I tend to be pretty directive with them. I tell them exactly what I want, how I think it should be done, and what will happen if it’s late or incorrect.

Coach:

What tone do you adopt when relaying the instructions?

Paul:

Mostly quite demanding, quite abrupt. I leave them in no doubt what the repercussions will be.

Coach:

And what role would you say you take on during that transaction?

Paul:

Parent I guess. I’m doing that to support them, to help them learn. In a sense I feel like they need parenting. I need to show them the way.

Coach:

Are a you nurturing parent or critical (controlling) parent?

Paul:

Well, I thought I was nurturing them, teaching them, but given what we’ve discussed I guess I’m being the critical parent.

Coach:

What’s the impact on them? How do they respond?

Paul:

Well, they tend to get on with it!

448

Leadership and executive coaching

Coach:

What do you notice about how they interact with you?

Paul:

It depends who it is. David, for example, generally does what I ask without question. He’s compliant in following instructions but he also needs constant reassurance, asking me to check everything he does. He lacks initiative and confidence in his own judgment. I don’t have time for it, it’s really frustrating. Susan, on the other hand, often pushes back, she doesn’t seem to like being told what to do. She can be quite argumentative, pushing to do things differently. She gets good results but her attitude is poor. She can be hard to reason with.

Through further conversation it was acknowledged that David and Susan were each engaging in the role of child (adapted/rebellious) in reaction to Paul’s role as critical parent. There followed exploration of the most appropriate role for Paul to play in getting the best from David and Susan, and indeed his other staff. It was acknowledged that the role of adult would involve Paul taking on a more rational, calm and collaborative approach in order to encourage more adult-like reactions from his staff. It was then explored what that might look like, the possible benefits, when it would be most appropriate and what Paul could do to ensure he fulfilled that role. Further exploration focused on when alternative roles might be appropriate for Paul – for example, nurturing parent for those who did need more guidance and child role (natural child or little professor) to demonstrate playfulness, curiosity and light-heartedness and help change the atmosphere in the office. Without attending to the structure of the organisation, Paul’s steps to bring about change would be likely to fail. The coach worked with Paul to explore what structure would work and what change management support he would need to make that happen. Paul was encouraged to take a systemic approach and consider the impact of a new structure and new processes on the business and the people within it. On reviewing the impact of coaching, Paul reported improvements in his confidence as a leader and his sense of well-being. He observed how learning to trust others had positively impacted their performance and improved his frame of mind and hope for the future of the organisation. Paul found the psycho-educational nature of the coaching particularly valuable. Having explicit knowledge of the models used in coaching helped him to understand more deeply what had been amiss and how to effect changes in the future.

Discussion points 1

2

3 4

We have presented three areas of skill development that we believe are necessary areas to develop to be an effective leader: relationship skills, change skills and diversity skills. How much of your LEC coaching work is focused on developing these three skills areas? What other areas of meta-skill are required for today’s leaders? When you reflect on three domains of focus for LEC work (intrapersonal, interpersonal and systems), what domain is most challenging for you to work in? What aspects of your practice might you need to develop further? How might you do that? We have listed four principles of practice for the LEC coach. Choose one of these principles and consider how you apply this in your own practice. What are the areas of strength? Reflecting on the case study above, how might you have approached this case? What might you have done differently, and why?

Suggested reading Athanasopoulou, A., & Dopson, S. (2015). Developing leaders by executive coaching: Practice and evidence. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 449

Vicky Ellam-Dyson et al.

Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S., & Platow, M. J. (2011). The new psychology of leadership: Identity, influence and power. Hove: Church Press. Salicru, S. (2017). Leadership results: How to create adaptive leaders and high performing organisations for an uncertain world. San Francisco: Wiley. Whitmore, J. (2009). Coaching for performance: The principles and practices of coaching and leadership (people skills for professionals). London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

References Athanasopoulou, A., & Dopson, S. (2015). Developing leaders by executive coaching: Practice and evidence. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Avolio, B. J., Walumbwa, F. O., & Weber, T. J. (2009). Leadership: Current theories, research, and future directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 421–449. Bass, B., & Avolio, B. (1995). MLQ multifactor leadership questionnaire. Redwood City, CA: Mind Garden. Bennis, W. (2007). The challenges of leadership in the modern world. American Psychologist, 62 (1), 2–5. Berglas, S. (2002). The very real dangers of executive coaching. Harvard Business Review, June, 3–8. Blakey, J., & Day, I. (2012). Challenging coaching: Going beyond traditional coaching to face the facts. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Bluckert, P. (2005). The similarities and differences between coaching and therapy. Industrial and Commercial Training, 37 (2/3), 91–96. Bolden, R., & Gosling, J. (2006). Leadership competencies: Time to change the tune? Leadership, 2, 147–163. Brent, M., & Dent, F. (2010). A leader’s guide to influence, how to use soft skills to get hard results. London: FT Prentice Hall. Brown, M. E., Trevino, ̃ L. K., & Harrison, D. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97, 117−134. Bush, M. W. (2004). Client perceptions of effectiveness in executive coaching. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA. Carver, C. S. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol’s too long: Consider the Brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 92–100. Charan, R., Drotter, S., & Noel, J. (2011). The leadership pipeline: How to build the leadership powered company (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Wiley. Clutterbuck, D. (2015). Managing the three way contract in executive coaching and mentoring. Retrieved from www.linkedin. com/pulse/managing-three-way-contract-executive-coaching-david-clutterbuck Colbert, A. E., Judge, T. A., Choi, D., & Wang, G. (2012). Assessing the trait theory of leadership using self and observer ratings of personality: The mediating role of contributions to group success. The Leadership Quarterly, 23 (4), 670–685. Cowley, W. H. (1931). The traits of face-to-face leaders. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 26 (3), 304–313. de Haan, E., Culpin, V., & Curd, J. (2011). Executive coaching in practice: What determines helpfulness for clients of coaching? Personnel Review, 40 (1), 24–44. de Haan, E., Duckworth, A., Birch, D., & Jones, C. (2013). Executive coaching outcome research: The predictive value of common factors such as relationship, personality match and self-efficacy. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 65 (1), 40–57. De Smet, A., Lavoie, J., & Hioe, E. S. (2012, April). Developing better change leaders. The McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved December 1, 2016, from www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/developing-betterchange-leaders Dotlich, D. L., & Cairo, P. C. (2003). Why CEOs fail: The 11 behaviors that can derail your climb to the top: And how to manage them. San Francisco: Wiley. Ellington, L., & McFadden, P. (2013). The neuroscience of leading change by creating new habits. Retrieved from www.neuroleader.us/2013/07/02/how-to-lead-change-by-creating-new-habits Ely, K., Boyce, L. A., Nelson, J. K., Zaccaro, S. J., Hernez-Broome, G., & Whyman, W. (2010). Evaluating leadership coaching: A review and integrated framework. The Leadership Quarterly, 21, 585–599. doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.06.003. Evans, M. G. (1970). The effects of supervisory behavior on the path: Goal relationship. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 55, 277–298. Farson, R., & Keyes, R. (2002). The failure tolerant leader. Harvard Business Review, 80, 64–76. Fiedler, F. E. (1967). A theory of leadership effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill. Fiedler, F. E. (1972). How do you make leaders more effective? New answers to an old puzzle. Organizational Dynamics, 1 (2), 3–18. Flory, D. (1965). Managers for tomorrow. New York: New American Library. George, B. (2003). Authentic leadership: Rediscovering the secrets to creating lasting value. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Goleman, D. (1996). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. London: Bloomsbury.

450

Leadership and executive coaching

Goleman, D. (2001). Emotional intelligence: Issues in paradigm building. In C. Cherniss & D. Goleman (Eds.), The emotionally intelligent workplace (pp. 13–26). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Grajfoner, D., Rojon, C., & Eshraghian, F. (2017, in press/under review). Academic leaders: In-role perceptions and developmental approaches. Higher Education, In press/under review. Griffith, R. (2015, January). How does the world work? The internationalisation of organisational psychology. Keynote presentation at DOP Conference, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Gyllensten, K., & Palmer, S. (2007). The coaching relationship: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2 (2), 168–177. Hallam, G. L., & Campbell, D. P. (1992, May). Selecting team members? Start with a theory of team effectiveness. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S., & Platow, M. J. (2011). The new psychology of leadership: Identity, influence and power. Hove: Church Press. Hawkins, P. (2011). Leadership team coaching: Developing collective transformational leadership. London: Kogan Page. Hay, J. (1995). Transformational mentoring. London, UK: Sherwood Publishing. Heifetz, R. A., Linsky, M., & Grashow, A. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press. Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. (1982). Management of organizational behavior: Utilizing human resources (4th ed., pp. 321–328). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Hogan, J., Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. B. (2010). Management derailment: Personality assessment and mitigation. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), American Psychological Association handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 555– 575). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Hogan, R., Curphy, G. J., & Hogan, J. (1994). What we know about leadership. American Psychologist, 49, 493–504. House, R. J. (1971). A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 16, 321–339. House, R. J., Javidan, M., Hanges, P., & Dorfman, P. (2002). Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: An introduction to project GLOBE. Journal of World Business, 37 (1), 3–10. ILM (2011). Creating a coaching culture. Institute of Leadership and Management [Online]. Retrieved from www.i-l-m. com/About-ILM/Research-programme/Research-reports/Coaching-culture Kampa-Kokesch, S., & Anderson, M. Z. (2001). Executive coaching: A comprehensive review of the literature. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice & Research, 53 (4), 205–228. Kark, R. (2011). Games managers play: Play as a form of leadership development. Academy of Management. Learning and. Education, 10, 507–527. Kilburg, R. R. (1996). Towards a conceptual understanding and definition of executive coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal, 48 (2), 134–144. Kilburg, R. R. (2000). Executive coaching: Developing managerial wisdom in a world of chaos. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Linley, P., Woolston, L., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2009). Strengths coaching with leaders. International Coaching Psychology Review, 4 (1), 37–48. Lowin, A., & Craig, J. R. (1968). The influence of level of performance on managerial style: An experimental object lesson on the ambiguity of co-relational data. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 3, 440–458. Mann, C. (2016). The 6th Ridler Report: Strategic trends in the use of coaching. London: Ridler & Co. McCall, M. W., Jr., & Hollenbeck, G. P. (2007). Getting leader development right: Competence not competencies. In J. Conger & R. Riggio (Eds.), The practice of leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Northouse, P. G. (1997). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Peltier, B. (2010). The psychology of executive coaching: Theory and application (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Perrow, C. (1970). Organization analysis: A sociological view. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Porath, C. (2014). Half of employees don’t feel respected by their bosses. Harvard Business Review [Online]. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/11/half-of-employees-dont-feel-respected-by-their-bosses Prochaska, J. & DiClemente, C. (1983) Stages and processes of self-change in smoking: Toward an integrative model of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 5, 390–395. Salicru, S. (2017). Leadership results: How to create adaptive leaders and high performing organisations. San Francisco, CA: Wiley. Seijts, G., Billou, N., & Crossan, M. (2010, May). Coping with complexity. Ivey Business Journal. Retrieved from http:// iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/coping-with-complexity/ Senge, P. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization (2nd ed.). London: Century. Sherpa Coaching LLC (2016). The 2016 Sherpa executive coaching survey. Retrieved from the Sherpa executive coaching website: www.sherpacoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/Choice-July-2016-Sherpa-Survey.pdf Shipper, F., & Dillard, J. (2000). A study of impending derailment and recovery of middle managers across career stages. Human Resource Management, 39, 331–347.

451

Vicky Ellam-Dyson et al.

Smither, J., London, M., Flautt, R., Vargas, Y., & Kucine, I. (2003). Can working with an executive coach improve multisource feedback ratings over time? A quasi-experimental field study. Personnel Psychology, 56, 23–44. Sonesh, S. C., Coultas, C. W., Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Benishek, L. E., & Salas, E. (2015). The power of coaching: A meta-analytic investigation. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice. 8 (2), 73–95. Spears, L. C., Lawrence, M., & Blanchard, K. (Eds.) (2001). Focus on leadership: Servant leadership for the 21st century (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. Styhre, A. (2008). Coaching as second-order observations: Learning from site managers in the construction industry. Leadership & Organization Developement Journal, 29 (3), 275–290. Torbert, B. (2004). Action inquiry: The secret of timely and transforming leadership. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Uhl-Bien, M., & Marion, R. (2008). Complexity leadership part 1: Conceptual foundations. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Uhl-Bien, M., Marion, M., & McKelvey, B. (2007). Complexity leadership theory: Shifting leadership from the industrial age to the knowledge era. The Leadership Quarterly, 18 (4), 298–318. Utry, Z. A., Palmer, S., McLeod, J., & Cooper, M. (2015). A pluralistic approach to coaching. The Coaching Psychologist, 11 (1), 46–52. Van Velsor, E., & Leslie, J. B. (1995). Why executives derail: Perspectives across time and cultures. Academy of Management Review, 9, 62–72. Vroom, V. H., & Jago, A. G. (2007). The role of situation in leadership. American Psychologist, 62, 17–24. Wales, S. (2003). Why coaching? Journal of Change Management, 3, 275–282. Waller, L. (2011). Ensuring learning transfers to the workplace: Where does the buck stop? HR most influential, 16 November. Wilkes, L., Cross, W., Jackson, D., & Daly, J. (2015). A repertoire of leadership attributes: An international study of deans of nursing. Journal of Nursing Management, 23 (3), 279–286. doi: 10.1111/jonm.12144. Yukl, G. (2006). Leadership in organizations (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

452

34 Team coaching Sandy Gordon and Doug MacKie

Introduction Although a well-established concept in sport, team coaching in other performance and workplace settings is relatively new and, both in practice and definition, the evidence-based literature on team coaching appears fragmented and inconsistent (Clutterbuck, 2014; Guenzi & Ruta, 2013). While many organizations have seen the benefits of coaching when it is available, the idea of a ‘coaching culture’ (where coaching is the principal way of managing) remains an aspiration as opposed to a reality (Clutterbuck & Megginson, 2006; Hawkins, 2012). The purposes of this chapter will be to offer some clarity on accepted and contemporary theory and practice on team coaching and to introduce a strengths-based approach to coaching teams and creating coaching cultures.

Development of team and group coaching Team coaching in organizations has emerged from a number of fields of enquiry including group development, group process, process facilitation, systems thinking and developmental coaching (for a review see Peters & Carr, 2013). Models of team coaching exist (e.g. Clutterbuck, 2007; Hackman & Wageman, 2005; Hawkins, 2011; Moral, 2009) and are specifically designed to inform team coaches. However, few academic studies have evaluated team coaching as an intervention. The majority of the literature is practitioner based and largely focused on team performance, and most of the published case studies have an interpersonal focus on both the practitioners and participants. Recently, because of the centrality of work to our lives (Office for National Statistics, 2011), the examination of the impact of work on our well-being by emergent positive psychology paradigms, such as positive organizational behaviour (POB; Luthans, 2002) and positive organizational scholarship (POS; Cameron et al., 2003), has become significant. While there is considerable overlap between POB and POS, the former is regarded as being more ‘organization-driven’ and the latter more ‘employee-driven’ (Bakker & Schaufeli, 2008). However, they are not necessarily oppositional as organizations that care for their employees are more likely to prosper (Zwetsloot & Pot, 2004). POS is “the study of that which is positive, flourishing, and life-giving in organizations i.e., aspects of the organization that help employees thrive” (Cameron & Caza, 2004, p. 731). An example of a POSdriven application that uses a strengths-based approach to group and team coaching is Appreciative

453

Sandy Gordon and Doug MacKie

Inquiry Coaching (AIC; Orem et al., 2007; Sloan & Canine, 2007), which will be elaborated on later in this chapter. In addition, the case study we present will illustrate how to identify (spot) strengths of individuals in a team and then apply them to teamwork using the Realise2 (www.realise2.com) online strength assessment tool.

Theory and basic concepts Team and group coaching has gained popularity in recent years, partly due to the increasing recognition that significant amounts of organizational decision making occurs in teams and partly due to the economic benefits of collective versus individual coaching interventions. Team development and coaching theory has also progressed and offers three different perspectives on the obligatory foundations for effective team coaching. First, the necessary conditions of high-performing teams have been identified (Hackman & Wageman, 2005), and these conditions are asserted to be prerequisites of effective team coaching. Second, attempts have been made to classify the stages of development that teams typically move through as they evolve from unstructured groups to high-performing teams (Moral, 2009). Finally, the leadership requirements of teams have been proposed with the recognition that well-structured and developed teams can fail to perform due to ineffective leadership (Zaccaro, Heinen, & Shuffler, 2009). All these approaches offer insights and opportunities for team-based coaching interventions.

Necessary structures for team coaching The necessary structure approach has been most clearly articulated by Wageman et al. (2008). They propose an empirically derived model of team effectiveness that asserts three necessary and three enabling conditions for effective teams. Their work with the US intelligence community (Hackman & O’Connor, 2004) suggested that the essentials for effective teams were a real team composed of the right people and collectively orientated through a compelling direction. A real team was one where there was a degree of inter-dependence but roles were sufficiently differentiated and membership stable over time. The right people required the requisite skills and competencies as well as aspects of character such as integrity and the conceptual ability to make complex judgements about people and situations. The final essential was the compelling direction that clearly articulated the mission that bound the team together in a common purpose. The enabling conditions emphasized the importance of having a facilitating structure supported by organizational resources and developed by regular team coaching. In this model the enabling structure focused specifically on how engaging team tasks were, team norms of conduct and team size as the key pillars of enablement. Team norms will evolve naturally or can be explicitly adopted and include the type of culture individual members wish to work within. However, clearly some norms are more generative than others, e.g. transparency and integrity, and are therefore more likely prescribed than arrived at through a process of emergence. An effective team coach will quickly intuit the team norms through observation; making those norms explicit is a powerful team coaching intervention. The supportive organizational context involves the utlilization of information on reward and education as well as material resources that will support the work of the team. The necessary conditions approach to team effectiveness offers several opportunities for the team coach. Given that team composition has usually been determined prior to the engagement of the coach, the main opportunities are around surfacing and challenging the team norms and culture and the clarification of team purpose and individual contributions to it. The necessary structures approach also offers a psychometric to measure these conditions (Team Diagnostic Survey; Wageman et al., 2005). However this psychometric is designed to be used within intact teams and does not offer the multiple stakeholder perspective of 360 degree feedback. 454

Team coaching

Team stages and team coaching Stage models have also been promoted in an attempt to describe and ultimately predict the process of team development from unstructured group to high-performing and interdependent team. Tuckman (1965) offered a four-stage model of team development that charted the differing needs of the team from individual (e.g. How do I fit into this team?) to group (e.g. How effective is this group likely to be?) to task (e.g. the planning and execution of key tasks and activities). Tuckman’s assertion was that individual and group needs had to be addressed before the team could perform its tasks. Otherwise, unresolved issues around needs would continue to emerge and disrupt task completion. The stage approach has recently received tangential support from the adult development literature that has suggested adults pass through multiple stages of cognitive development during their lifespan, with each stage offering a greater degree of complexity and perspective taking (Kegan & Lahey, 2009). However, team maturity models are seen as less stable than individual ones as members leave and tasks change; interpersonal relationships are dynamic (Moral, 2009). Despite this fluidity, there is some suggestion that novel teams may benefit from more motivational interventions whilst more established teams require more consultative and educational inputs (Hackman & Wageman, 2005). Both structural and stage models offer perspectives and opportunities to coach the team towards enhanced effectiveness. The two approaches are not exclusive and indeed have been successfully combined to provide a stage-based necessary conditions model (Hawkins, 2012). According to Hawkins, teams need to first articulate their purpose. Who is commissioning this team and what must they deliver? Once that is clear, the team must then clarify internally the goals, roles and objectives that combined will form a vision for their success. Third, the team needs to attend to its culture and interpersonal dynamics to ensure these support rather than inhibit its purpose. Finally, the team needs to engage and connect with its key stakeholders to get the external verification that they are on track for delivery. Notice how this combined model integrates the necessary conditions of the Hackman model (e.g. compelling purpose) but structures them in order or stages so that purpose precedes roles which precede team culture.

Team leadership and team coaching Given the significant literature on leadership development and team dynamics, it is surprising that relatively little has been written about leadership in teams (Zaccaro, Heinen, & Shuffler (2009). However, much of leadership literature that focuses on dyads, e.g. transformational leadership, is still relevant for enhancing team effectiveness but may miss the additional focus on interconnectivity, integration and coherence that a team leadership focus brings (Marks et al., 2000). Team leaders and leadership build on the traditional leadership foundations but, in addition, align individual goals and facilitate the shared social identity from which additional synergies emerge (op cit.). Much of the literature on team leadership offers a functional approach to problem solving that deliberately declines to stipulate specific leadership behaviours but instead emphasizes the function they should perform, leaving significant room for individual flexibility and adaptation (Hackman & Wageman, 2005). However, the key leadership functions including setting direction, operational management and developing team leadership capacity clearly overlap significantly with the structural models of team effectiveness (Wageman et al., 2008). Team leadership thus provides a template for the interpersonal dynamics most likely to enable the structural and process elements of highperforming teams. The addition of a leadership perspective onto the structural and stage models of team development offers a third avenue for the team coach to engage in. Teams can be well structured and supported but without effective leadership, can go nowhere. Team leadership can also be integrated with stage models to suggest the type of leadership style best associated with each developmental stage (Sosik & Jung, 2010). The transformational leadership model (Avolio, 1999) suggests teams move from the less functional and passive elements of leadership, e.g. laissez faire, through transactional elements, e.g. contingent reward and finally emerge 455

Sandy Gordon and Doug MacKie

as a high-performing team demonstrating the transformational behaviours including team commitment, enthusiasm and confidence that mediate outstanding performance. A recent review of the six published studies on team coaching suggested that interventions should focus on individual leadership development as well as team design and stage of development (Peters & Carr, 2013). Leadership development in general is turning increasingly positive and away from the traditional deficit orientation of many leadership development interventions (Walumbwa et al., 2008). Although positivity has been traditionally analysed at the individual level, there is now a developing interest in applying this approach to teams (West et al., 2009). These developments offer an additional source of innovation for the team coach to apply to their team-development process. Strengths-based approaches in particular are increasingly gaining traction in individual leadership coaching, and evidence for their effectiveness is developing (MacKie, 2014). In the following sections we present the background and an actual case study to illustrate the application of a strengths-based approach to team development.

Practice The purpose of strengths-based team coaching is about spotting and exploiting an individual’s and team’s strengths (Biswas-Diener, 2010; Driver, 2011; Linley, 2008; Linley & Joseph, 2004). According to Linley et al. (2010), the two key elements of a strength are “delivering a high level of performance and experiencing a sense of energy when you are doing it” (p. 67). In other words, a strength is something members of teams are not only good at, they are also passionate about doing it. During strengthsbased coaching the focus is on what is already working, and because strengths are part of basic human nature – everyone has strengths and deserves respect for having them – our areas of greatest potential are in the areas of our greatest strengths. Linley and his colleagues acknowledge that you can develop from working on weaknesses, however, change and improvement is only possible when you are also working on your strengths. They suggest that strengths spotting (Linley & Burns, 2010) and strengthsbased coaching can be regarded as being both an approach to coaching (i.e. strengths are used more effectively in the attainment of goals) and a value-adding outcome of coaching (i.e. coaching is used to enable the realization and development of an individual’s and team’s strengths) (Linley & Harrington, 2006; Linley et al., 2009). Appreciative Inquiry (AI; Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987; Cooperrider et al., 2008) is regarded as a positive, strengths-based operational approach to change, learning and development that seems most suitable for coaching practitioners working with teams (Gordon, 2008; Orem et al., 2007). AI began as a theorybuilding process – however, it has also been called a philosophy, a revolutionary force, a transformational change process, a life-giving theory and practice and even a new world-view. Although there are several approaches for applying AI, the most widely used model was developed by members of the Global Excellence in Management (GEM) Initiative in Harare, Zimbabwe (Mann, 1997). Called the 4-D Cycle Model it contains four key processes as described by Cooperrider and Whitney (2005): 1 2 3 4

Discovery: Identifying the “best of what has been or what is.” Dream: Creating a clear results-oriented vision in relation to discovered potential “what is the world calling us to become?” Design: Creating possibility propositions that people feel capable of drawing upon and magnifying to realize the newly expressed dream. Destiny: Strengthening affirmative capability to build hope and sustain momentum for ongoing positive change and high performance.

The applied utility of AI has attracted considerable interest, and one of the most recent developments is an appreciative approach to coaching. Sloan and Canine (2007) have described Appreciative Inquiry Coaching

456

Team coaching

(AIC) as simply the practical application of the core AI principles to the process in which a trained coach is engaged by a person or team to function as a counsellor and advisor. To illustrate the typical questions and characteristics of the team coaching process, several elements of AIC are featured in the following scenario, which relates to the perceived inability of a team to handle stress at work. The coach’s focus at each stage in the 4-D cycle is described by Orem et al. (2007).

Discovery • • • • •

You would like to discuss stress at work. Describe what you mean and can you offer a definition, phrase or quote to describe it and provide an example? When recently has the team displayed the ability to cope with stress at work? What was the situation which required coping behaviour? What attitude(s) did the team adopt at that time? What were you thinking? Describe your emotions while you were coping with stress. How did you react? What did you do?

Coach’s focus in this stage: • • • •

Establishing a positive connection between coach and clients Leading the team to a more empowering perspective Affirming a sense of the possible Cultivating and supporting the team’s belief in a positive future. (Orem et al., 2007, p. 109)

Dream •

• • • •

Imagine one night while you were asleep a miracle occurred, and when you woke up your team’s coping behaviour was just as you’ve described, in all stressful situations. How would you know you were handling stress well? What would be different? What changed in your habits? Who would be the first to notice these changes? What will they say or do, and how will you respond?

Coach’s focus in this stage: • • •

Encouraging the team to create images of possibilities Inviting the team to give voice to their preferred future Affirming the team’s dream. (Orem et al., 2007, p. 135)

Design • • • •

How will you act differently to make the above work? How best can you develop your ability to handle stress? Are there ‘significant others’ on the team whom you feel play a crucial role in the development of your ability to handle stress? What do you think these individuals do to help? What do they not do?

457

Sandy Gordon and Doug MacKie

Coach’s focus in this stage: • • •

Assisting the team in bringing the dream into focus Affirming the reality of the dream based on strengths in the team Supporting mindful choices and actions. (Orem et al., 2007, p. 151)

Destiny •





Reflecting on what you really want and where the team is right now regarding coping with stress, what do you see as the most significant changes you could make that would help you get what you want as a team? What one small change could the team make right now, no matter how small, which would improve your ability to handle stress? The change does not have to be a physical action – it could be a shift in thinking or attitude. Just try it. Do this small change today that will move you in the direction of what you want. When it feels comfortable or becomes a habit, consider making another small change using the same small steps.

Coach’s focus in this stage: • • •

Helping the team recognise their dreams in the present Enabling the team to expand their capacity to create the dream Supporting the team in holding faith when the going gets tough. (Orem et al., 2007. p. 171)

The above process can be used to explore any attribute a team identifies as important in pursuit of its goals. Orem and associates (2007) have suggested that coaches could embrace AIC as their primary coaching model and approach or employ it as an additional tool within an established coaching practice. They also suggested that the underlying theory, principles and stages of AIC could be used in training managers and supervisors in an educational or training context to create and embed a strengths-based coaching culture. As illustrated in our case study, we embedded a particular online strengths assessment tool in an AIC team coaching process.

Which coachees benefit most from strengths-based team coaching? We believe that all coachees in all performance environments would benefit from strengths-based team and individual coaching. Research shows that, in addition to being more confident, having higher levels of energy and vitality (Govindji & Linley, 2007), and being more likely to achieve their goals (Linley et al., 2010) individuals who use their strengths are more effective at developing themselves and growing as individuals than individuals who do not (Sheldon et al., 2002). Linley et al. (2010) have also demonstrated that people who use their strengths more are happier, have higher self-esteem, experience less stress, are more resilient, perform better at work and are more engaged at work. In addition, Toogood (2012) has reported research with executive coaches who have adopted a strengths approach and, from an exploration of their perceptions of the benefits of focusing on strengths, the following desirable coaching outcomes were evident: easier and more enjoyable goal achievement; improved team performance and faster and better results; more energy for doing what coachees in teams want to do; a wider perspective and more clarity about choices; increased confidence, self-belief and a stronger sense of identity and greater satisfaction, fulfilment and engagement. 458

Team coaching

Case study Recently, the first author was retained by the CEO of Retail in a bank and his deputy (Head of Retail Risk) to coach a new member of the bank’s Executive Management Group (EMG) who had been appointed head of a new Risk Advantage Program (RAP) team. The new EMG member, Ed, led a team comprised initially of nine staff plus respective heads of Credit Risk, Collections and Recoveries, Fraud and Operational Risk (total 14 staff). During his individual coaching with the first author, Ed was introduced to strengths-based approaches for his own benefit and development. When he discovered he could readily apply the same strengths-based principles, tools and practices of AI to his RAP team, he made a formal request to his CEO to do so. What follows is a description of the four-session team coaching process that occurred over two months. As part of the process of creating his own coaching developmental plan, Ed was first asked to complete a strengths-finding tool called Realise2, which measures 60 strengths across performance, energy and use in five strength families; namely, Being (our way of being in the world), Communicating (how we give and receive information), Motivating (the things that drive us toward action), Relating (how we relate to others) and Thinking (what we pay attention to and how we approach situations). The Realise2 model considers strengths as things that we do that we are good at and that energize us, such as Realized Strengths (RS) that we get to do regularly, and Unrealized Strengths (US) that we don’t get as much opportunity to use and yet are our greatest areas for development. Learned Behaviours (LB), on the other hand, are activities we are good at but that drain us of energy, which is particularly relevant for engaging staff because if activities are not energizing, doing them repeatedly can lead to an increasing sense of feeling disenfranchised and even burned out. Finally, our Weaknesses (W) are things we are not good at and also drain us. Subsequently, from the model illustrated in Figure 34.1, the best advice is to Marshal realized strengths by using them differently to best effect; Moderate

Perform well

Perform well

Energising

Energising

Lower use

Higher use

4M: Maximise

Unrealised Strengths

Perform poorly De-energising Variable use 4M: Minimise

Weaknesses

4M: Marshal

Realised Strengths

Perform well De-energising Variable use 4M: Moderate

Learned Behaviours

Figure 34.1 CAPP Realise2 4M Model Source: www.realise2.com

459

Sandy Gordon and Doug MacKie

learned behaviours by not using them too much; Minimize weaknesses by finding ways to stop having to focus on them at all and Maximize unrealized strengths by finding opportunities to use them more. Unlike other strengths-finding approaches that ignore weaknesses altogether (see Roarty & Toogood, 2014 for a review), if weaknesses matter for performance and cannot be ignored, the Realise2 Model provides several strategies and ideas on how to minimize their relevance and impact on performance. Be honest: “Tell others about your weaknesses when relevant, no one is good at everything. Sharing weaknesses creates more open relationships allowing others to offer their strengths.” Re-shape the role: “Re-organise what you do to use the weakness less or not at all. Delegate to others or re-arrange the way the work gets done.” Use strengths to compensate: “Use one or more of your strengths to compensate for your weakness. Focus on the outcome rather than the process. See which strengths will get you there instead.” Find a complimentary partner: “Swap strengths with someone who has a strength where you have a weakness. Compensate for something that drains them by using one of your strengths to get the job done.” Be a strengths-based team: “Re-allocate how things are done using a ‘team strengths approach.’ Consider tasks, objectives and responsibilities according to people’s strengths not just their role.” Try some development: “If you have to, learn to perform the weakness to a level of competence, minimizing the impact. Focus on being good enough so that the weakness doesn’t undermine your performance.” When Ed asked for his whole team to be profiled using the Realise2, all that was required was for each team member to complete the online inventory individually. Subsequently, using the team email addresses, the Centre of Positive Psychology (CAPP) administrators pooled the data and created a similar profile as Figure 34.1, illustrating strengths of the team listed in priority order. The team profile, however, also listed the number of team members out of the total of 14 for each strength in the RS, LB, W and US quadrants. If requested, team report details can be de-identified. In this case, however, all team members agreed to be identified on the profile. At the beginning of debriefing a team profile there is usually a period during which team members are encouraged to openly discuss among themselves the affirmations and/or surprises appearing in the data. On this occasion, however, the team’s major weakness was immediately apparent and it became the main topic of conversation for the entire session. In the Weaknesses quadrant two performance/business critical weaknesses were obvious, specifically 13 of 14 team members had a weakness in adherence and 12 out of 14 had a weakness in detail. The room fell silent and all attendees, in different stages of disbelief and shock, looked at the first author and Ed for a response. Ed, who admitted to having both weaknesses, eventually restored some confidence in his team by announcing a solution: “we need to hire more people.” Courtesy of his previous AIC coaching and knowledge of strengths approaches to developing people and teams, Ed realized that, even with job crafting, or reshaping roles or training, nobody on his current team had a passion for adherence or detail, which are critical for closing out business enterprises in Retail Risk. Subsequently, Ed successfully sought approval from the CEO of Retail to advertise for two more staff, which he hired six weeks later following usual HR procedures that included screening for the qualities his team required using the R2 tool. Eight months later, Ed’s team is comprised of ten staff (due to unrelated personnel changes in the bank), and he reported recently that this team “is now outperforming most other Risk teams among competing major banks nationwide.” The first team coaching session described above was followed by three sessions which used a five-step process as illustrated in Table 34.1 and involved sub-teams presenting ideas on how to use the R2 data when applied to specific team projects. When discussing each project, team members were encouraged

460

Team coaching

to adapt questions that characterize the AIC 4-D cycle process and, in addition to coming up with projects that needed to be delivered in the coming weeks, Ed asked his staff to identify the range of activities that needed to be achieved for each project. Based on the strengths of the individuals on the team, as identified in their R2 team profile, Ed then asked his staff to align each activity with specific team members. The fourth and fifth steps in the team coaching process (Table 34.1) have yet to be taken, specifically dealing with ‘no-taker activities’ and refreshing team roles. Ed recently explained, “so far, because of the complementariness of strengths in our team, which we openly discuss during strategy meetings, we seem to be able to align and distribute all the activities required to achieve all our projects equitably to all team members.” Finally, to follow up the strengths-based approach to team coaching and further facilitate a coaching culture in the bank, the first author introduced Ed to a framework which was recently proposed by Roarty and Toogood (2014) for building (and assessing) high-performance teams. As illustrated in Table 34.2 this six-step model helps teams identify the strengths focus for each step and team activity. Ed has commented that he expects to broadly follow the six steps and in particular when anticipated changes in team personnel and functions of the RAP program occur.

Table 34.1 Steps in strengths-based team coaching Team Coaching Steps

Strengths-Based Discussion and Activity

1. Team and goal alignment 2. Team activities that will deliver success

Who are we and what has this team been put together to achieve? What is the expected purpose/outcome of teamwork? What are the key/specific activities that this team needs to deliver in order to be successful? Can we break these down into constituent parts, divide them up and allocate them to those team members who will deliver the results? Identify which strengths can best deliver which activities and then allocate and align those activities according to those team members with those strengths. Use complementary partnering, swaps and trade-offs (“I can do this for you, if you can do that for me”) to avoid requiring people working from their weaknesses or learned behaviours all the time. There may well be those activities that nobody seems to want to do but that nonetheless need to be done. Suggest one team member is aligned to a certain activity because it’s a learned behaviour, and therefore she/he could do it well, but perhaps not all the time. Rotate the activity so others take turns to do it. Maybe offer special recognition to whoever does the activity, so as to take the edge off doing it. Or sandwich the activity between other things that are working from people’s strengths – that way they can re-charge and re-energize either side of doing the thing that drains them. Nothing lasts forever. Team deliverables change, people’s aspirations change, working relationships change. Keep check on the energy in the team and reallocate and re-align responsibilities to keep people fresh, energized and engaged. Variety can be the spice of life, just so long as it’s not based on having people spending all their time on trying to master the things that drain them and that they will never perform well (i.e. weaknesses).

3. Align strengths to team activities

4. Deal with the ‘notakers’ activities

5. Re-evaluate periodically

461

1. PURPOSE Why are we here?

A feature of highperforming teams is that team members are very clear and very committed to the aim or purpose of the team. Time and energy should be put into getting to this point early on in the life of a team. It should be revisited regularly.

STEP

Activity

3. PRIORITIES What are our goals?

To deliver on the purpose of the team, the team needs to clarify what success with the team purpose will look like at some point in the future. What are the deliverables? How will we measure our success? It will also be useful for the team to know what individual goals people have, and what they want to get from their membership.

2. PEOPLE Who are we?

For people to work well together, it is important that they know one another’s strengths, values and motivations. Teams should make time to do this exploration.

At this stage the individual strengths that team members bring can be aligned with the roles they will take to achieve team goals. A clear plan of action is created. Each individual knows what he or she needs to contribute in order for the team to succeed. Team members can share their expectations of one another.

4. PLAN What, when and who?

Table 34.2 Six-step strengths-based team building model (Roarty & Toogood, 2014) Table

The team clarifies what processes, systems and behaviours it needs to have in place in the team for the team to succeed. This will include communication, information sharing, decision making, conflict management, etc. How the team will work effectively with stakeholders will also be considered.

5. PERFORMING How will we deliver great teamwork?

The team will have a process in place to regularly review its achievements and celebrate and reflect on how its success was achieved and what to learn from it in terms of planning the next steps. It will also address any critical weaknesses or failings, and what to learn from them to create greater success.

6. PERFORMANCE PLUS How did we do it? What do we do next?

Strength Focus

Our purpose will ideally be something that allows us to play to our strengths. Our strengths should suit our purpose.

Identifying one another’s strengths (and weaknesses) is an important part of knowing who is in the team and what they bring to the table. It’s also useful for the team to have an overview of its collective strengths, and significant weaknesses by pooling the individual data.

The goals should take account of the team’s strengths (and weaknesses).

The team spends time ensuring the individual strengths and roles are matched in a way that plays to the team’s strengths. The action plan for each individual will ideally play to his or her strengths. Based on the team’s knowledge of individual strengths, complementary role sharing can be planned where useful.

Communication processes, e.g. team meetings, and one-to-one reviews should focus on building individual and team strengths, as opposed to focusing on problems/ weaknesses.

The process will ensure that there is a focus on strengths and achievement in order to build and enhance the team’s success. This will obviously be balanced with the need to take on any learning from critical weaknesses or failings. Weakness will be managed from a position of strength.

Sandy Gordon and Doug MacKie

Conclusion Team coaching is gaining traction in organizations, and there are a variety of models and methods available to the team coach to support their endeavours. In particular, strengths-based approaches, whilst in their empirical infancy, offer the practitioner a positive and energizing alternative to the traditional deficit approach. To develop the empirical base for team coaching, coherence around models and methods, clarification and standardization of outcome criteria and evaluation beyond the level of self-report will collectively advance the necessary empirical support to develop and evolve this promising approach to further unlocking the potential of groups and teams within organizations.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

What theoretical underpinning do you use in your team coaching interventions? How might a stage or necessary condition model assist your intervention? How might you assess the strengths of the team and the individuals within? Are these strengths aligned with the purpose of the team? How might you develop the strengths of the team? Is there a risk of overuse? If so, how will you manage this? What about weaknesses? How will you evaluate your team coaching intervention? What are the stakeholder perspectives and relevant performance criteria?

Suggested reading Clutterbuck, D. (2007). Coaching the team at work. London: Good News Press. Hackman, J. R. (2002.) Leading teams: Setting the stage for great performances. Boston: Harvard Business School. Hawkins, P. (2011). Leadership team coaching: Developing collective transformational leadership. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page Publishers. Whitney, D., Trosten-Bloom, A., & Radar, K. (2010). Appreciative leadership: Focus on what works to drive winning performance and build a thriving organization. Sydney: McGraw-Hill.

References Avolio, B. J. (1999). Full leadership development: Building the vital forces inorganizations. London: Sage. Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2008). Positive organizational behaviour: Engaged employees in flourishing organizations. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 29(2), 147–154. Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). Practicing positive psychology coaching. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Cameron, K. S., & Caza, A. (2004). Contributions to the discipline of positive organizational scholarship. American Behavioural Scientist, 47(6), 731–739. Cameron, K. S., Dutton, J. E., & Quinn, R. E. (2003). Foundations of positive organizational scholarship. In K. S. Cameron, J. E. Dutton & R. E. Quinn (Eds.) Positive organisational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline (pp. 3–13). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler. Clutterbuck, D. (2007). Coaching the team at work. London: Good News Press. Clutterbuck, D. (2014). Team coaching. In E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.) The complete handbook of coaching (2nd ed., pp. 271–284). London: Sage. Clutterbuck, D., & Megginson, D. (2006). Making coaching work: Creating a coaching culture. London: CIPD. Cooperrider, D. L., & Srivastva, S. (1987). Appreciative inquiry in organizational life. In W. A. Pasmore & R. W. Woodman (Eds.) Research in organizational change and development (Vol. 1). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Cooperrider, D. L., & Whitney, D. (2005). Appreciative inquiry: A positive revolution in change. San Francisco, CA: BerrettKoehler. Cooperrider, D. L., Whitney, D., & Stavros, J. M. (2008). Appreciative inquiry handbook (2nd ed.). Brunswick, OH: Crown Custom. Driver, M. (2011). Coaching positively: Lessons for coaches from positive psychology. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. Gordon, S. (2008). Appreciative inquiry coaching. International Coaching Psychology Review. 3(1), 17–29.

464

Team coaching

Govindji, R., & Linley, P. A. (2007). Strengths use, self-concordance and well-being: Implications for strengths coaching and coaching psychologists. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2, 143–153. Guenzi, P., & Ruta, D. (2013). Leading teams: Tools and techniques for successful team leadership from the sports world. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hackman, J. R. (2002). Leading teams: Setting the stage for great performances. Boston: Harvard Business School. Hackman, J. R., & O’Connor, M. (2004). What makes for a great analytic team? Individual vs. Team approaches to intelligence analysis. Washington, DC: Intelligence Science Board, Office of the Director of Central Intelligence. Hackman, J. R., & Wageman, R. (2005). A theory of team coaching. Academy of Management Review, 30(2), 269–287. Hawkins, P. (2011). Leadership team coaching: Developing collective transformational leadership. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page Publishers. Hawkins, P. (2012). Creating a coaching culture. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2009). Immunity to change: How to overcome it and unlock potential in yourself and your organization. Cambridge: Harvard Business Press. Linley, P. A. (2008). Average to A+: Realizing strengths in yourself and others. Coventry, UK: CAPP. Linley, P. A., & Burns, G. W. (2010). Strengths spotting. In G. W. Burns (Ed.) Happiness, healing, enhancement: Your casebook collection for applying positive psychology in therapy (pp. 3–14). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Linley, P. A., & Harrington, S. (2006). Strengths coaching: A potential-guided approach to coaching psychology. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1, 37–46. Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (Eds.) (2004). Positive psychology in practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Linley, P. A., Nielsen, K. M., Wood, A. M., Gillett, R., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). Using signature strengths in pursuit of goals: Effects on goal progress, need satisfaction, and well-being, and implications for coaching psychologists. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5, 8–17. Linley, P. A., Willars, J., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). The strengths book: Be confident, be successful, and enjoy better relationships by realising the best of you. Coventry, UK: CAPP. Linley, P. A., Woolston, L., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2009). Strengths coaching with leaders. International Coaching Psychology Review, 4, 37–48. Luthans, F. (2002). The need for and meaning of positive organizational behaviour. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 23(6), 695–706. MacKie, D. (2014). The effectiveness of strength-based executive coaching in enhancing full range leadership development: A controlled study. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 66(2), 118–137. Mann, A. J. (1997, Summer). An appreciative inquiry model for building partnerships. Global Social Innovations, 1(2). Marks, M. A., Zaccaro, S. J., & Mathieu, J. E. (2000). Performance implications of leader briefings and team-interaction training for team adaptation to novel environments. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(6), 971. Moral, M. (2009). Executive team coaching in multinational companies. In M. Moral, & G. Abbott (Eds.) The Routledge companion to international business coaching. London: Routledge. Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2011). Hours worked in the labour market, 2011. London: Office for National Statistics. Orem, S. L., Binkert, J., & Clancy, A. l. (2007). Appreciative coaching: A positive process for change. San Francisco: John Wiley. Peters, J., & Carr, C. (2013). Team effectiveness and team coaching literature review. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 6(2), 116–136. Roarty, M., & Toogood, K. (2014). The strengths-focused guide to leadership: Identify your talents and get the most from your people. Sydney: Pearson. Sheldon, K. M., Kasser, T., Smith, K., & Share, T. (2002). Personal goals and psychological growth: Testing an intervention to enhance goal-attainment and personality integration. Journal of Personality, 70, 5–31. Sloan, B., & Canine, T. (2007, May). Appreciative inquiry in coaching: Exploration and learnings. AI Practitioner: The International Journal of AI best practice, 1–5. Sosik, J. J., & Jung, D. D. (2010). Full range leadership development: Pathways for people, profit and planet. London: Taylor & Francis. Toogood, K. (2012). Strengthening coaching: An exploration of the mindset of executive coaches using strengths-based coaching. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring (Special Issue No. 6), 72–87. Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384. Wageman, R., Hackman, J. R., & Lehman, E. (2005). Team diagnostic survey development of an instrument. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 41(4), 373–398. Wageman, R., Nunes, D. A., Burruss, J. A., & Hackman, J. R. (2008). Senior leadership teams: What it takes to make them great. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Wernsing, T. S., & Peterson, S. J. (2008). Authentic leadership: Development and validation of a theory-based measure. Journal of Management, 34(1), 89–126.

465

Sandy Gordon and Doug MacKie

West, B. J., Patera, J. L., & Carsten, M. K. (2009). Team level positivity: Investigating positive psychological capacities and team level outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30(2), 249–267. Whitney, D., Trosten-Bloom, A., & Radar, K. (2010). Appreciative leadership: Focus on what works to drive winning performance and build a thriving organization. Sydney: McGraw-Hill. Zaccaro, S. J., Heinen, B., & Shuffler, M. (2009). Team leadership and team effectiveness. In E. Salas, G. F. Goodwin, & C. S. Burke (Eds.), Team effectiveness in complex organizations: Cross disciplinary perspectives and approaches. New York: Routledge. Zwetsloot, G., & Pot, F. (2004). The business value of health management. Journal of Business Ethics, 55(2), 115–124.

466

Part 4

The profession and ethical practice of coaching psychology

Introduction

Part 4 covers a range of aspects focusing on the profession and ethical practice of coaching psychology. This part starts with a focus on the coaching relationship and aspects of coaching practice that are worth considering especially as a new practitioner entering the field. In addition to the psychological and systemic underpinnings, what are some of the other elements we might integrate into practice, and how do we do that ethically and well? What are some of the other developmental and health frameworks we need to be aware of? Finally, this part ends with a look at professional development and ongoing ethical practice. The first chapter in this part: ‘The coaching relationship: a key role in coaching processes and outcomes’ (Chapter 35) is offered by Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer. They note that the coaching relationship has been demonstrated through research and practice to be fundamental to coaching and coaching psychology practice. To many, it is the foundational factor. Certainly, the importance of an effective working relationship between coachee and coach is a coaching prerequisite. The coaching relationship has garnered greater interest as research and attention has moved from “Does coaching work?” to “How does coaching work?” We then turn to the issue of boundaries, in particular the boundary between coaching and counselling that received early attention as coaching and coaching psychology practice emerged. Tatiana Bachkirova and Sarah Baker revisit the boundary in Chapter 36: ‘Revisiting the issues of boundaries between coaching and counselling’. With the field of knowledge and practice of coaching changing significantly, interest in the issue of differentiation between coaching and counselling is reducing. However, many questions remain unanswered, and whilst seasoned practitioners have found their way of working with the boundaries, there is confusion for newcomers to the field and potentially for clients. In this chapter, the changing state of knowledge about the issue of boundaries between the coaching and counselling/therapy, and how these boundary issues might be dealt with in practice are shared. Helen Baron and Hannah Azizollah present diversity as integral to coaching in ‘Coaching and diversity’ (Chapter 37). Even if diversity is not explicitly mentioned, bringing the thinking and concepts underpinning diversity to coaching is a core part of practice. Indeed, to be a good coach it is necessary to work from a diversity perspective. Put very simply, any two people are different from each other in some way, and even small differences affect the way people perceive and respond to the world and how they feel about it. Diversity considers these differences and how they impact on the way people are and how they interact. We move from diversity to look at psychometrics, a way of quantifying individual personality, ability, values or interests. Interestingly, psychometrics were, in part, designed to enable organisations to move, using robust evidence, away from selection and development decisions based overly on underlying biases and prejudice.

469

Introduction

Alan Bourne and Alison Whybrow explore ‘Using psychometrics in coaching’ in (Chapter 38). The use of psychometrics varies in coaching practice, with some coaches using them as a matter of routine, others less frequently and still other coaches never using psychometrics. In a coaching context, the rationale behind using psychometric assessment is to provide an accurate and valid measure of relevant psychological characteristics and, through this, provide objective information to help the development of greater self-insight as well as insight into other ways of behaving and operating. This insight is designed to help coachees understand their own behaviour and what might need to shift, change or simply underlie a workplace dynamic, challenge or experience. Here, the role of psychometric measures within the coaching process is covered, together with the theoretical background, how to select an appropriate measure to use and how to feed back results to a coachee. ‘The role of technology in coaching’ (Chapter 39) is explored by Alex Pascal, Brodie Riordan and Maggie Sass. Interestingly, technology has played a significant role in transforming aspects of the psychometric testing industry, and coaching is no less vulnerable to a technology-based transformation. Coaching has a reputation as a uniquely human practice; most people would see frequent in-person meetings as one of the hallmarks. However, these assumptions are being put to the test. Many forms of technology are already being leveraged in coaching practices around the globe and enhance coaching in five broad ways: coach selection, business management, as a supplement to face-to-face coaching, as a replacement to face-to-face coaching and in coaching evaluation. Any discussion of the coaching profession and ethical practice would not be complete without attention to mental health in coaching. Kasia Szymanska explores ‘Coachee mental health: practice implications for coaching psychologists’ (Chapter 40). The range of backgrounds of coaches and coaching psychologists and breadth of practice means that insight and understanding of mental health issues and signs of mental ill health in coachees cannot be assumed. Similarly, the prevalence of mental health incidence in the UK alone means that most will at one time or another find themselves working with coachees who are currently coping with mental health issues. This chapter provides a broad overview of the area, some questions that can be used to uncover mental health problems and some wider strategies that can be applied. With the last three chapters, we turn more deliberately to coach development and, by that, focusing on the coach as the key instrument through which coaching practice is facilitated and enabled. The first of these final chapters is a ‘A cognitive-developmental approach for coach development’ (Chapter 41) by Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox. This builds from Tatiana Bachkirovas’ seminal work on developmental coaching. It is widely accepted that the psychological development of coaches is of paramount importance in the process of becoming a coach. However, very few authors write about developmental benchmarks for coaches and coaching psychologists. In this chapter, we consider existing theories of individual development and suggest a developmental framework for coaches based on these theories that can be used in the context of coach education and training. The penultimate offering comes from Michael Carroll,‘Coaching psychology supervision’ (Chapter 42). In the decade between the first and second editions of this handbook, there has been a veritable explosion of interest in coaching supervision. This includes written contributions about coaching supervision as well as formal training programmes in coaching supervision around the world. Supervision has moved from the periphery to becoming an essential and necessary element across the spectrum of coaching life and work. This chapter provides an overview of supervision including its historical development and theoretical underpinnings before moving to very practical aspects of the structure and process of supervision. The final chapter in this part comes from Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer:‘Global activity in the education and practice of coaching psychology’ (Chapter 43). The global profile of coaching psychology has continued to grow significantly over the preceding decade. In 2006, a search for 'coaching psychology' using Google Scholar offered 123 entries; in September 2018, this same search presented around 5,180 results. The interest continues to grow and, against this backdrop, the education and practice of coaching psychologists is explored, with the current context presented.

470

35 The coaching relationship A key role in coaching processes and outcomes Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer

Introduction The coaching relationship is a fundamental and to some the foundational factor of coaching. Whilst various conceptual coaching approaches construe the nature and role of the coaching relationship differently, the importance of an effective working relationship between coachee and coach is a coaching prerequisite. The growing evidence for coaching as an effective interpersonal change process has been accompanied by a noticeable shift in emphasis from the earlier question of “Does coaching work?” to that of “How does coaching work?” Partly reflecting this shift, the coaching relationship has garnered greater interest and research attention in the past decade. So whilst we may be very familiar with coaching relationships anecdotally, what does the coaching knowledge base tell us about the coaching relationship and its role in coaching success? Through an examination of the growing coaching relationship research literature, considered in the context of the broader coaching research, this chapter explores this question further. The chapter also highlights how drawing upon allied professions and knowledge bases as part of an evidence-informed approach to coaching and coaching psychology has been an important contributory factor in informing us on this topic.

The coaching relationship literature A tool for change The coachee-coach relationship has long been seen as an important tool for effecting growth (Stober & Grant, 2006) and change. For example, McGovern et al. (2001) found that the quality of the coaching relationship was perceived as critical to coaching success by 84% of coachee participants. The coaching relationship was also viewed as valuable and one of the first developments in the coaching process in a study of coachees in two organisations (Gyllensten & Palmer, 2007), although the need for techniques and goal focus was also emphasised. Furthermore, in a study exploring the helpful aspects of coaching, De Haan et al. (2011) found that executive coachees valued their coaching relationship and the qualities of their coach, such as listening, understanding and encouragement, more than particular coach interventions.

Early influences on coaching relationship research Before dedicated research studies beginning in the past decade, earlier research on the coaching relationship often formed part of studies broadly exploring coaching (e.g. Judge and Cowell, 1997; Wasylyshyn, 471

Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer

2003). From the 1990s onwards developments in the broader coaching research literature had repercussions on the emerging coaching relationship research base. First, studies examined psychological processes in the interpersonal and intrapersonal coaching change process (Taylor, 1997; Wageman, 1997). Second, coaching papers compared and largely sought to distinguish coaching from therapy, often including comparisons of the coaching and therapeutic relationship (e.g. Hart et al., 2001). Third, research papers increasingly called for credentials and standards for coaches, highlighting the coach’s role in coaching (Brotman et al., 1998). Fourth, discussion papers expounded different theoretical coaching frameworks (Anderson, 2002; Kilburg, 1996), each including explicit or implicit descriptions and roles for the coaching relationship. Finally, the definition of coaching was (Kilburg, 1996), and indeed still is (Grant, 2012), a topic hotly debated in the coaching literature. Different definitions of coaching carry with them potentially differing definitions or conceptualisations of the coaching relationship.

Research in the last decade Coaching relationship as an active ingredient of coaching As research evidence has accumulated on the effectiveness of coaching (see Grant et al., 2010; Jones et al., 2016; Lai & McDowall, 2014; Sonesh et al., 2015; Theeboom et al., 2014), so has confidence grown in the assumption that coaching ‘works.’ This development, coupled with the assumption that coaching can draw from the similar path trodden for decades by those seeking to establish the effectiveness of the allied profession of counselling and psychotherapy (McKenna & Davis, 2009), has prompted the argument for and emphasis on (Smither, 2011) research studies seeking to identify the ‘active ingredients’ of coaching. The coaching relationship has been an obvious candidate for such research focus (De Haan et al., 2013, 2016).

Associations between coaching relationship and coaching outcomes Over decades, a robust association between the therapeutic relationship and therapeutic outcome across theoretical approaches has been found (Horvath et al., 2011), with little evidence of the effect of potential moderators or mediators on this consistent alliance-outcome relation (Flückiger et al., 2012). Meanwhile, studies investigating links between the coaching relationship and coaching outcomes have similarly been recently conducted. These studies have found significant associations between both coachee working alliance ratings and coaching outcomes (Baron & Morin, 2009; De Haan et al., 2013, 2016) and coach working alliance ratings and coaching outcomes (De Haan et al., 2016; Gessnitzer & Kauffeld, 2015). Relationship aspects and processes have also been found to predict coaching outcomes. Three key aspects of the coaching relationship (autonomy support, proximity to an ‘ideal’ relationship, and ‘goal-focused’ relationship) were found to predict coaching outcomes (i.e. Goal Attainment Scores) in coachee-coach dyads, whilst the fourth aspect, satisfaction with coaching relationship, did not predict coaching success (Grant, 2013). Coachee ratings of overall coaching relationship processes (of rapport, trust and commitment) predicted overall coaching outcomes (of satisfaction, leadership performance, and coaching programme) (Boyce et al., 2010). Baron and Morin (2009), for instance, also found that the coaching relationship played a mediating role between the number of coaching sessions received and outcome (coachee self-efficacy). Boyce and associate’s (2010) study found that relationship processes mediated both the association of coachee-coach match compatibility with coaching outcome (satisfaction) and credibility with coaching outcome. In Grant (2013) a partial correlation analysis suggested that a ‘goal-focused’ coaching relationship style impacted significantly more on coaching success than an autonomy-supportive one, although both were considered important. Gessnitzer and Kauffeld’s (2015) study also found that coachee agreement about goals/tasks of the working alliance was positively related, whilst coach agreement was negatively related, to coaching outcome. Moreover, no significant correlation existed between bonding behaviour and coaching outcome for either 472

The coaching relationship

coachee or coach participants, nor was there correlation between working alliance questionnaire scores and working alliance behaviour coded in the dyads’ videotaped coaching sessions. In summary, beyond confirmation that the alliance-coaching outcome relation in coaching appears to exist, further findings indicating mediating effects of the coaching relationship on coaching outcomes point to a possibly more complex picture of the association. Further studies are required to enable better understanding of the direct and indirect role of the coaching relationship in coaching.

Coaching relationship terminology and usage Definitions of coaching abound (Grant, 2012) and, similarly, there is no one consensual definition of the coaching relationship. Emphasising various aspects of the coaching relationship, definitions range from the chemistry and personal characteristics of the coachee and coach (Alvey & Barclay, 2007), the mutual influence of the dyad (Kemp, 2008) and the challenge and support in the interpersonal coachee-coach relationship (Hawkins & Schwenk, 2010) to the nature of the coaching relationship as a complex adaptive system (Cavanagh, 2006), amongst others. A working definition of the working relationship, or coaching alliance, adopted in this chapter is as follows: The coaching alliance reflects the quality of the [coachee] and coach’s engagement in collaborative, purposive work within the coaching relationship, and is jointly negotiated and renegotiated throughout the coaching process over time. (O’Broin and Palmer, 2007, p. 305) In parallel with these differing definitions, multiple referents for the term ‘coaching relationship’ are used, ranging from the broad to the more specific. Examples include its use as: • • • • • •

a proxy for the whole coaching process a generic or ‘common factor’ of coaching (as distinct from specific factors such as techniques) a component part of the coaching relationship (e.g. working alliance) a ‘catch’all’ term whose meaning is determined by a particular conceptual approach to coaching (e.g. person centred) a descriptor for rapport or other designated mutual characteristics of the coaching relationship a combination of two or more of the above.

This situation is compounded by the parallel lack of definition until recently of the term ‘relationship’ (see Reis et al., 2000). Researchers now concur that the essence of a relationship (particularly a close one) is the interactions between its partners and that mutual influence is the distinctive marker of these interactions (Reis, 2007).

Evidence-informed coaching relationships Multiple methods and approaches to the evidence-based question and what it means to be a ‘scientist-practitioner’ have been advocated (Lane & Corrie, 2006; Briner, 2012), and coaches and coaching psychologists have spoken in this debate (Cavanagh & Grant, 2006; Stober & Grant, 2006; Stober et al., 2006). These latter commentators propose an evidence-based approach to coaching invoking best current knowledge to inform practice. This means coaches and coaching psychologists drawing upon multiple sources of knowledge bases including coaching-specific research, the coach’s own expertise, client preferences and, often, the theories and techniques adapted and contextualized from allied domains in the whole spectrum of the psychological endeavour. In keeping with this broader invocation of evidence-informed practice, this chapter draws upon the coaching and coaching relationship literature as well as sources of knowledge from the allied domains of 473

Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer

counselling and psychotherapy and sport psychology to further the dialogue on, and highlight areas for further research into, the coaching relationship.

Drawing from allied domains Counselling and psychotherapy The past decade has heralded a turnaround in coaching research and discussion from seeking to distinguish and effectively polarise coaching from therapy to seeing virtue in drawing from knowledge and research on counselling and psychotherapy that share a functional similarity with coaching (Kilburg, 2004; O’Broin & Palmer, 2007; McKenna & Davis, 2009; Smither, 2011). Part of this shift has arisen with the emphasis on finding the ‘active ingredients’ of coaching, analogous to the search in psychotherapy which indicated that (i) client/extra-therapeutic factors (40%); (ii) the therapeutic relationship (30%); (iii) expectancy, hope and placebo effects (15%); and (iv) theory and techniques (15%) were the four factors accounting for most of the systematic variance in psychotherapy outcomes (Lambert & Barley, 2001). Nevertheless, this call is not universally accepted, with some highlighting the differences rather than similarities between psychotherapy and coaching (Hollenbeck, 2009) and between the therapeutic and coaching relationships (Grant, 2013). Importantly, if the active ingredients of coaching are found to be similar to those in psychotherapy, the coaching relationship remains a meaningful factor to research. In highlighting the functional similarity between coaching and therapy and how both operate through facilitation of a collaborative relationship, McKenna and Davis (2009) argued the coaching practice case for exploring synergies further in order to understand what makes coaching work. They argued for: • •

Coachee involvement (building a working alliance with the coachee from the beginning through promoting and sustaining the active involvement of the coachee) Tailoring the alliance to the coachee (the coach customising their approach to the coachee’s preferences).

These authors further proposed broad principles of coach practice based on the findings of the psychotherapy literature.

Implications for coaching Exploring avenues previously pursued in counselling and psychotherapy outcome research has resulted in parallels, such as associations between the coaching relationship and coaching outcomes, and offers some broad principles in assisting coaches in forming effective coaching relationships with their coachees. A more mixed picture is apparent at a more detailed level, suggesting that more specific and detailed research into the coaching relationship and its possible roles in coaching is indicated.

Sport psychology Coaching shares many roots with sport and athletics (Gallwey, 1974; Griffith, 1926), and themes have often been suggested to translate from the field of athletic coaching (Joo, 2005; Jowett et al., 2010; O’Broin & Palmer, 2006; Peltier, 2001) to executive coaching. The coach-athlete relationship has also been linked directly and indirectly with outcomes such as sporting performance (Gillet et al., 2010). Several models of the coach-athlete relationship have been developed in the past decade (Jowett & Cockerill, 2002; Mageau & Vallerand, 2003; Poczawardowski et al., 2002; Wylleman, 2000). An example of these models applied in the executive coaching context is the 3+1Cs Model of Two-Person Relationships (Jowett, 2007; Jowett et al., 2012). Based on interdependence theory (Kelley and Thibault, 1978) the 3+1Cs Model proposes that the coachee and coach’s feelings, thoughts and behaviours are causally and 474

The coaching relationship

mutually interdependent and operationalised through constructs of Closeness, Commitment and Complementarity (the 3Cs). Following content analysis of positive aspects of the coaching relationship in their sample of UK executive coachee-coach dyads, Jowett et al. (2012) found the importance of Closeness (specifically mutual trust and respect); Commitment (developing a close and lasting partnership, being willing and motivating) and Complementarity (working well together whilst understanding the roles undertaken by coachee and coach respectively). Co-orientation was identified by all participants and included shared knowledge and shared understanding. The authors identified a number of associations between the 3+1Cs construct, emphasising their interdependent nature.

Implications for coaching Jowett et al.’s (2012) model informs discussion of the coachee-coach relationship by: • • • •

Providing a means of evaluating the core dimensions of the quality of the coachee-coach relationship Assuming that relationship quality is linked to how the coachee and coach work together Highlighting the temporal aspect of the coaching relationship in that feelings, thoughts and behaviours of the coachee and coach interact and influence each other over time Identifying strengths and weaknesses in the coaching relationship, the model may potentially offer indicators for relationship enhancement strategies.

Emerging coaching relationship models Each of the preceding chapters outlining their respective conceptual or theoretical coaching approaches includes an exposition of the coach-coachee relationship. Broader coaching models exist too which incorporate the coaching relationship within their remit (Greif, 2010; Stober & Grant, 2006). In part reflecting the early research stage, theoretical models and propositions specifically on the coaching relationship are scant. One such model is helpful in beginning to map the psychological processes inherent in the coaching relationship. The Typology of executive coaching relationships (Collins, 2012) proposes two dimensions, pace (the high or low energy level or dynamic between the dyad) and partnership (the high or low equality level or collaboration), which were the most influential constructs in a study of 14 coaching dyads who were interviewed and completed reflexive diaries. The four quadrants produced four types of coaching relationships: (1) the solid alliance (low pace/high partnership); (2) the comfort zone (low pace/low partnership); (3) follow my leader (high pace/low partnership) and (4) the buzz (high pace/high partnership). Appearance in a quadrant did not denote effectiveness of each coaching relationship, as both positive and negative attributes were possible. Changing dynamics were also experienced over time. The needs of the coachee being met was the important factor in terms of perception of effectiveness of the coaching relationship concerned. The model could potentially assist coaches in recognising coachee types and enabling them to adapt appropriately to their coachees.

Collaborative contributions Bordin’s working alliance in coaching With increasing recognition of the ‘common factors’ or ‘active ingredients’ of psychotherapy, a broader pantheoretic working alliance formulation (Bordin, 1979) was proposed to constitute a fundamental ingredient in all helping relationships (Horvath, 2001). The alliance is also frequently used as a referent for the quality and strength of the collaborative relationship between client and practitioner. 475

Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer

Two assumptions underlie Bordin’s (1979, 1994) theory of the working alliance: that the working alliance measures the extent to which the dyad engages in purposive, collaborative work and that the alliance exists as an interchanging, reciprocal relationship. The three features which Bordin associates with purposive, collaborative work translated into the coaching context are: • • •

goals – consensus about, and commitment to, the goals of coaching tasks – behavioural and cognitive aspects relating to the work of the coaching bonds – liking, trust, respect, or connection between coachee and coach.

Bordin’s pan-theoretic framework is broad enough to enable the assessment of the degree, level and kind of collaborativeness and purposiveness of the coaching work taking place that is optimal for the individual coachee, regardless of the conceptual approach of the coach.

Implications for coaching As evidence-informed coaching approaches such as the Contextual Model focus on overarching and transtheoretical commonalities, the working alliance is flexible enough to be synergistic with their meta-approach. The working alliance in coaching has been increasingly discussed and used in coaching research studies as a measure of the working relationship (also see Dryden, 2017). Its association with outcome in research studies strongly suggests it is an important variable to consider in coaching processes and outcomes. The mediating effect of the coaching alliance on outcomes through other variables indicates that the full extent of specific effects of the working (or coaching) alliance has yet to be fully and comprehensively understood.

Mutual findings Trust Trust deserves special mention as the aspect most frequently found to be important for an effective coaching relationship, from the perspective of both coachee and coach (Gregory & Levy, 2011; Gyllensten & Palmer, 2007; O’Broin & Palmer, 2010a; Passmore, 2010). Whilst instant impressions of coachee trust may be present, Alvey and Barclay (2007) identified that characteristics of the coaching relationship, characteristics of the coaching situation and behaviours and characteristics of the coach were influential in trust development over time. The chronological order of trust impacting factors was also key. Hence a complex interaction of relational, situational and behavioural factors seems to exist in trust development in coaching relationships. Whether the existence and maintenance of mutual trust is always necessary, rather than solely the coachee trusting the coach, remains unclear.

Further mutual aspects A number of further mutual aspects of the coaching relationship have been highlighted in research studies, including respect (Alvey & Barclay, 2007; O’Broin, 2013); collaboration (Boyce et al., 2010; O’Broin & Palmer, 2010a) and reciprocal coachee-coach friendliness patterns (Ianiro et al., 2014).

Diversity and matching factors In a broad sense, coach and coachee matching has been conducted in relation to a number of factors in organisational, technical and interpersonal contexts (Law et al., 2007, p. 205), and mismatch of coacheecoach has been suggested as a factor leading to unsuccessful coaching outcomes Marshall (2007). However 476

The coaching relationship

coach-coachee matching of single, surface-level diversity factors, such as gender, culture and age, has demonstrated mixed results. There have also been varying findings on benefits of similarity or complementarity of dyad members, with Ianiro et al. (2013) finding that similarity of coach and coachee on interpersonal dimensions of dominance behaviours and affiliation behaviours predicted the coachee’s rating of coaching relationship quality and coachee goal attainment. Conversely, Boyce et al. (2010) found that complementarity in learning styles of coachees with the managerial style of their coach promoted more effective coaching relationships related to more positive outcomes. Mixed results too have been demonstrated in terms of the deeper-level diversity factor of personality. Scoular and Linley (2006) found that in instances of coachee and coach differences in temperament, outcome scores were significantly higher, whilst De Haan et al. (2013, 2016) found no evidence of coacheecoach dissimilarity (assessed through partial MBTI profiles) associated with coaching outcome.

Cross-cultural understanding Culture matters if we work from the assumption that cultural differences result in people viewing the world from different perspectives (Rosinski & Abbott, 2006). Hence culture is an important consideration in all coaching relationships. Caution is in order however, before stereotyping or over-generalising about culture (Law, 2008). With little research into the area of cross-cultural coaching, two models can help provide frameworks for coaching coachees from diverse cultural backgrounds. Rosinski and Abbott’s (2006) Cultural Orientations Framework examines how values differ and are similar across cultures, conceptualising values in terms of how people deal with universal challenges that confront them. These authors identify culturally different orientations to these challenges and argue that a successful coaching process is the ideal platform from which to build and develop a strong, trusting coachee-coach relationship, which is considered paramount. A second research-based model is the Delta approach to coaching (Coultas et al., 2011). This values-sensitive, motivational and culturally sensitive model emphasises the coach adapting techniques according to the coachee’s motivational and cultural needs and individual differences. However, how the coach helps facilitate these outcomes is highly dependent on leveraging the trusting relationship between the coachee and coach.

Participants’ individual contributions What the coachee brings In executive coaching theoretical frameworks, certain aspects of coachee attitudes and characteristics are suggested to impact coaching outcomes (Kilburg, 2001; Joo, 2005). Research studies on coachee attititudes and characteristics are scarcer than those on the coach, however findings in two predominant areas have been conducted.

Motivation and readiness to change As in therapy, where client motivation has been shown to impact on therapy outcome (Castonguay & Beutler, 2006), so too in coaching have the coachee’s motivation and readiness to change indicated their relevance to coaching outcomes. A number of coachee characteristics clustered around the coachee’s openness (Marshall, 2007; O’Broin & Palmer, 2010a); commitment (Bouwer & Van Egmond, 2012); readiness (Machin, 2010) and motivation (Kappenberg, 2008) for coaching have been identified as beneficial to coaching processes and outcome. A particularly interesting study focusing on the micro-processes of interpersonal dynamics between coachees and coaches found that coach dominant-friendly behaviour (behaving in an assertive and self-confident manner) initiated dominant coachee behaviour, the latter being associated with coachee goal attainment (Ianiro et al., 2014). 477

Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer

The Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM: Prochaska and DiClemente, 1984) is a six-stage cyclical model of change which has been applied in the executive coaching context for assessing and working with the coachee’s readiness for change (Grant, 2006). The six stages include pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and termination, and each stage of change may require different optimal change processes. Matching the relationship with the respective stage of change is necessary to enhance outcome over time. Grant (2006) suggests that the TTM offers a number of stage-specific coaching strategies for coaches to use within the cycle of change, and notes that coaches should assess their coachee’s level of motivation or readiness to change, rather than hold assumptions about the coachee necessarily being in the action stage.

Personality In studying effects of individual differences in coaching, mixed results have been found in research studies. Stewart et al. (2008), for instance, found significant associations between some but not all sub-scales of coachee’s scores on the Five Factor Model of personality and outcome of coaching transfer. The authors concluded that for some coachees personality measures may be useful in identifying those individuals requiring support to transfer learning from coaching; however, a broad selection of suitability for coaching on the basis of personality was not supported. Jones, Woods, & Hutchinson, (2014) meanwhile found a positive relationship between coachee extraversion and perceived coaching effectiveness, although the level of associations between other personality variables and executive coaching effectiveness in their study were not significant.

Implications for coaching Research studies on coachee contributions to the coaching relationship and coaching outcomes remain scarce, despite the active ingredient argument suggesting that coachee factors potentially represent as much or more variance in outcome than the coaching relationship itself if these factors are distributed similarly to those in therapy outcome. More studies, particularly where mixed results have been found, are called for. More process research is needed exploring the coachee’s role and perspective on coaching and the coaching relationship, especially as the coachee’s perspective may differ from that of their coach.

What the coach brings Coaching research studies have predominantly focused on the coach and the coach’s role in the coaching relationship and coaching process. Whilst Bordin’s working alliance model emphasises mutuality, an argument can also be made for certain role-specific differences in the coaching relationship.

Coach attitudes and characteristics As in therapy, where therapists’ individual differences have been found to account for a substantial part of variance in the alliance (Horvath & Bedi, 2002) and psychotherapy outcome (Wampold, 2001), coaching studies have found a number of coach attributes positively associated with perceptions of relationship quality by coachee and coach, and with coaching success.

Forging a strong connection Coachee self-report studies have demonstrated how coachees value the coach’s ability to interact and connect with their coachee. Studies by Wasylyshyn (2003) finding that 86% of coachees rated coach ability to form a strong connection with their coachee as the top personal characteristic of effective executive coaches 478

The coaching relationship

and by De Haan et al. (2011) finding that coachees valued their relationship with, and qualities of their coach over, particular coach interventions or techniques, illustrate these findings.

Individual coach attitudes and characteristics A range of further individual coach attitudes and characteristics have been identified as important in the coaching relationship literature, including credibility of the coach (Alvey & Barclay, 2007; Dagley, 2010; Jones & Spooner, 2006); empathy and respect, ability to continue to work effectively under pressure (Dagley, 2010); an accepting approach (Gyllensten et al., 2010) and being non-judgmental (Passmore, 2010).

Collective coach attitudes and characteristics Researchers have also sought to explore coach attributes more collectively (Boyce et al., 2010; Greif, 2010; Lai & McDowall, 2014), with Boyce et al. (2010) finding that overall relationship processes (rapport, trust and commitment combined) positively predicted both coachee and coach ratings of coaching outcomes, and mediated the match criteria of credibility with all three coaching outcomes of reactions, results and behaviour. The authors argued that their findings supported the mediating role of coach credibility on coaching outcome. In a process-theory model of coaching adapted from the pan-theoretic general theory of psychotherapy (Grawe, 2006), Greif (2010) describes the core concepts of coaching as coach facilitation of coachee resultoriented self-reflection, self-changes and self-development. Greif ’s (2010) theory (see also Greif et al., 2010) determines seven observable general success factors in coaching: • • • • • • •

Coach demonstrates verbal and non-verbal esteem and emotional support Coach activates result-oriented problem reflection Coach facilitates coachee self-reflection Coach helps coachee to activate, re-experience, and change affect where appropriate Coach encourages concrete definition and explanation of goals by coachee Coach supports coachee in using their own resources to achieve success Coach actively supports the coachee in short-term result-oriented transfer of the intended change into practice.

In a systematic review of coaching psychology evidence, Lai and McDowall (2014) identified the coaching relationship as a key focus for coaching research and practice, finding that coach attributes played a significant part in the effectiveness of the coaching process and coaching results. Five key factors for enhancing the coaching relationship were distinguished, largely reflecting coach attributes and characteristics: • • • • •

Building trust Understanding and managing coachees’ emotional difficulties Encouraging two-way communication Facilitating and helping coachees’ learning and development Putting in place a clear contract and transparent process.

Taking the study of coaching relationships to interaction between coachee and coach over time, Ianiro and Kauffeld (2014), in a study analysing actual coachee-coach interactions in videotaped coaching sessions, found that a dominant-friendly coach interpersonal behaviour pattern correlated positively with coachee working alliance ratings after session one and at the end of coaching. The authors proposed that coach selfawareness of their affective states and interpersonal behaviours can be brought to bear in seeking to establish effective working alliances. 479

Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer

Emotions and critical moments A number of research studies on using and working with emotions and critical moments in the coaching relationship have been conducted. Coaches seem to display varying approaches to the depth of their work with, and ways of handling emotions within, the coaching relationship, ranging from avoiding addressing emotions and referral on, to actively exploring the situation with the coachee (Cox & Bachkirova 2007; Cremona, 2010). The first authors proposed that coach awareness of how the coachee’s progress may be helped or hindered by emotions, and by their own biases and responses, were key, whilst both authors suggested that coach training would benefit from the inclusion of work on the nature and function of emotion in individual change. Further exploring the theme of emotions, several studies have been conducted on critical moments in the coaching relationship. Day et al.’s (2008) critical incident study exploring experienced coaches’ experiences of critical moments and how they dealt with them found coaches revealed unforeseen intense emotion and anxiety in critical moments. Often these critical moments proved to be turning points in the coaching, tending to result in either insight, distancing or even breakdown with the coachee. Coach awareness of the coachee’s reactions, of their own emotions, coupled with their ability to link these with the unfolding critical moment whilst concurrently reflecting on this experience in a manner enabling coachee awareness, was key to the critical moment outcome. Distancing was associated with either aggressive or avoidant responses from either dyadic member. Building on this work, De Haan et al.’s (2010) direct-comparison critical moment study of key moments reported by both coachees and experienced coaches directly after their coaching session together found no large or consistent differences in the nature or emphases of selected critical events by coaches and coachees, in contrast with their previous findings. The authors also determined that there were two types of critical moments: ‘run-of-the-mill’ moments in everyday coaching where coachee and coach are in broad agreement, and more extreme and rarer ‘special occurrence’ critical moments of transformation, resistance or rupture of the working alliance, both of which are part of coaching practice.

Tailoring to the coachee’s needs Coaching relationship research studies have tended to highlight specific instances where tailoring to the coachee may be beneficial. Jones and Spooner (2006) referred to the need for the coach to be flexible and responsive to rapid changes when working with high achiever coachees, whilst Nangalia and Nangalia (2010) similarly reported in a study of the role and status of coaches, coachees and coach expectations of coaching with Asian coaches and coachees that all coaches adapted their process and style when working with local clients in Asian culture. Other authors suggest further benefits of adapting to the coachee, for instance the need for coach congruence and initial fit with the coachee in developing trust (Machin, 2010). Yet others argue for adapting to the coachee universally. Gregory and Levy (2011), in their study on employee coaching relationships, noted that supervisors tailoring their actions to the needs of subordinates should be more effective in coaching to high performance, whilst O’Broin and Palmer (2010a) and O’Broin (2013) proposed that adapting to the coachee may be of more relevance universally to the coaching relationship than has been recognised; the coach adapting their style and being aware of the unique qualities of each coachee may be particularly germane.

Implications for coaching Early findings of single coach attributes influencing the coaching relationship and coaching outcomes have developed further into recent attempts to explore clusters of coach attitudes and characteristics that enhance interpersonal communication between the coachee and coach and process research studies. Early indications 480

The coaching relationship

seem to support the existence of role-specific as well as mutual responsibilities for each member of the coaching dyad, with more evidence for coach role-specific responsibilities at this stage of research development.

Context Interpersonal variables An interpersonal coaching relationship perspective asserts the need to appreciate the context in which the particular coachee is embedded (see also O’Broin and Palmer, 2010b). With interpersonal factors arguably the focal feature of the context from the individual’s perspective (Reis et al., 2000), studies have been conducted examining interaction analyses related to the working alliance and coaching outcomes (Ianiro & Kauffeld, 2014; Ianiro et al., 2014; Gessnitzer & Kauffeld, 2015). Ianiro et al. (2014) examined the interpersonal dynamics of coachee and coach based on affiliation and dominance dimensions, finding that reciprocal friendliness patterns were positively associated with working alliance scores. Dominant-friendly reciprocal coach-coachee behaviour was positively significantly related to coachee’s overall goal attainment. The authors comment that their findings offer support for theories contending both similar and dissimilar behaviour resulting from interpersonal dominance, and that dominance interaction patterns are context, relationship and role specific. These studies highlight the potential importance of interpersonal behaviour in the coaching relationship and to coaching outcomes and begin to surface the complexity of interactions between dyad members. However, further studies into micro-processes of coachee-coach interpersonal dynamics are needed to build upon these findings. As well as a focus on interpersonal factors, context is more broadly determined by the social and physical environments in which the dyad interact and by how all these factors interact. In pursuing the active ingredients of coaching, it is noticeable that research studies on context have rarely been conducted and urgently deserve research attention. Two important aspects of context from this broader perspective are the coaching contract and coaching boundaries.

The coaching contract A responsibility of the coach in providing a framework or setting in which the coaching will take place is the contracting process. Often involving a written contract signed by coachee and coach and, if appropriate, the organisational sponsor, the written contract fulfils the following functions: • • •

establishes the objectives of the coaching ensures that both or all parties understand their responsibilities clarifies the boundaries of confidentiality and the expectations of both parties as well as practical issues such as contact, availability and between-session assignments.

The psychological contract Regardless of whether a written contract is in place, a psychological contract exists between coachee and coach. The psychological contract concerns mutual reciprocal obligations in the eyes of each of the beholders: ‘A major feature of psychological contracts is the individual’s belief that the agreement is mutual, that is, a common understanding exists that binds the parties involved to a particular course of action.’ (Rousseau, 2001, p. 512) An important aspect of the contracting process is confidentiality, especially around information fed back to the organisation if a three-way contract exists and in creating and developing trust (Alvey & Barclay, 2007). 481

Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer

Clear contracting and transparency by the coach are crucial in ensuring the coachee is able to understand and trust how the process will be conducted and to negotiate the confidentiality and boundaries of information discussed in the coaching sessions.

Boundaries Coaching boundaries is an issue that has long been discussed in the research literature. The boundary between coaching and therapy has been most frequently covered, particularly emphasising the issue of referral on and the mental health of the coachee. However, the principle of boundaries can also be applied to the creation, maintenance and ending of the coaching relationship. The degree, level and kind of coaching alliance most optimal for the individual coachee is sought. Characteristics of a close relationship such as self-disclosure and commitment are present in the coaching relationship, yet coachee and coach are not friends. The coach takes responsibility for helping to actively foster an effective working relationship with their coachee whilst simultaneously managing the boundaries of depth and intimacy appropriate for a professional relationship.

Conclusion A decade has passed since our previous chapter in the first edition of the handbook noted the paradox of a lack of dedicated research co-existent with the assumption of the importance of the coaching relationship to coaching. Since then, as documented in the current chapter (see also O’Broin, 2016), research studies linking the coaching relationship with outcomes; demonstrating its potential mediating role between coaching variables and outcomes; exploring mutual and role-specific aspects of the coaching relationship, as well as specific interaction studies providing promising data on coachee-coach behaviour patterns have served to provide evidence to help address this paradox. It is noteworthy that the common factor or ‘active ingredient’ approach underpinned many of these studies. Continuing this theme of drawing from allied domains, we propose that the working alliance and 3+1Cs models are useful frameworks offering research and practice possibilities for developing coaching relationships, as are early coaching relationship models developed within the coaching context. Whilst progress has been made on understanding the coaching relationship, its research base remains early-stage. Coaching inevitably takes place within a relationship, yet we are some way from understanding the nature of the coaching relationship across individuals, dyads, groups, cultures, types of coaching, coaching approaches, contexts and time. This chapter reiterates the message of its predecessor of the pressing need for further studies extending and consolidating findings to date (see also Spaten et al., 2016). If extant research confirms the importance of the coaching relationship, our challenge is to seek to achieve a better understanding of the extent of its effect, an understanding which has important implications for coaching outcomes, coaching competencies and development and coach training.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

482

How do you define and use the term ‘coaching relationship,’ and how does this impact on your coaching practice? How might effective working alliances with individual coachees differ? How would you notice a poor working alliance with your coachee, and what would you do to improve it? In what ways might you work on engaging your coachee’s trust? How would you maintain this trust through more challenging points in your coaching relationship?

The coaching relationship

Suggested reading De Haan, E., & Sills, C. (2012). Coaching relationships: The relational coaching field book. Oxfordshire: Libri. Dryden, W. (2017). The Coaching Alliance: Theory and guidelines for practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2012). Enhancing the coaching alliance and relationship. In S. Palmer & M. Neenan (Eds.), Cognitive behavioural coaching in practice. London: Routledge. Palmer, S., & McDowall, A. (2010). The coaching relationship: Putting people first. London: Routledge. Pelham, G. (2016). The coaching relationship in practice. London: Sage.

References Alvey, S., & Barclay, K. (2007). The characteristics of dyadic trust in executive coaching. Journal of Leadership Studies, 1(1), 18–27. Anderson, J. P. (2002). Executive coaching and REBT: Some comments from the field. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 20(3), 223–233. Baron, L., & Morin, L. (2009). The coach-coachee relationship in executive coaching: A field study. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 20(1), 85–106. Bordin, E. S. (1979). The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 16, 252–260. Bordin, E. S. (1994). Theory and research on the therapeutic working alliance: New directions. In A. O. Horvath and L. S. Greenberg (Eds.), The working alliance: Theory, research and practice. New York: Wiley. Bouwer, J., & van Egmond, J. (2012). Moderating factors of the Van Egmond Coaching Model (VCEM). International Coaching Psychology Review, 7(1), 55–63. Boyce, L. A., Jackson, J. R., & Neal, L. J. (2010). Building successful leadership coaching relationships. Journal of Management Development, 29(10), 914–931. Briner, R. (2012). Does coaching work and does anyone really care? OP Matters, 16, 4–11. Brotman, L. E., Libri, W. P. and Wasylyshyn, K. M. (1998). Executive coaching: The need for standards of competence. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 50(1), 40–46. Castonguay, L. G., & Beutler, L. E. (2006). Common and unique principles of therapeutic change: What do we know and what do we need to know? In L. G. Castonguay & L. E. Beutler (Eds.), Principles of therapeutic change that work. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cavanagh, M. (2006). Coaching from a systemic perspective: A complex adaptive conversation. In D. R. Stober and A. M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence-based coaching handbook: Putting best practices to work for your clients. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Cavanagh, M. J., & Grant, A. M. (2006). In D. Lane and S. Corrie (Eds.), The modern scientist-practitioner: A guide to practice in psychology. London: Routledge. Collins, C. E. (2012). Exploring executive coaching: Its role in leadership development. Unpublished PhD thesis. Warwick, University of Warwick. Webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b2603077~S1 Coultas, C. W., Bedwell, W. L., Shawn Burke, C., & Salas, E. (2011). Values sensitive coaching: The delta approach to coaching culturally diverse executives. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 63(3), 149–161. Cox, E., & Bachkirova, T. (2007). Coaching with emotion: How coaches deal with difficult emotional situations. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2(2), 178–189. Cremona, K. (2010). Coaching and emotions: An exploration of how coaches engage and think about emotion. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 3(1), 46–59. Dagley, G. R. (2010). Exceptional executive coaches: Practices and attributes. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(1), 63–80. Day, A., De Haan, E., Sills, C., Bertie, C., & Blass, E. (2008). Coaches’ experiences of critical moments in the coaching. International Coaching Psychology Review, 3(3), 207–218. De Haan, E., Bertie, C., Day, A., & Sills, C. (2010). Critical moments of clients and coaches: A direct-comparison study. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(2), 109–128. De Haan, E., Culpin, V., & Curd, J. (2011). Executive coaching in practice: What determines helpfulness for clients of coaching? Personnel Review, 40(1), 24–44. De Haan, E., Duckworth, A., Birch, D., & Jones, C. (2013). Executive coaching outcome research: The contribution of common factors such as relationship, personality match and self-efficacy. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 48(2), 61–66. De Haan, E., Grant, A. M., Burger,Y., & Eriksson, P.-O. (2016). A large-scale study of executive and workplace coaching: The relative contributions of relationship, personality match and self-efficacy. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 68(3), 189–207. Dryden, W. (2017). The coaching alliance: Theory and guidelines for practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

483

Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer

Flückiger, C., Del Re, A. C., Wampold, B., Symonds, D., & Horvath, A. O. (2012). How central is the alliance in psychotherapy? A multilevel longitudinal meta-analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59(1), 10–17. Gallwey, W. T. (1974). The inner game of tennis. New York: Random House. Gessnitzer, S., & Kauffeld, S. (2015). The working alliance in coaching: Why behaviour is the key to success. The Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, 51(2), 177–197. Gillet, N., Vallerand, R. J., Amoura, S., & Baldes, B. (2010). Influence of coaches’ autonomy support on athletes’ motivation and sport performance: A test of the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11, 155–161. Grant, A. M. (2006). An integrative goal-focused approach to executive coaching. In D. R. Stober & A. M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence based coaching handbook: Putting best practices to work for your clients. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Grant, A. M. (2012). An integrated model of goal-focused coaching: An evidence-based framework for teaching and practice. International Coaching Psychology Review, 7(2), 146–165. Grant, A. M. (2013). Autonomy support, relationship satisfaction and goal focus in the coach-coachee relationship: Which best predicts coaching success? Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 7(1), 18–38. Grant, A. M., Passmore, J., Cavanagh, M., & Parker, H. (2010). The state of play in coaching. International Review of Industrial & Organizational Psychology, 25, 125–168. Grawe, K. (2006). Neuropsychotherapy: How the neurosciences inform effective psychotherapy. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Gregory, J. B., & Levy, P. E. (2011). It’s not me, it’s you: A multilevel examination of variables that impact employee coaching relationships. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 63(2), 67–88. Greif, S. (2010). A new frontier of research and practice: Observation of coaching behaviour. The Coaching Psychologist, 6(2), 97–105. Greif, S., Schmidt, F., & Thamm, A. (2010). Rating of coaching success-factors: Observation manual. Work and Organisational Psychology Unit, University of Osnabrück, German. (Unpublished Paper). Retreived from www.home. uni-osnabrueck.de/sgreif/veroeffentilchungen.html Griffith, C. R. (1926). Psychology of coaching: A study of coaching methods from the point of view of psychology. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. Gyllensten, K., & Palmer, S. (2007). The coaching relationship: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(2), 98–107. Gyllensten, K., Palmer, S., Nilsson, E., Regnér, A. M., & Frodi, A. (2010). Experiences of cognitive coaching: A qualitative study. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(2), 98–107. Hart, V., Blattner, J., & Leipsic, S. (2001). Coaching versus therapy: A perspective. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 53(4), 229–237. Hawkins, P., & Schwenk, G. (2010). The interpersonal relationship in the training and supervision of coaches. In S. Palmer & A. McDowall (Eds.), The coaching relationship: Putting people first. London: Routledge. Hollenbeck, G. P. (2009). The necessary and sufficient conditions . . . Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2, 266–267. Horvath, A. O. (2001). The alliance. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 38(4), 365–372. Horvath, A. O., & Bedi, R. P. (2002). The alliance. In J. C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work: Therapist contributions and responsiveness to patient needs. London: Oxford. Horvath, A., Del Re, A. C., Flückiger, C., & Symonds, D. (2011). Alliance in individual psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 48, 9–16. Ianiro, P. M., & Kauffeld, S. (2014). Take care what you bring with you: How coaches’ mood and interpersonal behaviour affect coaching success. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 66, 231–257. Ianiro, P. M., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., & Kauffeld, S. (2014). Coaches and clients in action: A sequential analysis of interpersonal coach and client behaviour. Journal of Business and Psychology, July. Ianiro, P. M., Schermuly, C. C., & Kauffeld, S. (2013). Why interpersonal dominance and affiliation matter: An interaction analysis of the coach-client relationship. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 6(1), 25–46. Jones, G., & Spooner, K. (2006). Coaching high achievers. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 58(1), 40–50. Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., & Hutchinson, E. (2014). The influence of the Five Factor Model of personality on the perceived effectiveness of executive coaching. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 12(2), 109–118. Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., & Guillaume, Y. R. E. (2016). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), 249–277. Joo, B. K. (2005). Executive coaching: A conceptual framework from an integrative review of practice and research. Human Resource Development Review, 4(4), 462–488. Jowett, S. (2007). Interdependence analysis and the 3+1Cs in the coach athlete relationship. In S. Jowett & D. Lavallee (Eds.), Social psychology in sport (pp. 15–77). New York: Routledge. 484

The coaching relationship

Jowett, S., & Cockerill, I. M. (2002). Incompatability in the coach-athlete relationship. In I. M. Cockerill (Ed.), Solutions in sport psychology (pp. 16–31). London: Thomson Learning. Jowett, S., Kanakoglou, K., & Passmore, J. (2012). The application of the 3+1Cs relationship model in executive coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 64(3), 183–197. Jowett, S., O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2010). On understanding the role and significance of a key two-person relationship in sport and executive coaching. Sport & Exercise Psychology Review, 6(2), 19–30. Judge, W. Q., & Cowell, J. (1997). The brave new world of executive coaching. Business Horizons, 40(4), 71–77. Kappenberg, E. S. (2008). A model of executive coaching: Key factors in coaching success. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 69(30B), 1994. Kelley, H. H., & Thibaut, J. W. (1978). Interpersonal Relations: A Theory of Interdependence. NY: John Wiley. Kemp, T. (2008). Self-determination and the coaching relationship: Exploring coaching impact beyond models and methods. International Coaching Psychology Review, 3(1), 32–42. Kilburg, R. R. (1996). Toward a conceptual understanding and definition of executive coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 48(2), 134–144. Kilburg, R. R. (2001). Facilitating intervention adherence in executive coaching: A model and methods. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 53(4), 251–267. Kilburg, R. R. (2004). Trudging towards Dodoville: Conceptual approaches and case studies in executive coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 56(4), 203–213. Lai,Y., & McDowall, A. (2014). A systematic review (SR) of coaching psychology: Focusing on the attributes of effective coaching psychologists. International Coaching Psychology Review, 9(2), 118. Lambert, M. J., & Barley, D. E. (2001). Research summary on the therapeutic relationship and psychotherapy outcome. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 38(4), 357–361. Lane, D., & Corrie, S. (2006). The modern scientist-practitioner: A guide to practice in psychology. London: Routledge. Law, H. L. (2008). Diversity coaching. People and Organisations @ Work, 6–7. Law, H. L., Ireland, S., & Hussain, Z. (2007). Conclusion, discussion and future work. In H. Law, S. Ireland & Z. Hussain (Eds.), The psychology of coaching, mentoring and learning. Chichester: John Wiley. Machin, S. (2010). The nature of the internal coaching relationship. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Special Issue 4, 37–52. Mageau, G. A., & Vallerand, R. J. (2003). The coach-athlete relationship: A motivational model. Journal of Sport Sciences, 21, 883–904. Marshall, M. K. (2007). The critical factors of coaching practice leading to successful coaching outcomes. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 67, 4092. McGovern, J., Lindemann, M., Vergara, M., Murphy, S., Barker, L., & Warrenfeltz, R. (2001). Maximising the impact of executive coaching: Behavioral change, organizational outcomes and return on investment. The Manchester Review, 6(1), 1–9. McKenna, D. D., & Davis, S. L. (2009). Hidden in plain sight: The active ingredients of executive coaching. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2, 244–260. Nangalia, L., & Nangalia, A. (2010). The coach in Asian society: Impact of social hierarchy on the coaching relationship. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 8(1), 51–66. O’Broin, A. (2013). Whither the coaching relationship?: A mixed methods study exploring key aspects, and examining boundaries, in its formation. Unpublished PhD thesis. City, University of London. O’Broin, A. (2016). Where we have been, where we are now, and where we might be heading: Where next for the coaching relationship? In O. M. Spaten and A. O’Broin (Eds.), The coaching relationship: And beyond. The Danish Journal of Coaching Psychology, 5(1), 57–74. O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2006). Win-win situation? Learning from parallels and differences between coaching psychology and sport psychology. The Coaching Psychologist, 2(3), 17–23. O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2007). Reappraising the coach-client relationship: The unassuming change agent in coaching. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of coaching psychology: A guide for practitioners. Hove: Routledge. O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2010a). Exploring key aspects in the formation of the coaching relationship: Initial indicators from the perspective of the coachee and the coach. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 3(2), 124–143. O’Broin, A., & Palmer, S. (2010b). Introducing an interpersonal perspective on the coaching relationship. In S. Palmer & A. McDowall (Eds.), The coaching relationship: Putting people first. Hove: Routledge. O’Broin, A., Spaten, O. M., & Løkken, L. O. (2016). The quest for research in the coaching relationship. In O. M. Spaten & A. O’Broin (Eds.), The coaching relationship: And beyond. Aalborg: Aalborg University Library. Passmore, J. (2010). A grounded theory study of the coachee experience: The implications for training and practice in coaching psychology. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(1), 48–62. Peltier, B. (2001). The psychology of executive coaching: Theory and application. New York: Brunner-Routledge. Poczwardowski, A., Barott, J. E., & Peregoy, J. J. (2002). The athlete and coach: Their relationship and its meaning: Methodological concerns and research process. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 33(1), 98–115. 485

Alanna O’Broin and Stephen Palmer

Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1984). Toward a comprehensive model of change. In J. O. Prochaska & C. C. DiClemente (Eds.), The transtheoretical approach: Crossing the traditional boundaries of therapy. Homewood, IL: DowJones. Reis, H. T. (2007). Steps toward the ripening of relationship science. Personal Relationships, 14, 1–23. Reis, H. T., Collins, W. A., & Berscheid, E. (2000). The relationship context of human behavior and development. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 844–872. Rosinski, P., & Abbott, G. N. (2006). Coaching from a cultural perspective. In D. R. Stober & A. M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence-based coaching handbook: Putting best practices to work for your clients. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Rousseau, D. M. (2001). Schema, promise and mutuality: The building blocks of the psychological contract. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 37, 167–181. Scoular, A., & Linley, P. A. (2006). Coaching, goal-setting and personality type: What matters? The Coaching Psychologist, 2, 9–11. Smither, J. (2011). Can psychotherapy research serve as a guide for research about executive coaching? An agenda for the next decade. Journal of Business Psychology, 26, 135–145. Sonesh, S. C., Coultas, C. W., Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Benishek, L. E., & Salas, E. (2015). The power of coaching a meta-analytic investigation. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 8(2), 73–95. Spaten, O. M., O’Broin, A., & Løkken, L. O. (2016). The quest for research in the coaching relationship. In O. M. Spaten & A. O’Broin (Eds.), The coaching relationship: And beyond. The Danish Journal of Coaching Psychology, 5(1), 9–16. Stewart, L. J., Palmer, S., Wilkin, H., & Kerrin, M. (2008). The influence of character: Does personality impact coaching success? International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 6(1), 32–42. Stober, D. R., & Grant, A. M. (2006). Evidence-based coaching handbook: Putting best practices to work for your clients. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Stober, D. R., Wildflower, L., & Drake, D. (2006). Evidence-based practice: A potential approach for effective coaching. In D. R Stober & A. M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence-based coaching handbook: Putting best practices to work for your clients. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Taylor, L. M. (1997). The relation between resilience, coaching, coping skills training and perceived stress during a career-threatening milestone. DAI-B 58/05, p. 2738, November. Theeboom, T., Beersma, B., & van Vianen, A. E. M. (2014). Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual level outcomes in an organizational context. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(1), 1–18. Wageman, R. (1997). Critical success factors for creating superb self-managing teams. Organizational Dynamics, 26(1), 49–61. Wampold, B. E. (2001). The great psychotherapy debate: Models, methods and findings. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Wasylyshyn, K. M. (2003). Executive coaching: An outcome study. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 55, 94–106. Wylleman, P. (2000). Interpersonal relationships in sport: Unchartered territory in sport psychology research. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 31, 555–572.

486

36 Revisiting the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling Tatiana Bachkirova and Sarah Baker

Introduction The state of coaching as a field of knowledge and practice has recently changed significantly. Since the first edition of this handbook, some debates and agendas for research became less important but others became more prominent. The issue of differentiation between therapy/counselling and coaching received significant attention in the last decade (Simons, 2006; Bachkirova, 2007; Griffiths & Campbell, 2008; Spinelli, 2008; Maxwell, 2009; Price, 2009; Baker, 2013), but there are signs of a very recent decline in interest for this topic. One might assume from this situation that this issue has been resolved once and for all. However, the conclusions of the above publications indicate that for various parties interested in the development of the coaching field many questions remain unanswered. This suggests that the topic of differentiating coaching from counselling/therapy would benefit from revisiting and possibly reformulating. At an early stage of the literature on this issue some voices were already explicit about the complexity of establishing clear boundaries between coaching and counselling (Bachkirova & Cox, 2004; Simons, 2006; Bachkirova, 2007). Recent research in the last decade has added more substance to this position through exploring the views of practitioners. Although there is some evidence that potential clients, sponsors of coaching and practitioners deal with this issue in a pragmatic way (Maxwell, 2009; Baker, 2015), many coaches and particularly newcomers to the field of coaching, counselling and coaching psychology are still left in confusion. (We will use the term ‘coachee’ when referring to individual coaching clients and the term ‘client’ when relevant to both practices: coaching and counselling). In this chapter we will explore a changed state of knowledge about the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling/therapy, highlighting the nature of this confusion and typical ways of dealing with it in practice. Potential reasons for this confusion will then be discussed together with implications for the current situation in research and practice.

Current understanding of boundaries between coaching and counselling The themes of the current literature on the topic can be divided into two groups. Some papers mainly focus on the understanding of how things really are in relation to these boundaries in practice (e.g. Maxwell, 2009). They highlight resulting issues of the current state of affairs and pragmatic solutions that practitioners seem to adapt. Other papers tend to address the issues of boundaries with an intention to find a conceptual solution in addition to pragmatic one (e.g. Bachkirova, 2007). There are of course some papers that aim for both: describing the reality and making conceptual propositions (e.g. Price, 2009; Crowe, 2017). We will 487

Tatiana Bachkirova and Sarah Baker

start with a brief description of these groups of themes and then proceed with discussion of more specific issues that are debated in the literature. The first group of themes acknowledges the following situation. Professional guidance has traditionally suggested that if a practitioner identifies that their client would benefit from additional support from a coach or counsellor, the client should be advised and referred to the appropriate professional (Summerfield, 2002). Whilst coaches appear to believe that there are definite differences between coaching and counselling, often they have difficulty stating where the boundaries specifically lie in practice (Price, 2009). Rather than identifying clear differentiation between coaching and counselling, recent literature and research widely acknowledges that the boundaries between coaching and counselling often become blurry or fuzzy (Jopling, 2007; Maxwell, 2009; Jinks, 2010). When boundaries are felt to be blurry, some coaches refer to having a gut feeling or intuitively knowing when an issue was something that they should not deal with in coaching (Hart, Blattner, & Leipsic, 2001). Alternatively, boundaries tend to be defined by negotiations between coach and coachee regarding what would be appropriate to discuss rather than theoretically defined parameters (Maxwell, 2009). It may therefore appear that many practitioners act as if suggested boundaries do not exist in practice but believe that others within their professional or social group accept the boundaries as providing parameters to the discipline. As a consequence, the practitioners may try to self-identify boundaries according to their capabilities and beliefs and thus appear to support this concept (Baker, 2015). The themes that focus on conceptualising the issues of boundaries highlight the intention for the future. Whilst some in the coaching and counselling community remain resolute in the need to enforce boundaries and delineate practice (e.g. Grant, 2007), others claim that, in a relationship based on trust and understanding, definition of boundaries may remain to be contextual and based on the coach’s knowledge and ability to help the coachee with presented issues (e.g. Cavanagh, 2009). According to the latter, practitioners should therefore be allowed to utilise all their skills to the coachee’s advantage. Indeed, it has been argued that rather than seeing things as either/or it may be more circumspect to view them as interconnected in a complex way, where one informs the other (Mumby, 2011). As a result, coaching and counselling practitioners may wish to work with both approaches to help their clients (Popovic & Boniwell, 2007; Popovic & Jinks, 2013) or implement flexible contracting to meet their client’s needs (Baker, 2013; Crowe, 2017).

What complicates the issue of boundaries? The debates on the boundaries between coaching and counselling become more sober when the issue of mental health becomes involved. For example, Griffiths & Campbell (2008) argued that mental health is situated on a continuum; results from their study indicate that clients were not situated in either coaching or counselling but fluctuated on a continuum between the two approaches. Indeed, some therapists/coaches believed that coaching clients could be as emotionally vulnerable as therapy clients but conceal it (Maxwell, 2009). The participants in Maxwell’s (2009) research discussed how, even working in an organisational environment, the whole person is present in the coaching sessions. Therefore they do not solely focus on work-related issues as some of the reasons for seeking coaching may lie in personal problems outside of the work context. As a consequence, the issue that the coach was contracted to address was often an effect of an underlying personal issue (Maxwell, 2009). Although not all coaches are willing to work with psychological problems in coaching practice and do not wish to be ‘muddying the waters’, it is difficult to deny that the coachee’s personal issues and psychological problems commonly arise in coaching sessions (Maxwell, 2009). Coaches may feel uncomfortable when working with, for example, distressed coachees, as they might not have the appropriate skills and capabilities to support them adequately. Concerns relating to coaches’ abilities to recognise mental health problems and manage them effectively have been expressed in various studies (Hart, Blattner, & Leipsic, 2001; Grant & Zackon, 2004; Turner, 2010; Jinks, 2010). Despite confusion and inconsistency in boundary recognition, experienced practitioners claim to have confidence in their abilities to identify when issues were better suited to counselling than coaching. In the 488

Revisiting the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling

research by Baker (2015), the majority claimed to have appropriate capabilities to help their clients with issues that may arise in practice. However, some anomalies in experienced practitioners’ perceptions of abilities were also identified (Baker, 2015). Although coaches indicated extensively positive self-assessments of their abilities to assist coachees, their reported education and qualifications made it hard to reconcile what knowledge and abilities practitioners were drawing on to manage the presented problems. Whilst it should be acknowledged that coaches may acquire tacit knowledge from previous occupations and professional backgrounds, they might be prone to over-estimating their capabilities as their confidence in supporting coachees with any difficulties seems to be based only on their self-assessment. Findings of the research by Price (2009) led to a similar concern. Jopling (2007) suggests that a good understanding of psychology and counselling theory is needed to be able to identify blocks which may impede development. In her research practitioners believed that coaches needed to be aware of working in the coachee’s best interest and working within their competences to maintain professionalism. Some felt that regulation was needed to instil confidence in potential clients and provide clarity of the services offered, which is supported by other researchers (Hart, Blattner, & Leipsic, 2001; Maxwell, 2009; Price, 2009; Jinks, 2010). To summarise, the majority of the literature and research indicates the boundaries are not clear and practitioners deal with them in many different ways. However, various interested parties insist on the importance of the boundaries and the need for clear guidelines and more extensive training for coaches.

Evidence of explicit amalgamation of coaching and counselling At the same time there is a relatively new tendency different from the above: the literature that explicitly advocates working with clients without a boundary. However, the ideas in this literature are relevant only for coaches with therapeutic backgrounds and experiences. Only they can benefit from the amalgamation of two practices. Working in the fuzzy space, coaches who have counselling or therapeutic training may choose to work with the whole person to help clients understand the meaning and purpose in their lives (Jopling, 2007). Some coaches and counsellors indicated that they worked using both coaching and counselling approaches (Jinks, 2010). Rather than refer at times of need, coaches had adopted alternative ways of supporting their clients. For example, Choi & Pak (2006) suggest that working across boundaries may be seen as a continuum. Practitioners may adopt a multidisciplinary approach (Spence, 2012) and choose to re-contract between coaching and counselling practice to support their clients. Interestingly, this approach ensures approaches are kept discrete and boundaries remained intact if appropriately identified. Indeed, studies have shown that when working as a coach, 41% of coaches surveyed felt that they would be willing to offer to re-contract and provide counselling services (Baker, 2015). Further across the continuum, coaches may integrate approaches and self-identify themselves as therapist-coaches and coach-therapists. These identities are adopted by practitioners who choose to work across boundaries with the same client (Jinks, 2010; Baker, 2015). This eliminates the need for identifying the boundaries. By merging disciplines, practitioners are able to establish a balance between the need to be affiliated with coaching or therapy, the impetus to reinforce a distinctive individual identity (Brewer, 1991). It may be presumed that the number of experienced practitioners who favoured integrating coaching and counselling approaches in practice would be relatively low. However, research by Baker (2015) has shown that whilst over half (53%) of the respondents were of the view that coaching and counselling should be kept separate, nearly a third indicated that the helping approaches should be integrated rather than seeking to implement boundaries. These results strongly suggest that a significant proportion of practitioners viewed boundaries as malleable and were willing to work across disciplines in practice. Many participants in the same study demonstrated various creative ways that helped them to integrate elements of coaching and counselling in the same approach. 489

Tatiana Bachkirova and Sarah Baker

This literature provides ideas for conceptualisation of practice for those who are in the position to combine elements of coaching and counselling in their practice. It may also indicate a potential direction for development of the coaching field. However, very little is discussed about the issues that this approach creates, e.g. for clients, organisational sponsors and novice practitioners, particularly in countries where regulations require clarity and differentiation of practices.

Unresolved issues for coaches, particularly for novices Whilst conceptual issues remain a subject of debate, there are immediate issues that require solutions for practitioners, particularly for newcomers to the field who are only trained as coaches. The confusion they experience in relation to the boundaries between coaching and counselling is unsurprising because there seem to be two further tendencies in the coaching literature and professional discourses pulling coaches in different directions. The conceptual literature tends to emphasise the need for in-depth work in coaching. For example, it has been argued that working with psychological blocks and emotions is essential for long-term change (Bachkirova & Cox, 2004; Crowe, 2017). Spinelli (2008) emphasises ‘being’ as opposed to ‘doing’ in the coaching relationship. To help the client gain greater self-awareness, it has been suggested (Bluckert, 2006) that coaching adopt a slower pace. Bluckert also introduced a concept of psychological mindedness to reflect an individual’s ability to reflect on themselves, others and their relationships with others, thus enhancing the ability of coaches to work with the deeper psychological content of clients’ situations and selves. At the same time, it is emphasised in guidelines, ethical regulations and training manuals that coaches need to exercise caution and be aware of their limitations. This concern is particularly expressed by coaches who have counselling and psychotherapy background, warning about potential for harm that can be brought about by unskilled interventions which seek to explore deeper emotions (Baker, 2015; Kruger & Dunning, 1999). The issues become even more acute when there is a need to identify and make decisions in cases that involve mental health issues which need more guidance for all coaches (Cavanagh & Buckley, 2014). Experienced practitioners argue that potential harm can be caused by a lack of awareness or insufficient attention paid to the coachee’s heightened emotional state. This warning is relevant for all, but particularly for new or novice coaches who may find the process of exploration challenging. These two tendencies may create an internal conflict for new coaches. Although they might feel inspired to provide service of deep psychological value, the challenge is also to make this work safe. Identifying discrete areas of practice in a multi-faceted industry has significant implications for new coaches with limited practical experience. Without the advantage of professional skills or contextual knowledge, it is important that novice and newly trained coaches are aware of working within their competencies and the potential to cause harm to their clients. Although new coaches bring prior experience to their practice, their tacit knowledge may not reflect the competence of the new professional community. Therefore learning within their new role may follow a process of readjustment and repositioning (Wenger, 2010). New coaches learn by forming concepts from the information they are presented with and have no choice but to use their perceptions to make sense of real-life situations when their training is complete (Daley, 1999). Studies have shown that novices may lack confidence in applying recently learnt knowledge in autonomous practice, and they often seek reassurance or confirmation that action taken is appropriate in context (Daley, 1999). Additionally, they may struggle with perceived expectations from coachees and therefore rush to provide a solution based on a learnt framework or technique (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). The perceived pressures and expectations may lead to complications when working at the boundaries in coaching. Whilst new coaches believe that there are differences and boundaries between the two helping approaches, in practice they find the boundaries are fine lines which can easily be crossed (Baker, 2015). With the vagueness and inconsistency of boundaries described in theoretical literature (Bachkirova, 2007), new coaches may attempt to use intuition to identify when practice has transitioned from coaching to 490

Revisiting the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling

counselling. However, as intuition is developed from experience of regular or routine actions (Myers, 2002), it is unlikely that novice and newly trained coaches would make consistently effective decisions in practice. With such variable criteria it is difficult to have confidence in novice and newly trained coaches “ability to consistently identify when coachees'” needs would be more appropriately addressed in counselling. Being able to see and recognise problems in a wider context may be fundamental to developing new coaches’ confidence and competence. It has been argued that acquiring competence within the field entails gaining the ability to perceive the patterns of behaviour or information that the client presents (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Therefore in the initial stages of autonomous practice, it may be important for new coaches to be self-aware and mindful of the limits of their knowledge and competence. To summarise, it appears that the guidance that currently exists in training and development programmes about the boundaries between coaching and counselling is insufficient. New coaches are left in the position to develop their confidence by experimenting and learning from their mistakes. This can help them to arrive at the stage of experienced coaches who might compensate their lack of understanding by relying on their ability to deal with unknown situations.

Knowingly exceeding competence and capabilities Confidence and beliefs in one’s ability could be at the same time a double-edged sword. Whilst new coaches suggest they are aware of boundaries between helping approaches, confusion and inconsistencies were apparent in recent studies which indicated that new coaches would be willing to exceed their competencies to help coachees with psychological problems (Baker, 2015). These findings could be interpreted as possible unconscious incompetence and new coaches ‘not knowing what they do not know’ due to an inability to identify the limits of their capabilities. However, the same tendency is evident with experienced coaches. If the findings of research by Baker (2015) are compared to findings from previous research investigating organisational coaches’ experience of managing boundaries (e.g.Price, 2009), the results show marked similarities. It seems that both new and experienced coaches are willing to work beyond their capabilities. There are obvious concerns with this situation. Working with people who experience mental health difficulties may be appropriate for coaches who have a background in counselling. Coaching can also be provided in parallel with support from the mental health specialist. However, new coaches and coaches without such support or background may find it difficult to identify the limits of their abilities. As a consequence, they may find themselves in difficult situations, lacking the confidence or understanding of how to manage emotional reactions and their own personal boundaries with negative consequences not only for a coachee but also for their own reputation. Just to suggest that coaches should not be ‘squeamish’ about working with emotional or psychological problems (Rogers, 2011) seems to be short-sighted in this light. At the same time, there are various ways to interpret the findings about the willingness of coaches to work beyond their capabilities. It is possible that coaches overestimate their abilities and consciously take risks mixing coaching and counselling interventions in spite of the various concerns associated with this risk. Another explanation is that coaching and counselling are so similar that various attempts to draw clear boundaries consistently fail, leaving coaches to respond to emerging situations in a pragmatic way. As experience is accumulated by engaging with new situations and stretching their capability, it is possible that coaches’ willingness to work beyond these capabilities is a sign of their awareness of the conditions they face and their pragmatic responses to them.

Exploring the reasons for the current situation There are many incentives to resolve the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling. The most obvious comes from coaches who are adamant that it is necessary to define discrete areas of practice and seek to reinforce barriers rather than bridge practices (Wenger, 2010). They wish to be able to establish clear 491

Tatiana Bachkirova and Sarah Baker

contracts, which specify the content and process of coaching sessions and enable coaches to set expectations and identify clear limits. It also seems reasonable to argue that clearly delineating between coaching and counselling would help coaching achieve a professional status. At the current time, coaching does not meet the criteria to be accepted as a profession. A profession is typically defined by specific criteria which include: distinct skills; a minimum period of training to demonstrate proficiency; a sound knowledge base; a code of ethics; formal organisation; accreditation and regulation and being recognised by society as a distinct profession (Fillery-Travis & Collins, 2017; Lane, Stelter, & Stout-Rostron, 2014). In spite of the potential benefits of establishing clear distinction between coaching and counselling, there are also factors that work against them. Whilst some may feel coaching needs to attain traditional standards to be viewed as a profession, others believed complying with restrictive criteria could be seen as a means to exert power and regulation (Lane, Stelter, & Stout-Rostron, 2014). Furthermore, some authors believe that demonstrating that coaching is a discrete area of practice would be problematic and restrictive (Cavanagh, 2009). Not only does coaching share many commonalities with counselling, but various other professions also implement coaching strategies as part of the services they deliver. We would like to add to this that defining a specific coaching identity that does not encroach on other areas of practice is difficult in principle because the identity of coaching is an unresolved issue. It would be useful to explore why the field is now in a situation where there is no agreement about what coaching is. In exploring this we need to start from the consideration of what a good definition of practice would entail. In 2009 Bachkirova & Kauffman (2009) discussed how coaching can meet two main criteria important for a definition of practice: ‘universality’ and ‘uniqueness’. “Universality means that a good definition of coaching should indicate elements (features) of it that are present in all different types, genres and approaches of coaching. Such definition should be applicable to all types of coaching. Uniqueness means that good enough definition of coaching should include elements that would clearly differentiate coaching from other professional activities such as e.g. training, consulting, counselling” (p. 98). In other words, a good definition should resonate with all professional coaches and make coaching distinctive from practices that are not seen as coaching. Using the applied criteria of universality and uniqueness to various attempts to define coaching as a professional practice, Bachkirova and Kauffman (2009) analysed four types of definitions that are based on the following aspects: what coaching is for (purpose); what it involves (process); where it is conducted (context) and the population it serves (clients). They concluded that in relation to each of the above aspects the differences between various coaching practices were too wide to find sufficient similarities between them, thus questioning their universality. In the same way the attempts to define coaching did not show sufficient differences from other, noncoaching practices, which could not be contested, thus questioning the uniqueness of coaching (Bachkirova & Kauffman, 2009). Apart from the issues with definitions of practice there seem to be other tendencies in the coaching field that indicate a changing attitude to the need for certainty and precision in conceptualising coaching. For example, it has been argued that the more developmentally focused the coaching is, the closer it comes to counselling in terms of the context of interventions, transcending the contextual boundaries (Bachkirova, 2007, 2016). Although at the earlier years, as the coaching field grew, more emphasis was placed on performance coaching, a recent tendency shows growing interest to and acceptance of developmental coaching. It is possible then that with the further development of coaching practice some practitioners become more interested in holistic approaches to coaching. They wish to influence coachees’ lives in a more profound way, thus expanding the boundaries of how coaching was originally conceived. Some voices in coaching communities argue for the need to appreciate flexibility in coaching rather than aiming for ‘clear-cut’ boundaries (e.g. Cavanagh, 2009). This has been fuelled by wider recognition of the complexity involved in coaching assignments and the difficulties of simple conceptualisations of coaching processes that could be explained by the multidisciplinary nature of coaching. Complexity theories became well recognised and coaching engagements are often seen as complex adaptive systems (CAS) (Stacey, 2003, 2012; Cavanagh & Lane, 2012; Bachkirova & Lawton Smith, 2015). The relative closeness to 492

Revisiting the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling

other disciplines of knowledge also helps practitioners to see similar issues that other fields have gone or are going through and learn from them. Consequently, the similarity of coaching with other practices does not represent such a threat to its identity and can even be seen as an advantage. Furthermore, the much wider influences on the coaching field from the modernist and postmodernist worldviews affect how we see our practice and can lead to changes in attitudes. It is clear that modernist tendencies of seeking certainty and firm foundations for policies were fairly explicit in the early days of the coaching industry and reflected the positivist preferences in coaching research, investment in accreditation systems and ideas of strict regulation and professionalisation of coaching. Although these tendencies remain strong, it is noticeable that postmodern and pragmatist discourses begin to advocate appreciation for diversity in coaching styles, recognition of complexity and contextual influences in coaching assignments, together with critiques of the commitment to fixed rules and regulations (Garvey, 2011; Western, 2012; Bachkirova, 2011, 2016). In relation to the issues of a settled definition of practice that would be needed for differentiation between coaching and counselling, the theories of postmodernism and poststructuralism bring a serious challenge. According to these theories, “the truth as consistency is less important than the truth as variation”, because “the fixity is always a necessary convention or illusion, rather than a deeper truth” (Williams, 2005). It might mean that our failing to define coaching once and for all are fairly justified and may be seen a sign of apprehension towards fixed and bounding ideas that might prevent this field from freely developing in response to the changing needs of this practice and in harmony with constantly moving social conditions. If this lack of clarity in identifying coaching is not an issue then variation of coaching even on the margins with therapy can be approached with interest rather than with apprehension. This postmodern attitude at the same time does not preclude from making sense of the coaching process and demonstrating in practice and in complex situations how important decisions can be made and differences of approaches negotiated. “To deny absolutes, such as a certain core, is not to deny significant differences that we can act upon” (Williams, 2005). In fact, one of the useful lenses that could be offered on the coaching/counselling boundary could be the status of the practitioner as an expert. Coaching relationships are generally seen as more egalitarian, more balanced in terms of power than is usually assumed in other helping practices such as consulting, mentoring, social work and therapy. In as much as therapists try to establish an equal partnership with clients (and some branches of therapy include this as important principle, e.g. existential), therapists are seen as experts in the process of therapy and often in the content of client concerns. In coaching, however, the ownership of both the process and content of the sessions is advocated to belong to coachees with shared responsibility for what is happening. It is interesting that there is emerging evidence that this feature may even unite coaches of various traditions, thus satisfying the criteria of universality, something that was disputed before (Bachkirova & Kauffman, 2009). In recent research by Bachkirova, Sibley, & Myers (2015), 41 coaches from different orientations applied a developed instrument for describing an imagined typical coaching session. The findings demonstrated a shared perspective in the way coaching sessions are described. One element of their descriptions was that the role of the coach could be best conceptualised as a ‘collaborative explorer’ rather than ‘informed expert’. This element had a surprisingly stronger consensus amongst the participating coaches than the diversity of coaching traditions from which they came might have suggested (Bachkirova, Sibley, & Myers, 2015). To summarise, first we argue that at the current stage of development the coaching field may benefit from a more inclusive and relaxed attitude towards defining coaching but without minimising the rigour of practice and research. This attitude is more in line with postmodern and pragmatist worldviews on applied disciplines but without the appearance of the ‘anything goes’ element that sometimes is attributed to postmodernism. At the same time, we offer one particular factor that indicates differentiation of coaching from counselling, and potentially from other practices – the strong collaborative role of the practitioner. This element is also in line with the above underpinning philosophy and worldview. 493

Tatiana Bachkirova and Sarah Baker

Implications of the suggested conceptualisation of differences There are various groups of stakeholders of coaching who would benefit from considering these propositions: practitioners, clients, educators of coaching and coaching supervisors. Before we address the implications for these groups it has to be acknowledged that some coaching psychologists may find the above aspect of differentiation not working in their favour. The status of ‘informed expert’ has many advantages, and coaching psychologists work hard to achieve this by the nature of their extensive education and additional training. There are also various activities in their portfolio that require the status of an expert and the knowledge that supports it. It could mean that a different identity might be sought to satisfy this group of practitioners. Alternatively, they might wish to embrace this feature and to stay sufficiently flexible and creative in their coaching work.

Implications for practitioners There are two important implications for practitioners that we wish to address following the above discussion. One is concerned with the most difficult issue for coaches – identifying mental health issues – that is often conflated with the topic of boundaries between coaching and therapy. The second implication is concerned with contracting in coaching. In relation to the first implication, it is important to recognise that identification of mental health issues is not particularly connected with boundaries between coaching and therapy. The task of diagnosing mental health is not much easier for therapists, counsellors and psychologists than it is for coaches. The majority of these psychologically trained practitioners would not claim any certainty in such skills. At the same time this topic is important. Studies in Australia have shown that 45% of the population may experience mental health difficulties during their lifetime. Further, one in four in the UK are likely to experience a mental health problem (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008; Layard et al., 2006). Many who suffer from mental health difficulties do not seek support from their medical practitioners or mental health professionals. As a result, undiagnosed mental health problems are prevalent throughout communities and workplaces (Layard et al., 2006). It can therefore be appreciated that many people may continue to work when experiencing mental health issues. Working instead of taking sick leave has been termed ‘presenteeism’. When considering the client base of organisational or executive coaching, it is particularly salient that presenteeism is more likely to be demonstrated in executive and managerial grades (SCMH, 2007). Although coaches have a duty of care to their coachees, their main task is not necessarily to diagnose a mental health issue that the coachee might have but to judge if they themselves have the capabilities of working with the level of complexity this issue might present. Cavanagh & Buckley (2014) highlight that many factors influence perceptions of the boundaries between coaching and other ‘helping by talking’ approaches. Coaching may be seen as a more socially acceptable form of support or helping when experiencing psychological difficulties. Due to the diversity of skills and experiences that inform coaching, the proficiencies and abilities of each individual coach vary greatly. In a coaching situation, it may not be appropriate for the coach to offer a diagnosis of any mental health problem. Rather, coaches need to be mindful of contractual, ethical and legal implications of exceeding their capabilities. A second implication is concerned with the nature of contracting in coaching that is a more regular topic for the coaching engagements and is closely aligned with the importance of the element of coaching that separates it from therapy. The notion of a coaching relationship being more egalitarian, more balanced than in therapy is not new. In coaching, coachees normally see their coach as an equal, whereas counselling clients may see the counsellor as an expert (Hart, Blattner, & Leipsic, 2001). What we can emphasise here is the nature of extensive contracting in coaching that might need to be explicitly articulated in order to establish this egalitarian relationship as more important than other practicalities. For example, in research by Jopling (2007) coaching contracts provided a framework for practice. In comparison to counselling contracts, coaches explicitly defined their methods of working and their 494

Revisiting the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling

expectations of the coachee’s role within the coaching process. Coaching contracts were seen to be formal, constrained by specific time frames and focused on coachee expectations. In comparison, counselling contracts were considered to be flexible and focused more on logistics such as meeting times, payment terms and cancellation arrangements (Griffiths & Campbell, 2008; Baker, 2015). Indeed, contracting has been highlighted by several studies as being important in coaching as a means of clarifying methods of working and ensuring that coaching accommodates the coachee’s expectations (Jopling, 2007; Griffiths & Campbell, 2008; Maxwell, 2009). At the same time, although many feel that contracting is important, some practitioners suggest that the initial agreement cannot accommodate the issues that arise in the coaching sessions. Therefore, it is seen as a provisional framework which may be modified to the benefit of both the coach and the coachee (Maxwell, 2009; Baker, 2015). In recent studies, Maxwell (2009) found that the supposition that coaching only addresses professional issues is unsubstantiated. In particular, if coaching is required to address developmental issues, the distinction between coaching and counselling becomes increasingly hard to establish (Bachkirova, 2007). Coaches report that, far from being clearly separated, professional and personal matters are tightly interwoven. Coaches need to be equipped to work with the ‘whole messy human’ (Maxwell, 2009), including the coachee’s emotions and past, as well as their performance targets. For new coaches and those without a psychological background, it is important to know themselves and understand their capabilities and limitations (Bachkirova, 2016). In effect, those with less experience or knowledge need to be aware of working within their competencies (Baker, 2015). The differences in contracting in coaching and therapy as described above already differentiate these practices. However, the focus on a different role that the coach may play also emphasise that in order to create an equal relationship with the coachee, contracting should involve a discussion about mutual responsibilities and potential obstacles to their collaboration.

Implications for coachees It is important that potential coachees are aware of the collaborative nature of coaching and their responsibilities in this process. This could be done during the contracting stage and also made clear throughout the process that various decisions about the content of the discussion, pace of work and changes of direction need to be made together. Organisational structures and supposed expectations may influence the support coachees seek. Considering many may continue to work with mental health issues, employees may feel they would be seen as ‘weak’ if they expressed their emotions or indicated any psychological distress (Baker, 2015). Coachees may therefore seek coaching for stress, as stress could be associated with working hard, when in reality they need counselling support. Whilst many large organisations are actively introducing mental health support (BITC, 2015), research has indicated that some do not openly support their employees with counselling services (Baker, 2015). As a consequence, coaches with a therapeutic background may be chosen to coach clients who exhibit deeper psychological issues. Indeed, it could be suggested that the public may perceive coaching as an acceptable form of therapy (Williams, 2003). The client’s choice of supportive service and the content they choose to share may have a profound impact on boundaries in practice. The client appears to play an active role in the co-creation of boundaries. Rather than being fixed, the client’s boundaries maybe malleable within the context of the helping relationship. As clients develop trust and a sense of security from the support provided by the practitioner, they may risk appearing vulnerable. Within the supportive space created by the helping relationship, they may consciously or unconsciously renegotiate their personal boundaries. Indeed, it could be argued that, rather than theoretical boundaries, parameters of practice are created by a dynamic interplay between practitioner and the client’s personal boundaries. It would therefore seem imperative that coaches have adequate skills and self-awareness to manage boundary transitions. As the coaching may become developmental rather than performance-oriented, the expectations of the coachee for specific and significant changes dictate that the coach is responsible for informing the coachee 495

Tatiana Bachkirova and Sarah Baker

about the scale of issues involved in the process of change and the degree of unpredictability in terms of reaching the specific outcomes that the coachee may expect. Coachees certainly have to be involved in the decision making process about the changes in the nature of the coaching process that could affect the outcome. This is dictated by the assumption of the equal responsibility of a coach and a coachee in relation to the outcomes of the coaching process.

Implications for educators of coaching The most difficult task in regard to the challenge of clarifying the boundaries between therapy and coaching seems to fall on educators of coaching as they are on the front line and expected to provide certainty that novice coaches are striving for. Whilst executive coaches argue that coach training could be less rigorous than counselling training (Turner, 2010), many have argued that psychological knowledge and an awareness of mental health issues should be a core aspect of training programmes (Cavanagh, 2005; Maxwell, 2009). However, this is possible to a limited degree for the reasons that we discussed in this chapter. Although identifying and making decisions in cases that involve mental health issues needs more guidance for all coaches (Cavanagh & Buckley, 2014) and could be useful even for a lay person, a more honest way for educators is to acknowledge that their training and education cannot provide novices with certainty in this regard. The nature of this issue is that in relation to the most serious warnings about working with unrecognised mental health issues, the guidelines could only be rather general (Cavanagh, 2005). Even if the educator were to ignore the issue with diagnosis of mental health and wished to give some guidelines, in reality the time available for delivering such information is insufficient. Mental health problems can be difficult to identify. For example, there are many similarities between the symptoms of stress and depression. The educators of coaching are not specialists in mental health issues and can offer only a very superficial scan of tables with descriptions of mental disorders, which would be of limited use for those who are unqualified to make such judgements. However, if we consider a distinctive feature between therapy and coaching as discussed in this chapter, we can argue that coaches do not need to present themselves as experts, particularly in mental health issues. They have to be open about their role and capabilities and share with their coachees responsibility for making decisions whether to continue coaching or to seek help from a different specialist when required. Various modes of working can also be considered in each particular case. It would be helpful at the same time, if educators focused on the personal development of coaches as well as their professional development. Coaches should learn as much as possible about the theories and practice of coaching but approach coaching engagements from the position of the collaborative explorer able to facilitate a process of joint meaning making. This way of coaching is not as easy as it might seem in comparison to presenting oneself as an expert. The role of an expert provides certain security and attractive status that are difficult to give up. With the right education, however, coaches may learn to rely on who they are as people, the quality of attention they can provide and their skills of creating a balanced relationship in terms of power.

Implications for coaching supervision If coaching boundaries with therapy are defined in the way presented in this chapter, supervision becomes one of the most important elements of coaching practice (Bachkirova, Jackson, & Clutterbuck, 2011; Grant, 2012; DeFilippo, 2013; Hodge, 2016). Not playing an expert and approaching each engagement with a consideration of the context and complexity involved in understanding a coachee’s issues brings to light a need to explore and reflect on this complexity with an experienced supervisor. This is essential because coaches do not rely on the prescribed and routinised approaches; they engage in the process on an equal basis which may lead to unexpected results. The issues that may come up in coaching may be testing their capabilities to uncomfortable levels. They may require making important decisions in relation to 496

Revisiting the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling

hypothetical boundaries with other practices or being creative and working in the fuzzy spaces between different practices. Supervisors can help to explore these complex situations and also model for coaches the ways of working as a collaborative explorer.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

What are the differences between coaches who believe in clear boundaries between coaching and counselling and coaches who do not? What obstacles might stand in the way of a wider spread of the amalgamated practices? What features of developmental coaching lead to transcendence of the boundaries between coaching and counselling? What obstacles might hinder the shift of focus from the coach as an expert to coaching as a collaborative process?

Recommended reading Bachkirova, T., & Cox, E. (2004). A bridge over troubled water: Bringing together coaching and counselling. International Journal of Coaching and Mentoring, 2 (2), June, also in Counselling at Work (48), Spring 2005, 2–9 Baker, S. (2015). Practitioners’ perceptions of the boundaries between coaching and counselling. Unpublished PhD Thesis. University of Bedfordshire. Cavanagh, M., & Buckley, A. (2014). Coaching and mental health, in E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The complete handbook of coaching (2 Ed.), London: Sage, pp. 405–417. Maxwell, A. (2009). How do business coaches experience the boundary between coaching and therapy/counselling? Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2 (2), 149–162.

References Australian Bureau of Statistic (2008). National Health Survey: Summary of the results, 2007–2008 (Reissue). Retreived September 22, 2009, from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/4364.0. Bachkirova, T. (2007). Role of coaching psychology in defining boundaries between counselling and coaching, chapter 18 in S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of coaching psychology, London: Routledge, pp. 325–350. Bachkirova, T. (2011). Developmental coaching: Working with the self, Maidenhead: Open University Press. Bachkirova, T. (2016). Developing a knowledge base of coaching: Questions to explore, in T. Bachkirova, G. Spence & D. Drake (Eds.), The Sage handbook of coaching, London: Sage. Bachkirova, T., & Cox, E. (2004). A bridge over troubled water: Bringing together coaching and counselling, International Journal of Coaching and Mentoring, 2 (2), June, also in Counselling at Work (48), Spring 2005, 2–9. Bachkirova, T., Jackson, P., & Clutterbuck, D. (Eds.). (2011). Supervision in coaching and mentoring: Theory and practice, Maidenhead: Open University Press. Bachkirova, T., & Kauffman, C. (2009). The blind men and the elephant: Using criteria of universality and uniqueness in evaluating our attempts to define coaching, Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2 (2), 95–105. Bachkirova, T., & Lawton Smith, C. (2015). From competencies to capabilities in the assessment and accreditation of coaches. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 13 (2), 123–140. Bachkirova, T., Sibley, J., & Myers, A. (2015). Developing and applying a new instrument for microanalysis of the coaching process: The coaching process Q-Set. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 26 (4), 431–462. Baker, S. (2013). Listening to the practitioners about integration, in N. Popovic & D. Jinks (Eds.), Personal consultancy, Hove: Routledge, pp. 185–193. Baker, S. (2015). Practitioners’ perceptions of the boundaries between coaching and counselling. Unpublished PhD Thesis. University of Bedfordshire. Bluckert, P. (2006). Psychological dimensions to executive coaching, Hove: Routledge. Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school, Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Brewer, M. B. (1991). The social self: On being the same and different at the same time. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 475–482. Business in the Community (BITC). (2015). Mental health: We’re ready to talk: One year on: 2014–2015. London: Business in the Community. Retrieved August 8, 2015, from www.bitc.org.uk/sites/default/files/bitc_oneyearon_final.pdf 497

Tatiana Bachkirova and Sarah Baker

Cavanagh, M. (2005). Mental-health issues and challenging clients in executive coaching. In M. Cavanagh, A. M. Grant & T. Kemp (Eds.), Evidence-based coaching,Vol. 1: Theory, research and practice from the behavioural science. Australia: Australian Academic Press, pp. 21–36. Cavanagh, M. (2009). Coaching as a method for joining up the dots: An interview by T. Bachkirova & C. Kauffman, Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2 (2), 106–116. Cavanagh, M., & Lane, D. (2012). Coaching Psychology Coming of Age: The challenges we face in the messy world of complexity? International Coaching Psychology Review, 7 (1), 75–90. Cavanagh, M., & Buckley, A. (2014). Coaching and mental health, in E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The complete handbook of coaching (2 Ed.) London: Sage, pp. 405–417. Choi, B. C. K., & Pak, A. W. P. (2006). Multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity in health research, services, education and policy: 1: Definitions, objectives, and evidence of effectiveness. Clinical & Investigative Medicine, 29 (6), 351–364. Crowe, T. (2017). Coaching and psychotherapy. In T. Bachkirova, G. Spence & D. Drake (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of coaching (pp. 85–101). London: Sage. Daley, B. J. (1999). Novice to expert: An exploration of how professionals learn. Adult Education Quarterly, 49 (4), 133–147. DeFilippo, D. (2013). Executive coach supervision: The dynamics and effects. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. Fillery-Travis, A., & Collins, R. (2017). Discipline, profession and industry: How our choices shape our future. In T. Bachkirova, G. Spence & D. Drake (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of coaching. London: Sage, pp. 729–744. Garvey, B. (2011). A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about coaching and mentoring. London: Sage. Grant, A. M., & Zackon, R. (2004). Executive, workplace and life coaching: Findings from a large-scale survey of International Coach Federation members. International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring, 2 (2), 1–16. Grant, A. M. (2007). A languishing-flourishing model of goal striving and mental heath for coaching population. International Coaching Psychology Reivew, 2 (3), 250–264. Grant, A. (2012). Australian Coaches' views on coaching supervsion: A study with implications for Australian Coach education, training and practice. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 10 (2), 17–33. Griffiths, K., & Campbell, M. A. (2008). Semantics or substance? Preliminary evidence in the debate between life coaching and counselling. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 1 (2), 164–173. Hart, V., Blattner, J., & Leipsic, S. (2001). Coaching versus therapy: A perspective. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 53 (4), 229–237. Hodge, A. (2016). The value of coaching supervision as a development process: Contribution to continued professional and personal wellbeing for executive coaches. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 14 (2), 87–106. Jinks, D. (2010). An exploration into the thoughts and perceptions of four coaches around the concept of personal consultancy. Unpublished MSc Dissertation, Hull, UK: University of Hull. Jopling, A. (2007). The fuzzy space: Exploring the experience of the space between psychotherapy and executive coaching. Unpublished MSc Dissertation, New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, London, UK. Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77 (6), 1121–1134. Lane, D. A., Stelter, R., & Stout-Rostron, S. (2014). The future of coaching as a profession, in E. Cox, T. Bachkirova & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.), The complete handbook of coaching, London: Sage, pp. 377–390. Layard, R., Clark, D., Bell, S., Knapp, M., Meacher, B., Priebe, S., Turnberg, L., Thornicroft, G., & Wright, B. (2006). The depression report: A new deal for depression and anxiety disorders, in The centre for economic performance’s mental health policy group. London: LSE. Maxwell, A. (2009). How do business coaches experience the boundary between coaching and therapy/counselling? Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2 (2), 149–162. Mumby, C. (2011). Working at the boundary. Counselling Children & Young People, December, 14–19. Myers, D. (2002). Intuition. New Haven: Yale University Press. Popovic, N., & Boniwell, I. (2007). Personal consultancy: An integrative approach to one-to-one talking practices. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Special Issue 1, 24–29. Popovic, N., & Jinks, D. (2013). Personal consultancy. Hove: Routledge. Price, J. (2009). The coaching/therapy boundary in organisational coaching. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2 (2), 135–148. Rogers, J. (2011). Taking the plunge. Coaching at Work, 6 (4), 42–44. SCMH (2007). Policy Paper 8: Mental Health at Work: Developing the Business Case. London: The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health. Simons, C. (2006). Should there be a counselling element within coaching? The Coaching Psychologist, 2 (2), September, 22–25.

498

Revisiting the issue of boundaries between coaching and counselling

Spence, G. B. (2012). Coaching and cross disciplinary collaboration: More complexity and chaos? International Coaching Psychology Review, 7 (1), 122–126. Spinelli, E. (2008). Coaching and therapy: Similarities and divergences. International Coaching Psychology Review, 3 (3), 241–249. Stacey, R. D. (2003). Strategic management and organisational dynamics: The challenge of complexity. Harlow: Prentice-Hall. Stacey, R. D. (2012). Comment on debate article: Coaching psychology coming of age: The challenges we face in the messy world of complexity. International Coaching Psychology Review, 7 (1), 91–95. Summerfield, J. (2002). Walking the thin line: Coaching or counselling. Training Journal, November, 36–39. Turner, E. (2010). Coaches’ views on the relevance of unconscious dynamics to executive coaching. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 3 (1), 12–29. Wenger, E. (2010). Communities of practice and social learning systems: The career of a concept. Social Learning Systems and Communities of Practice, 3, 179–198. Western, S. (2012). Coaching and mentoring: A critical text. London: Sage. Williams, J. (2005). Understanding poststructuralism. Chesham: Acumen. Williams, P. (2003). The potential perils of personal issues in coaching: The continuing debate: Therapy of coaching? What every coach should know. International Journal of Coaching in Organizations, 2 (2), 21–30.

499

37 Coaching and diversity Helen Baron and Hannah Azizollah

Introduction Diversity is integral to coaching. To be a good coach it is necessary to work from a diversity perspective – even if the ‘d’ word is not mentioned. Any two people are different from each other in some way; this affects the way they perceive and respond to the world and how they feel about it. Diversity considers these differences and how they impact on the way people are and how they interact. In organisations, according to Kandola & Fullerton (1998), diversity work focuses on maximising the potential of each person. Kandola (2009) describes this as process working towards inclusion where everyone feels accepted and valued. We cover some of the basics of prejudice, equal opportunity and diversity in this chapter and consider how these are integral to coaching practice. This is followed by a detailed consideration of the competencies required in working with diversity as a coach. We then present a number of case studies that illustrate some scenarios with a strong diversity element. Rather than simply meet the need for political correctness by ensuring that a chapter on diversity is included in this handbook, we will invite you to consider how you would approach diversity issues through the chapter. We have included vignettes illustrating how diversity issues arise in coaching for you to review and reflect on. These should help demonstrate the practical implications of the more theoretical discussions and provide you with an opportunity to develop your own thinking around diversity in your coaching practice.

Prejudice, discrimination and stereotypes It is naïve to assume that sexist or racist attitudes are now a thing of the past. Research shows that prejudice is still alive both in overt offensive behaviour such as name calling or exclusion but more often in subtle forms embedded in people’s attitudes and expectations of others. Signs of this may be different interpretations of the same behaviour depending on the identity of the person concerned (she retaliated, he responded), so called office ‘banter’ that can in reality be quite offensive or a lack of social integration of people who are considered ‘other’ (e.g. Sheridan & O’Sullivan, 2003). Chan (2017) describes the discrimination women barristers face receiving briefs. Women in an organisation will often be aware of subtle or not so subtle sexism that men have overlooked (Wahl & Holgersson, 2003). A well-meaning white manager may fail to develop a good relationship with a black report and avoid addressing his performance issues because she is worried about accidentally saying something offensive in his presence. The black report may experience this lack of support, both personally and in terms of his 500

Coaching and diversity

professional development, as racism, and his coach would be wrong to feel that he had a ‘chip on his shoulder’ or was oversensitive. The coach must not only avoid the manager’s defective approach but also help the black report gain insight into what is happening and develop effective strategies to cope with the situation and avoid any negative impact on his relationships with others or his career aims. A transsexual might be considering whether to ‘come out’ at work. His coach must be comfortable enough with gender reassignment and perhaps his own sexual identity to be able to discuss this issue and help resolve the dilemma. Overtly prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behaviour may be restricted to a few individuals but often reflect a common consensus regarding what behaviour is appropriate. If they commonly occur, are tolerated by the majority and never openly challenged or are even encouraged by some influential individuals, the situation is not just one of individual prejudice but of organisational discrimination. It does not require that the organisation or many individuals within it have a desire or intention to discriminate for organisational discrimination to occur. People may be unaware of the detriment suffered by others as a result of their behaviour. Organisations often do not realise how their ‘normal’ practices may disadvantage some people. For instance, if allocation to favoured projects tends to happen in after-work informal discussions in the pub, those who don’t take part in such sessions may be disadvantaged. This may include a woman who has caring responsibilities or someone who prefers not to for social or religious reasons. A good coach needs to be aware of the danger of these kinds of norms and processes when working with someone who is subject to this type of discrimination or someone who is perpetrating it. Jennifer’s Jewish coach considers the organisation Jennifer works for to be quite anti-Semitic, but that observation has not been discussed as it seems irrelevant to the coaching. After some months Jennifer tells the coach she is Jewish but has always kept this a secret. Now she wants to ‘come out’ to her team – but not to her bosses – as being Jewish. What relevance does the coach being Jewish have in this scenario? What would you do to facilitate Jennifer’s aim?

Equal opportunities Equality of opportunity is one aspect of diversity. It puts a focus on overcoming barriers and inequalities that members of some groups may face. It is particularly associated with dealing with the impact of unfair discrimination and the outcomes of negative attitudes such as racism or sexism. Whilst gender and race are central to equal opportunity thinking, there are many other areas of potential inequality that a coach must be aware of. UK equal opportunity legislation is focused on eliminating discrimination and covers disability, sexual orientation, religion and age as well as race and gender. These are all areas that a coach should have some understanding of. Any number of other differences between individuals and groups in organisations (for example, social class, educational background, regional origin) can be the source of barriers which reduce individuals’ ability to work together and form cohesive relationships, leading to inequality of opportunity. Equal opportunity models view fairness as an absence of barriers for members of different groups. This is the approach embedded in the legislation. Equal opportunity with respect to coaching services requires coaches to ensure that their services are accessible by people from different groups and that the services they offer are equally effective for members of different groups. A male coach who feels uncomfortable working with a young woman is unlikely to develop a good coaching relationship with her, particularly if he views her male colleagues’ jokes and ‘double entendres’ as typical office ‘banter’. He will have little insight into how this constant stream of sexist remarks makes her feel or what the real barriers are to her becoming an effective member of an otherwise male team. He might leave her feeling that she was the source of the problem rather than validating her experiences and the difficulties of being a woman in a sexist environment. Corrine wants to return to work after a five-year gap. Previously, she was a very successful IT consultant and had worked for a number of consultancies. She has approached a coach as she is having difficulty getting a job. She has 501

Helen Baron and Hannah Azizollah

hearing difficulties and her speech is affected, but this has had no adverse impact on her work in the past – she feels this can’t be the cause of her problem now. How might the coach approach this? Is the difficulty to do with Corrine’s gender, disability, time out, or the way she is marketing herself?

Diversity In contrast to an equal opportunity approach, diversity has a greater focus on inclusivity and individuality (Kandola & Fullerton, 1998). Rather than addressing the issues around childcare that women often face, diversity looks at providing for the needs of every individual. Thus flexible working hours may be helpful to women with young children, but a man with children may have similar needs, as would someone with an elderly parent to care for. Flexible hours might also help someone wishing to attend religious services or writing a novel. Diversity also considers how people from diverse backgrounds work together. How do the dynamics in a heterogeneous group differ from those where everyone shares a similar background and assumptions about the world? Diversity values everyone’s contribution and tries to provide increased opportunity for all to maximise their involvement to the benefit of each individual and the group or organisation as a whole. The increasing heterogeneity of society today means individuals and organisations cannot ignore the impact of diversity. It is in the customer base of a commercial company, in the student body of a university and in the clients of a public sector organisation. Organisations that do not make a real attempt to manage diversity are likely to suffer as a result – but those that do may reap the benefit. Research into organisational performance demonstrates a diverse workforce can improve creativity and innovation, but a diverse workforce also requires better management to prevent negative outcomes such as conflict or exclusion (Simons, Pelled, & Smith, 1999; Ely & Thomas, 2001).

Coaching and diversity Sometimes a coaching programme is initiated in an organisation in order to address diversity issues. This may be explicit such as encouraging women in leadership but may often be implicit. The stated reason may not relate to diversity at all (e.g. a programme to improve communication among managers), but the underlying problem may still be a diversity one – people from different groups not working well together. It is not uncommon for an individual who is different to be identified as ‘the problem’ and in need of coaching – when actually it is the response of others to the individual that is problematic. Introducing someone who is different to a team who are happy with their ways may upset the equilibrium. The group can blame the new person rather than examine their own lack of flexibility or disinclination to work with someone who is not like them. Identifying the locus of the problem is always important in coaching, and it is critical to realise that there may be a diversity element more often than would appear at first glance. The coach must be sensitive to both the situational factors that are contributing to the client’s issues and the potential for changes in behaviour, attitude and approach. It is important to appreciate how difficult it might be to deal with prejudice in the environment. Coaching can be about helping clients to come to terms with their own identity and finding solutions that work for them, rather than trying to make clients conform to mainstream conventions and ways of doing things. Consider a company where there is a ‘glass ceiling’ preventing black women managers from achieving the most senior positions. A coaching programme might be suggested to help more black women reach their potential. On the one hand, this could help the women develop the skills they need to succeed as managers and gain promotion. On the other hand, there is an underlying assumption that the women aren’t currently performing well enough to succeed – that they are the problem – and changing them is the solution to the problem. However, it may be the organisation which needs to change to appreciate their competencies and 502

Coaching and diversity

contributions or just to remove the barriers to performance they face. Perhaps they have not been assigned to the type of challenging projects which have helped other managers demonstrate and develop their skills. Coaches should beware of the impact of colluding with an unfairly discriminating organisation in undertaking such a programme. Of course it is possible for a coaching programme targeted at a particular group to be helpful. However, the formal coaching programme may be replacing the informal support networks (‘old boy’s network’) that help members of other groups perform better. Clutterbuck (2003) describes the use of mentoring programmes in this context and Spears (2001) discusses executive coaching. Both stress the need to understand and work with difference issues and be aware of hidden prejudice within the organisation as well as having a generally well-structured and well-implemented programme.

Competencies for coaching in a diverse context Coaching requires a range of knowledge and skills; indeed, earlier chapters highlight the breadth and depth of knowledge and skill that can be relevant to the coaching context. Here we highlight those competencies which are particularly relevant and necessary to working with heterogeneous clients, where the coachee has a different background to the coach. Most research in this area is from a counselling perspective, but the competencies that are highlighted are equally or perhaps more relevant to a coaching relationship because they are important in being able to understand and work effectively with the client. Counselling often involves more in-depth work with the individual through which issues may be revealed which could be missed in a more action-focused coaching process. Pedersen & Levy (1993) present a case for additional skills for working in multicultural contexts, and Enns (2000) describes a related set of skills for dealing with gender issues in a counselling relationship. The work of Sue & Sue (1990) has been particularly influential. They discuss a number of different competencies for cross-cultural counselling which they list under three main headings: self-awareness, knowledge and skills. We will discuss each of these three areas in turn.

Self-awareness Self-awareness is crucial in any relationship aimed at change. In this context it is about being aware, as a coach, of one’s own cultural assumptions, biases and stereotypes. All cultures make assumptions and have common values and attitudes that differentiate them from other cultures. Being a member of the majority culture, it is easy to assume that one’s own cultural assumptions and attitudes are more universal than is actually the case. It is easy to be unaware of making a cultural assumption at all. For instance, coaches typically espouse the Western value for the self as an autonomous unit. The coach works to enhance the way the individual operates as an independent actor within the organisational context. However, this bias towards individual autonomy is not shared by all cultures. An individual from a more collectivist culture in which identity is more strongly defined by group membership (e.g. family, work group) is likely to find a coach emphasising an egocentric approach dissonant. Being ‘colour-blind’, ‘gender-blind’ or ‘disability-blind’ is not an option. First, it is patently impossible to have a proper coaching relationship and not be aware of such basic facts about the client. Second, by ignoring a central fact about the client, the coach is denying an essential part of the person’s identity. And third, by denying that these and other facts about the client affect the relationship, the coach is certain to fail in understanding the world from the client’s perspective – a necessary stage in working with the person for change. If the coach is not aware of making cultural assumptions, it is unlikely that a coachee with a different set of assumptions will develop the degree of trust required to really engage with the coach and in the coaching process. Burkhard & Knox (2004) and Gushue (2004) suggest that those who have a ‘colour-blind’ view of race differences may be less effective at evaluating clients’ issues and developing empathy. Passmore and Law (2009) argue that coaches must have the ability to mediate the boundaries between cultures. To be effective in a coaching relationship, coaches must continuously reflect on their own cultural assumptions and biases and how these may distort their perspective and the way they work with clients. 503

Helen Baron and Hannah Azizollah

A male coach develops a very close coaching relationship with his client, likes him a lot and is impressed by his insight and sensitivity. The client later reveals that he is homosexual and wants to explore the impact that his secret is having on his work. The coach is shocked and uncomfortable by the unexpected revelation. He had been unaware of some of his prejudices and needed to work with a supervisor on the issue before he felt able to continue working effectively with the client. How might the coach use his response to the client’s homosexuality constructively in the coaching process? What impact will this have on the client? On the coach?

Knowledge In order to successfully work with someone who is different it is important to have insight into others’ experience of the world and to understand how to ensure your behaviour does not contravene others’ cultural ‘norms’. This might mean an understanding of different cultural or religious groups, how people of the opposite gender experience the world or the needs of a person with a disability. For instance, it would be important to understand why joining the rest of the team for a drink after work might be difficult for a Moslem whose religious beliefs did not allow the consumption of alcohol. While developing trust and empathy depends on adopting an appropriate style of behaviour, communication and interaction, a client may not have much confidence in a coach who does not have insight into even basic facts about their background. Consider how much confidence you would have in a coach whose behaviour clearly indicated a different religious or cultural background from your own. Of course while knowledge of different cultures and groups is important, the coach must also be aware of the dangers of stereotyping. Just because an attitude or behaviour is typical of a particular group, it does not mean that it is so for the person from that group you are coaching. It would be wrong to assume a woman will be less competitive and more relationship focused, that an older person will be less career focussed, or that someone from an economically disadvantaged background will be lacking in confidence. Beyond the basic knowledge needed to have a good chance of initiating a positive coaching relationship, coaches should continually challenge their understanding of themselves, the client and the coaching relationship. There is an almost endless list of things it could be important to explore. • • • •

Are there certain behaviours or language uses that the person might find offensive? Are you correctly interpreting the body language of someone from a different cultural group? Is the communication difficulty with someone who is hard of hearing leading you to oversimplify your responses? Is competitive striving differentially valued in men and women?

A good way to increase your insight into cultural difference is through meeting and talking to people from different groups about their experiences, as well as through study. Additionally, biographies, literary fiction, films and TV about people from different backgrounds are also good sources for broadening your knowledge and perspective.1 Being aware of where there may be gaps in your knowledge and how to deal with this is as important as adding specific information to your store. A coach needs to continuously check that there is good mutual understanding in the discussion or whether the coach or client has misunderstood what the other is trying to say. There are several academic presentations of aspects of difference. For example, the work of Hofstede (1991) and Trompenaars & Hampden Turner (1997) provides an accessible introduction to cultural difference. They discuss dimensions of difference such as the degree of hierarchy in relationships (power distance)

1 Some reading suggestions are provided at the end of the chapter. 504

Coaching and diversity

or attitudes to time. Locke (1992) has developed a model which he uses to review cultural groups in a multicultural counselling context. As well as understanding the specifics of individual cultures, an understanding of the dimensions along which cultures can differ is enlightening. It helps the coach to identify when an issue in the coaching content or relationship is likely to relate to cultural differences in perspective. With all this work, it is important to remember that even within a particular group everyone’s experiences and attitudes will be different. People brought up in the UK but from another cultural background might espouse either set of cultural assumptions or their own personal integration of the two, or they might experience conflict between their ‘British’ self and their home self (see the discussion of cultural identity below). A disability may be central to a person’s identity or peripheral to it. As well as knowledge of the group to which the client belongs, the coach should understand how prejudice – subtle and overt, individual and organisational – can impact on the individual and on his or her ability to operate effectively. It is important not to underestimate either the frequency or the effect of discrimination, both the intended acts of racist and sexist individuals and the more insidious results of social and institutional factors. It is often the feeling of alienation from mainstream society that has the biggest impact. Being stared at or excluded or having to hide some basic fact about themselves takes its toll on how people feel about themselves and see the world. Power is typically vested in the representatives of the majority or mainstream groups, and those outside can feel powerless and helpless in the face of organisational structures or behaviours they do not understand or which exclude them. These kinds of processes can undermine an individual’s self-esteem, self-confidence and resilience to the stresses and strains of daily life. Without this type of insight the coach would be unable to differentiate between an individual who was engaging in effective strategies for dealing with a hostile environment or someone whose inappropriate behaviour was generating hostile reactions in others. Taking supervision from a coach with experience in the area of diversity or networking with other coaches working in the domain can be helpful in developing awareness of these types of processes. The coach should have some insight into how cultural identity develops and the different ways people come to terms with their differences from others. Some may be proud of being different and wear their cultural identity as a banner (e.g. Black is Beautiful, Gay Pride). Others may experience it as a source of shame or as something to be hidden or compensated for through greater efforts. A number of theorists have suggested models of how these factors affect personal identity, and some have suggested that people may pass through a number of stages from aspiring to be like the majority through idealisation of one’s own group to an integrated approach to both one’s own group and the dominant culture. See Ponterotto, Fuertes, & Chen (2000) for a discussion of some of these models and their impact on counselling processes. For some individuals, working through the conflicts in their identity may be important to a successful coaching outcome. A final point, no one can ever really understand or know things from another’s perspective. The coach does not assume that they know what it feels like to be their client; insights are all that the coach can hope for. These can be more or less appropriate depending on the knowledge that the coach has as described above. A good knowledge base can help a coach to more frequent and more accurate insight. Andrew left school with few qualifications and started a small and very successful niche software company. It has grown to a company employing about 60 people, and over the years Andrew has recruited a board of directors to support him and the growth of the company. He has chosen able and qualified people in sales, marketing, operations, finance and HR. He has now engaged a coach to help him manage his team of directors. He feels stuck. He values the directors’ qualifications and education but does not trust them and is intimidated by them because of how different they are. How can Andrew relinquish power to people he does not trust, but how can he benefit from their skills if he does not empower them to act? How can Andrew gain insight into his feelings of intimidation? What strategies would you devise with Andrew to assist him? 505

Helen Baron and Hannah Azizollah

Skills An effective coach in a diverse environment will have a broad range of strategies and approaches which will be differentially appropriate with different people. It is unlikely that a single approach will work with all clients, and the approach used should be matched to the individual and to his or her cultural perspective. An individual who values understanding emotional responses is likely to benefit from a more introspective approach whereas someone who comes from a culture which views such activity as self-indulgent would likely progress better with an active problem-solving approach. Diversity issues bring into focus the need for the coach to manage the boundaries between one, two or more other players in the work-based coaching scenario who are outside the one-to-one coaching relationship between coach and client. An action-oriented approach may be necessary to overcome prejudice in the client’s environment. If the person being coached is doing everything right and those around cannot see this or do not respond – coaching may not help without a more active intervention. The coach might help the individual develop strategies for challenging and dealing with the prejudice and provide support for their implementation. In extreme situations, where this is not effective despite the client’s efforts, the coach should consider confronting the appropriate representatives of the organisation with the discrimination the client is facing and help them to address the issues appropriately. While this may seem antithetical to the coaching relationship, to try to address the situation within the coaching dyad suggests that the coach believes that the client is responsible for the situation and both the feelings of blame and the difficulty of dealing with an objectively antagonistic environment are likely to undermine the trust between client and coach. In the first instance the issue should be raised and addressed within the coaching. The client’s agreement should be sought before undertaking any action. Equally, if the coach becomes aware that the client is behaving in a discriminatory manner towards others, then this should be raised as an issue, even if the client is perfectly comfortable with this aspect of his or her behaviour and wants to focus the coaching on other matters. The coach also needs well-developed communication skills and needs to be comfortable using diverse styles. Being able to match the communication style of the person being coached – e.g. body language, emotional expressivity – will generally improve the effectiveness of communication. Some cultures value a more emotionally committed style of communication, others a more dispassionate approach. One person could view an emotion-free Western presentation of ideas as boring and lacking in conviction whereas another could confuse an emotionally laden style with being irrational and paying scant attention to the facts of the case. Both verbal and non-verbal communication can differ across cultures. For instance, different conventions regarding when to make and avoid eye contact can lead to misattribution of aggression or diffidence to a client.

Referring a client One coach can work with people from a broad range of backgrounds. However, where the coaching goals are very much centred on issues of identity, discrimination and group membership, coaches should be ready to refer the client to someone who can more readily relate to the client, where they feel they cannot do so adequately. Coaching is predicated on a good relationship between the coach and client, and if there is a problem with this relationship, the possibility of referring to another coach should always be considered. Where there is an additional diversity dimension which needs to be addressed, this may be strongly indicated. In some cases there are benefits of working with a coach from a similar group, although this is not necessarily a requirement. As discussed above, where someone is from a minority or underrepresented group, identity can be a central theme in the coaching process – whether this is tied in with gender, race, sexuality, regional origin, social class, educational background or any other area. In these cases, consideration should be given to finding an appropriate coach from a similar group who may more easily gain insight into the worldview and problems faced by the individual and with whom the client may more easily develop a trusting relationship. 506

Coaching and diversity

Case studies The following case studies illustrate how diversity issues can be critical to the coaching process. They are based on real coaching experiences, but details have been changed and amalgamated for the sake of illustration so they do not refer to real people. Each is followed by an analysis of the coaching issues from a diversity perspective. Consider what aspects of diversity are raised in each study, what the dynamics of the situation are and how you might address this as a coach before reading our analysis of the case.

Case study 1: Just one of the boys Overview Sandra has a middle-management position in a very technical communications-engineering company. She is a high flier – and very different from the other managers. She is extremely able and not only is she unusually young for her position, she is the only woman in a very male environment, yet she gets on very well with her colleagues. She is being coached to prepare her for promotion, which shows just how well she is regarded by the organisation. The focus of the coaching is how to influence more effectively. After a few sessions she reveals to the coach that she is pregnant but wishes to keep this secret until after the promotion decision has been made. Some months later, when she has already been offered the promotion, she admits to the coach that she has not yet told her manager that she is pregnant. Despite the fact that her pregnancy is now quite evident, she believes that no one is aware of it – ‘they would not notice as they see me as a bloke’. It seemed shocking to the coach that Sandra could be so obviously pregnant and her colleagues not notice. Up till now Sandra had exerted influence in subtle ways and the focus of the coaching was how to influence in clearer and more direct ways. She wanted her colleagues to value her intelligence, insight and different point of view, and she wanted the organisation to promote her and make better use of her skills. Sandra was different in so many ways from her colleagues (age, gender, ability, insight) that one might expect her to have difficulties with other members of the team. However, she had managed her relationships in the organisation so that they saw her as a ‘bloke’. This suited both them and her. It was as if they could not cope with her differences and her level of ability which they would expect to find in an older man. So they almost saw her as an older man. This was not an issue she wanted or needed to challenge. It made it easier for her that they accepted her in this light, although she did have to ignore some sexist language and behaviour and hide the feminine parts of herself. Sandra did not seem particularly concerned about having kept the pregnancy secret, and yet she had been putting off revealing it for some time and now it was hard to believe that no one suspected anything. Her colleagues’ inability to see her pregnancy was perhaps a result of this perception of her as ‘one of the boys’. How could she be pregnant if she wasn’t really a woman? And once she made them face the fact that she was pregnant – would she still be able to maintain the male persona that had worked so well for her? This was an important dilemma that needed to be discussed in the coaching sessions. Sandra needed to become aware of the way she was managing her relationships. It would not be appropriate for the coach to impose her own feminist response to the situation on Sandra, but it would be useful to Sandra to understand the dynamics of her relationships with others in the organisation. From the perspective of the organisation, Sandra was a real asset, patently more competent than the other managers. Yet she had to disguise her difference in order to fit in. Would she be willing or able to maintain this subterfuge once the baby was born? Was it possible for her to work effectively as a young woman, rather than behaving as one of the men? In order for this to happen, the organisation would have to change and learn about working with people who are different. Up till now, Sandra had been making all the accommodations.

507

Helen Baron and Hannah Azizollah

However, it would not be possible for the coach to broach this with the organisation, and in particular with Sandra’s manager, without her consent, and she did not agree to this. In the event the coaching was concluded before this issue had been resolved when Sandra went on maternity leave. Although originally intending to, and despite her new promotion, she did not return after the baby was born and the organisation lost one of its best managers. Perhaps Sandra could not face developing a new relationship with the team as a woman and a mother, or perhaps being outside the organisation gave her the perspective to see how much she had had to sacrifice to work in such a sexist atmosphere.

Case study 2: Doesn’t fit in Overview Julian manages a team of sales managers in a large IT organisation. He brings in a consultant to help him in a number of areas: •

developing the team



improving his own leadership skills



providing individual coaching for some of the team members.

Julian is particularly concerned about Warren, who he feels is one of the weakest members of the team. He is concerned that Warren does not have the skills for the job. Julian describes him as weak, not fitting in and not delivering the right relationships with customers. He is beginning to feel that Warren should be dropped from the team, although when pressed for hard performance data none is forthcoming. While the other sales managers are all graduates with very middle class backgrounds, Warren left school at 16 and comes from a poor council estate. Julian puts Warren forward for individual coaching although he has little hope that he is capable of improving his performance. During the coaching it becomes clear that Warren is unaware of Julian’s low rating of his skills. He feels very loyal to Julian for promoting him to a manager’s job and tells the coach that he (Warren) has been offered another job but is so grateful to Julian for having faith in him that he will stay where he is for the experience and for Julian’s sake. During a team development day, the consultant-coach observes some hints that Warren may be being scapegoated by two other team members. The consultant-coach also develops a strong dislike for Julian and his manipulative style which is becoming evident both during the team development day and in some individual work with him. The individual work with Julian is terminated, but Warren’s coaching continues. The diversity issue in this case study is the extent to which the difference in background between Warren and the rest of the team, particularly Julian, is underlying the stated performance issues. While Warren is a white male in a predominantly white male environment, he is still seen as different and as not fitting in. As with most diversity issues, power is vested in the majority group, both in Julian as team manager and in the other team members who make life difficult for Warren. Unusually, the coach has some objective evidence regarding how Julian and the rest of the team respond to Warren since she is engaged with the team outside the coaching relationship. She has particular insight into Julian’s feelings, both as the commissioning manager for the coaching but also in her individual work with him and her work with the team as a whole. Intuitively her sympathies lie with Warren, who she feels is being unfairly treated. She is concerned about the unhealthy power relationships and worries that she is being used as a pawn by Julian to manage Warren out of the organisation. At the same time she sees the coaching as an opportunity to help Warren gain some awareness of what is going on and how he can manage power relationships differently in the future.

508

Coaching and diversity

For the coach there are a number of ethical dilemmas here. To what extent can she use the insight she has from private sessions with Julian in her work with Warren? How can she avoid being part of a collusive power relationship with Julian? Is she being influenced in her view of the situation by her dislike of Julian and her liking for Warren? If she encourages Warren to leave, would she be breaching her duty to the organisation which is employing her as Warren’s coach? She decides to raise the issue of how Warren perceives his relationships with the rest of the team and with Julian within the coaching sessions. She avoids reference to information gained from her private conversations with Julian but is open about her personal feelings towards him. Although Warren had appeared totally unaware of Julian’s attitude to him previously, he shows a great deal of relief on hearing the coach’s views. Clearly, maintaining the denial of the discrimination he was facing had required a significant amount of energy, and admitting the truth releases him from this. It also allows him to consider his position and the new job offer more objectively. Although he did decide to stay on rather than take the new job, he did so with a greater awareness of his position.

Case study 3: Is it because I am black? Paul is a training manager in a large utility. He is black of Afro-Caribbean origin and this is his first management position. Coaching has been initiated because of concerns about his performance. If it does not improve he is likely to be demoted. The evidence of his poor performance is quite vague, with some complaints about his style of communication (that he focuses on broader issues and lacks attention to detail). There is also some concern over whether projects he is managing will deliver the expected results. On the other hand, he is relatively new to the role and has, so far, few concrete outcomes (whether good or bad) to show for his efforts. In the initial coaching meetings, Paul is optimistic and feels that he is capable and that things will work out. He is not overly concerned about his performance or the issues that have been raised. The coach (a white man) finds Paul’s way of communicating positive and free flowing but sometimes imprecise and vague – there is some difficulty pinning him down. In this case there is very little objective evidence of whether Paul is performing well or not. He considers that he is doing fine, but his manager is worried that he is not. The differences in culture between this organisation and Paul’s Afro-Caribbean background may be one source of this difference. Cultural differences are often reflected in communication style, and this is an area where Paul is seen to be deficient. Might this be because Paul’s cultural assumptions about the communication process differ somewhat from those of the majority [white] managers in the organisation? British culture avoids expression of emotion in functional communication. In the workplace it is considered important to convey ideas, and emotion is seen as interfering with rational thought. Afro-Caribbean cultures (and many others) value the expression of emotion more highly, and indeed rationality without emotion suggests detachment and a lack of interest or commitment to the subject under discussion. This difference in approach can lead to misunderstandings. Paul’s perceived tendency to take on more than he can cope with may be a result of miscommunication. If asked to do something, perhaps he agrees to it because he is emotionally ready to take on what the organisation wants of him and expects to be asked to do things within his capability. When the response is a rational but unemotional suggestion that he is not up to the task, he feels his commitment is being challenged and reasserts his readiness to take it on. In the face of this reiteration of his wish for the task, it is given to him. Paul may perceive the lukewarm response and grudging assignment of the task as a sign of others’ lack of acceptance of him. It would not be surprising if he saw this as racism. The coach seems to be responding to Paul in a similar manner as his colleagues do. On the one hand, it is often helpful to use the coaching relationship as evidence of how the client relates to others, but on

509

Helen Baron and Hannah Azizollah

the other the coach needs to consider whether he has sufficient understanding of Afro-Caribbean culture to work effectively on a potential communication issue stemming from different cultural styles. There is a danger that the coach will be seen as just as racist as the organisation if he is unable to understand the underlying dynamics which may be leading to the way Paul is perceived. Perhaps Paul should be referred to someone with greater experience of these issues. There may be a benefit for him to work with someone from the same background. All of this is independent of any consideration of whether Paul is, or is not, capable of fulfilling the requirements of the role effectively and how he could improve his performance, which will certainly need to be addressed in the coaching process. But prior to that it is important for Paul to understand how he and the other managers may be misunderstanding each other.

Summary Coaching is a one-to-one activity. It is about working with individuals so they can be more effective at work or in their personal lives. The coaching work has a structure and helps the client to explore in an organised way what needs attention and then to make appropriate changes in those areas. Almost by definition the process involves looking at the self in relation to difference – how does the individual differ from others or from an ideal self? Is the client pleased with those differences? Do they value them? Do they make the most of them? If we weren’t diverse as individuals we would all do and see things in the same way. A coach tries to do two things in relation to diversity: •



Help the individual value her or his difference and make effective use of it – this entails identifying and making use of positive diversity attributes. For example, a woman in a team of men may be more sensitive to the emotions in the team and could be labelled as emotional and difficult. She may be able to develop that sensitivity and turn it into an advantage by spotting issues that she can influence at an early stage. Identify and work with negative diversity issues – in the client’s mind and in the environment. This requires finding a balance between helping the person to operate within a flawed system – to get the best out of the way things are, perhaps changing the way they respond to the environment – and encouraging the client to challenge the status quo and change the environment.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4 5

Have you ever worked with someone who was very different from you? How did this affect the relationship, for good and ill? What did you learn from the interaction? How does your own background (religious, cultural, social, gender affiliation, sexual orientation, etc.) affect the way you interact with others and work as a coach? What would you do if you saw someone behaving in a discriminatory manner to another person? Have you ever been in a situation where you were different in some way from the other people you were working with? How did this affect your relationship with the group? How did it make you feel? What aspects of diversity are you comfortable dealing with, and which less so?

Suggested reading Barreto, M., Ryan, M.K., & Schmitt, M. (2009). The glass ceiling in the 21st century: Understanding barriers to gender equality. Washington: APA Books. Brown, C. (1990). My left foot. London: Random House.

510

Coaching and diversity

Clutterbuck, D. (2003). Diversity issues in the mentoring relationship. In: M. J. Davidson and S. L. Fielden (Eds.), Individual diversity and psychology in organizations. Chichester: Wiley. Kandola, R. (2018). Racism at work: The danger of indifference. Oxford: Pearn Kandola Publishing. Pearson, A. (2003). I don’t know how she does it. London: Vintage. Sacks, O. (1992). Seeing voices. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

References Burkhard, A. W., & Knox, S. (2004). Effect of therapist color-blindness on empathy and attributions in cross-cultural counselling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51, 387–397. Chan. R. (2017). Sexism at the bar and the equitable briefing policy: A well-meaning but misguided response to gendered briefing practices. Bond Law Review, 29 (2). Clutterbuck, D. (2003). Diversity issues in the mentoring relationship. In: M. J. Davidson, & S. L. Fielden (Eds.), Individual diversity and psychology in organizations. Chichester: Wiley. Ely, R. J., & Thomas, D. A. (2001). Cultural diversity at work: The effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46, 229–273. Enns, C. Z. (2000). Gender issues in counselling. In: S. D. Brown, & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counselling psychology. 3rd Edition. New York: Wiley. Gushue, G. V. (2004). Race, color-blind racial attitudes and judgements about mental health: A shifting standards perspective. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51, 398–407. Hofstede, G. (1991). Culture and organisations: Intercultural cooperation and its importance of survival. London: Harper Collins Business. Kandola, R., & Fullerton, J. (1998). Diversity in action: Managing the Mosaic. 2nd Edition. London: CIPD. Kandola, R. (2009). The Value of difference: Eliminating bias in organisations. Oxford: Pearn Kandola Publishing. Locke, D. C. (1992). Increasing multicultural understanding: A comprehensive model. Newbury Park: Sage. Passmore, J., & Law, H. (2009) Cross cultural and diversity coaching. In: J Passmore (Ed.), Diversity in coaching. London: Kogan Page. Pedersen, P. R., & Levy, A. (1993). Culture centred counseling and interview skills: A practical guide. Westport, CT: Praeger. Ponterotto, J. G., Fuertes, J. N., & Chen, E. C. (2000). Models of multicultural counselling. In S. D. Brown, & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counselling psychology. 3rd Edition. New York: Wiley. Sheridan, A., & O’Sullivan, J. (2003). What you see is what you get: Popular culture, gender and workplace diversity. In: M. J. Davidson, & S. L. Fielden (Eds.), Individual diversity and psychology in organizations. Chichester: Wiley. Simons, T., Pelled, L. H., & Smith, K. A. (1999). Making use of differences: Diversity, debate and decisions comprehensiveness in top management teams. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 662–673. Spears, K. (2001). Executive coaching for women and minorities: Special challenges. The White Paper Series. Durango, CO: Lore International Institute, Inc. Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (1990). Counselling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. 2nd Edition. New York: Wiley. Trompenaars, F., & Hampden Turner, C. (1997). Riding the waves of culture. In: Cultural diversity in business. 2nd Edition. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Wahl, A., & Holgersson, C. (2003). Male manager’s reactions to gender diversity activities in organizations. In: M. J. Davidson, & S. L. Fielden (Eds.), Individual diversity and psychology in organizations. Chichester: Wiley.

511

38 Using psychometrics in coaching Alan Bourne and Alison Whybrow

Introduction Psychometric measurement relates to the assessment of psychological attributes, such as personality, abilities, values or interests. This typically involves using a measure such as a questionnaire or test and the generation of quantifiable results in terms of numerical scales or categories. The rationale behind using psychometric assessment in a coaching context is to provide an accurate and valid measure of relevant psychological characteristics and, through this, provide objective information to help the development of greater self-insight. This may, for instance, help the coachee gain insight into their own behaviour to help them resolve issues such as overcoming difficulties communicating with others, managing their work more effectively or coping with pressure. Typically psychometric assessments may be used to help address a particular issue and as such may be deployed as a technique within a broader coaching relationship. For a psychometric assessment to be a useful tool in a coaching text, it is essential that it provides accurate insight into the particular issue at hand, that feedback is delivered in such a way that it is accepted by the coachee and that the insights drawn help lead to positive behavioural changes in line with the coachee’s goals. This chapter explores the role of psychometric measures within the coaching process, including the theory behind types of psychometric assessment, how to select an appropriate measure to use and how to feedback results to a coachee.

The development of psychometrics Over the past 50 years, psychometric assessment has become widely accepted as a useful method for both assessing and developing people. Many assessment tools were originally designed for clinical use. However, there has been an increasing demand for tools which are tailored to the needs of the workplace and broader application in non-clinical settings. Unlike theories such as psychoanalytic approaches which are based on clinical interpretation, the psychometric approach is based on statistical analysis and emphasises scientific rigour. Psychometric research has explored the nature of a range of psychological attributes which can be useful to understand in a coaching context such as aptitude and intelligence (Guilford, 1967; Sternberg, 1985), personality (Cattell, 1965; Costa & McCrae, 1992), values (Schein, 1990), strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) and interests (Holland, 1973).

512

Using psychometrics in coaching

Throughout, the emphasis within a psychometric approach is on the use of measurement tools which are rigorous because they assess a clear theoretical model and have undergone considerable trialing and development using statistical analysis to ensure they are standardised, accurate and valid.

Using psychometrics: key concepts At a high level, psychometric assessment is focused on measuring the extent to which individuals possess particular psychological attributes and quantifying this in relation to a wider population. In this section, the different applications of psychometrics within coaching are outlined, and the key issues to be considered when identifying and choosing an appropriate assessment are discussed. In a coaching context, it is important to consider how psychometric assessment might help the individual better understand themselves in relation to others and, through this insight, overcome barriers to achieving their goals. There are a number of underlying assumptions which underpin the field of psychometrics. The most fundamental assumption, borne out by early work in psychometrics (e.g. Spearman, 1904), is that people show clear variability in terms of psychological characteristics; typically these are normally distributed. Psychometrics is based in understanding individual differences and from this identifying the implications for individuals in relation to ‘the norm’ for most people. Second, it is important to understand the relative stability of the attribute being measured. For instance, although personality preferences do change over time, they are nevertheless fairly stable over long periods (Costa & McCrae, 2006). Because of this, these characteristics have an enduring impact on behaviour and are particularly useful for an individual to understand in order to help identify strengths they can utilise and understand areas they may wish to develop or change. The main areas where psychometric instruments have been developed and have practical application in a coaching context are described below.

Personality Personality is concerned with an individual’s preferred ways of behaving, thinking and feeling, which predict how people will behave in everyday situations (Cattell, 1965). There are relatively stable differences, generally, in terms of how people prefer to relate to other people and situations, carry out tasks and manage their own thoughts and emotions (Costa & McCrae, 2006). Because personality characteristics are fairly stable and have a significant influence on what people enjoy doing and as a consequence their development of skills, they are particularly useful to understand within coaching contexts. They can be useful to understand the individual’s own preferred ways of behaving and better understand issues relating to communication, problem-solving and conflict with others. A psychometric profile can provide a coachee with insight into other ways of approaching situations, thinking things through and working together that starts to give a sense of self in relation to others.

Motivation This is concerned with what drives people to behave in certain ways in terms of their needs, aspirations and goals (Maslow, 1943; McClelland, 1961). Motivation relates to how people direct their energies and sustain effort. Whilst motivation may be either short term and transient or sustained over a significant period, the underlying drivers of motivation are closely linked to understanding what an individual values (see below) and how this guides behaviour (Latham, 2007). Understanding an individual’s source of motivation can be very helpful in a coaching context to generate the focus needed for sustained pursuit of their goals.

513

Alan Bourne and Alison Whybrow

Values and strengths The values held by individuals relate to the internal guidelines or rules which people use when deciding the best way to behave in a specific situation. They are at the very core of our decision-making (Barrett, 2012). Values may be both personal to the individual and at the group level, such as cultural values or the values of a particular organisation or profession (Williams & Whybrow, 2013). Values are largely developed through socialisation, the sharing of norms of behaviour within a particular group. Values tend to be well developed in an individual and closely linked to their sense of identity. As such they can be a source of considerable insight in helping coachees understand their own behaviour, decisions and career choices (Schein, 1990). Values work can enable people to shift from ‘doing’ to ‘being’ and has grown in popularity as an area of coaching practice providing a rich seam of insight and development potential (Kauffman, Silberman, & Sharpley, 2012). Positive values and strengths are closely aligned (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) and considered useful in the achievement of development goals (Linley, Nielsen, Gillett, & Biswas-Diener, 2010).

Beliefs Closely related to values, beliefs concern the basic assumptions individuals consider to be true or untrue. Beliefs are fundamental in determining behaviour and, like values, they influence how people interpret situations and relationships with others. For instance, if you believe that all people should be treated with equal respect and fairness, this is likely to guide your behaviour in relation to others. Whilst closely linked to values, they are not typically assessed via psychometric approaches.

Attitudes The thoughts and feelings held by individuals about a particular aspect of their environment are the basis of attitudes. For example, commitment to an organisation (Meyer & Allen, 1991) or satisfaction with a particular job (Locke, 1976) may have a significant impact on how an individual feels about their work and how they focus their efforts.

Interests Often used in relation to career guidance, interests relate to what people would most like to do, be that in terms of career or the kinds of task they find stimulating. One way to measure interests are inventories such as Holland’s (1973) model of occupational interests. For instance, people may be more or less interested in helping people recover from an illness, playing a musical instrument, or designing a new building – with clear implications for the kind of roles they may wish to undertake.

Abilities and skills Abilities and skills are concerned with understanding someone’s potential or performance for a particular task such as verbal reasoning, which is closely related to interpreting and working with written information (Guilford, 1967). Cognitive ability tests typically assess aspects of intellectual functioning such as numerical, verbal and conceptual problem-solving abilities (Allworth & Passmore, 2012). These attributes are sometimes useful to understand or clarify where an individual’s cognitive strengths lie, helping a coachee make choices between different career paths, for instance.

Choosing which instrument to use When using psychometric instruments within a coaching context, the key to effectiveness is ensuring the right combination of theoretical rigour and practicality. There are a large number of different scenarios where 514

Using psychometrics in coaching

psychometric assessments may be helpful to a coachee, almost as broad as the diversity of goals which coachees may have. For example, for someone who wishes to understand more fully how they could develop their people skills and how they work with others, assessments of personality or values may be particularly appropriate. Similarly, someone who is exploring new career paths may benefit from reviewing their skills, abilities and interests. Before deciding to use a test at all, you need to be clear about why you want to use the test and what benefits you think this will give your coachee. Professional psychological bodies such as the Psychological Testing Centre of the British Psychological Society (BPS), and the PsycTESTS database of the Amercian Psychological Association (APA), offer great resources and information about different instruments and the tools available. All good quality psychometric test publishers provide information on their tests and evidence supporting their accuracy and validity. When considering the use of psychometrics and psychological instruments to support coaching, you might want to consider: accreditation requirements; scope; standardisation; reliability; validity; creating insight; acceptability; freedom from bias; and practicality. These elements are expanded below.

Accreditation requirements Psychological professional bodies around the globe are aligned in the view that those who use psychometric tests should be trained to the appropriate standard so they have the necessary knowledge and practical skills in administration, interpretation and feedback to use assessments responsibly and ethically. This can involve multiple levels of training including foundation levels (for example, for the administration of tests) with specialised training in particular instruments and measures to develop skills in the appropriate selection, interpretation and feedback. In recent years, psychometric test publishers have become increasingly pragmatic in regards to training, offering, for instance, rather easy conversion for coaches who already hold accreditations in relation to other related instruments. As a coach, it may at times be more economically viable to call on an associate with specific accreditation in a tool you wish to use. Some of the practicalities and nuances you might need to consider when looking at introducing a third party to conduct the psychometric assessment are discussed in more detail in the next section.

Scope Assessment methods can be very broad or very specific in their focus. For instance, a personality questionnaire may take a broad view of personality characteristics or focus on a specific issue, such as potential ‘derailers’ within a leadership context. When choosing an appropriate measure, it is essential to consider whether the instrument addresses the particular coachee and wider organisational client needs and is likely to generate useful insights and strategies to help the coachee move forward.

Standardisation Information about the norm groups which a test publisher provides gives you the basis upon how you assess individuals. For most psychometric measures to have value, it is usually important to be able to understand an individual’s results compared to people more like them. For instance, how does the coachee compare to other managers and professionals in terms of the values which drive their behaviour at work? Understanding the norms for a particular test is important. Test publishers need to be able to provide you with information on request to help answer these questions.

Reliability How accurately does an instrument measure what it says it measures? How consistent is that measure over time (test-retest reliability)? What integrity is there within the measure (internal consistency)? For the 515

Alan Bourne and Alison Whybrow

unaware, many tools can be found through a quick web search. This might sound appealing, but often no work has been done to demonstrate whether such tools are in fact accurate and reliable. Psychometricians measure reliability on a scale from 0 to 1, where the higher the number the better the reliability. Typically a psychometric instrument should have a reliability of around 0.7 or higher for it to be acceptable. If an instrument is unreliable, it may be very inaccurate and lead to spurious results which could be misleading and even damaging for the coachee. If there is no evidence of reliability provided by the test publisher, then the simple answer is not to use the instrument.

Validity This relates to whether an assessment tool actually measures what it says it measures. Is what the instrument measures relevant to what we are trying to assess (construct validity)? You also will want to know whether the instrument has any data to show that a relationship between the results and actual behaviour or performance actually exists (criterion-related validity). This is usually expressed in terms of evidence to show there are significant correlations in studies linking the measure with relevant outcome variables such as better performance, satisfaction or well-being.

Creating insight The purpose of using psychometric instruments in coaching is to help generate insights that the coachee wouldn’t otherwise have access to or would take a long time to develop. As a result, the coachee may better understand themselves and how to achieve their goals. Because of its relative objectivity, underlying validity, reliability and comparison to relevant norm groups, a psychometric measure can help introduce new trusted information to help unblock a coachee’s current thinking and provide new perspectives on difficult issues. The ability to generate new insights is perhaps the most important factor to consider when choosing a psychometric approach and instrument.

Acceptability Is the nature of the assessment process and methods you are using acceptable to the coachee? Generally speaking, the closer the alignment between the assessment method and the goals in question, the more acceptable the method is likely to be to the coachee. The greater the coachee’s acceptance, the more likely they will be open to learn from the experience and take ownership of the assessment outcomes.

Freedom from bias All assessment methods are susceptible to bias, which may be reflective of real differences between different groups (e.g. in terms of gender, ethnicity or age). Understanding the inherent biases (as far as possible) helps inform your interpretation and ensure this is appropriate for the particular coachee. Group differences in performance are available from test publishers.

Practicality Having first established that an assessment accurately measures the attributes of interest and can yield meaningful insight in the coaching process, other important factors to consider when choosing a suitable psychometric instrument include: • • 516

How much administration is involved and what equipment is required? How long will it take the coachee?

Using psychometrics in coaching

• •

What are the training requirements and unit cost? How user-friendly are the outputs?

Most, if not all, assessments are available online, although under specific circumstances paper-based test materials may be required. In summary, when choosing which tool to use, you should give consideration to all these factors. Does the content covered fit the need you are addressing? Is there scientific evidence indicating that results are linked to key variables of interest, such as better performance? Is the assessment tool based on a clearly articulated theory that has scientific support? Will the tool provide unique insights? Is it acceptable and practical? Each of the issues discussed are core to many training courses accredited by professional psychological bodies.

Using psychometrics in practice This section outlines best practices in terms of administration, interpretation and feedback. Finally, guidelines for how to run a successful feedback session are outlined.

Administration With all psychometric instruments, it is important that administration is delivered in a structured and clear way, ensuring the coachee understands the purpose of the assessment, what will be expected of them and how their results will be used. Assurances about confidentiality of data should be given prior to inviting a coachee to complete a psychometric instrument, including information about how data will be used and stored. It is your responsibility to ensure that assessment results are not used for purposes other than those to which the coachee has given their consent. Whether administration of the assessment is via email or faceto-face, is it important to pay attention to establishing rapport with the coachee to encourage the adoption of an honest and open approach and ensure the results are valid. A particular point to consider has emerged due to the recognised value of personal data and recent data protection legislation. Psychometric testing instruments that transfer data across global regions for processing may require special consent due to data ownership concerns.

Interpretation It is vital that you have a good understanding of the underlying model and scales for the instrument you have chosen to use (e.g. the different personality attributes measured). The more experienced you are with a particular instrument, the more likely you are to be able to bring it to life and generate insight. It is also important to be clear as to the comparison or norm groups used to evaluate results so that you can make practical sense of this for your coachee. For instance, have the coachee’s results been compared to an appropriate benchmark? When assessing a senior level executive or board member, can you compare their performance to that of other senior executives? When considering specific development needs, for instance how to develop more effective leadership skills, the results of any assessment need to be viewed in relation to context and the demands of a particular task. For example, an individual may have a preference for influencing others and taking the lead but also might indicate they are significantly less willing than others to consult openly before taking action. They also might reveal that they are having difficulties driving engagement and delivery. Particular insights can be drawn to help the coachee focus their development efforts. In this case, the coach may support the coachee to develop strategies for improving their ability to influence and lead others by exploring new ways to involve colleagues in their decision-making in order to achieve the desired results. 517

Alan Bourne and Alison Whybrow

Feedback The quality of the feedback process is paramount in order to gain ownership and facilitate meaningful change. Feedback needs to achieve the following standards: Accuracy: Feedback must be technically accurate and be delivered as far as possible in a clear, jargon-free manner to ensure understanding. To effect meaningful change, it is essential that the coachee has the benefit of accurate and valid information they can understand. No measure is in itself 100% accurate. With this in mind, it is particularly helpful that as a coach you view the instrument as a framework for conversation rather than ‘the truth’. This allows your coachee to create meaning from the exploration and dialogue. Rapport: It is important that feedback is given in a non-judgmental, objective style and that good rapport is developed with the coachee to ensure the process is seen as objective and helpful. The feedback process is about helping the coachee develop useful insights and, as with all coaching, this is aided by an atmosphere of trust and openness. Ownership: Coachees should have the opportunity to discuss their results and take ownership of them in order to accept the implications for their development. Additionally, whilst there may be areas for development, the coachee can choose not to take on all or even any development indications depending on the context. As a coach, being open to the choices of the coachee is critical in enabling them to take ownership. Utility: To achieve the goals of greater self-insight and successful behavioural change, it is essential for results from psychometric assessments to be put into a practical, real world context for the coachee. Structured feedback should enable discussion of the practical implications, what the coachee has learned from the feedback and what actions they might consider subsequently. One of the biggest dangers in feeding back any psychometric assessment is what is known as the ‘Barnum effect’, named after P.T. Barnum, the entertainer whose catchphrase was ‘there’s a sucker born every minute!’. When feeding back information about personality preferences it is particularly important to be aware of, and strive to avoid, giving ambiguous or misleading feedback. For example: You generally enjoy working with other people, although sometimes you prefer to work alone. At least some of the time you are more positive than those around you. These statements are ambiguous and say little that is concrete about how the coachee compares to others. However, the ease with which people can accept ambiguous feedback has been demonstrated through empirical research. Stagner (1958) administered a personality questionnaire to a sample of personnel managers but then gave them all identical feedback. Around half believed the report was highly accurate, and a large proportion of the remainder also thought it wasn’t far off the mark! In order for coachees to understand themselves better through psychometric assessment, it is essential when giving feedback to always be specific when describing their results to avoid this problem.

Introducing a third party to conduct the psychometric assessment From an ethical perspective it is clearly not appropriate to use a tool without having been appropriately trained and accredited in its use (International Testing Commission Guidelines on Test Use, 2001). A competent test user will use tests appropriately, professionally, and in an ethical manner, paying due regard to the needs and rights of those involved in the testing process, the reasons for testing, and the broader context in which the testing takes place. 518

Using psychometrics in coaching

This outcome will be achieved by ensuring that the test user has the necessary competencies to carry out the testing process, and the knowledge and understanding of tests and test use that inform and underpin this process. One of the most significant practical issues from a coach’s perspective can be the time and cost of acquiring training. If it is likely that training in the use of an instrument will benefit a range of coachees, then this may well be an appropriate investment and enable a coach to integrate psychometric assessment into their approach without involving additional third parties. However, if there appears to be a clear benefit from using psychometric tools within the coaching process but the relevant training has not been undertaken, it may be appropriate to involve a suitably trained third party with expertise in a particular tool to support the coaching process. Any such individual should hold the appropriate accreditation and ideally have significant experience in the use of the tool. Introducing a third party can introduce some additional complexity into the coaching relationship. This requires careful contracting between the coachee, coach and third party in relation to the parameters of the assessment feedback process. The coach might consider a three-way face-to-face meeting, a feedback report from the coachee, or a telephone/Skype feedback session for the coachee. Use of a third party may have the benefit of helping a coach maintain independence from the assessment and feedback process.

How to conduct an effective feedback session Assuming the psychometric instrument is reliable, valid and appropriate for the need, the power of psychometric assessments in coaching all comes down to the quality of the feedback session. The impact of the results in enabling the coachee to achieve their goals depends on how well the coachee is helped to understand the implications, identify opportunities for new ways of behaving and making linkages between the outputs and their real-world concerns. The example here relates to providing feedback to a personality questionnaire. These are widely used psychometrics within a coaching context, however, the guidelines apply to all psychometric measures. A feedback session should always cover the following steps: • • • • • • • • • •

A clear introduction Clarify practicalities (e.g. time available, confidentiality) Clarify the context for the feedback session from the coachee’s perspective Introduce the questionnaire and what it measures Establish an open feedback style using active listening Explain the questionnaire structure Explain each scale and score, exploring the implications given the context Give the coachee opportunity to question and understand each result that is fed back Make links across scales, identify patterns and draw out specific points of relevance with the coachee to understand the depth of the profile Encourage the coachee to summarise and clarify their understanding and the implications for action first; you can then add to this if there is anything significant that has not yet been heard.

The following are guidelines and tips to ensure each of these is done as effectively as possible in order to set the context for helping the coachee draw useful insights from the feedback and providing an appropriate environment for this learning.

Introduction When introducing the feedback session is it important to clarify the purpose of the session as you understand it and check how they found completing the assessment to gain an understanding of their impressions 519

Alan Bourne and Alison Whybrow

of the tool, their response style and any other external issues that may have influenced the results. It can be helpful to understand whether there was a particular situation or benchmark they had in mind.

Confidentiality Feedback should always be delivered in a private, controlled environment, whether face-to-face or conducted remotely. Always clarify who has access to results. For instance, if coaching is sponsored by the coachee’s employer, will the data be available to the coachee’s HR department or line manager? Or will it be kept private between you and the coachee?

Context It is essential to understand the context from the perspective of the coachee. This may include the coachee’s current role or issues they are addressing, their aspirations, their career so far and specific objectives and expectations they hope to gain from the session. Often, as the feedback will be part of an ongoing coaching relationship, much of this information may have already been discussed. It is usually necessary and good practice to draw out these points during a feedback session as a clear focus enables the coachee to listen differently to the material.

Describing the psychometric assessment This needs to pragmatically address: • • • • •

The instrument and what it measures The fallibility of the results (they are only as good as the answers provided by the coachee) The basic structure of the model (e.g. key domains and scales) in practical language The comparison group used and the importance and value of this The value of feedback in relation to the coachee’s objectives.

Feedback style It is vital to ensure that the discussion is very much a two-way process and that a safe environment is created for the coachee to explore their thoughts and feelings. To this end, there are a number of elements in ensuring an effective feedback style which are articulated below.

Building rapport and active listening In the first instance put the coachee at ease and develop an open and professional rapport. Listen to what the coachee has to say about their results, and actively communicate this listening through acknowledgement, paraphrasing and reflecting back what they have said to ensure you have understood. Non-verbal body language should be congruent with listening actively. The coach, for instance, should be open, focused on the coachee, relaxed and ready to provide non-verbal acknowledgement without the nodding or ‘aha’s’ becoming a distraction.

Open questioning and probing Use open questions (e.g. What do you think the implications are for you? How do you feel about the results?) when exploring the meaning of the coachee’s results, rather than closed yes/no questions which don’t develop discussion. 520

Using psychometrics in coaching

Non-judgmental style It is important in feedback to avoid making value judgements. Instead, you should be objective in feeding back results and invite the coachee to comment on them. Remember there is no right or wrong personality profile, although there are implications and impacts to explore.

Challenge appropriately This should not be confrontational, but you should be prepared to probe coachees further to explore any areas where they disagree with feedback.

Discussing and exploring the model, scales and scores It is important when feeding back results to look for examples relating to the results, either confirmatory or otherwise, and probe for situational consistency (In what situations is the coachee’s behaviour different, and why?). This process enables the coachee to understand the implications of their scores in relation to their own challenges and needs.

Making links One of the most powerful elements of any feedback discussion is making links across scales and between the examples given. This is vital for helping the coachee understand the practical implications of their results. The key types of linkage and how to make them are outlined here.

Making links across scales Identify possible implications of combinations of scores, e.g. a high preference for being supportive but relatively low preference for listening to and consulting others. As you progress through an instrument, you will be able to increasingly link back to scales already covered. As your experience with a particular instrument grows, potential links become much clearer.

Making links between scores and background The background information provided by the coachee may give insights into the nature of their personality profile, particularly the experiences, values and learned behaviours which may have shaped their development. Drawing these links candidly, without it becoming a ‘forced fit’, enables the coachee to see the validity of the feedback.

Making links between scores and examples of behaviour As you progress through the feedback session and the different examples provided by the coachee unfold, there may be consistent themes to be highlighted and discussed or, sometimes, inconsistency in behaviour across different situations to be addressed. These should be raised and discussed to help develop insight into consistent patterns of behaviour and where these may be either strengths to build on or potentially self-limiting.

Summarising and reflecting back Throughout the feedback process, it is helpful to ask the coachee to summarise and reflect back, or for the coach to summarise and reflect to the coachee what has been established thus far. This needs to be done 521

Alan Bourne and Alison Whybrow

without it becoming repetitive. This will typically focus on the coachee’s thoughts on key development actions to work on or give further consideration to. The end of the session should always conclude with a summary of the key points as agreed upon by both parties in the discussion.

Which coachees benefit most? Psychometric instruments can be beneficial to a broad range of coachees. It is probably fair to say that the widest choice of psychometric instruments is available for work-related applications, with a particular focus on understanding leadership skills and how people work together. Other tools which are generic may be equally useful for examining issues in non-work settings. Coachees who gain the greatest benefit from psychometric tools are likely to be those who are open in their responses when completing them, who are open-minded and curious to understand themselves better and who do not take a defensive attitude to feedback which may challenge how they see themselves. Depending on the level of cognitive development of an individual, a coachee may be more or less skilled at seeing their potential impact on others. This is useful to pay attention to so that coachees get the most from psychometrics. Some care should be taken when using psychometric instruments with adolescents in particular. They may be at a relatively early stage of development, and many attributes may still change significantly over the years ahead.

Future developments It’s worth noting that there has been a significant shift in how psychometric instruments are accessed in recent years that has paralleled the developments in technical software and hardware. Much of this development has reduced the administrative burden of testing and enabled a more sophisticated reporting. More recently, there are advances that bring virtual reality into the development scenarios. Most developers of psychometric instruments have yet to start to utilise the potential of big data analytics and sophisticated algorithms. This coming landscape is here (Kosinski, Wang, Lakkaraju, & Leskovec, 2016); however, it raises both practical and ethical challenges that are discussed in a recent book by Cripps (2017). Nevertheless, the core aspects raised in this chapter will remain relevant when using psychometrics in coaching practice.

Case study The following case study illustrates the use of a personality questionnaire to provide a coachee with greater insight into their behaviour and the impact their behaviour was having on achieving their desired goals.

The coachee David, a senior project manager in a global telecommunications business, was managing the implementation of large infrastructure projects within the business. Joining the business as an engineer, he had progressed into junior operational management roles, followed by a number of successive project management roles. With a reputation in the business as someone who ‘gets things done’, David was looking for a role with broader operational responsibility as the head of a business unit, with the aspiration of developing to a director level position.

522

Using psychometrics in coaching

David felt he had been overlooked and pigeon-holed as a technical, project management specialist rather than having potential for more general roles. He felt that other, less experienced managers who spent more time on the ‘people stuff’ seemed to be getting better opportunities. The business (and his manager) seemed to want him to carry on doing what he did well. David wanted to use coaching to help him explore how he could take steps to advance his career rather than continuing in his technical pigeon hole with no development. A personality questionnaire was suggested as a useful way to explore his style of working. This would help highlight both his strengths and potential areas for development that may be holding him back. The objective nature of a psychometric approach appealed to him; he wanted to get accurate, helpful results and a clear view as to how he compared to other managers.

The process In order to achieve these objectives, a work-based personality questionnaire was chosen. A number of suitable tools are available, typically requiring accredited training. The Dimensions personality questionnaire (Holdsworth, 2006) was chosen. This covers three main domains: 1

How the respondent works with others,

2

Their approach to tasks and projects, and

3

Their drives and emotions.

The resulting report covered 15 personality traits, which were fed back to David. The following outlines some of the key insights drawn from the feedback and the learning points and subsequent actions which David took from the experience. In relation to how David likes to work with others, an interesting and somewhat contradictory picture emerged. Describing his expected results, he indicated he was something of an extravert, always trying to engage others and move things forward. His profile suggested quite a strong preference for influencing others compared to most managers, however, his level of confidence in social situations was about typical in relation to the norm. Exploring further, it was apparent that he often took the lead and sought to persuade others; however, there were at least two more senior or powerful stakeholders in the business with whom he sometimes felt a little out of his depth and had difficulty in winning over. Recent cutbacks to a project David had led where the sponsor appeared to lose interest in seeing it through to completion was one consequence. Related to the above and coming as something of a surprise to David was that his preference for networking and communicating was slightly lower than most managers. David felt that he was close with his colleagues on the projects he had worked on and always focused on keeping his sponsors on board, however, it was apparent that he had to push himself to proactively network and spend time with others. In short, whilst he was outgoing in terms of seeking to influence things, he was somewhat less gregarious than he believed or might be useful. David’s results indicated a preference for supporting others and maintaining a sense of harmony with colleagues. He indicated a preference for task over relationship, appearing less keen to consult with others when this would detract from ‘getting the job done’. Overall, the results helped reinforce two key points: •

Because he was very focused on his immediate project and team, he shied away from building broader relationships across the business. He recognised that many colleagues in the organisation were aware

523

Alan Bourne and Alison Whybrow

of his reputation for delivering projects but were not aware of him personally; by not developing his network he may be limiting his opportunities. •

Whilst he had a strong desire to take the lead, he may gain from reflecting on how he involved others and whether he was sometimes seen as preoccupied by colleagues or lacking confidence in front of senior stakeholders.

The results relating to how David managed his work and projects indicated that he was highly methodical and conscientious, with a strong analytical approach underpinning his decisions. He appeared to be about as conceptual and creative as most other managers. When asked what the implications of this might be, he acknowledged that this was probably the profile of ‘a good project manager’. The qualities most important in the roles to which he aspired were discussed. David identified that he had previously had feedback suggesting he can sometimes get a bit too involved in the detail and would benefit from taking a broader, strategic view. This related back to his example of his recent project sponsor, who just wanted to see a brief summary of the key issues but was difficult to engage. David described thinking at the time that the sponsor was really not being supportive and taking much interest; however, when it was suggested to him that this may be a difference of personality style, he agreed there may be something to be gained from thinking about how to communicate more effectively with individuals who are very ‘high level’ in their approach. In terms of looking at David’s drive and emotions, the questionnaire results gave a clear indication that he had significant drive to get things done, though he was fairly balanced in managing the impact of work on overall quality of life. David described himself as someone who is very active and ambitious, and he was at first a little unsure of the veracity of the results. However, happy in project-focused roles over the last few years, he didn’t put career above all else. He had become more frustrated of late given his depth of knowledge and experience and lack of career progress. David’s profile indicated he can become frustrated fairly easily under pressure, has quite high levels of resilience compared to others and a very flexible approach, adapting to changes around him when they occur. Exploring further, it became apparent that at an emotional level, David felt the organisation had not really supported him lately as much as he would like. He felt this had not been recognised or taken on board by his line manager. The coach offered a hypothesis to David, that because he had a high capacity for action and was resilient under pressure, these concerns may easily go unnoticed to others. David was asked what he considered the most useful learning points from the session and what he might do to follow up on them. In relation to his style of working with others, he conceded he may not be quite as outgoing as expected and that there was clearly some benefit to be had from getting to know colleagues and managers outside of his immediate area to strengthen his network and manage his reputation. More broadly, there were a number of areas where David felt he could look at tailoring his communication style for certain individuals and, importantly, that he should raise concerns earlier with his line manager rather than letting pressure build up, which led to him appearing to get frustrated ‘out of the blue’ to those around him. The use of the personality questionnaire helped David move forward by providing an objective perspective on his behaviour, effectively holding a mirror up to his way of working and allowing him to reflect in a safe setting. Whilst he was not always comfortable with the challenge, the assessment allowed him to step out of his situation and, having identified some pertinent issues, gave him a focus for further coaching and development.

524

Using psychometrics in coaching

Discussion points 1

2

3 4

For the feedback from a psychometric instrument to be helpful, it is first important that it is relevant and accurate. What key features would you look for in a psychometric assessment to ensure it is fit for purpose in this regard? Whilst psychometric assessment can help develop useful insights for coachees, the process of translating results into meaningful learning through the feedback process is critical. What do you see as the most important actions that should happen during feedback to ensure this occurs? What are the main benefits and limitations of using psychometric assessment as an approach to help coachees in a coaching context? Why is coachee ownership of the results so important when using psychometric assessment? What are the risks to the coaching process if this is not generated?

Suggested reading Passmore, J. (Ed.). (2012). Psychometrics in coaching: Using psychological and psychometric tools for development, 2nd Edition. London: Kogan Page. Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (2002). Personality in adulthood: A five-factor theory perspective, 2nd Edition. New York: Guilford Press. Cripps, B. (Ed.). (2017). Psychometric testing: Critical perspectives. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Character strengths and virtues. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

References Allworth, E., & Passmore, J. (2012). Using Psychometrics and psychological tools in coaching. In J. Passmore (Ed.), Psychometrics in coaching: Using psychological and psychometric tools for development, 2nd Edition (pp. 325–344). London: Kogan Page. Barrett, R. (2012). Coaching for cultural transformation. In J. Passmore (Ed.), Psychometrics in coaching: Using psychological and psychometric tools for development, 2nd Edition (pp. 325–344). London: Kogan Page. Cattell, R. B. (1965). The scientific analysis of personality. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Four ways five factors are basic. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 653–665. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 28–30. Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (2006). Age changes in personality and their origins: Comment on Roberts, Walton, and Viechtbauer (2006). Psychological Bulletin, 132, 28–30. Cripps, B. (Ed.). (2017). Psychometric testing: Critical perspectives. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Holdsworth, R. F. (2006). Dimensions personality questionnaire. Jersey: Talent Q Group. Holland, J. L. (1973). Making vocational choices: A theory of careers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. International Test Commission. (2001). International guidelines for test use. International Journal of Testing, 1, 93–114. Kauffman, C., Silberman, J., & Sharpley, D. (2012). Coaching for strengths using VIA. In J. Passmore (Ed.), Psychometrics in coaching: Using psychological and psychometric tools for development, 2nd Edition (pp. 291–304). London: Kogan Page. Kosinski, M., Wang, Y., Lakkaraju, H., & Leskovec, J. (2016). Mining big data to extract patterns and predict real-life outcomes. Psychological Methods, 21 (4), 493–506. Latham, G. P. (2007). Work motivation: History, theory, research and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Linley, P. A., Nielsen, K. M., Gillett, R., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). Using signature strengths in pursuit of goals: Effect on goal progress, need satisfaction, and well-being, and implications for coaching psychologists. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5 (1), 6–15. Locke, E. A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 1297–1349). Chicago, IL: Rand McNally. Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396. McClelland, D. C. (1961). The achieving society. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand. Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment: Some methodological considerations. Human Resources Management Review, 1, 61–89.

525

Alan Bourne and Alison Whybrow

Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Character strengths and virtues. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Schein, E. H. (1990). Career anchors: Discovering your real values. San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer. Spearman, C. E. (1904). General intelligence, objectively determined and measured. American Journal of Psychology, 15, 201–293. Stagner, R. (1958). The gullibility of personnel managers. Personnel Psychology, 11, 347–352. Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of human intelligence. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Williams, A., & Whybrow, A. (2013). The 31 practices: Release the power of your organisation values every day. London: LiD.

526

39 The role of technology in coaching Alex Pascal, Brodie Gregory Riordan and Maggie Sass

Introduction Coaching has a reputation as a uniquely human practice; most people would describe it as a 1:1 helping relationship between a trained, professional coach and a business leader, hallmarked by frequent in-person meetings. Yet coaching, like so many other HR and business practices, is gradually being influenced and enhanced through technology. We use technology as a blanket term to cover both hardware (e.g. mobile devices, computers, webcams, wearable technology) and software (e.g. mobile device applications, computer programs, cloud/web-based applications) in this chapter. Many forms of technology are already being leveraged in coaching practices around the globe and enhance coaching in five broad ways, which we explore further in this chapter: coach selection, business management, as a supplement to face-to-face coaching, as a replacement to face-to-face coaching, and in coaching evaluation.

Technology in human capital and development processes Recent research found that the average person now spends more time each day on a laptop and mobile phone than they do sleeping (8 hours and 41 minutes per day v. 8 hours and 21 minutes per day, respectively; Ofcom, 2015). Technology has already dramatically changed human capital processes in the workplace, including how people communicate with one another (e.g. 79% of workers work on a virtual team (Unify, 2014); less face-to-face interaction, more email, instant messaging, texting, and virtual meetings), how organizations recruit and select talent (e.g. recruiting through online job sites and social media, using online selection assessments and screening processes, virtual interviews), how people learn and develop at work (e.g. Learning Management Systems, web-based and virtual training, behavior change apps), and how organizations manage and drive high performance (e.g. cloud-based talent management and performance management systems, feedback, and goal-setting apps). However, there is a lack of clarity about the role of technology in coaching, including what it looks like in practice and how it can support the development of a body of research that provides insight into coaching effectiveness and impact. In this chapter we present a model for how technology can be used most effectively in coaching – to enhance, rather than diminish, high-quality coaching experiences. Technology has already infiltrated the practice of coaching in a variety of ways, such as between-meeting communication, coordination, virtual sessions, and supplemental interactions. Coaches and their coachees use mobile technology, email, and video applications to communicate – to schedule meetings, conduct 527

Alex Pascal, Brodie Gregory Riordan and Maggie Sass

coaching conversations, and interact between meetings. Over half of coaches who responded to a 2010 survey reported that they regularly use phone coaching in their practice (Clutterbuck & Hussain, 2010). Research from the American Management Association (2008) found that 58% of coaching occurs face-toface, whereas 37% utilizes a combination of face-to-face, virtual, and phone coaching. Using email, texting, and instant messaging in a coaching engagement not only makes it easy for coaches and coachees to interact; these online tools can also create a record that can be reviewed over the course of the coaching engagement to recognize trends and themes (Rossett & Marino, 2005). What’s more, research has indicated that distance coaching and mentoring are equally as effective as face-to-face coaching and mentoring (Berry, Ashby, Gnilka, & Matheny, 2011). Technology-enabled coaching also benefits both coaches and coachees by eliminating the constraints of geography. A 2013 white paper (Moreme, 2013) showed that by eliminating geographic constraints, the likelihood that a coachee would find the coach who best meets his or her needs is increased. For instance, a coachee in India who wants to develop his executive presence can work with an expert coach in Boston using instant streaming video applications. Technology-enabled coaching is also convenient, flexible, and both time and cost effective, something most HR business partners are looking for to be able to scale coaching initiatives within their organizations. Despite these encouraging findings, the role of technology in coaching has been entirely organic and bottom up. What’s lacking is formal strategy on how technology can be leveraged to make coaching more effective. Limited data and research are available on the impact of technology in coaching, so the domain is also fertile ground for research that could have important implications for practice.

How technology fits into coaching Technology impacts five specific aspects of coaching: coach selection, business management, as a supplement to face-to-face coaching, as a replacement to face-to-face coaching, and in coaching evaluation (Pascal, Sass, & Gregory, 2015). Figure 39.1 shows how these five aspects fit into the coaching engagement life cycle.

Coach selection One of the most important and challenging steps in any coaching engagement is finding the right coach to meet the coachee’s needs and preferences. Previous coaching outcome research has shown that the perceived quality of the coaching relationship (de Haan, Duckworth, Birch, & Jones, 2013) plays an important role in coachee perceptions of coaching outcome. Contrary to popular belief, coach matching based on personality characteristics and demographics has not been found to correlate with coachee perceptions of coaching success (de Haan, Duckworth, Birch, & Jones, 2013). De Haan, Duckworth, Birch, & Jones (2013) found indirect empirical evidence suggesting that the coachee’s first impression from a preliminary or trial session was a better predictor of coaching success than personality and demographics-based matching. Technology can enable better coach selection by providing access to a larger subset of coaches to choose from. Technology is a critical conduit and organizing mechanism for organizations and individuals to peruse an array of coaches or to use filters or search criteria to narrow an otherwise large list of coaches (e.g. if

Business Management Coach Selection

Supplement Face-to-Face Coaching Replace Face-to-Face Coaching

Figure 39.1 Aspects of coaching impacted by technology 528

Evaluation

The role of technology in coaching

they are looking on a site such as LinkedIn, the ICF coach finder, Noomii.com, etc.). This allows coachees to narrow the list of potential coaches and provides an opportunity to have initial “fit” conversations with the coaches that appear to be a good match based on a set of desired characteristics (e.g. previous industry experience, age, years coaching, interests and expertise, leader level experience, country of origin, and ICF and other certifications). Potential coachees can review bios, learn about coaches’ experience and philosophy, and make an initial assessment of fit before moving forward with the first phone call. This benefits not only the coachees but the coach as well – by allowing coachees to “prescreen” themselves, coaches will be more likely to have initial calls with individuals who might turn into actual clients. A potential downside to a larger pool of coaches is the challenge of narrowing down the pool to a select few. Therefore, filtering functions or selection criteria (such as those listed above – industry experience, age, years coaching, etc.) plays an important role in curating the selection of coaches to a manageable pool.

Business management The management of coaching initiatives can be complex as the volume of coaching engagements increases. The coaching process includes a number of different constituencies, all with a different set of roles, needs, and expectations for the coaching process. On the one hand, there are the organizations that purchase coaching services from coaches and coaching providers in addition to, in many cases, managing an internal coach cadre. These organizations are primarily concerned with tracking and monitoring coaching to ensure a clear understanding of its value and impact. In addition, they need to enforce a set of vendor management processes to avoid rogue spending on coaching. Without a centralized platform to manage executive coaching, the talent management function may struggle to standardize the organization’s use of coaching and ensure consistency and quality across coaching engagements. On the other hand, coaches and coaching providers also have to keep track of and monitor coaching engagements for the purpose of running their business and to comply with the ever-increasing reporting requirements of their client organizations. In addition, depending on the organization, coachees will have a varying degree of involvement in the coaching process outside of their regular coaching sessions. In particular, coachees can take an active role in the coach matching process, actively schedule sessions, keep track of their goals, and even share their development plan with key stakeholders. An advantage of leveraging a technology platform to run coaching is the centralization of the coaching practice in organizations. The emergence of the talent management function in the early 2000s, coupled with the formalization of coaching as a development tool in organizations today, has led to the need of centralizing the coaching practice in organizations. A centralized coaching practice in an organization entails a clear process for approving coaches that can be deployed with executives, establishing a consistent approach to coaching as well as establishing clear expectations for coaching outcomes. This is important because much of the coaching in organizations is purchased at the business unit level, which makes it difficult for the talent management function to control without the use of a technology platform that is required for managing all coaching engagements within an organization.

Supplement face-to-face coaching Technology can help add to the coaching experience especially in the way it lends itself to adherence to behavior change through technology-enabled personalized learning or coaching “homework”. Many organizations have started offering e-learning products that allow users to participate in self-guided learning through several learning modalities – video, articles, podcasts, chat with other online users, and online written reflection. Coaches can assign their coachees homework between sessions to promote and sustain learning and behavior change. For instance, if a coachee is working on developing his resilience, his coach can assign a learning activity specifically focused on developing resilience. The coachee can use a cloudbased application to get tips and guidance on what resilience is, why it matters, and what behaviors promote 529

Alex Pascal, Brodie Gregory Riordan and Maggie Sass

resilience, then practice in his day-to-day work, coming back to the application for periodic reflection. Many coaches incorporate apps that are relevant to coachee needs and goals into their between-session work. For instance, a coachee who is working on mindfulness will benefit from an app that offers ondemand guided meditations. A coachee who is working on organizing and planning can leverage apps that offer slick checklists and time management tools. The array and ease of accessibility of mobile apps can dramatically enhance a coachee’s day-to-day development work and behavior change between coaching sessions, and many of these apps actually have foundations in behavioral science. Applications like WOOP, which stands for wish, outcome, obstacle, and plan, is an Android and iOS app designed by Gabriele Oettingen, a professor of psychology at NYU and the University of Hamburg who primarily researches how people think about future states, their intention and readiness to pursue goals, and how those impact emotions and behavior change (WOOP, 2016). The app, based on over 20 years of her research on goal setting and attainment, allows users to think about both their goals and the obstacles to reaching them concurrently to help overcome challenges, stay motivated, and actually execute on goals. Using technology in this way parallels recovery therapy. Many of these technologies connect with users through either a ping-based or sensor-based mechanism. Ping-based technology allows a coach or coachee to use an application to remind the coachee about a specific behavior. For example, if a VP is working on communicating more effectively in executive team meetings, her coach may email or text her 20 minutes before the meeting to remind her to try out some new behaviors. Similarly, the coachee herself may use an application that is set to go off before every meeting to remind her to take 2 minutes to center herself, practice mindfulness and do breathing techniques suggested by her coach. Sensor-based technology, like the FitBit or the Nike Fuel, can be used to track somatic measures that can also be useful in managing behavior. Heart rate and pulse typically increase even before someone is aware of emotional arousal. Using a tracking device to recognize those situations can help to identify certain triggers to inappropriate workplace behavior. For example, if a coachee with high intensity low frequency (HILF) outbursts during budget meetings learns to check his sensor during stressful interactions, it may help to connect the physiological changes with unintentional behavior and may aide in behavior change in such situations. Gaming, or the creation of synthetic environments, allow the user to abstract certain elements. This directly parallels what coaching does – it allows the coachee to focus on small subsets of behaviors within a large environmental context. Because a coachee can’t share his or her entire life’s history, fears, goals, etc., it allows that person to focus on a small, attainable number and subsequently become less overwhelmed. Oettingen (2012) suggests that the crucial piece in goal attainment is to first envision the future state or outcome from the number of potential outcomes. Coaching allows you to decide what you will and will not attend to. This technique is similar to the Steve Jobs’ strategy while at the helm at Apple. The i products – iPod, iPad and iPhone – envisioned technology in a different way. They simplified the product to allow the user to focus on what they really wanted to do within the product and not be distracted by the product itself. The products and services that will survive in coaching will be things that create new ways of thinking and doing and, at the same time, are experienced as simple to use.

Replace face-to-face coaching Technology companies have started to capitalize on the coaching space by removing traditional face-toface coaching and replacing it with fully digital coaching platforms. Phone coaching has been a common practice for decades (Clutterbuck & Hussain, 2010; Moreme, 2013; Rossett & Marino, 2005), with evidence to suggest that it can be just as effective as face-to-face coaching (Berry, Ashby, Gnilka, & Matheny, 2011). As video conferencing applications become more common and accessible, more coaches are leveraging them for practice. One coach we interviewed suggested that she prefers video conferencing (using applications like Facetime, Google Hangouts/Google Chat, Skype, and VSee, to name a few) over phone coaching because video allows her to see her coachees’ facial expressions and body language, both of which can provide important insights into her coachees’ thoughts and feelings. It also provides a level of accountability 530

The role of technology in coaching

of presence – when a coachee is on video they are less likely to be working on other things, like checking his or her email. Some organizations have capitalized on the speed and ease of using virtual coaching by offering “on-demand” coaching to employees. In one organization, when a manager or employee has a last-minute need for a coaching session (e.g. preparation for a big meeting or difficult conversation, or an hour of time that becomes unexpectedly available), they use a company app to put in a request specifying the need, selecting their preferred coach(es), and indicating when they would like to have the session. Coaches in the organization submit their availability ahead of time (sort of like office hours) and mark themselves as “available” or “offline” on the app, depending on whether or not they are free for a coaching session. The replacement of face-to-face coaching provides both challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, it increases accessibility, frees up time, and eliminates the need for travel. On the other hand, it opens the door to some “grey areas” – practices that resemble coaching but often lack the rigor of traditional face-to-face coaching. For instance, several technology companies are capitalizing on the increasing mainstream popularity of coaching by offering what they tout as 100% online coaching. One such company provides an app to let users track their goals, schedule reminders, and see their progress in an online dashboard. It also provides a community of other users who may be attempting similar goals. Another online “coaching” service uses pre-populated questions and responses (e.g. reflections, follow-up questions) to “coach” a user through a challenge or problem they are working on; however, there is not actually a human coach involved. Although these tools offer many benefits to users, referring to them as “coaching” is inaccurate and misleading. As the coaching field evolves, it will be important to explore and understand what coaching is – and if there is a difference in the tech-based world versus the person-person world. At the same time, the application of coaching principles to technology-enabled processes might allow the impact of coaching to extend to populations for whom traditional coaching is not an option due to cost, time, or other limitations. For example, Cognician offers completely technology-enabled self-coaching, which keeps costs at a minimum and makes a coaching approach scalable across large organizations (Cognician, 2016). While they lack the high-touch approach of traditional 1:1 coaching, they show promise for enabling self-reflection and behavior change – two common outcomes of traditional coaching. We argue that these solutions are not a clear substitute for traditional coaching but do have merit for populations for whom traditional coaching is not an option. Technologies that are able to bring market efficiencies into the mainstream.

Evaluation Evaluating the coaching engagement is a critical way for coaches to get feedback on how they are doing, for coachees to provide that feedback, and for client organizations to track the impact, value, and effectiveness of coaching in their business. Most methods of coach evaluation tend to focus on process and satisfaction rather than impact or perception of behavior changes of the coachee (Grant, 2014; Lowman, 2005). A typical coaching evaluation consists of self-report scales that the coachee completes, with questions about coach competence and overall usefulness of the coaching engagement such as, “Rate your level of satisfaction of the coaching engagement” and “Indicate how likely you would be to recommend your coach to another employee in your organization”. According to Kirkpatrick (1994), this is the first level of evaluation: reaction. One challenge in coaching evaluation is that the relationship is often rather personal, and the objectives and outcomes are unique to the individual coachee, thereby making systemic program evaluation challenging. To get at more advanced levels of evaluation, such as learning, behaviors, and results as outlined by Kirkpatrick (1994), coaching and consulting organizations, as well as internal coaching programs, have started to measure the impact of their executive coaching engagements. This measurement is of the individual, in terms of learning and behavior change, but also of the organization, in terms of business-related outcomes like number of sick days used, productivity, sales, etc. For example, one company has a web-based customizable tool that allows the user to assess change resulting from coaching, such as progress toward 531

Alex Pascal, Brodie Gregory Riordan and Maggie Sass

goals, observable behavior change, and the impact of that behavior change on individuals and the organization. The assessment draws on input from the coach, leader, and other key stakeholders/observers – much like a 360 evaluation centered around the coaching engagement. What makes this assessment unique from traditional evaluation methods is its ability to specifically target and measure behavior change as a result of a coaching engagement, yet it is also standardized enough that organizations can use the results at an aggregate level and to compare across coaches and coaching engagements. Such tools might ultimately enable researchers and practitioners to understand the coaching variables that actually make a difference in the impact of coaching, such as coach educational background, relevant industry experience, optimal length of a coaching engagement, and the importance of face-to-face sessions as opposed to technology-enabled sessions.

The future of coaching The future of coaching technology offers exciting possibilities for researchers, practitioners, and consumers of coaching (i.e. individuals and organizations) alike. Technology companies are developing integrated platforms that incorporate the five elements described in the model. Innovative start-ups (e.g. Uber, Airbnb) are increasingly disrupting existing – and presumed to be stable – industries (e.g. taxis and hotels), largely by creating easy-to-use and efficient applications. These companies have created tremendous efficiencies in their respective markets but also have had to battle the incumbents as well as existing government policies (or lack thereof). Creating market efficiencies in the coaching market could potentially lead to traditional 1:1 coaching becoming more accessible across all levels of organizational hierarchies. However, a focus on standards needs to be placed in order to protect the consumer of coaching and ensure that best practices are consistently utilized. We believe that using market forces (e.g. reviews and endorsements) as a way to control the quality of coaching represents an incredible opportunity for the coaching profession. This could reduce the need for regulating coaching to the extent that we do psychology. After all, coaches deal with populations that are, generally, high functioning as opposed to those of traditional psychological practice.

Technology and coaching ethics Ethics, privacy, and confidentiality present the biggest areas of ambiguity and concern regarding the role of technology in coaching. Currently, no codes of ethics, psychological or coaching specific, exist that directly address the potential challenges with technology, which may include the security of a platform or connection, data privacy and protection, and doing business across state lines, which is regulated for practicing psychologists (DeAngelis, 2012). Coaches who have education or even licensure in psychology are beholden to the strict requirements of regulatory bodies or professional associations, though work is currently being done to advance technological mobility for psychologists who have multistate and global practices (Pascal, Sass, & Gregory, 2015). However, given the diversity of backgrounds and training of coaches (e.g. psychologists are only a fraction of practicing coaches), it seems the most logical entity to provide ethical and privacy guidelines would be a coaching organization that serves the interests of psychologists and non-psychologists alike.

Which coachees benefit most? The most important factor in determining the role of technology in any coaching engagement is the level of comfort that both coach and coachee have with technology. A basic level of proficiency with the technology of choice, as well as a motivation and desire to utilize technology, are both essential for technologyenabled coaching to work. Coaches who elect to use technology in various phases of their practice need to have a candid conversation with new coachees about their comfort level with and openness to utilizing technology. For some coachees, using a new platform in a coaching engagement could be a low-risk opportunity to learn and experiment. For instance, if a coachee has had limited experience with virtual tools (such 532

The role of technology in coaching

as Facetime, Google Hangouts, Skype, or VSee) but is hesitant to request help at work or has limited opportunities at home, experimenting with this platform with an experienced coach could be a great opportunity to get more comfortable with the technology. Ultimately, coaches who want to move to a completely technology-enabled practice (e.g. no face-to-face meetings) will have a unique niche but a potentially limited pool of clients from which to choose. A practice that is entirely technology-based offers many benefits – such as reduced costs (no travel costs), accessibility to clients around the world, and more scheduling flexibility (no scheduling travel time to meet with coachees). As the workforce becomes more and more technology savvy and dependent, coaches may find an increased population of potential coachees who prefer meeting only virtually. Stereotypes abound about the relationship that millennials and younger generations have with technology (Thompson & Gregory, 2012), such as frequent complaints that these 20-somethings only communicate via text and lack basic competence at phone and face-to-face interactions. If the stereotypes are true, coaches can anticipate an entire generation of young leaders and clients who will embrace and prefer virtual coaching meetings.

Case studies We conducted interviews with a wide variety of coaches to get their input on how they incorporate technology into their practice. Below are three specific cases to illustrate how coaches are currently integrating technology into their practice.

Case 1 – Luke1 Luke admits that he isn’t especially tech-savvy, but he uses commonplace technologies like a laptop and a smartphone on a regular basis. Although all of Luke’s coaching sessions are conducted face-to-face (he draws on a local client base, with one very strong pipeline in a local Fortune 500 organization), he leverages technology to handle administrative aspects of engagements (e.g. emailing, calendaring, invoicing), and do end-of-engagement evaluations. Luke’s major client organization encouraged Luke to set up a website and a LinkedIn page so that potential coachees could scope him out ahead of time and decide if they’d like to meet with him. Luke’s point of contact at the organization said that all of the other independent coaches they use have elaborate websites and LinkedIn profiles, so Luke would need those in order to be competitive. Thus, technology plays a role in the coach selection process for Luke. Although Luke strictly adheres to face-to-face meetings with his coachees, he has found that using an online scheduling tool and corresponding via email with individual coachees and the organization make his life much easier. He’s not great about answering the phone, checking voicemail, or returning calls, but getting back to coachees via email works well for Luke. Luke learned about an online scheduling tool a little over a year ago and since adopting it has saved dozens of hours that used to be spent going back-and-forth to schedule coaching sessions. Finally, Luke uses a simple online survey tool to conduct end-of-engagement surveys of his coachees and the client organization. Luke loves getting the feedback from his coachees and has enjoyed looking at trends and patterns in responses across engagements – something that is easy to do with the online survey tool.

Case 2 – Leia Leia is a self-described technophile. She is the first in line to get any new Apple device and is always looking for ways to streamline and simplify her life with technology, particularly in her coaching practice. Leia does a lot of global work – coaching clients on four different continents. Years ago, when she was relatively

533

Alex Pascal, Brodie Gregory Riordan and Maggie Sass

new in her practice, this resulted in a lot of time on airplanes and great sacrifices in her personal life. With newer clients, however, Leia introduced video conferencing into her coaching practice. Leia was unsure how potential clients would react to the approach but found that, overwhelmingly, clients were willing to sacrifice face-to-face contact in order to save tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses. In fact, Leia’s client base has grown substantially since she started pushing for virtual sessions. The set-up was a breeze for Leia. Her home office has high-speed internet and she relies on either a laptop with an HD camera or her iPad for Skype or FaceTime sessions, depending on the preferences of her individual coachees. Some of her legacy clients are slower to adopt the technology, so Leia continues to travel for face-to-face meetings with them. But her business strategy is to wrap up those engagements and henceforth conduct face-to-face meetings only within a 25-mile radius of her home in Chicago. Not surprisingly, Leia also uses technology to correspond with and schedule her coachees. She also recently adopted a new cloud-based coaching management application to help her track and manage her engagements – including billing, which is her least favorite part of having a coaching practice. She also typically suggests app-based reminder and goal setting tools to help during what Ahrend, Diamond, and Webber (2010) refer to as the “void period”, or the part of the coaching engagement between initiation and evaluation when the coachee is working on goals and behavior change.

Case 3 – Han Our third coach, Han, uses a diverse mix of meeting methods in his coaching practice. Some of his coachees are local and prefer to meet in person, whereas others are on the other side of the United States and rely solely on phone coaching. Han is satisfied with the role that technology plays in his actual meetings – coaching over the phone expands his pool of potential clients and makes it easy for Han and his coachees to connect from anywhere. Han leverages technology primarily for enrichment between meetings with his coachees. He is certified in a variety of assessments and will deploy these through an online account with an assessment provider, when warranted by a coachee’s needs. He also frequently sends his coachees TED talk videos, online articles, and podcasts relevant to their developmental goals and interests. Han’s clients also frequently ask him to leverage tools internal to their organization – such as online development plans, 360 assessments, and experiential learning tools. Han loves the opportunity to be exposed to tools that various companies are using and develop and understanding of how these impact his coachees’ learning and growth. Han also prides himself on being a thought leader in the coaching world, so he regularly contributes to blogs and message boards to disseminate his research and ideas. He promotes these posts with LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter – sites where he boasts as many as 1,200 followers. Han retired from his corporate job of 30 years before establishing a second career as a coach, and he has been delighted at how many opportunities he has to learn about and leverage new technologies through his coaching practice – something he assumed would be dominated by face-to face-meetings and, at most, a few phone calls and emails.

Conclusion While there remain many “what ifs?” about the role of technology in coaching, one certainty is that the world is not going to get any less tech-enabled, less tech-savvy, or less tech-dependent any time soon. Technology will continue to pervade every aspect of our lives, and coaching is no exception. Practicing coaches would benefit by establishing their personal philosophy and strategy for how they will use technology in their practice. As we outlined above, there are five primary applications of technology to consider in a coaching practice: coach selection, business management, a supplement to face-to-face coaching, a 534

The role of technology in coaching Table 39.1 Technologies aligned to coaching activities Coach Selection

• Chronus • CoachLogix

Business Management

• The Blanchard Coaching Management System • CoachLogix

Supplement Face-to-Face Coaching

• CEB’s DevelopmentCoach for experiential development and behavior change in the workplace • Cognician • HeadSpace for mindfulness meditation • Trello to improve personal productivity and organization • WOOP for goal setting and achievement

Replace Face-to-Face Coaching

• Real-time streaming video applications: o Skype o FaceTime o G-Chat and Google Hangouts o High-definition video conferencing (HDVC) tools, such as those provided by PolyCom

Evaluation

• Metrics that Matter • Do-it-yourself surveys like Survey Monkey ZipSurvey

replacement for face-to-face coaching, and evaluation. Additionally, coaching or talent leads in organizations should consider how they want external coaches to use technology with coachees within their organization, giving particular attention to security and network concerns. Coachees should also be fully versed on the options, benefits, and potential downsides to using technology in their coaching engagements. We suspect that a major factor in the effectiveness of technology-enabled coaching is simply the individuals’ preference, level of comfort, and familiarity with the selected technology. The role of technology and coaching is largely a green field for researchers. The past decade has yielded some insight into how technology helps and hurts coaching, but some of these findings raise as many questions as they answer. Because the pace of change in technology is so rapid, we suspect that technologies we had in mind when writing this chapter will have changed or already been outdone by newer technologies by the time you read this chapter. In Table 39.1, we outline a few examples of tools and applications aligned to our five-part model that we have seen in coaching practice. What new technologies will you add to this list?

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

Is technology-based coaching (i.e. telephone, Skype, chat, virtual world, etc.) as effective and impactful as face-to-face coaching engagements? What might be missing? How does technology help your coaching practice? In what ways, if any, does it get in the way of your practice? Consider building trust and rapport, communicating with stakeholders, etc. Could coaching ever become completely digitized? What would be the advantages and disadvantages of that for the coaching psychology field? How does technology enable more (and also more diverse) individuals to gain access to coaching? How can this broader reach benefit organizations and societies?

Note 1 Note: all coaches’ names were changed for the sake of privacy. 535

Alex Pascal, Brodie Gregory Riordan and Maggie Sass

Suggested reading Batista, E. (2015). Tips for Coaching Someone Remotely. Harvard Business Review blog, published March 18, 2015 https:// hbr.org/2015/03/tips-for-coaching-someone-remotely Clutterbuck, D., & Hussain, Z. (2010). Virtual coach, virtual mentor. Charlotte, NC, USA: Information Age Publishing. Hoefling. T. (2017). Working virtually: Transforming the mobile workplace. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing. Van Dyke, P. R. (2014). Virtual group coaching: A curriculum for coaches and educators. Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture, 5(2), 72–86.

References Ahrend, G., Diamond, F., & Webber, P. G. (2010). Virtual Coaching: Using Technology to Boost Performance. Chief Learning Officer, 9, 44–47. American Management Association (2008). Coaching: A Global Study of Successful Practices. www.amanet.org Berry, R. M., Ashby, J. S., Gnilka, P. B., & Matheny, K. B. (2011). A comparison of face-to-face and distance coaching practices: Coaches’ perceptions of the role of working alliance in problem resolution. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 63, 243–253. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0026735 Clutterbuck, D., & Hussain, Z. (2010). Virtual coach, virtual mentor. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Cognician. (2016). www.cognician.com DeAngelis, T. (2012). Practicing distance therapy legally, and ethically. APA Monitor on Psychology, 43, 52. de Haan, E., Duckworth, A., Birch, D., & Jones, C. (2013). Executive coaching outcome research: The contribution of common factors such as relationship, personality match and self-efficacy. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 65, 40–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0031635 Grant, A. M. (2014). The efficacy of executive coaching in times of organizational change. Journal of Change Management, 14, 258–280. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2013.805159 Kirkpatrick, D.L. (1994). Evaluating training programs: The four levels. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Group. Lowman, R. L. (2005). Executive coaching: The road to dodoville needs paving with more than good assumptions. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 57, 90–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1065-9293.57.1.90 Moreme. (2013). White paper on virtual coaching and mentoring: The value of coaching and mentoring over distance. Copenhagen, Denmark: Author. Ofcom. (2015). The Communications Market (August 2015). http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/ market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr15/ Pascal, A., Sass, M., & Gregory, J. B. (2015). I’m only human: Using technology in coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 67, 100–109. Rossett, A., & Marino, G. (2005). If coaching is good, then e-coaching is . . . . Training & Development, 59, 46–49. Thompson, C., & Gregory, J. B. (2012). Managing Millennials: A framework for improving attraction, motivation, and retention. The Psychologist Manager, 15, 237–246. Unify. (2014). A New Way to Work. www.unify.com/tr/~/media/internet-2012/documents/nw2w/a_new_way_to_ work_part_2_rules_of_engagement_for_a_virtual_world.pdf WOOP. (2016). www.woopmylife.org/

536

40 Coachee mental health Practice implications for coaching psychologists Kasia Szymanska

Introduction Psychologists enter into the coaching psychology arena from a number of different applied backgrounds. Regardless of their prior training, most coaching psychologists will at one time or another find themselves working with coachees who are currently coping with mental health issues. Several studies have already highlighted evidence of mental health problems in coaching populations. In 2005, Green et al. (2005) found that 25% of the 84 individuals participating in a life coaching programme experienced mental health issues. A year later another study published in the International coaching psychology review (ICPR) found that practitioners often worked with individuals experiencing problems with self-worth, loss distress and social isolation (Spence, Cavanagh, & Grant, 2006). This is not surprising as data from The Mental Health Foundation (2015) in the UK suggest that one in four people will experience a mental health problem in any one year. Also, statistics from the UK’s Health and Safety Executive in 2016/17 (HSE, 2017) recorded 12.5 million days lost to stress, depression and anxiety. While in Germany, results from a Gallup survey in 2016 published by Nink suggest that individuals who experienced depression, anxiety or stress missed 15.8 days of work per year due to mental health issues. Further afield in Australia, a national survey of stress and well-being conducted in 2015 found that 26% of individuals experienced anxiety and depression and 35% experienced high levels of stress (APA, 2015). Causes of stress included financial problems, health, relationship and workplace issues. Given the above figures and the results of a recent study by Corrie (2017) to ascertain the role coaching practitioners have in working with coachees presenting with mental health issues, it is suggested that coaching psychologists can benefit from the following: • • • •

Gaining a broad overview of some of the key psychological disorders and the collection of symptoms that coachees may present with or develop during the course of coaching; Enhancing their familiarity with questions that can be asked to uncover mental health problems; Developing their knowledge of some generic evidence-based strategies that can be used to support coachees; To consider the benefits of a thorough assessment and the regular use of supervision in their coaching work.

Therefore, in the next section of this chapter, some of the more common mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression are presented, together with vignettes highlighting the types of issues coachees 537

Kasia Szymanska

may present with. The section ends with a focus on working with coachees who have long-standing personality issues.

More common mental health disorders In this section, each of the more common disorders that may be evident in coaching sessions are looked at. In addition to descriptions of depression and different types of anxiety disorders, short vignettes are also presented. The section ends with an overview of personality disorders and how they might be experienced by the coaching psychologist.

Overview of depression The experience of depression is often debilitating, isolating and distressing to the individual. There are different types of depressions such as major depression, dysthymia and bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression. They vary in severity and can be attributed, in the main, to multifaceted causes. Often referred to as a ‘black hole’, the precursor to depressive episodes can be stress in combination with anxiety. In the workplace, depression can be brought on by organisational changes which over a period of time impact adversely on the individual’s ability to maintain a resilient stance. While for some people workplace concerns are enough to trigger depression, for others these issues in combination with personal factors such as divorce, problematic and extended house moves or bereavement lead to depression. Finally, a family history of depression can also increase susceptibility, and a number of individuals with depression also experience symptoms of other disorders, such as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Key features of depression Pervasive negative thinking, in particular self-critical thinking, is a fundamental feature of depression. Examples of such thinking include: • • • • • • •

‘I’m a failure’. ‘I’m inadequate’. ‘I can’t get anything right’. ‘Everyone else can get things done quicker than I can’. ‘My life lacks value’. ‘Things are not going to get better’. ‘I don’t care about what happens’.

Other features include: • •



• • 538

A reduction in activity levels often previously enjoyed. This in turn reinforces the depressive mood and pessimistic outlook. A lack of motivation and general sense of apathy. In the workplace this can translate as: little interest or pride in the job; poor concentration; missed deadlines; decreased levels of communication; inability to make decisions; punitiveness; concern about underperformance and reduced task completion. Poor self-confidence and /or low self-worth relating to both work and personal life. In session, coachees are liable to discount evidence that supports the idea that they are capable; rather, they focus on their perceived weaknesses. A general lack of interest in life and/or energy Either weight gain or loss

Coachee mental health

• •

Change in sleep patterns, e.g. problems falling asleep due to excessive rumination or early waking often associated with a sense of dread about the forthcoming day Thoughts of suicide (although it is unlikely that coachees will volunteer information about their suicidal ideation).

Questions to identify depression In their seminal text on depression, Beck et al. (1979) refered to the use of three questions, or the ‘cognitive triad’, to identify depression. Coaching psychologists can ask these questions of their coachee to elicit depressive cognitions: • • •

How do you see yourself? The coachee may answer, ‘I’m defective’ or ‘I’m a failure’. How do you see your future? The coachee may answer,‘I’m never going to get anywhere in this company’. How do you see the world? The coachee may answer, ‘The world is full of hardship and injustices’.

Vignette Mike entered into coaching to focus on the functionality of his project team. As a vice president, Mike talked about his involvement in three high-profile projects. Instead of acknowledging the large part he played in their success, he minimised and depreciated his participation, arguing fiercely that his involvement was unimportant. This rigid stance led the coaching psychologist to ask Mike a number of questions about his general mood; the coaching psychologist used the questions outlined above to assess his general outlook. Based on Mike’s responses, the coaching psychologist reflected that Mike seemed a little down. This led to frank discussion about Mike’s situation. He replied that he had been feeling low for a while and that recently he had made the choice to have coaching instead of therapy, which had been suggested to him by his GP. Mike felt ‘uncomfortable’ having therapy and instead chose coaching, which he viewed as more solution focused. He anticipated that the coaching would impact positively on his depression. Based on this, the coaching psychologist and Mike agreed that Mike would ‘check in’ at the beginning of each coaching session. This ‘check in’ would involve Mike rating his depression on a scale of 0–10; if his score was 6 or above after two consecutive sessions he would stop coaching and see a psychotherapist before restarting his coaching. Mike and his coaching psychologist agreed to work with the negative beliefs that maintained his self-depreciation.

Overview of anxiety Anxiety is a generic term encompassing a number of different disorders detailed in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) which is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2013). The most common disorders that fall under this umbrella term are social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).

Key features of social anxiety Individuals with social anxiety disorder tend to fear situations in which they perceive they will be evaluated in a negative manner. This propensity towards increased self-consciousness is usually associated with worry about saying the wrong thing in front of other people or a fear of embarrassment, often in combination with physiological symptoms such as ‘butterflies’, blushing and sweating which can lead to avoidance of situations in which symptoms are likely to triggered. Research into social anxiety disorder has highlighted that individuals who are socially anxious tend to recall events from the perspective of another person, or from an ‘observer perspective’, which serves to maintain their negative symptoms (Wells, 1997). Also present are safety behaviours – that is, 539

Kasia Szymanska

behaviours that individuals employ to minimise their social anxiety, such avoiding eye contact in meetings, not engaging fully in conversations in case they say the wrong thing or repeated advanced rehearsal of what they plan to say in conversations or meetings. Current NICE Guidelines (2013) suggest a prevalence rate in the general population of up to 12% and co-morbidity with depression, PTSD and GAD.

Vignette Peter was having coaching to address his leadership skills. As part of the process he discussed a concern that he was struggling to understand. He found that over the last two months he had begun to feel uncomfortable when talking at weekly meetings which included other section heads. When answering direct questions, he was concerned about the content of his answers and he questioned if his replies were ‘good enough’; at the same time he noticed that his heart was racing, and he believed that he was blushing and that his hands were starting to tremble. He began to cogitate on how the other people in the meeting experienced his answers. When entertaining clients he began to dread going out for dinner; sitting in a restaurant was anxiety provoking, and he feared that he would start to shake and be unable to pick up his water or use his knife and fork. To manage his symptoms Peter cut out his early morning coffee. However, the symptoms did not abate and he found himself giving quick clipped answers while holding onto his notepad to steady his trembling hands. He began to dread the morning meetings, and he also noticed that his sleep the night before was fitful; he woke up regularly and struggled to stop thinking of the approaching meeting.

Key features of panic disorder Panic attacks are a common feature of anxiety. They can, however, be experienced independent of anxiety, occurring both at night and during the day. They are frequently perceived as happening out of the blue. Significant symptoms include: a racing heart and palpitations; shortness of breath; chest discomfort or pain; sweating; nausea; feeling dizzy or light-headed or ‘feeling faint’; tingling or numbness; a fear of dying, losing control or going mad and a sense of unreality or feeling detached from your body. Causes of panic attacks vary but can include significant life events, increased pressure at work and substance misuse. Panic attacks are maintained by catastrophic thinking triggered by interpretation of unexpected and upsetting bodily sensations.

Vignette Jeremy began to experience palpitations, nausea, light-headedness and dizziness during the course of his coaching. He brought up his symptoms in the coaching sessions. When the coaching psychologist asked him if there were any specific situations in which he experienced these physiological symptoms and what he thought about having these symptoms, Jeremy replied that the symptoms had started when he was travelling on the underground and that his reaction was that he was having a heart attack. As Jeremy was under a great deal of pressure in his personal life, the coaching psychologist thought that Jeremy was experiencing symptoms of panic. However, as panic symptoms are often similar to symptoms of medical conditions, the coaching psychologist asked Jeremy to see his doctor for a diagnosis. Once the diagnosis was confirmed, both the coaching psychologist and Jeremy agreed that he should have therapy to manage the panic attacks in case they became more severe. Once the therapy ended he agreed to resume his coaching.

Specific or simple phobias The term phobia comes from the Greek meaning ‘flight’ or ‘terror’. Phobias are characterised by anticipatory anxiety with sub-components such as physiological symptoms, negative thinking and complete or 540

Coachee mental health

partial avoidance. It is unlikely that coachees will present for coaching to manage their phobias; however, a change of circumstances can bring phobias to the fore.

Vignette Stella has just accepted a promotion which involved a new position in the Middle East. Although she was excited about the prospect of the new role, she was reluctant to set a start date. Careful questioning about Stella’s internal block to change led the coaching psychologist and Stella to discuss the fear that was stopping her from moving – her arachnophobia. To address this the coachee was advised to seek help initially from a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist. While for another coachee, Alistair, a new role involving regular long-haul flights brought to the fore his fear of flying. He believed that his next flight ‘will be the one that crashes’; he found that a couple of days before the flight and then whilst at the airport his anticipatory anxiety was ‘intolerable’. Previously, he had employed stringent safety behaviours such as choosing a ‘perceived’ quality airline with a very low history of crashes; he picked seats next to the exit and routinely questioned airline staff about the weather and the likelihood of turbulence on route. However, now that he was flying for work, he couldn’t choose the airline himself or the seat and was concerned that asking questions on the plane whilst representing his company would make him appear foolish. He worried that this type of behaviour could get back to his manager and colleagues who as a result would see him in a negative light. While Stella referred herself for therapy, Alistair wanted to manage his fear of flying in the coaching sessions; as the coaching psychologist had experience working with aerophobia it was agreed that a proportion of sessions would be used to address his fear. Statistics relating to the chances of being involved in an air crash were discussed, the coaching psychologist suggested relaxation strategies that Alistair could use before and during the flight, negative thinking was challenged and a form of imaginal exposure (specifically coping imagery) was discussed to help Alistair see himself undertaking the journey from beginning to end (Bor, et al., 2000; Szymanska, 2003).

Overview of obsessive compulsive disorder According to the NICE guidelines, some 1–2% of individuals have OCD (NICE, 2005). It is defined by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions. Obsessions or unwanted thoughts can include the fear of harming others, doubting your actions (such as closing the front door), turning off appliances and the fear that you have run another person over when driving. Compulsions include checking, excessive washing and putting things in order. Individuals with OCD need specialist assessment and treatment; however, coaching psychologists can help coachees identify possible signs of OCD.

Vignette A coachee who presented with stress talked about his need to check all the emails he wrote at least three times for mistakes before pressing send. When the coaching psychologist asked if the coachee felt the need to check on other occasions, the coachee disclosed that he also checked that his computer was turned off at least a couple of times before he left the office and that any objects left on his desk overnight were arranged in a particular order. This level of checking fed into the increased stress levels he was already experiencing as a result of the time management issues he initially sought coaching for. Another cognitive process common in OCD which coaching psychologists can keep in mind is ‘thoughtaction fusion’, i.e. the belief that thinking about something makes it more likely to happen. A coachee who presented with an inability to focus on work targets said that his ‘thinking’ was the cause of his lack of focus. The coaching psychologist asked, ‘Do you ever have thoughts that seem irrational or alien to you? Thoughts 541

Kasia Szymanska

that just pop into your mind and cause anxiety?’ It became apparent that the coachee, in addition to ruminating on work issues, was also experiencing intrusive thoughts about an attractive married colleague with whom he worked closely. He began to worry that he would start a relationship with her and also was excessively concerned about all the times he had been in the same room with her because he believed that he may have said or done something to make her think that he found her attractive. He began to ‘lose trust in his thinking processes’.

Overview of generalised anxiety disorder GAD The key feature of GAD is excessive worry or rumination about past, present and future events. In addition, individuals can experience poor concentration and can feel restless or irritable. They can have difficulty falling asleep because their mind is racing, and they complain that the quality of their sleep is usually poor. Individuals can overestimate the chances of future threats and tend to underestimate their ability to manage these and current problems. Likewise, accepting uncertainties in life can be difficult for individuals with GAD. For a clinical diagnosis to be made, individuals will need to have experienced these symptoms for six months or more. Addressing low levels of worry can lead to improved self-confidence and self-efficacy. The case study at the end of the chapter highlights some of the strategies applied to working with worry.

Overview of personality disorders and how they may manifest in the coaching relationship As a coaching psychologist, have you ever felt inexplicably annoyed or irritated with a coachee? Really confused? De-skilled? Have you had a coachee reject strategies? Have you felt the need to defend yourself? Have you had a coachee who refused to pay in full for sessions? Or have you had a ‘felt sense’ that something about the coach-coachee alliance wasn’t working, but you really couldn’t put your finger on what was wrong? Was the coachee poorly motivated or unable to set goals? Was there a lack of progress in coaching? Or did the coachee just drop out of coaching without explanation? (Adapted Beck et al. 1990). If so, it is possible that you were working with a coachee with an underlying personality disorder. In therapeutic settings, clients usually present with issues other than personality disorders or vague symptoms; that is also the case in coaching. For example, some individuals may be pushed in the direction of coaching because of strong interpersonal problems highlighted in their relationships with work colleagues, while others may have insight that something isn’t working in their personal or professional lives but lack a more in-depth understanding and the skills to make any sustainable changes. According to the DSM-5 (APA, 2013), personality disorders are divided into three main clusters: cluster A incorporates the suspicious disorders such as paranoid and schizoid personalities, Cluster B the emotional and dramatic personalities such as borderline personality and narcissistic personality and Cluster C the anxious personality disorders such as obsessive compulsive or avoidant personality disorders. Another way of understanding how personality disorders develop and impact on functioning is outlined by Young et al. (2003:7) in their schema therapy model. They identified 18 early maladaptive schemas which they define as self-defeating emotional and cognitive patterns that begin early in our development and repeat throughout our lives. These broad themes influence how the person interacts with others, behaves, thinks and feels in adulthood. The schemas include: unrelenting standards; defectiveness; subjugation; approval seeking; negativity and pessimism and punitiveness. In practice a coachee with an underlying subjugation schema may state that they are not taken seriously at work, that they have been overlooked for promotion by their manager regularly. Careful questioning about more situations and past experiences by the coaching psychologist may reveal that the coachee struggles to assert his own needs, downplays how they feel, is overly compliant despite feeling really annoyed about not getting promoted and copes by behaving in a passive aggressive manner. Another coachee who presented with very high standards stated that ‘failure 542

Coachee mental health

was not an option either for him or his team’; he aimed for 110%. Furthermore, if he did not reach his goals he was very critical of both himself and his team. Underlying this coachee’s behaviours were unrelenting standards and punitiveness schemas. Assessment and treatment of personality disorders is solely within the remit of psychiatrists and clinical practitioners; however, coaching psychologists may find themselves working with coachees who exhibit personality traits that impact on the process of coaching. While it is beyond the scope of this chapter to address in any detail how coaching psychologists can work with this group of coachees, two areas to focus on are the interpersonal process within the coaching relationship and, if required, skills acquisition and practise. To the author’s knowledge only one paper by Campone (2014) explores the processes involved and the practise of working with a client with a personality disorder, in this case dissociative identity disorder. In summary, there are multiple mental health issues that can arise in a coaching assignment. The details shared here merely touch the surface of this body of work. As coaching psychologists, it is not expected that we hold particular expertise in the identification of specific mental health issues or in the resolution of those issues. Insight into what you might experience, hear and feel when working with someone with a mental health disorder is nevertheless invaluable to your own professional development and your coachee’s well-being.

Practice In this section key practice issues are addressed, starting with techniques drawn from cognitive behavioural approaches that can be applied in the coaching relationship. The types of questions practitioners can ask to identify possible mental health issues during the assessment process are then noted, and the benefits of supervision are examined. Finally, a case study outlines the work with a coachee who presented with symptoms of GAD.

Coaching strategies used with coachees demonstrating mild mental health problems Identifying and enhancing social support systems Research into the efficacy of social support and its positive impact on mental health and resilience has been well documented (e.g.Ozbay et al., 2007). As mental health problems can contribute to an increased sense of introspection and loneliness, coaching psychologists can work with coachees to help them ascertain who to talk to and how to bring up the subject of their mental health problems.

Reappraisal of negative thinking patterns Negative thinking patterns are an intrinsic feature of mental health problems. Using cognitive behavioural interventions such as identifying negative thinking errors, Socratic questioning and the ABCDEF coaching model can enhance psychological well-being and resilience (Palmer & Szymanska, 2007). Specifically working with Stress Inducing Thoughts (SITs) can promote a balanced cognitive perspective and thus contribute to improved mood and overall performance.

Psychoeducation For coachees who want to learn more about their mental health problems, accessing evidenced-based self-directed internet courses which they can use in parallel with their coaching can serve to normalise their experiences, enhance knowledge and provide a structured support and lead to increased coping styles (Lukens & McFarlane, 2004). For example, the Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Trust (2016) publishes a number of leaflets on various issues such as depression, anxiety, sleep problems, panic and post-traumatic stress disorder. These leaflets provide information on symptoms together with strategies to 543

Kasia Szymanska

manage problems. The Centre for Clinical Interventions (2008) in Western Australia has developed ‘Infopaxs’ or online workbooks which coachees can complete online. They cover many issues from perfectionism and self-esteem to eating disorders.

Coaching psychology or therapy? Both initial and ongoing assessment can help the coaching psychologist to identify whether the coachee will benefit from coaching or clinical input. Cavanagh (2005) has listed five questions a coaching psychologist can ask during their work with a coachee that can help provide some useful data: 1 2 3 4 5

How long has the coachee experienced their distress? Typically, if the distress is long term, clinical input may be the first port of call. How pervasive is the distress? For example, does it impact only in their personal life or both professionally and personally? How extreme are the coachee’s reactions? Do they react in the same way to a difficult situation as others may do, or can their reaction be interpreted as excessive? Is the coachee overly defensive? How do they react to your feedback or that of other people who are mentioned in the sessions? Is the coachee resisting any change? Individuals with entrenched patterns of thinking and behaviour often struggle to make changes despite often stating that their situations are untenable.

Other signs can include: changes in behaviours, in thinking patterns, in appearance, changes to speech, e.g. speaking quickly or in a low tone and unusual displays of emotions. Individuals may choose to have coaching to deal with mental health issues, as coaching does not carry the stigma of therapy or because coaching is offered or even because they don’t know how to access psychological services. Others may develop mental health problems during the course of the coaching. As Gordon and associates (2006) noted, coaches have a duty of care towards the coachees they work with; the same applies to coaching psychologists. We owe it to our coachees to work only within our levels of competence, otherwise we can stray into the realm of unethical behaviour. As self-reflective practitioners coaching psychologists need to help coachees to make informed choices via the use of open dialogue to determine what kind of support will benefit them most.

Supervision Coaching psychologists working with coachees who present with clinical issues can benefit from supervision from either coaching psychologists with a clinical background or clinically trained practitioners. Discussion about the concerns presented can have several advantages: • • • • • • • 544

To understand how the coachee is presenting ‘clinical issues’ may impact on the coaching objectives, specifically the interplay between the mental health issues and the coaching objectives To address whether clinically evidenced based strategies can be adapted and used within the coaching relationship To practise the application of these strategies To address the demarcation of boundaries between coaching and therapy To discuss the process of referral to a clinical specialist if appropriate, i.e. how to bring this up in the coaching and where to refer the coachee To address the coaching psychologist’s own views/concerns when working with a coachee with clinical issues To discuss further training in mental health issues if appropriate.

Coachee mental health

Case study Peter worked as an analyst in an investment bank. He had been with his company for five years; he found the work stimulating and stated until recently that he had ‘thrived on pressure’ and the long hours culture. Then in quick succession, Peter got married, moved house and then eight months ago his first child was born. Now he was five months into a project which he forecasted would fail. His team lacked impetus, some of the junior analysts were complaining that on occasion he left early as he wanted to spend more time with his family. He was concerned that his reputation within the company would be untenable if the project wasn’t delivered on time. Peter entered into time limited coaching to help him manage the problems within his team. As coaching progressed, his coaching psychologist fed back to him that she noticed that he looked fatigued. Peter said that he was having trouble falling asleep, because once in bed he started to analyse his day. During the day he found himself distracted, he was thinking about his daughter or overanalysing his work situation. A frank discussion about Peter’s symptoms led the coaching psychologist to consider that Peter had probably developed symptoms associated with generalised anxiety disorder. Because Peter did meet the full criteria for GAD, it was agreed that his overanalysing and sleep problems would be addressed as part of the coaching process. So a proportion of the remaining sessions were dedicated to addressing these problems using strategies adapted from cognitive behavioural therapy. Peter initially identified his overanalysis as a beneficial strategy, akin to a type of problem solving which he already applied in his role. Peter stated that he ‘overanalysed the work situation in order to get a better handle on all the issues involved’ and to prepare himself for the worst outcome – ‘how I’m going to manage if the project falls flat on its face and I lose my job’. To test the impact of this process, over a period of two weeks the coaching psychologist asked Peter to keep a note of the consequences of the ‘overanalysis’ on his mood and physiology. Reflecting on his answers, Peter found that the process of ‘overanalysis’ was negative as it involved a tendency to catastrophise, leading to tension and headaches, irritability and apprehension. This in turn negatively impacted on his ability to focus and his ability to sleep. To reinforce the negative impact of this type of overanalysis (versus the ‘good analysis’ that Peter used on a daily basis in his role) the coaching psychologist asked Peter to make a list of the reasons why overanalysis isn’t helpful. Reasons included, ‘overanalysis makes me feel out of control, it’s demotivating, not motivating and it obstructs proactivity’. In addition, Socratic questioning was used to modify his catastrophizing, and strategies to enhance sleep were addressed.

Conclusion This chapter has highlighted some of the key mental health issues that coachees may present with, together with the interventions that can be applied and how comprehensive assessment and use of supervision can serve to support the coaching process. As coaching psychology goes from strength to strength and mental health well-being continues to be at the forefront of media campaigns, now is the right time to engage in a discourse about the implications of working with coachees who present with a combination of clinical symptoms and non-clinical issues and to develop practice recommendations to ensure that their needs are met. To this end, consideration needs to be paid to the inclusion of mental health modules in coaching psychology programmes. In addition, the benefits of supervision from psychologists with a background in mental health need to be addressed, and CPD seminars or workshops to highlight topics such as practitioner’s self-care, the appropriate use of targeted interventions, how to manage ethical dilemmas and negotiating referral processes require further exploration. 545

Kasia Szymanska

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

Have you ever worked with a coachee with mental health problems? How did you feel? How did you react? Did their mental health issues impact on the coaching process? Have you experienced mental health issues? If so, how has this experience impacted on your practice as a coaching psychologist? How would you explain to a coachee after one meeting that based on your experience they need counselling or therapy rather than coaching? What would you do if a coachee told you that they were planning to kill themselves?

Recommended reading Barry, M., Murphy, M., & Donavan, H. (2017). Assessing the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioural group coaching intervention in reducing symptoms of depression amongst adolescent males in a school setting. International Coaching Psychology Review, 12(2) 101–109. Carroll, M. (2007). Coaching psychology supervision: Luxury or necessity? In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of coaching psychology: A guide for practitioners. Hove: Routledge. Corrie, S. (2017). SGCP research network: What role do coaching practitioners have in working with mental health issues? Results of a survey. The Coaching Psychologist, 13(1) 41–47. Nelson, E., & Hogan, R. (2009) Coaching on the dark side. International Coaching Psychology Review, 4(1) 9–21.

References Australian Psychological Society stress and wellbeing in Australia survey. (2015). Retrieved from www.psychology.org. au/Assets/Files/PW15-SR.pdf Beck, A., Freeman, A., et al. (1990) .Cognitive therapy of personality disorders. New York: Guilford Press. Beck, A., Rush, A.J. Shaw, B.F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press. Bor, R., Josse, J., & Palmer, S. (2000). Stress free flying. Salisbury: Mark Allen Publishing. Campone, F. (2014). At the border: Coaching a client with dissociative identity disorder. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 12(1). Retrieved from http://ijebcm.brookes.ac.uk/documents/vol12issue1-paper-01.pdf Cavanagh, M. (2005). Mental-health issues and cahllenging clients in excutive coaching. In Cavanagh, M., Grant, A.M., & Kemp, T. (Eds.) Evidence-based coaching (Vol.1) Contributions from the behavioural sciences (pp. 21–36). Queensland: Australian Academic Press Centre for Clinical Interventions. (2008). Self Hesplp Resources. Retrieved on 4/9/2018 from http://www.cci.health. wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself Corrie, S. (2017). SGCP research network: What role do coaching practitioners have in working with mental health issues? Results of a survey. The Coaching Psychologist, 13(1) 41–47. American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Washington, DC: APA. Gordon, B.S., Cavanagh, M.J., & Grant, A.M. (2006) Duty of care in an unregulated industry: Initial findings on the diversity and practices of Australian coaches. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(1) 71–85. Green, S. Oades, L.G., & Grant, A.M. (2005). An evaluation of a life-coaching group programme: Initial findings from a waitlisted control study. In M. Cavanagh, A.M Grant and T. Kemp (Eds.), Evidence-based coaching,Vol. 1: Theory, research and practice from the behavioural sciences (pp. 127–142). Queensland: Australian Academic Press. Health and Safety Executive (HSE). (2017). Work related stress, anxiety and depression statistics in Great Britain 2017. Retrieved on 4/9/2018 from www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress/index.htm Lukens, E.P., & McFarlane, W.R. (2004). Psychoeducation as evidence-based practice: Considerations for practice, Research and Policy. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 4(3) 205–225. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Mental Health Foundation. (2015). Fundamental facts about mental health 2015. Retrieved from www.mentalhealth. org.uk/publications/fundamental-facts-about-mental-health-2015 National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice). (2005). Obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder: Treatment. Retrieved on 4/9/2018 from www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg31 National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice). (2013). Social anxiety disorder: Recognition, assessment and treatment. Retrieved on 4/9/2018 from www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg159/chapter/introduction Nink, M. (2016). The high cost of worker burnout in Germany. Business Journal, March 17. Retrieved on 4/9/2018 from http://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/190049/high-cost-worker-burnout-germany.aspx

546

Coachee mental health

Northumberland Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust. (2016). Self help leaflets. Retrieved on 4/9/2018 from www. ntw.nhs.uk/pic/selfhelp Ozbay, F., Johnson, D.C., Dimoulas, E., Morgan, III, C.A., Charney, D., & Southwick, D. (2007). Social support and resilience to stress: From neurobiology to clinical practice. Psychiatry (Edgmont), May; 4(5) 35–40. Retrieved on 4/9/2018 from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921311/#B1 Palmer, S., & Szymanska, K. (2007). Cognitive behavioural coaching: An integrative approach. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of coaching psychology. Hove: Routledge. Spence, G.B., Cavanagh, M.J., & Grant, A.M. (2006). Duty of care in an unregulated industry: Intial findings on the diversity and practices of Australian coaches. The Coaching Psychologist, l (1), 71–85. Szymanska, K. (2003). Rational emotive behaviour therapy for a fear of flying. In R. Bor & L. Van Gerwen (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on fear of flying. Hampshire: Ashgate. Wells, A. (1997). Cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders: A practice manual and conceptual guide. Chichester: Wiley. Young, J., Klosko, J.S., & Weishaar, M.J. (2003). Schema therapy a practitioners guide. New York: Guilford Press.

547

41 A cognitive-developmental approach for coach development Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox

Introduction Coach training courses and postgraduate courses for coaches and coaching psychologists have grown in number considerably during the last decade. We are now more aware how important a role the self of the coach plays in their coaching practice. It is also widely accepted that not only the relevant knowledge but also the psychological development of coaches is of paramount importance in the process of becoming a coach. A number of theories that address the nuances of developmental processes in adulthood have become better known in the coaching field and accepted as helpful for working with coachees (Lawrence, 2017). However, very few authors write about developmental benchmarks for coaches and coaching psychologists (Bachkirova & Cox, 2007). In this chapter, we consider existing theories of individual development and suggest a developmental framework for coaches based on these theories that can be used in the context of coach education and training. The developmental perspective implies that adults are not unchanging but are continually learning, developing and growing. In this chapter, we adopt the following definition: development is “a combination of changes in the organism manifested in a sustained increased capacity of the person to engage with and to influence their environment and to look after their internal needs and aspirations” (Bachkirova, 2011, p. 4). In line with this view, the purpose of this chapter is to present a description of developmental tasks for coaches based on a synthesis of models of cognitive development and ego-development. The chapter is divided into a number of sections: •

First, we outline the theoretical background that underpins a number of models of adult development. (Kohlberg, 1969; Perry, 1970; King & Kitchener, 1994; Kegan,1982, 1994; Cook-Greuter, 2004; Bachkirova, 2011)



Second, we discuss recent applications of these theories to coach, coaching psychologist or mentor development. (Berger, 2006, 2012; Chandler & Kram, 2005; Bachkirova, 2011, 2013)



Third, the chapter provides a model developed by us that could be appropriate for use in development programmes for coaches or coaching psychologists or could provide a reference point during coaching supervision. Finally, a case study is presented to provide a flavour of how the theories and the model might inform a supervision relationship.



548

A cognitive-developmental approach for coach development

Theoretical background Although a relatively young theory, cognitive-developmentalism (also called structuralism or constructivism), already has a distinct place and role in explaining behaviour. It also brings an important and clearly defined dimension to understanding the development of individuals. All cognitive-developmental theories consider how human beings think and make meaning and are fundamentally structured. The structures themselves, e.g. schema (Piaget) or subject-object relation (Kegan), are seen as permanent or changing very slowly. Each person constructs his/her own frameworks according to his/her specific combination of external circumstances and internal factors. Where other traditions and schools of psychology are looking for common features of change in the development of individuals and for specific conditions for facilitating this change, cognitive developmentalists identify patterns indicating qualitative shifts in the potential process of development itself and suggest ways of applying this knowledge to each individual. Developmentalists view that the process of change in individuals occurs in different ways, dimensions and at different rates, and not only through changes in their structures. People learn new skills, acquire new knowledge and change their personal qualities throughout their lives in different ways and by very different means. However, the changes that are addressed by developmentalists are much rarer. They signify significant shifts in the way an individual sees the world and interprets his/her experiences. They influence the depth and complexity of what he/she can notice, representing a level of change that could be seen as vertical rather than horizontal (Cook-Greuter, 1999; 2004). In addition, the latest development in the field of adult development indicates that it is possible to recognise developmental shifts in adults’ engagement in action which could be illustrated by a different relationship between mind and body in the control of action (Bachkirova, 2011). Fully developed cognitive-developmental theories see human potential as changing from simple, static and ego-centric to complex, dynamic and world-centric. The qualities of each stage of development, when transcended to reach the next level, remain as properties of the new stage. The person can utilise any skill that he/she learned before and with each stage is becoming more flexible, integrated and therefore more capable of functioning in the world that is also changing and becoming more complex. What is particularly important in relation to the development of coaches is that each stage enriches individual capacity for reflection and effective interaction with others and with tasks. Their ability to notice nuances and details of situations is increasing. The resultant self-awareness gives them a better opportunity to articulate, influence and potentially change these situations. Their capacity to understand others at earlier stages is increasing with each new stage they reach. However, there is always scope and potential for further development at whatever stage the individual operates. The development process is an outcome of a combination of internal and external factors for each individual but can also be further stimulated and facilitated by appropriate support and challenge within the coaching process (Bachkirova, 2014; Lawrence, 2017). We believe that the cognitive-developmental perspective is very important for understanding factors influencing changes in the coaching process. It is also particularly useful for understanding the development of the coach and the growth of their capacity for helping others to develop. In this chapter we explore cognitive-developmental theories from two perspectives that we believe are most significant for the development of coaches and coaching psychologists. We call the first perspective the cognitive-reflective strand, which has its origins in Piaget’s work and emphasises reasoning and learning capacities (specific examples include: Kohlberg, 1969; Perry, 1970; King & Kitchener, 1994). The second perspective is the ego-development strand, with its origins in Loevinger and which focuses on the development of selfidentity, maturity of interpersonal relationships and engagement in action (specifically Kegan, 1982, 1994; Cook-Greuter, 2004; Bachkirova, 2011, 2014).

Cognitive-reflective strand Piaget is generally considered the founding figure in developmental psychology. His (1976) model of cognitive development presents ordered stages through which children develop. Piaget reasons 549

Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox

that development occurs when a child’s current cognitive structures can no longer reconcile conflicts between existing understanding and current experience of the world. At this point some cognitive restructuring is necessary, resulting in progression towards a more sophisticated level of development. The development culminates in early adolescence with the development of abstract reasoning at the ‘formal operations’ stage. Other theorists have since worked to extend stage theory beyond the Piagetian ‘formal’ arena, identifying limitations in formal operations and describing the kind of thinking that enables individuals to transcend these limitations into ‘postformal’ stages (Commons & Richards, 2002). Koplowitz (1984), for example, incorporates Piaget’s concrete operations and formal operations stages, but goes beyond this to posit a postlogical or system thinking stage followed by a fourth stage of unitary operational thought. Perry’s (1970) model of intellectual and moral development also broadens Piaget’s framework, adding an element of responsibility. Perry suggested there are structural changes in a person’s assumptions about the origins of knowledge and value and describes three overlapping phases of development that encompass nine cognitive positions. His empirical research with college students identifies three phases of development that move from basic duality in thinking at position 1, through a growing awareness of multiplicity and relational knowing at position 5, to more contextual relativism, commitment and resolution at the more developed positions, 8 and 9. Perry points out that possibly the most difficult transition is the shift from simple dualism to complex dualism. Perry’s findings also inspired Belenky et al. (1986) to explore women’s ways of knowing. In their categorisation, Perry’s dualist phase was called ‘subjectivist’, whilst the move towards relativism was referred to as ‘separate knowing’: “subjectivists assume that everyone is right, separate knowers, on the other hand, are especially suspicious of ideas that feel right” (p. 104). Also building on Perry’s work, King and Kitchener (1994) developed a model of reflective judgement. They described how educators need to engage students meaningfully in addressing ill-structured problems, i.e. problems where a solution cannot be described with any degree of certainty or completeness. They suggested that development spans seven stages (King & Kitchener,1994, pp. 11–12): Stage 1 Knowing is limited to single concrete observations Stage 2 There are two categories for knowing: right answers and wrong answers Stage 3 In some areas, knowledge is certain, whilst in others knowledge is temporarily uncertain Stage 4 Since knowledge is unknown in some specific cases, all knowledge is uncertain Stage 5 Knowledge is uncertain and so must be understood within a context Stage 6 Because it is contextual, knowledge is constructed by comparing evidence and opinion Stage 7 Knowledge is the outcome of a process of reasonable inquiry towards a general principle that is consistent across domains. King and Kitchener (1994) go on to highlight two main differences between their model and other contemporary models of cognitive development. The first is that epistemic assumptions are important to the reasoning process. The second difference endorses Dewey’s (1991) assertion that true reflective thinking is uncalled for unless real uncertainty exists about the possible solution to the problem. Some authors have argued that the stage of cognitive development that enables people to examine rationally the assumptions and values by which they justify their beliefs takes place only in late adolescence or adulthood (Brookfield, 1987; Garrison, 1991; Mezirow et al., 1990). They argue that the ability to reflect critically happens not just as a function of physical maturity but because as people get older their reasoning and reflective capacities develop due to the challenging experiences and encounters that occur over time. Mezirow in particular, argues that it is only through transformative learning that changes in psycho-social development can occur and that it is a key role of the adult educator to help to facilitate such learning:

550

A cognitive-developmental approach for coach development

The adult educator actively precipitates transformative learning when, in the process of helping learners address their expressed needs, he or she seeks to move the learners’ interest beyond their articulated needs to understanding the reasons for them and the way that psycho-cultural forces have shaped the learners’ interpretation of the worlds of others, and of themselves. (1990, p. 365, our emphasis) Kohlberg’s (1969) model also has relevance for our brief overview of the origins of cognitive theory. Kohlberg used stories about moral dilemmas to explore how respondents explained their actions. Responses were classified into three levels (pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional), and within each level there were two stages. Kohlberg found that the men he studied were not able to understand moral reasoning more than one stage ahead of their own: a person in Stage 1 could understand Stage 2 reasoning but nothing beyond that. This suggests that in learning situations, only moral arguments that are one stage ahead of the person’s present level of reasoning should be introduced in order to maximise movement to higher stages. Gowan (1974) also cautions against ‘developmental abuse’, suggesting that this occurs when the use of characteristics of a higher stage are encouraged whilst the individual is coping with the tasks of an earlier stage. Gowan’s work, however, moved away from delineating stages of cognitive development and focused on the developmental process as a continuum that includes but transcends the dimensions of cognition, affect and rational and emotional development (see Miller, 2012). In the next section we explore this notion of ego transcendence in further detail.

Ego-development strand The term ego development was introduced to the field of cognitive-developmental psychology by Loevinger (1976). Using a psychometric method that was geared to accentuate individual differences, she identified a new variable. The variable was closely associated with a factor earlier studied by Sullivan and associates (1957), which they called interpersonal maturity or the capacity for interpersonal integration. Loevinger (1987) writes that although she was hesitant about using this term because of its specific association with the psychoanalytic concept restricted to the first years of a child’s life, no other terms were inclusive enough to describe the phenomena that she identified. Loevinger also assumed a basic stage structure that was consistently identified. Each person in her study was progressing from one stage to the next as the result of his or her own pattern of interests and social circumstances. Specific stages in the development of self-identity with a corresponding interpersonal mode include: Impulsive Self-protective Conformist Conscientious-conformist Conscientious Individualistic Autonomous Integrated

Egocentric, dependent Manipulative, wary Cooperative, loyal Helpful, self-aware Intense, responsible Mutual Interdependent Cherishing individuality. (Loevinger;1987, p. 226)

The next theory that well represents the strand of ego development is Kegan’s (1982) orders of consciousness. This theory addresses two fundamental human processes: integration as movement towards relatedness and inclusion and differentiation as movement towards separation and autonomy. Meaning making activity for Kegan revolves around what one takes to be self and what one takes to be other and what the relationship is between them. This ‘Subject-Object’ relations framework illustrates how individuals grow, like the

551

Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox

dynamics of a balancing act, maintaining and then breaking out from the equilibrium between self and other. Things that are Subject in this theory are by definition experienced as unquestioned, simply a part of the self. They cannot be seen because they are a part of the individual. Thus they cannot be reflected upon as that would require the ability to stand back and take a look at them. While things that are Subject have us in this way, we have things that are Object. Things that are Object in our lives are “those elements of our knowing or organizing that we can reflect on, handle, look at, be responsible for, relate to each other, take control of, internalise, assimilate, or otherwise operate upon” (Kegan, 1994, p. 32). The more individuals can take as Object, the more complex their world view becomes because they can examine and act upon more things. The idea of development in Kegan’s theory is best understood through the following analogy: to be subject is to ‘see with’ rather than to ‘see through’. Drath (1990, p. 486), describing this theory, gives a good example of ‘cultural blindness’: “We see with our culture-bound norms and expectations, accept them as given, and cannot examine them for what they are – that is, we cannot see through them. Our cultural heritage is something we are, not something we have. The culture holds us; we are embedded in it and cannot rise above it”. In some circumstances, however, and with further growth, we may become aware of differences that are culturally determined and become aware of the distance from others in a way that we never did before. Kegan describes six stages (Orders of Mind) through which people evolve, with three that are more applicable to adults and potential coachees: 1

2

3

The Interpersonal stage describes a person who has needs, not is her needs, so others are understood as also having needs. They are no longer a means to his/her ends. But people at this stage still are their relationship. They are self-reflective and can subordinate their needs to something greater, but they feel torn apart by the conflict between important others. They have no sense of what they want outside of the expectations of others. This causes both difficulties in making decisions and issues of self-esteem because people at this stage need other people to like them. They can do anything as long as they have someone whom they respect and who can help them make decisions. The Institutional stage suggests that the person is someone who now has the relationship. This creates a self that exists even outside of relationship to others and has a sense of autonomy and identity. People at this stage are able to examine various rules and opinions and mediate between them. Unlike those who are at the Imperial stage, they feel empathy for others and take their view into consideration. Unlike those who are at the Interpersonal stage, they are not torn apart by others’ views – they have their own system with which to make decisions. They are self-motivated, self-evaluative and can make good leaders. They can create their own rules and fight for them but may be not be the best diplomats because they are too invested in their own way of doing things. At the Interindividual stage a person becomes someone who has identity, so becomes individual. They have achieved everything available to the previous stage but, in addition, have learned the limitations of their own inner system and the limitation of having an inner system in general. They can look across their inner system and see similarities in what look like differences. They have less dichotomies and polarities and are less prone to black and white thinking. They could act as wise advisors to anyone and help others to understand that we are all members of a larger community.

In developing her recent theory of developmental coaching, Bachkirova (2011) proposed another aspect of ego development particularly important for coaching that aims to make contribution to the individual’s engagement in action. Three stages of development in relation to this criterion were offered as shown in Table 41.1:

552

A cognitive-developmental approach for coach development Table 41.1 Three stages of development for engagement in action

Engagement in action (Bachkirova, 2011)

Unformed ego

Formed ego

Reformed ego

Reduced sense of control over themselves and environment. Higher dependency on others for action.

Capacity to take ownership of the past and act independently. ‘Mind over body’ control of action.

Harmony between mind and body in action. Appreciation of complexity in the relationship between self and environment.

Bachkirova (2011) argues that this dimension draws the attention of the practitioner to an element of the coachee’s self that is particularly important in coaching where action is seen as constituent of change and development. The ego would be considered as fully developed (formed) in this respect if the person can act or refrain from action if necessary in a way that reasonably satisfies the organism as a whole. There is an ability to take ownership of the past, withstand anxiety about what the future holds and build relationships with others without losing the sense of the self. However, the sense of control and self-ownership may lead to an overestimation of what is possible and realistic for the organism. With the unformed ego there are needs that remain unsatisfied and tasks unfulfilled, and there is a legitimate need for more help or guidance from others. The third category, the reformed ego, represents capacities of the ego that go beyond those of the formed ego. There is a much more harmonious relationship between the mind and body, conscious and unconscious, and it is manifested in the ability of the organism to tolerate the ambiguity of some needs and tasks and minimise the waste of energy on internal conflicts (Bachkirova, 2011).

Applications of the theories to coaching Cognitive-developmental theories are already successfully applied to various areas of practice. There are currently several authors who write about the application of cognitive-developmental approaches in relation to coaching and mentoring and offer their perspectives and models. For example, Rooke and Torbert (2005) in collaboration with Cook-Greuter, created a survey tool, the Leadership Development Profile, that allows identification of what they call leaders’ internal ‘action logic’. Seven different action logics were identified that illustrate the ways individual leaders interpret their situation, respond to challenges and tend to influence others. Rooke and Torbert argue for the importance for leaders to know their action logic, to evaluate their strengths and limitations in relation to current circumstances and to identify potential for further development. Berger (2012), building on Kegan (1982), offers a description of four forms of mind in the context of changing on the job. Each mode results in different ways of perspective taking, orientations to authority and rules, key needs in relationship with others and assumptions about the world. Berger’s forms of mind correspond to four levels of development: Self-sovereign, Socialized, Self-authored and Self-transforming. One of her most valuable contributions is that she identifies not only key strengths, blind spots and areas of growth for each of these groups but also suggests potentially useful interventions for coaching and leaders and considers pitfalls that coaches may face when working with each group. We also find ourselves in congruence with Berger’s position on the role of assessment, considerations of ethical issues for coaches when engaged with the developmental approach and her emphasis on “simply listening for our coachee’s growth edge” (2012, p. 94, emphasis in original). We also noted that learning about developmental theories for coaches is developmental in itself. Chandler and Kram (2005, p. 549), relate adult development perspectives to other developmental networks and relationships, such as mentoring. Their contention is that “protégés at different stages will maximally benefit from developers at higher stages, given that they will have transcended the limitations that the protégé faces”. To support this argument, Chandler and Kram examine Kegan’s stages in relation to the tasks of the protégé and the mentor. Chandler and Kram also identify how a variety of instruments

553

Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox

and methods have been devised to assess developmental stages. Lahey and associates (1988) developed the subject-object interview, whilst the Washington University Sentence Completion Test is used to measure Loevinger’s (1976) stages. However, we suggest that any progress with applications of developmental theories is impeded by the complexity of using very labour intensive instruments for assessment of stages. The use of these instruments requires not only sophisticated training but also a high level of development of the assessors themselves. Another issue concerns the intention to achieve precision when these instruments are used. We believe that precision is not necessary for developmental coaching to be successful. For example, there are factors that interfere with the quality of measurement such as verbal fluency and educational and social background (McCauley et al., 2006; Manners & Durkin, 2001). There also is a limitation of each individual theory being focused on one particular developmental line (Wilber, 2000). However, actual coaching assignments are more complex and multifaceted. When coaches encounter an individual coachee, they may need to work with a variety of themes such as interpersonal, cognitive, emotional, etc. This work should involve addressing each area of development with an open mind in spite of the indication of a particular stage in some of the others (Bachkirova, 2011, 2013). Considering the above concerns, Bachkirova (2011) suggested a practical application of a developmental framework that is based not on measurement instruments but on evaluation of developmental themes which by themselves indicate one of the three stages of development. It was argued that the intentions and goals that coachees bring to coaching can show a pattern that is developmental. These themes are about the challenges that people face in life, what they find difficult and what their life circumstances demand from them. The pattern in the themes would indicate the stage of the ego in each coachee and help to shape an individual approach to coaching.

Our model of coaches cognitive and ego development It has been shown particularly that the ego developmental perspective could provide important dimensions for understanding human development. In this section we propose to extend the application of this developmental perspective to enhance understanding of the developmental process of coaches and coaching psychologists. The model of coach development that we suggest is informed by the earlier discussed theories. In our practice of facilitating the personal and professional development of coaches, we observed how various aspects of the style, attitudes and behaviours of coaches in the process of learning can indicate stages of their individual development. From an analysis of our observations we identified two specific developmental dimensions, a combination of which in our view affects the qualitative changes in coaches’ personal style and expertise that can signify a stage in their overall development: 1 2

The cognitive-reflective dimension describes the degree of the complexity of thought and reflective judgment as described by Perry, Kohlberg, King and Kitchener. The ego-development dimension describes intrapersonal and interpersonal aspects of development indicating ego development, degree of openness, authenticity and inclusiveness of others as described by Kegan, Loevinger and Cook-Greuter.

We consider these two dimensions as most influential. In combination they represent different aspects of coaches’ philosophies of relationship and individual development, reflexivity, role of ego in motivation and actions, style of working with coachees and attitude to problems and challenges. We believe that these two dimensions are equally important for indicating the overall stage of coach development. They are therefore presented jointly in the following six-level model of coach development (Table 41.2). As described in all developmental models, these stages are not clear-cut. They indicate only what is called a centre of gravity: where the individual draws his/her resources from. For example, a coach who is mainly ‘The 554

Table 41.2 Stages and developmental tasks for coaching Stage of development

Cognitive-reflective dimension + Ego-development dimensions

Coaches typical pattern of working with coaching clients

Developmental tasks that coach could be effective in facilitating

The Teller

Polar thinking; concrete data; prescribed models; received knowing

Take sides; give lots of advice on the basis of their own experience and preferences

Development of self-image and reputation; support in a competitive environment

Give emotional support; help to investigate situation in order to ‘figure it out’; heavy reliance on psychometric tools; offer own interpretations of situations; generate various solutions to problems

Developing confidence; learning new skills; dealing with concrete problems; adjustment to difficult situations

Effective listening and paraphrasing without unnecessary interpretations; in-depth questioning; identifying root causes and reasons of issues; developing rational arguments; examination of evidence; identifying contradictions; use of appropriate contracting

Identifying motives; making choices; attaining goals and ideals; focusing on action, achievements and effectiveness; taking calculated risks; future-oriented tasks; working with self as it should be

Minimal structures to the process: letting things unfold; exploring things: they are rarely what they seem; working with paradoxes; understanding ‘now’ rather than focusing on future; spontaneous interventions; accepting any expression of individuality

Developing unique individuality and authenticity; exploring role-personality match; discovering the meaning of critical situations or specific stages in life

Linking idealist vision with pragmatic and principled actions; exploring the self; coming to terms with conflicting needs; identifying qualitative differences; may be impatient with slowness of the growth of others

Creating a meaningful life; identifying strategic concerns and principles; working towards selffulfilment; identifying psychological causation and processes; nourishing creativity

Self-protective; win-lose oriented relationships with others; manipulative The Helper

Abstract thought; careful comparisons; reliance on internalised systems and intuition; subjective knowing Self-conscious; group-oriented but realising their specialness; strong internalised super-ego; high moral standards and sense of duty; critical of others, but able to build good relationship

The Questioner

Multiplicity and patterns; clear separation of knower and the known; critical evaluation; rational and analytical; going beyond subjectivism; introspective; intellectually sceptical towards things that are not yet proven Strong ego; high self-esteem; genuine interest in self-understanding and understanding others; becoming aware of the potential for self-deception; can build intense and meaningful relationship

The Acceptor

Relativism; awareness of the ‘observer’s’ interpretation and cultural conditioning; turn to systems view and meaning making; move from purely rational analysis to more holistic approach Set to redefine oneself; awareness of many sub-personalities; explore internal conflicts; scrutinise own beliefs; focussed on individuality and mutuality in relationship; enjoy diversity; high level of empathy

The Cultivator

General systems view of reality; perceive systemic patterns and long-term trends; articulation of own models and strategies; contextualisation of problems; articulate ambiguity; insightful; overarching principles; truth can be approximated Strong autonomous self; integrate all elements of the self in a new meaning; the shadow is accepted; aware of mutual interdependency and its role in individual development; responsibility for relationship and helping others grow

(Continued )

Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox Table 41.2 (Continued) Stage of development

Cognitive-reflective dimension + Ego-development dimensions

Coaches typical pattern of working with coaching clients

Developmental tasks that coach could be effective in facilitating

The Playwright

Meta-cognition beyond culture and own lifetime; cross-paradigmatic; reality is understood as undivided unity; truth is ever illusive because all thoughts are constructed and language is inevitably used for mapping of reality

Empathetic listening; timely challenging; transformational nondistorted feedback; drawing from unconventional, nonrational sources of information; help in reframing clients’ experience in terms of their stage of development

Working with conflict around existential paradoxes; problems of language and meaning making; working beyond contradictions and paradoxes; facing together the need for theories and explanation; creating a new story of one’s life

The ego becomes more transparent to itself and not the main operator; self-critical about their own ego-attachments; understanding others in developmental terms; genuine compassion and adjustment to the individual’s ways of meaning making

Questioner’ may face a situation where her critical views are suspended whilst she gives emotional support to a coachee or when she relies on her intuition explicitly. Of course, a Questioner could, at times, move either way, reverting to Helper strategies (the stage she is just leaving) or adopting new, less familiar Acceptor strategies. As Kegan (1994, p. 326) noted, individuals ‘gradually navigate’ their evolution from one order or level to another. The nature of work of practitioners such as coaches and coaching psychologists involves facilitating development of their coachees by engaging in the processes of making meaning of personal experience, critical reflection, problem solving, exploring important existential issues, etc. The actual participation in these processes is in itself creating extensive opportunities for these practitioners in terms of enhancement of their own pace of development. Coaches are also required to take part in and known for their dedication to continuing personal and professional development. These factors seem to contribute to their evolving cognitive capacities and influence shifts in ego development. The exposure to the relevant knowledge of cognitive-developmental models and, as suggested here, potential landmarks of their development as coaches, may further enrich this process. The proposed model can also be useful for supervisors of coaches and coaching psychologists. It could focus the supervisor’s attention to whether the coach is presented with an opportunity to be heard with his/her current voice or to move from a less evolved state to a more evolved state. It also adds to the recognition that the coach, as much as the coaching coachee, needs to be seen as a process rather than a stage.

Case study In this case study we describe an example of coaching supervision, where both the coaching psychologist and the supervisor are aware of the developmental stages described above and have thought about how these impact on their work with coaching coachees. The role of the supervisor in coaching is in supporting the coach through an adaptation and development process. The example below shows that when working with coaches in supervision, an awareness of the cognitive-reflective and ego-development dimensions could be very useful.

The coach We follow the supervision process of a hypothetical coach, Sonia, who is familiar with the model we have outlined above and perceives herself to be at the Helper level. Sonia is happy that, in most of her coaching

556

A cognitive-developmental approach for coach development

work, her Helper strategies serve her well; however, she has one coachee, Alastair, where she believes that her approach is not working. At the outset, Sonia worked with Alastair on a specific issue involving resolution of a conflict with a member of his team. Alastair now wants to continue the coaching with Sonia, but it appears to her that he has no clear idea of what he wants to work on. Sonia has managed to develop considerable trust with Alastair and now he is beginning to share his deep uncertainties, his resistance and his doubts in relation to his working life. However, he cannot seem to make links between what he says he values and specific actions. Sonia cannot find a way of helping him to move forward and begins to feel out of her depth. She suspects that her intuitive approach is not enough to meet the needs of her coachee and this particular development of the coaching process. This makes her uncomfortable and so she brings the issue to supervision. She feels she needs to understand if the next level of The Questioner would be necessary to meet the needs of this coachee and what she would need to do if this was the case.

The coaching supervision process Sonia’s supervisor, Pat, is also familiar with the stages of development. She judges that Sonia has given appropriate support for her coachee in relation to the specific conflict issue. However, the problems she is presenting now seem to reflect the limitations of her current stage in relation to the coachee, who presents an increasingly complex array of problems. Pat considers that Sonia’s interest in the next level and intention to understand more about it is natural in relation to this particular case. Pat has noticed that Sonia is already capable of abstract thinking, making perceptive comparisons and also making use of her intuition. Therefore the Questioner stage seems like a natural progression for her. Indeed she seems ready to embrace the deep learning that further development of this stage will entail. Sonia has faced the limitations of her work and has already suggested that she is ready for the challenge that will inevitably need to occur to her current conceptualisation and thinking. However, Pat is also aware of the conflict in her own role, as supervisor, between supporting the coach in using the opportunity for further development and ensuring that the coachee has the best possible support. She knows that in some cases this dilemma would be extended to the issue of protecting the coachee. Pat has already asked herself if Sonia is the best choice of coach for Alastair at this time. However, because Sonia did so well in coaching him in relation to the initial issue, Pat believes that Sonia’s concurrent further development will enhance her work with Alastair. Pat therefore encourages Sonia to pay more detailed attention to evaluation of her own coaching practice and invites the sharing of examples from work with coachees that promotes comparison. In the safety of supervision, Sonia can compare and contrast her thoughts with those of her supervisor and relevant theorists, if appropriate, in order to strengthen her critical capacity. Pat asks Sonia to identify patterns in her coaching work by cross-relating incidents. When she is encouraged to reflect in this way, Sonia reveals that she has had another coachee who did not seem committed to his goals, and no matter how she tried to help him, he did not seem to be able to, or want to, focus on achievement of those goals. Through exploration of the current ‘unmotivated’ coachee and reflecting back to other times when coachees behaved similarly, Sonia is able to recognise a pattern, both in the two coachees and in her own response to the problem. Recognition of the pattern may reveal a need for Sonia to understand ‘fuzzy’ goals and, rather than rely solely on her own intuition, to compare her approaches with those of relevant theorists. Such critical appraisal is indicative of The Questioner level. In addition, Pat helps Sonia to look at issues from a number of other perspectives. She asks questions such as: “If you were supervising your own practice, what would you ask?” or “What might your coachee have

557

Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox

been thinking at this moment?” or “How would this intervention be looked at from a different theoretical perspective?” This emphasis on perspective taking enables Pat to help Sonia make the move from subjective knowing with its resulting emphasis on helping, at this stage, towards a more diverse, challenging, objectoriented, questioning approach. Pat is aware that finding opportunities to refer to and question authorities is very important in Sonia’s development and so she suggests that Sonia compare different theories, explore a number of new strategies, and analyse models which develop critical understanding of coaching. She recommends to Sonia relevant material and theories of resistance that help develop her understanding in order to work with Alastair. Pat also works to provide Sonia with confidence in her own powers of rational judgement, her ability to really critique ideas and to develop healthy scepticism in relation to the quality of evidence presented and ultimately to develop powers of critical analysis. Pat is aware that at the Helper level, Sonia’s identity is bound up with wanting to serve others and help them and so she is careful to provide feedback in a form that complements Sonia’s current ‘Helper’ frame of reference, emphasising the needs of the coachee. Pat notices some behaviour in Sonia that she considers as signs of progress. She notices, for instance, that Sonia is much more willing to question herself. She is still making decisions intuitively, but now she asks herself why she is doing it and compares and evaluates the effectiveness of her intuitive decision. In describing a recent intervention, Sonia said, “I think it worked well, but perhaps I am deceiving myself”. Sonia is also paying more attention to Alastair’s motives. She is not looking at what he has achieved or not achieved but is exploring the clarity of thinking about the meaning of particular situations for him. She asks, “What does it mean to the coachee?” Recalling how Alastair’s initial conflict was resolved satisfactorily, Sonia is making links between that event and his current dilemmas. She asks, “What does having good, solid relationships with his team mean for him?” and “What compromises does he seem to be able to make without losing his integrity?” As time goes on, her relationship with Alastair has in itself become more meaningful. She has become more open and is able to acknowledge that she does not have solutions for him. She recognises that the level of issues that he is dealing with may suggest that no perfect answers can be found. He appreciated her openness about her limitations and felt more encouraged to explore his issues in depth without fear of losing face. In addition, Pat is encouraged because Sonia has asked her to discuss whether the relationship with Alastair needs recontracting because of the different nature of the engagement. This indicates Sonia’s heightened awareness of the nature of the coaching process and its boundaries and consequences for the sponsoring organisation. There are also some signs that indicate that the development to the Questioner is far from being complete. Pat sees that the nature of Alastair’s problems, which included some bigger organisational issues, his plans for future choices and the importance of the decision he needed to make at this point in his life, need to involve him in working with his own values. However, when reflecting on some meetings with her coachee, Sonia is still inadvertently imposing her own interpretation on the issues. She still occasionally makes assumptions and interpretations for the coachee, saying things like: “In those circumstances a better course of action would be . . .” or “If only I could help him see this”.

Outcomes of the case study The experiences of adults are always in flux and are related to finding the right way to ‘be’ in the world. This was particularly evident in the issues that Alastair presented, and Sonia struggled initially to allow Alastair the reflective space to explore those issues freely. Pat, however, continued supporting Sonia’s reflection on this particular case. The coaching came to a natural conclusion with Alastair when the contract with the

558

A cognitive-developmental approach for coach development

organisation ended, and both thought that some useful outcomes had been achieved. Alastair’s feedback to Sonia was that she facilitated his thinking about the team and ultimately had promoted thinking about bigger issues, which was helpful. In relation to Sonia’s supervision, Pat carried on working with her. Sonia realised that she needed to have more theoretical knowledge and undertook some continuing professional development. Her choices in terms of reading about coaching became more evidence based and critical. She had experienced how essential contracting is and had designed her own contract, realising the importance of responding to changes in the coaching process.

Conclusion This chapter has focused on theories of adult development. We have drawn on existing theories of cognitive development and ego development in order to present a model of levels of coach development. We believe that the role of educators, supervisors and coaches is to understand and nurture natural progression of individual capacities along the cognitive-developmental and ego-development dimensions. This approach does not imply specific tools and techniques. It implies careful consideration of the appropriateness of all tools and techniques that other approaches might offer to each level of development of coachees as well as coaches. It is an artful balance of support and challenge appropriate for each stage of development that makes a difference in the work of a developmentally minded practitioner. We also believe that the best way of supporting this process of natural development is an active engagement of all skills and abilities of the coach in the process of addressing the work and life tasks of their coachees. Finally, this approach, in terms of its application, emphasises the importance of the personal growth of practitioners themselves. It is the development of the coach as a person, rather than the application of particular techniques or methods, that makes a difference in coaching practice.

Application to other contexts The cognitive-developmental approach has the same, if not higher, relevance when considered in relation to adolescence and even younger children when coached. It also has relevance to the leadership context as highlighted by Day et al. (2012). Our model, however, presents the development of adult coaches and coaching psychologists only. In relation to group processes, it is very clear why group work is sometimes incredibly difficult: when individuals with different levels of development are intensely involved in the same process, the chances of serious misunderstandings are numerous. However, opportunities for expected and unexpected growth are also present and possible. This is an area for further discussion and research.

Discussion points 1 2

3

4

If the coachee is more advanced than the coach, what could be seen as problematic in their work together apart from the potential lack of progress and mutual frustration? The cognitive-developmental approach implies the need to make a judgement about the level of development that a coachee or coach represents in their behaviour. This is often related to the values that individuals hold. How does it fit with a traditional view of coaching as non-judgemental? A number of the developmental theories quite explicitly state that the higher stages of development indicate the ‘mastery of wisdom and spirituality’ (Csikszentmihalyi, 1994). How compatible is this view of individual development with your vision of what coaching is about? What do you see as the main obstacles for the cognitive-developmental approach becoming more influential in coaching psychology than it is now? 559

Tatiana Bachkirova and Elaine Cox

Suggested reading Bachkirova, T. (2011). Developmental Coaching: Working with the self, Maidenhead: Open University Press. Berger, J. (2012). Changing on the Job: Developing Leaders for a Complex World, Stanford: Stanford Business Books. Lawrence, P. (2017). Coaching and adult development. In T. Bachkirova, G. Spence, & D. Drake (Eds.), The Sage handbook of coaching (pp. 121–138). London: Sage. Cook-Greuter, S. (2004). Making the case for developmental perspective, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 36 No. 7, pp. 275–281.

References Bachkirova, T. (2011). Developmental Coaching: Working with the Self, Maidenhead: Open University Press. Bachkirova, T. (2013). Developmental coaching: Developing the self, in J. Passmore, D. Peterson & T. Freire (Eds.) The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring, Chichester: John Wiley and sons Ltd, pp. 135–154. Bachkirova, T. (2014). Psychological development in adulthood and coaching, in E. Cox, T. Bachkirova, & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.) The Complete Handbook of Coaching (2 ed.), London: Sage, pp. 131–144. Bachkirova, T., & Cox, E. (2007). A cognitive developmental approach for coach development, in S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.) Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners, London: Routledge, pp. 325–350. Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Golderberger, N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (1986). Women’s Ways of Knowing, New York: Basic Books. Berger, J. (2006). Adult development theory and executive coaching practice. In D. Stober & A. Grant (Eds.), Evidence based coaching handbook: Putting best practices to work for your clients. Chichester: John Wiley. Berger, J. (2012). Changing on the Job: Developing Leaders for a Complex World, Stanford: Stanford Business Books. Brookfield, S. D. (1987). Developing critical thinkers: Challenging adults to explore alternative ways of thinking and acting. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Chandler, D. E., & Kram, K. E. (2005). Applying an adult development perspective to developmental networks. Career Development International, Vol. 10, No. 607, pp. 548–566. Commons, M. L., & Richards, F. A. (2002). Four postformal stages, in J. Demick (Ed.) Handbook of Adult Development, New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum, pp. 199–219. Cook-Greuter, S. (1999). Postatonomous ego development: Its nature and measurement. Doctoral dissertation, Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education. Cook-Greuter, S. (2004). Making the case for developmental perspective, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 36, No. 7. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1994). The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millennium, New York: Harper Perennial. Day, D. V., Harrison, M. M., & Halpin, S. M. (2012). An Integrative Approach to Leader Development: Connecting Adult Development, Identity, and Expertise, London: Routledge. Dewey, J. (1991). How We Think, New York: Prometheus Books. Drath, W. (1990). Managerial strengths and weaknesses as functions of the development of personal meaning, Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 483–499. Garrison, D. R. (1991). Critical thinking and adult education: A conceptual model for developing critical thinking in adult learners. International Journal of Lifelong Education, Vol. 910, No. 4, pp. 287–303. Gowan, J. C. (1974). Development of the Psychedelic Individual (Chapter 6). Available at www.csun.edu/edpsy/Gowan/ contentp.html (accessed 12 January 2007). Kegan, R. (1982). The Evolving Self: Problem and Process in Human Development, London: Harvard University Press. Kegan, R. (1994). In Over Our Heads, London: Harvard University Press. King, P. M., & Kitchener, K. S. (1994). Developing Reflective Judgment: Understanding and Promoting Intellectual Growth and Critical Thinking in Adolescents and Adults, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Kohlberg, L. (1969). Stages in the Development of Moral Thought and Action, New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston. Koplowitz, H. (1984). A projection beyond Piaget’s formal-operations stage: A general system stage and a unitary stage, in M. Commons, F. Richards, & C. Armon (Eds.) Beyond Formal Operations: Late Adolescent and Adult Cognitive Development, New York: Praeger. Lahey, L., Souvaine, E., Kegan, R., Goodman, R., & Felix, S. (1988). A Guide to the Subject-Object Interview: Its Administration and Interpretation, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, Laboratory of Human Development. Lawrence, P. (2017). Coaching and adult development. In T. Bachkirova, G. Spence, & D. Drake (Eds.), The Sage handbook of coaching (pp. 121–138). London: Sage. Loevinger, J. (1976). Ego Development: Conceptions and Theories, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

560

A cognitive-developmental approach for coach development

Loevinger, J. (1987). Paradigms of Personality, New York: M.H. Freeman and Company. Manners, J., & Durkin, K. (2001). A Critical Review of the Validity of Ego Development Theory and Its Measurement. Journal of Personality Assessment, Vol. 77, No. 3, pp. 541–567. McCauley, C.D., Drath, W.H., Palus, C.J., O’Connor, P.M.G., & Baker, B.A. (2006). The use of constructive-developmental theory to advance the understanding of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 17, pp. 634–653 Mezirow, J., & Associates (1990). Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Miller, I. (2012). A retrospective commentary on the consciousness mapping of John C. Gowan part I, Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research, Vol. 3, No. 8, pp. 965–979. Perry, W. G. (1970). Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Development in the College Years, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Piaget, J. (1976). The Psychology of Intelligence, Littlefield, NJ: Adams & Co. Rooke, D., & Torbert, W. (2005). Seven transformation of leadership, Harvard Business Review, April. Sullivan, C., Grant, M., & Grant, J. (1957). The development of interpersonal maturity: Application to delinquency, Psychiatry, Vol. 20, pp. 373–385. Wilber, K. (2000). Integral Psychology, London: Shambala.

561

42 Coaching psychology supervision Michael Carroll

Introduction In the decade between the first and second editions of this handbook, there has been a veritable explosion of interest in coaching supervision. In 2007 there were two books and a smattering of chapters and articles on the subject (Carroll, 2007). Since then a number of new books focusing on coaching supervision have seen the light of day (Bachkirova et al., 2011; Carroll, 2014; Clutterbuck et al., 2016; De Haan, 2012; Hawkins and Smith, 2013; Murdoch and Arnold, 2013; Passmore, 2011). Furthermore, since 2007 formal training programmes in coaching supervision have increased substantially throughout the world. In Britain, Ashridge Business School, Bath Consultancy, Oxford Brooks University and the Coaching Supervision Academy, amongst others, offer accredited qualifications in the subject. The Coaching Supervision Academy also runs coaching supervision programmes in a number of other counties including Australia, Britain, France, Singapore and Hong Kong. The first cohort of the USA programme completed their programme in Seattle in 2014: along with the Hudson Institute this seems to be the only formal training programme in coaching supervision in the USA. Two international conferences on coaching supervision have taken place and been attended by vast numbers (2013 at Oxford Brooks University, 2014 at Ashridge Business School). The European Coaching and Mentoring Council (EMCC) added coaching and OD supervision to the list of programmes they formally accredit in 2012. The International Society for Coaching Psychology has an Accreditation/Certification Process for Coaching Psychology Supervisors. Few coaching psychology meetings pass these days without some mention of coaching supervision, and few conferences on coaching would not host at least one workshop on the subject. In that short period of time, a mere seven years, supervision has moved from the periphery of coaching to becoming an essential and necessary part of coaching life and work. Some commissioning bodies now require coaches who work with them to attend and show they attend regular supervision.1 What has happened in these few short years to increase dramatically our interest in coaching supervision?

Historical background While coaching supervision may well be the “new kid on the coaching block”, supervision itself has been around for well over a century now. First devised as a support and reflective space for social workers in the late nineteenth century in the USA, it was slowly adopted by other helping professions – probation, advice and welfare programmes, EAPs and teaching. In the early days of Freud there is some evidence 562

Coaching psychology supervision

that small groups gathered to discuss and review each other’s client work. Supervision was informal at this stage, with Max Eitington reckoned to be the first to make supervision a formal requirement for those in their psychoanalytic training in the 1920s. If this was the first phase of supervision, then the second phase emerged in the 1950s with the introduction of other counselling/psychotherapy orientations besides the psychodynamic. The type of supervision emanating from these new developments has been called “counselling-bound or psychotherapy-bound” models of supervision in that they allied their theory and interventions in supervision to the counselling/psychotherapy orientation they espoused. Watching Rogers, Perls or Ellis supervising would make an observer wonder what was different from the manner in which they supervised to the way they engaged in counselling. Incidentally, it is worth noting that the new books on supervision mentioned above contain many “coaching-bound models of supervision”, e.g. “the Gestalt supervision model”, “non-directive supervision of coaching” (Passmore, 2011), “the person centred approach in coaching supervision” and “using transactional analysis in coaching supervision” (Bachkirova et al., 2011) to mention just a few. It was in the 1970s that supervision began to move away from counselling and make a bid for being more of an educational process than a counselling one. The focus moved from the person doing the work to the work itself. As a result, the social role/developmental frameworks for supervision became more popular. Supervision now became centred on practice, the actual work done with a view to using that work to improve future work. This was quite a major shift in supervision theory and practice, and the divide between counselling and supervision was firmly established. Supervision was unapologetically and unashamedly centred on practice, and whatever impacted on that practice was the rightful subject of supervision (e.g. the person of the practitioner, the impact of the organisations involved). The recent literature on coaching supervision reflects this trend too with chapters titles such as “The reflective coaching practitioner model” (Campone, 2011), “Action learning supervision for coaches” (Childs et al., 2011); “Learning from supervision” (Carroll, 2014) and “Reflection and critical reflection in supervision” (Carroll, 2014).

Coaching psychology supervision Quite rightly, coaching psychology was and still is wary of transferring models of supervision pertinent to other professions into the coaching arena. Pampallis Paisley (2006) asks the key question here “whether the existing models of supervision are sufficient for the demands of coaching” and answers it with a “both . . . and”. Coaching supervision can both borrow elements and models from supervision as applied to other professions and there is room to look at coaching as “a distinctive enough discipline to require a particular frame of supervision and a particular theory to support this”. This chapter looks at the added value supervision can give to coaching psychology and articulates how coaching psychology supervision can be implemented within a coaching psychology culture using existing models of supervision while recognising “the need for multiple layers and levels of complexity that the executive coach finds him or herself in when working in organisations” (Pampallis Paisley, 2006). By and large what we have called clinical supervision (or reflective or developmental supervision) pertains to circumstances where the work of the practitioner, in our case the coaching psychologist, is the focus of the meeting between supervisee and supervisor and where the supervisor has no other relationship with the supervisee other than the supervision relationship. For this reason, this chapter will look in detail at consultative supervision as the main agenda of coaching psychology supervision today. As training programmes in coaching psychology emerge, then trainee coaching psychology supervision will need to be addressed more fully. While most of what is written here will concentrate on executive coaching, life coaching shares many of the supervisory insights. What is usually different between the two is the existence of an organisation that sponsors executive coaching and wants a say in the coaching psychology agenda. 563

Michael Carroll

What is meant by supervision? What is supervision in general, across professions? At its simplest, supervision is a forum where supervisees (coaching psychologists) review and reflect on their work in order to do it better (Carroll, 2014). Coaching psychologists bring their practice to another person (individual supervision) or to a group (peer, small group or team supervision) and with their help review what happened in their practice in order to learn from that experience. Ultimately, supervision is for better coaching work. It’s not the only help to better practice, but in the estimation of many it is one of the most effective interventions. In a relationship of trust and transparency, supervisees talk about their work and, through mindful reflection and thoughtfulness, learn from it and return to do it differently. Supervision is based on the assumption that reflecting on work provides the basis for learning from that work and doing it more creatively (Bolton, 2001; Carroll, 2014; Hewson & Carroll, 2016; King & Kitchener, 1994; Moon, 1999). Ryan (2004) puts it well: “Supervision” she writes, “is an inquiry into practice. It is a compassionate appreciative inquiry. . . . In supervision we re-write the stories of our own practice . . . supervision interrupts practice. It wakes us up to what we are doing. When we are alive to what we are doing we wake up to what is, instead of falling asleep in the comfort stories of our clinical routines” (p. 44). Coaching psychology supervision is a form of experiential learning. At its heart is practice, the actual work of the coaching psychologist supervisee. There is no such thing as supervision where work is not reviewed, interviewed, questioned, considered and critically reflected upon. Supervision that is not centred and focused on actual practice and work is simply another form of coaching or counselling. Supervision is reflection-on-action or, indeed, reflection-in-action to result in reflection-for-action. Lane and Corrie (2006) summarise what they see as the benefits of supervision for counselling psychologists. In my view, these benefits are equally true for coaching psychologists: • • • • •

It offers protection to clients (cases are reviewed) It offers reflective space to practitioners ( insights for improvement) It helps practitioners identify their strengths and weaknesses It helps learning from peers It offers the opportunity to keep up to date with professional developments. (p. 19)

Further benefits added to the above include: • • • • • • •

It alerts practitioners to ethical and professional issues in their work and creates ethical watchfulness. (Carroll and Shaw, 2013) It provides a forum to consider and hold the tensions that emerge from the needs of various stakeholders in the coaching psychology arrangement (the company, the coachee, the profession) It allows practitioners to measure the impact of their coaching work on their lives and to identify their personal reactions to their professional work It offers a “third-person” perspective (feedback) from the supervisor who is not part of the client system It is ultimately for the welfare of and better service to the client (the coachee) It creates a forum of accountability for those to whom the coaching psychologist is accountable (company, coachee, profession, etc.) It updates coaching psychologists to the best in psychological innovation, insights and research.

In the fourth edition of their supervision book, Hawkins and Shohet (2012) ask even more of modern supervision and widen its usefulness considerably. They write: “Now when I supervise individuals I ask them: ‘What is the world you operate in requiring you to step up to and what are the areas in which you

564

Coaching psychology supervision

struggle to respond?’ When I work with teams, I ask them ‘What is the world you operate in asking you collectively to step up to, to which you, collectively, have not yet found a way to respond?’” (p. 10). Their challenge to coaching psychology supervision is: do we start thinking about supervision from the needs of the individual practitioner or from needs of the world around us? It is quite a challenge to move away from the notion of supervision focused solely on clients and widen it to see the work of both coaching psychology and coaching psychology supervision as encompassing the contemporary contexts in which these take place.

Coaching psychology supervisors Supervisors are primarily facilitators of reflection (Hay, 2007; Hewson & Carroll, 2016). Practice then becomes mindful involvement rather than mindless repetition: the opposite of reflection is mindlessness where work becomes routine, the same work reproduced again and again in a mindless way. Supervision creates mindful supervisees who think deeply and courageously about their work. Unapologetically, they, supervisors and supervisees, want excellent work, quality work and the best service for coachees. Bond and Holland (1998) capture the flavour of this in their definition of supervision as: “a regular, protected time for facilitated, in-depth reflection on practice”. Supervision is not a given: it is culturally friendly, professionally adaptable and needs to be moulded to situations and supervisees. A group of 50 Maori psychologists, social workers and counsellors I worked with in 2005 devised their own definition of supervision as “gathering the treasures of the past into the competencies of the present for the wellbeing of the future” (New Zealand, 2005).

Supervision is for the learning of the supervisee The focus of coaching psychology supervision is the learning of the supervisee. Every supervision session could easily end with the same question: “What have you learned from the last hour in supervision?”. The learning involved is not just theoretical or simply head learning. It is learning from experience which results in doing the work differently. It is the learning where the lofty highlands of theory are connected and applied to the swampy lowlands of practice (Schon, 1987). Hawkins and Shohet (2012) call this “the shift in the supervisory room” where supervision becomes a form of transformational learning (Merizow, 2000). The very experience of working becomes the teacher; we sit at the feet of our own experience (Zachary, 2000). The American military devised a form of this kind of supervision called the AAR (After Action Review) where after an operation commanders gather their troops in small groups and face them with six questions: What did we set out to do? What happened? What went well? What went badly? What have we learnt from this exercise? What will we do differently next time? (Garvin, 2000) This is genuine supervision, and the same questions could be asked by coaching psychology supervisors in reflecting on a coaching psychology session. If all learning begins from the learner’s frame of reference, then it doesn’t make sense for coaching psychology supervisors to supervise as if all supervisees should be supervised in the same manner. Supervisors, understanding that one size does not fit all in learning terms, need to know the learning styles or intelligences of those we teach. How rarely we ask: before I teach you,

565

Michael Carroll

could you let me know your learning style? Before beginning supervision it seems advisable to ask our coaching psychology supervisees: How do you learn? What is your learning style? How can I facilitate your learning? What would I do that might block your learning? How might differences between us impact on your learning? How can we learn together? Armed with this information, coaching psychology supervisors become flexible and adaptable in gearing their style and interventions to the learning needs and the learning styles (and learning intelligences) of coach supervisees.

Systemic supervision While the visible focus of coaching psychology supervision is usually two people (as in life coaching), or a small group of people (peer, team, group supervision), to ignore the systemic side of supervision is to miss the unseen but very active participants in the wider field who impact dramatically on the coaching psychologist, the coachee and their work together (Carroll, 2014; Hawkins & Shohet, 2012). Hawkins and Smith (2006) emphasise this systemic view of coaching psychologists: “Coaching supervision is the process by which a Coach with the help of a Supervisor, who is not working directly with the Client, can attend to understanding better both the Client System and themselves as part of the Client-Coach system, and by so doing transform their work. It also allows the coach to discover where he or she is not currently creating the shift for the benefit of the client and client organisation”. As we will see below, effective supervisors need to be systemic in their views and inclusive in holding a number of needs together. Supervision inevitably involves a number of subsystems, even if they are invisible participants in the process. Not to consider them and keep them in mind and be aware of their impact is to create blindness, what Oshry calls “system blindness” (Oshry, 1995). A systems approach to coaching psychology supervision keeps the big picture in mind as outlined in Figure 42.1: Organisation

Executive

Coaching Organisation

Coaching Psychologist

Supervisor

Figure 42.1 A systemic overview of coaching psychology supervision

In Figure 42.1, an organisation contracts with a coaching organisation for individual executives to engage in executive coaching with designated coaches employed by the coaching organisation. This coach is being supervised by an external supervisor or in some instances by a supervisor internal to the coaching organisation. Sometimes the above five subsystems are all involved, sometimes four of them and less often in executive coaching three of them (executive, coach and supervisor). Imagine some of the dynamics needing 566

Coaching psychology supervision

consideration when an external supervisor is supervising the work of a coach psychologist who belongs to a coaching organisation or company which contracts with an organisation to provide coaching to individual executives. Maintaining professional boundaries, managing contracts and, in particular, the psychological contract (Carroll, 2005) and being aware of the needs and responsibilities of each of the players can become a minefield (Copeland, 2005; Copeland, 2006; Towler, 2006). It is here particularly that coaching psychologists and coaching psychology supervisors need knowledge, insights and skills in understanding and working with companies and within a business context. Many coaching psychologists do not have this background from their previous experiences even when they have worked in the public sector. Hawkins & Smith (2006) were alert to this factor, “. . . hence the dangers of over-applying the theories and models of one group to the work of another. One of the dangers of a coach going for supervision to a counsellor, or counselling psychologist, is that the supervisor’s professional focus will tend towards understanding the psychology of the client. . . .” The biggest danger is when a fundamental orientation that is more interested in individuals than organisations, tips over into an unrecognised tendency to see individuals as victims of “bad” or “unfeeling organisations” (p. 148). Coaching psychology supervisors add the organisational aspect (as well as the individual perspective) to their agendas. Carroll (2014) has outlined ten tasks that supervisors need to fulfil when there is an organisation as part of the supervisory field. He summarises these as the ability to: 1 Generate clear contracts with all (these will include two-way, three-way and sometimes four-way contracts) 2 Enable coaching psychologists to collaborate (without colluding) with companies and organisations 3 Help coaching psychologists manage the flow of information with the whole system (confidentially, who talks to whom?) 4 Support supervisees to make appropriate ethical decisions in organisational contexts 5 Work with coaching psychologists at the interface between the individual executive and the organisation (who is the client?) 6 Help coaching psychologists look after and support themselves as they work within organisations 7 Help coaching psychologists deal with records, statistics, and reports and be able to communicate these to organisations 8 Know how to deal with three-way meetings when appropriate 9 Facilitate coaching psychologists’ understanding and ability to manage the parallel process within organisations. 10 Evaluate, with supervisees, how coaching psychology can be a vehicle for understanding and facilitating organisational change (e.g. team coaching, coaching for culture change). A number of authors have looked at how best to prepare for and implement executive coaching within organisational contexts (see Austin & Hopkins, 2004; Copeland, 2005; Clutterbuck & Meggison, 2005; Hawkins, 2012). One doctoral dissertation tackles the issues of “multiple triangulations one finds oneself in when supervising in an organisation and the main one for coaching is: the coach, the client and the organisation” (Pampallis Paisley, 2006). Effective coaching psychology supervisors hold these subsystems together, their needs and interactions, in a creative tension.

Helping coaching psychology supervisees use supervision effectively Many supervisees rightly complain that they have no training in being and becoming supervisees. Indeed there is little literature to guide them and few resources to help them understand what supervision is, how to choose a supervisor, how to contract within supervision, how to present coaching clients or how to deal with conflict. A manual (Carroll & Gilbert, 2011) offers supervisees practical helps in being an effective 567

Michael Carroll

supervisee. Amongst other areas there are seven sets of skills that help coaching psychology supervisees make the best use of supervision time. These are: • • • • • • •

Learning how to reflect Learning how to learn Learning how to give and receive feedback to facilitate learning Learning how to be emotionally aware Learning how to self-evaluate realistically Learning how to learn from experience Learning how to dialogue. (see Carroll and Gilbert, 2011)

Carroll and Gilbert (2005) have translated their supervisee book into a manual for coaches (On being a coachee: creating learning relationships, 2008) which adds another support to coachees who have little literature to guide them in becoming effective coachees. Supervisees need help in using supervision to its maximum; time spent helping them do so will have valuable returns.

Models for understanding coaching psychology supervision While not devised for coaching psychology, a number of existing models of supervision are applicable to working with executive coaches (e.g. Hawkins & Shohet, 2012; Holloway, 1995; Inskipp & Proctor, 1993, 1995; Page & Wosket, 1994). Hawkins and Shohet’s Seven-Eyed Supervisor is of particular help here; coaching psychology supervisors can use it to help supervisees prepare for supervision (Inskipp & Proctor, 1993, 1995) or as a focus for what Hawkins and Smith call the Seven Modes of Coaching Supervision (2013). Other models are making their way onto the market specifically designed for coaching, e.g. “The three worlds four territories of supervision” (Turner, 2011) and “Using the seven conversations in supervision” (Clutterbuck, 2011).

Case study Anthony is an executive coaching psychologist with Coach Supreme, a company that specialises in offering executive coaching to the banking industry. His company has a contract with Abell Investments, and Anthony has been allocated two executives as his coachees. He has been working with both of them (Amelia and Jason) for almost four months now and meets with them individually once a month for an hour and half. Gabrielle is Anthony’s supervisor. She is external to Coach Supreme who pay her as supervisor. Coach Supreme also has an internal accounts director (Adam) who offers day-to-day supervision on case management in respect of Abell Investments, one of the accounts he manages. Anthony has brought Amelia to Gabrielle in supervision twice now and in this last supervision session mentioned that he was quite worried about what was happening to her. Amelia is a producer-manager in that she manages her own investment account for clients but also oversees and line manages a team of 15 investment bankers. She is quite young to be promoted to this level, which is an indicator that Abell Investments sees her as talented and having the potential of going further with the company. Anthony has been working with her on her management style (which is what Abell also wanted), has met with Amelia and the HR director to agree to the agenda for executive coaching and is expected to put in an interim report after six months.

568

Coaching psychology supervision

However, Amelia has “gone to pieces” in the past two months after a lively and involved start to her managerial career. It began with her need to confront and challenge poor performance on the part of one of her team. Anthony encouraged her to do this and coached her about how to intervene. It did not go as planned and after some acrimonious exchanges the member of the team in question went to Amelia’s boss who seemed to side with her (the member of Amelia’s team) and, while agreeing with Amelia about the need to tackle shoddy performance, felt that she was handling it poorly and suggested he take over. The end result was that the member of staff resigned and the rest of the team have turned against Amelia – almost ostracising her. The impact on Amelia is quite devastating. She hates coming to work and feels isolated, unsupported and stuck. She has just recently returned to work after two weeks off due to stress. Anthony is stuck too. He does not know how to handle this. He is getting two messages. His accounts manager (Adam) is recommending he go higher into the organisation to suggest team development and conflict resolution; his other supervisor (Gabrielle) thinks this would disempower Amelia and that Anthony should support her in tackling this. Amelia has pointed out similarities between this situation and her family of origin which Anthony has noted but not pursued. He is anxious that the coaching does not turn into quasicounselling which focuses on Amelia’s background and her transference of some of that into the present team situation. On the other hand, he feels a need to help Amelia move out of “survival mode” which results in her just getting through the day, getting to the end of the week. But he has not offered positive strategies for improving her role as manager. Anthony is worried that Amelia with have a “break-down” or will impulsively resign (it was her doctor who suggested she take two weeks off with stress). In supervision, Gabrielle, using the seven-eyed model (Hawkins & Shohet, 2012), reviews with Anthony possible avenues of inquiry and points out that they could work together on any of the following: 1

The client: if we look at the team as client, then we can concentrate on what is happening to them (e.g. why are they siding against Amelia?), try to understand the dynamics involved and make sense of this organisationally and in terms of the various relationships involved.

2

The interventions: what can Amelia do to remedy the situation so that it does not get worse? What has she done that may have triggered the events? What future strategies are needed to create a better atmosphere?

3

Relationships: how do we evaluate the various relationships involved (Amelia and her boss, and the team, and the individuals in the team, and the HR director)? Are there ways of building new improved relationships?

4

What is happening to Anthony and why? Can we understand his reactions, thoughts and feelings to what is happening? How can we manage his reactions and his feelings of being stuck?

5

Parallel process: what is happening in the team that may be transferred into the supervision relationship? (Both systems seem stuck!)

6 7

What is happening to Gabrielle, and what are her reactions as well as her intuitions, theories, hunches, etc.? What is happening in the wider system of the organisation, and how are the various parts of it impacting on Amelia?

Each and all of the above focus points make fertile material for the executive coaching psychology supervision session. The supervisory questions are: •

Who decides, with limited time, which of these avenues to pursue?



What would best help Amelia just now, and how would the various actors in the drama know?



When should the supervisor intervene (if at all) other than simply to provide supervision?



Should the supervisor talk to the case manager (Adam) about what is going on?

569

Michael Carroll



Should Adam feed back any information into Abell Investments (through the HR department)?



Should Anthony take a more proactive role and involve himself more in the organisational side of what is happening?



Should Anthony recommend that Amelia have counselling support alongside the executive coaching he is providing? (He would not be the counsellor but he could make a referral so that it is set up confidentially for Amelia – he is certain the company would pay.)

This example shows some of the individual, team, organisational and supervisory issues/problems/dilemmas/ challenges that can pertain when executive coaching is implemented in an organisation.

Other areas This chapter on coaching psychology supervision has traced the history of supervision and begun to apply supervision theory, research and practice to coaching psychology. It has also looked at the evolution of supervision within the coaching psychology field itself with the emergence of theory, frameworks and models of supervision specifically designed for coaching. Inevitably, it has focused on a number of key areas and not considered others. Before ending it is worth mentioning some of these as areas coaching psychology supervisors need to pay attention to in setting up and maintaining an effective supervisory relationship – while other professions have frameworks and models for these, work has to be done on applying their conclusions to the coaching psychology field: •

• •

• • • • •

Contracting for supervision (Carroll, 2014; Inskipp & Proctor, 1993, 1995; Carroll & Gilbert, 2011). Getting contracts agreed, clear and written is fundamental where a number of subsystems are involved as in coaching psychology. Processes and stages that supervision goes through (Carroll, 2014; Hawkins & Shohet, 2012). Developmental stages of supervisor and supervisee progression (Skovholt & Ronnestad, 1992). Awareness that supervisees move through various stages of their own professional development allows coaching psychology supervisors to “pitch” their interventions accordingly. It also allows room for looking at the type of supervision best needed by the supervisee and the kinds of relationships involved. Evaluation and feedback within supervision (Carroll & Gilbert, 2011) and how this works within an organisational setting. Small group and team supervision (Hawkins, 2011; Proctor, 2000; Lammers, 1999). Research into the effectiveness of supervision (Freitas, 2002; Watson, 2011). Good and bad supervision – what do effective supervisors do and what should they avoid doing? (Ladany, 2004). Ethical decision making and legal issues in supervision (Carroll, 1996; Carroll & Shaw, 2013) especially when there is an organisation as part of the system.

Conclusion Coaching psychology has begun its journey to becoming professional with a concentration on codes of ethics, accreditation, training and research. Part of that professionalism is supervision – the forum where practice is reviewed, learnings are gleaned and then applied to future practice. Coaching psychology is asking what supervision models, frameworks and strategies are pertinent to experiential learning for coaching psychologists. While existing theory and research in supervision in general has been translated into frameworks pertinent to coaching psychology, more is needed. Coaching psychology also needs innovative 570

Coaching psychology supervision

thinkers, theorists and researchers who will begin to create coaching psychology supervision as a learning intervention in its own right. In the past few years this has begun (see the suggested reading below), and already there is a solid foundation for developing theories, models and frameworks specific to supervision in coaching psychology. Interesting times loom ahead!

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

What contribution does supervision make to the quality of the work done by coaching psychologists? What concept of learning should underpin effective supervision for coaching psychologists? What do you see as the difference between effective and ineffective supervision? How can supervisors help supervisees make the best use of supervision time?

Note 1 The BBC has a pool of around 70 trained internal coaches all of whom are required to be in one to one and small group supervision

Suggested reading Bachkirova, T., Jackson, P., & Clutterbuck, D. (Eds.) (2011). Coaching and Mentoring Supervision: Theory and Practice. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Carroll, M. (2014). Effective Supervision for the Helping Professions. London: Sage. De Haan, E. (2012). Supervision in Action: A Relational Approach to Coaching and Consulting Supervision. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Hawkins, P., & Smith, N. (2013) Coaching, Mentoring and Organisational Consultancy: Supervision, Skills and Development. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press (2nd Edition).

References Austin, M.J., & Hopkins, K.M. (Eds.) (2004). Supervision as Collaboration in the Human Services. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Bachkirova, T., Jackson, P., & Clutterbuck, D. (Eds.) (2011). Coaching and Mentoring Supervision: Theory and Practice. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Bolton, G. (2001). Reflective Practice. London: Paul Chapman. Bond, M., & Holland, S. (1998). Skills of Clinical Supervision for Nurses. Buckingham: Open University Press. Campone, F. (2011). The Reflective Coaching Practitioner Model University Press. In J. Passmore (Ed.) Supervision in Coaching: Supervision, Ethics and Continuous Professional Development. London: Kogan Page. Carroll, M. (2014). Effective Supervision for the Helping Professions. London: Sage. Carroll, M. (2007). Coaching Psychology Supervision: Luxury or Necessity? In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.) Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners. London: Routledge. Carroll, M. (2005). The Psychological Contract in Organisations. In R. Tribe and M. Morrissey (Eds.) Professional and Ethical Issues for Psychologists, Psychotherapists and Counsellors. London: Brunner-Routledge. Carroll, M. (1996). Counselling Supervision: Theory, Skills and Practice. London: Cassel. Carroll, M. & Gilbert, M. (2011). On Becoming a Supervisee: Creating Learning Partnerships. London: Virani Publishing (2nd Edition). Carroll, M., & Gilbert, M. (2008) On Becoming a Coachee: Creating Learning Partnerships. London: Virani Publishing. Carroll, M., & Gilbert, M. (2005). On Becoming a Supervisee: Creating Learning Partnerships. London: Virani Publishing. Carroll, M., & Shaw, E. (2013). Ethical Maturity in the Helping Professions: A Guide to Difficult Life and Work Decision. London: Jessica Kingsley. Childs, R., Woods, M., Willcock, D., & Angry Man (2011). Action Learning Supervision for Coaches. In J. Passmore (Ed.) Supervision in Coaching: Supervision, Ethics and Continuous Professional Development. London: Kogan Page. Clutterbuck, D. (2011). Using the Seven Conversations in Supervision. In T. Bachkirova, P. Jackson, & D. Clutterbuck (Eds.) Coaching and Mentoring Supervision: Theory and Practice. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Clutterbuck, D., & Meggison, D. (2005). Making Coaching Work: Creating a Coaching Culture. London: CIPD. Clutterbuck, D., Whitaker, C., & Lucas, M. (2016). Coaching Supervision: A Practical Guide for Supervisees. Abingdon: Routledge. 571

Michael Carroll

Copeland, S. (2006). Counselling Supervision in Organisations: Are You Ready to Expand Your Horizons. Counselling at Work, 51, Winter, 2–4. Copeland, S. (2005). Counselling Supervision in Organisations. Hove, East Sussex: Routledge. De Haan, E. (2012). Supervision in Action: A Relational Approach to Coaching and Consulting Supervision. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press Freitas, G.J. (2002). The Impact of Psychotherapy Supervision on Client Outcome: A Critical Examination of Two Decades of Research. Psychotherapy, 39 (4), 354–367. Garvin, D.A. (2000). Learning in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organisation to Work. Boston: Harvard Business School. Hawkins, P. (2012). Creating a Coaching Culture: Developing a Coaching Strategy for Your Organisation. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Hawkins, P. (2011). Leadership Team Coaching: Developing Collective Transformational Leaders. London: Kogan Page. Hawkins, P., & Shohet, R. (2012). Supervision in the Helping Professions. Milton Keynes: Open University Press (4th Edition). Hawkins, P., & Smith, N. (2013). Supervision for Coaches, Mentors and Consultants. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press (2nd Edition). Hawkins, P., & Smith, N. (2006). Supervision for Coaches, Mentors and Consultants. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Hay, J. (2007). Reflective Practice and Supervision for Coaches. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Hewson, D., & Carroll, M. (2016). Reflective Practice in Supervision. Hazelbrook, NSW: Moshpit Publishing. Holloway, E. (1995). Clinical Supervision: A Systems Approach. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage Publications. Inskipp, F., & Proctor, B. (1995). Making the Most of Supervision: Part 2. Middlesex: Cascade Publications (2nd Edition, 2001). Inskipp, F., & Proctor, B. (1993). Making the Most of Supervision: Part 1. Middlesex: Cascade Publications (2nd Edition, 2001). King, P., & Kitchener, K.S. (1994). Developing Reflective Judgment. San Francisco: Wiley. Ladany, N. (2004). Psychotherapy Supervision: What Lies Beneath? Psychotherapy Research, 14 (1), 1–19. Lammers, W. (1999). Training in Group and Team Supervision. In E. Holloway and Carroll (Eds.) Training Counselling Supervisors. London: Sage. Lane, D., & Corrie, S. (2006). Counselling Psychology: Its Influences and Future. Counselling Psychology Review, 21 (1), 12–24. Merizow, J., & Associates (2000). Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Moon, J. (1999). Reflection in Learning and Professional Development. London: Kogan Page. Murdoch, E., & Arnold, J. (2013). Full Spectrum Supervision. St Albans: Panoma Press Ltd. Oshry, B. (1995). Seeing Systems: Unlocking the Mysteries of Organisational Life. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Page, S., & Wosket, V. (1994). Supervising the Counsellor: A Cyclical Model. London: Routledge. Pampallis Paisley, P. (2006). Towards a Theory of Supervision for Coaching: An Integral Approach. D.Prof, Middlesex University. Passmore, J. (Ed.) (2011). Supervision in Coaching: Supervision, Ethics and Continuous Professional Development. London: Kogan Page. Proctor, B. (2000). Group Supervision: A Guide to Creative Practice. London: Sage. Ryan, S. (2004). Vital Practice. Portland, UK: Sea Change Publications. Schon, D. (1987). Educating the Reflective Practitioner. San Francesco: Jossey-Bass. Skovholt, T.M., & Ronnestad, M. (1992). The Evolving Professional Self. New York: Wiley. Towler, J. (2005). The Influence of the Invisible Client. PhD Dissertation. Guildford: University of Surry. Turner, M.M. (2011). The Three Worlds Four Territories of Supervision. In T. Bachkirova, P. Jackson, and D. Clutterbuck (Eds.) Coaching and Mentoring Supervision: Theory and Practice. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Watson, C.E. (2011). Does Psychotherapy Supervision Contribute to Patient Outcomes? Considering Thirty Years of Research. The Clinical Supervisor, 30, 235–256. Zachary, L. (2000). The Mentor’s Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

572

43 Global activity in the education and practice of coaching psychology Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer

Introduction The growth and development of coaching psychology can reasonably be described as exponential over recent years. In support of this Cavanagh and Palmer (2006) have previously maintained that ‘. . . six months in the rapidly expanding field of coaching psychology really is a long time’ (p. 5). Over a decade later, this certainly does still appear to be the case. Since this statement was made, the establishment and global profile of coaching psychology has gathered even more momentum. Acknowledging the speed of the progression of the theory, practice and research base of coaching psychology in 2006, Cavanagh and Palmer noted that searching for ‘coaching psychology’ using Google Scholar offered 123 entries. On the 29th September, 2018, this same search presented about 5,240 results. In 2012, Cavanagh and Palmer also offered an illustration of the global establishment of coaching psychology. They reported that in under a year International Congresses in Coaching Psychology had taken place in London, Dublin, Barcelona, Stockholm and Pretoria (Cavanagh & Palmer, 2012).1 Others have since followed, including Sydney, Israel, Rome, Melbourne and London again in December 2014. The Society for Consulting Psychology (Division 13 of the American Psychological Association) in 2015 hosted the 5th International Congress of Coaching Psychology event in San Diego. Since 2016, the International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP) has held annual congresses in London. There are a number of current and emerging international themes that suggest we can optimistically predict ongoing developments in the education, research, profession and community of coaching psychology. For instance, the last decade appears to have been defined by progressive characteristics and milestones such as: •

• •

Interest and activity within the areas of coaching psychology education and research, including dissemination of this work via coaching psychology conferences, events and publications. In 2016, the ISCP International Centre for Coaching Psychology Research was launched to support international collaboration on different aspects of coaching psychology research (www.iscpresearch.org/ about).2 Building relationships to support the development of an international coaching psychology community. The increasing establishment of coaching psychology interest groups or membership networks within national psychology bodies from around the world.

573

Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer

• •

• •

Focusing upon initiatives to further support the professionalisation of the field such as pathways and routes for accreditation/certification. Promoting and reflecting upon standards of coaching psychology practice, also encompassing the role and importance of coaching psychology supervision and continuing professional development/ education. Reflection and discussion upon themes such as regulation and registration. Exploring ways to educate wider society and the profession of psychology about the aims of coaching psychology as well as its benefits.

Within a relatively short space of time, this fresh style to the development of an area of psychology has included the arguably rapid enablement of international collaborations and a pragmatic approach to moving beyond challenges faced along the way and obstacles met moving forward. The increasing status and maturation of this area of psychology potentially also offers important insights, evidence, opportunities and implications for academic and applied psychology in general. In reality, perhaps one of the key challenges ahead will be to maintain the level of energy and forward motion achieved during the last ten years or so in coaching psychology as we look ahead and consider ‘what to do next?’ This chapter aims to set out the current context of the practice and education of coaching psychology.

Establishing the profession and practice of coaching psychology Before we move on to further consider some of the existing and emergent themes surrounding coaching psychology, it is appropriate to first look at one of the foundations of the profession and cornerstones of practice. The steady increase in the establishment of coaching psychology groups at a local and international level can also help us to understand where coaching psychologists are currently geographically located. Many of these groups exist within nationally recognised psychology bodies, while some have been set up as independent groups (see summary Table 43.1). At the moment there are 21 widely recognised coaching psychology groups. It is of course important to acknowledge that there may well be more informal bodies than those listed in Table 43.1. But on the other hand, it is also fair to say that these have not been brought to the foreground as organised formal bodies within the coaching psychology movement at the current time. As these formal groups tend to offer local definitions or guidelines to set out the requirements of practice and competence for a coaching psychologist, this informs the practice of coaching psychologists and those wishing to enter the field. Most of the groups outlined in Table 43.1 are already, or aiming to be, affiliated within their national psychology body. However, the notable exception is the ISCP, which is an independent society with an international focus. The status of these coaching psychology groups in terms of their development, as well as some of their defining features and constitutes, varies. Commonalities are that they appear to be organised around the key purposes and objectives of representing, promoting and establishing coaching psychology. In support and encouragement of this, the ISCP has signed separate memorandums of understanding with a number of the professional bodies in Table 43.1 (*) representing reciprocal agreements to acknowledge a desire to work together in support of the development of coaching psychology and the profession internationally. It is worth mentioning that when membership of these coaching psychology groups is combined, to provide a global estimate of those involved in the field, the figure represents many thousands of people. This includes psychologists, psychology graduates, psychology students/undergraduates and others interested in the field of coaching psychology. Additionally, with the rise of online networking groups and social media in more recent years, it is relevant to point out that in 2017 the ISCP recorded more than 60,000 Friends of the Society’s Social Network (largely based on LinkedIn forums).

574

Table 43.1 Coaching psychology groups and societies Year Group/ Society Launched

National Psychology Body

Group/Society

Country

2002

Australian Psychological Society (APS)

Interest Group in Coaching Psychology (IGCP)*

Australia

2004

British Psychological Society (BPS)

Special Group in Coaching Psychology (SGCP)

UK

2006

Federation of Swiss Psychologists (FSP)

Swiss Society for Coaching Psychology (SSCP)*

Switzerland

2006

Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology of South Africa (SIOPSA)*

Interest Group in Coaching and Consulting Psychology (IGCCP)*

South Africa

2007

Danish Psychological Association (DPA)

Society for Evidence-based Coaching (SEBC)*

Denmark

2008

Col·legi Oficial de Psicòlegs de Catalunya (The Association of Psychologists in Catalonia, COPC)

General Council of the Association for Psychologists in Spain (CGCOP WG)

Spain

2008

Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI)

Division of Work & Organisational Psychology’s Coaching Psychology Group (DWOP’s CPG)

Ireland

2008

Independent

Hungarian Association for Coaching Psychology (HACP)*

Hungary

2008

Independent

International Society for coaching Psychology (ISCP)

Became ‘International’ in 2011.

2009

New Zealand Psychological Society

Coaching Psychology Special Interest Group (CPSIG)*

New Zealand

2009

Independent

Assoc. of Coaching Psychs.* (Swedish Psych. Assoc. affiliated, 2018)

Sweden

2010

Independent

Israel Association for Coaching Psychology (IACP)*

Israel

2010–2015

Dutch Psychological Society (DPS)

Work and Organisation (WO) Sector Coaching Psychology Group (CPG)

Netherlands

2011

Independent

Society for Coaching Psychology (SCP Italy)*

Italy

2011

Independent – informal group

Japan Coaching Psychology Association (JCPA)

Japan

2011

Korean Psychological Association (KPA)

Korean Coaching Psychological Association (KCPA)

South Korea

2012

American Psychological Association (APA)

Society of Consulting Psychology (Division 13) – Coaching Psychology certification committee to investigate competencies.*

USA

2012

Col·legi Oficial de Psicòlegs de Catalunya (The Association of Psychologists in Catalonia, COPC)

Psychology Coaching Section (PCS)*

Spain

2014

Hungarian Psychological Association (HPA)*

Coaching Psychology Division

Hungary

2016

Singapore Psychological Society

Coaching Psychology Special Interest Group*

Singapore

2018

Independent

Serbian Association for Coaching Psychology

Serbia

* Memorandum of understanding signed with International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP)

Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer

To summarise, key initiatives of these bodies are shown in Table 43.2. Here we can see that activity is organised around the presence of: • • • • •

an accreditation/certification route for coaching psychologists an accreditation system for coaching psychology supervisors journals/publications workshops and conferences hosting of an ICCP event.

Many professional psychology bodies also facilitate the state or national registration of psychologists. Accompanied by codes of ethics and good practice, this also serves to inform the work of coaching psychologists who are members of those particular groups. It is certainly reassuring to see the areas of focus and activity being undertaken by these groups. Currently, five have a system of accreditation/certification or register for coaching psychologists, with the ISCP also being the first to offer a register for accredited coaching psychology supervisors. Further to this, SCP (Italy), SIOPSA/IGCCP (South Africa) and HPA (Hungary) have plans in process in this area of professional development. In particular, this also highlights that our understanding of when a graduate psychologist or qualified psychologist becomes a coaching psychologist can be dependent upon their own national and regional requirements. Table 43.2 also shows us that one of the consistent activities across the groups is running workshops and conferences – earlier in this chapter we have outlined the calendar of International Congress of Coaching Psychology events. With achievements such as this, it seems fair to say that the prediction by Palmer and Whybrow (2007, p. xix) that ‘we will see more collaborative work between all of the professional psychological bodies over the next few years’ has thus far been realised. A key issue looking ahead will be to enable the coaching psychology community to extend upon this strategy to also further appropriately engage with other professional bodies and groups (both psychological and non-psychological). Given the accomplishments noted to date, it seems fair to look positively forward to the profession reaching out further to achieve these important objectives. We began this section by highlighting the important role of professional bodies in supporting the practice and establishment of coaching psychology and coaching psychologists in their work. This is perhaps most visibly evidenced by the central practical function they play in the dissemination of knowledge and information in their journals, publications, websites, social media, virtual communities, events and conferences. At this time there are four specific coaching psychology journals in circulation and, in addition to this, a further number covering the topic of coaching. An overarching aim of the former is to inform, engage and support the science and practice of coaching psychology per se. The BPS SGCP publishes The coaching psychologist (TCP), with an emphasis on Europe. Additionally, in association with the APS IGCP, the BPS SGCP publishes the International coaching psychology review (ICPR). TCP and ICPR are available for members and subscribers. Both publications use an anonymous peer-review system and invite contributions on the theory, research and practice of coaching psychology (BPS, n.d). The journal of the ISCP is Coaching psychology international (CPI), aiming to encourage submissions, viewpoints and the sharing of insights and developments from across the world. (The ISCP also sponsors the European journal of applied positive psychology.) Coaching psychology (Coaching psykologi) is a Danish journal of coaching psychology from the Coaching Psychology Unit at Aalborg University, Denmark. Initiatives such as publications, systems of accreditation/certification and conferences/workshops are clearly increasing to help inform the practice of coaching psychology and those joining the profession. However, a distinct pathway for a qualified ‘coaching psychologist’ status is not formerly recognised by psychology bodies (or legislators) in most countries in the world, with Switzerland being one exception. The Catalan Psychology Society (COPC, Spain) has also recently moved onto the 2nd Edition of Accreditation for expert Psychologist in Coaching Psychology, where 72 chartered psychologists were accredited 576

Coaching Psychology International

Key: *group disbanded

HACP (Hungary)

HPA (Hungary)

SSCP (Switzerland)

✔ ✔

Register in process

✔ Professional protocol planned





SEBC (Denmark)

SACP (Serbia) SIOPSA/IGCCP (SA)



Coaching psykologi (Aalborg University)

✔ ✔

Planned









SCP (Italy)

Korean Journal of Coaching Psychology

SCP-APA Div 13 (USA)

Certificates granted by KPA

KCPA (Korea)

DWOP CPG (Ireland)



























IACP (Israel)

ISCP



✔ ✔









CPSIG (Singapore)









State or national registration of psychologists











✔ ✔

Held ICCP event

Workshops/ Conferences





International Coaching Psychology Review (ICPR) International Coaching Psychology Review (ICPR) and The Coaching Psychologist (TCP)

Journal

CPSIG (NZ)



COPC (Spain)

Accreditation System/Register Coaching Psychology Supervisors

ACP, affiliated to SPA (Sweden) *CPG (Netherlands)



Accreditation System/Register Coaching Psychologists

BPS SGCP (UK)

APS IGCP (AUS)

Group/Society

Table 43.2 Areas of activity for coaching psychology groups/societies

Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer

(Sanchez-Mora, 2016). This trend is dissimilar to what we already observe in areas such as counselling psychology, occupational psychology, educational psychology or forensic psychology. Thus, achieving recognition of the profession via a form of regulation or accreditation/certification appears to be one of the key challenges currently being faced and a ‘hot topic’ in the field. Consequently, alongside any consideration of the development and progression of the practice of coaching psychology, it is pertinent to consider the essential educational requirements for those next entering the profession or those wishing to engage in continuing professional development or education (CPD/E). Just some of the important questions might include: How much emphasis needs to be placed on the education of coaching ‘skills development’ alongside more academic requirements such as gaining knowledge about psychology and coaching psychology theory and evidence? Given that coaching psychology practice is delivered across different formats (e.g. face-to-face, online, individuals, groups), do all current educational offerings support this type of learning and skills progression? How do learners meet and maintain the requirements of being ‘fit to practice’ as a coaching psychologist following completion of their educational programmes? Indeed, it can be argued that some further structure and standardisation is now quite urgently needed if we are to underpin the foundations that have been created thus far to delineate coaching psychology as a distinct and potentially ‘stand-alone’ area of psychology.

Themes in the teaching and education of coaching psychology Today, coaching psychology is practiced across both traditional and diverse areas including work, health and well-being, personal life, excellence, education, performance and even animal-assisted interventions. Coaching psychologists also draw from across approaches, theories and evidence in their work as highlighted within other chapters of this handbook. The educational and academic agenda of coaching psychology has moved on, and there is a range of associated activity taking place within a university-based setting and beyond. For example, since Grant’s groundbreaking (2001) doctoral thesis ‘Towards a psychology of coaching’, other doctorates have followed examining a range of coaching psychology topics. Research advancements have been underpinned by another development of this century in the form of the establishment of university-based coaching psychology units (CPUs) and centres in locations across the globe. To date there are presently eight university-based CPUs and centres. The first in the world was the landmark CPU at the University of Sydney, launched in the year 2000. Next, City University London launched the first CPU in the UK (2005), followed by University of East London (2008). Elsewhere units and centres have been set up in Denmark at the University of Copenhagen (2008) and Aalborg University (2010), the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2011) and then the Centre for Business and Coaching Psychology at Herriot Watt University Edinburgh, Scotland (2013). A landmark in support of coaching psychology research was also seen by the launch of the ISCP International Centre for Coaching Psychology Research in the summer of 2016. Aiming to offer researchers, students and others a central online resource, the International Centre offers resources and information to assist collaboration and research in the field of coaching psychology and allied areas. This strategy includes an ongoing initiative to set up research hubs around the world via virtual online methods to enable the discussion of innovations and developments in coaching psychology-related research. Activities have included dissemination, discussion and debate about research papers with other hub members. The ISCP Cambridge Research Hub (UK) was established first by the International Centre as part of the pilot scheme. Furthermore, perhaps one of the most encouraging emerging trends in the coaching psychology educational landscape is the already steadily increasing number of university undergraduate and postgraduate psychology programmes that now include a coaching psychology module, element or route. Whilst as yet it is still early days, this already presents us with some key challenges. For if we are to further the profession of coaching psychology, an important first step will surely be to standardise any approach to educating those choosing this route as a psychologist. 578

Global activity in the education and practice of coaching psychology

Relevant to the development of an educational agenda, an important commentary was put forward in a seminal article by Grant (2011, p. 84), who noted that the development of coaching psychology during the past decade has been significant and proposed that ‘. . . if coaching psychology is to continue to grow and develop, then some kind of educational and teaching framework will eventually need to be established’. Whilst perhaps it is not unexpected at this relatively early stage in the development of the profession of coaching psychology, there does appear to be limitations in our knowledge about coaching psychology education thus far. This view has been supported by Grant, who observed that there has been limited consideration of the teaching of coaching psychology in the published literature and called for ‘. . . a body of teachable knowledge that can sustain and advance this new and vibrant area of behavioural science’ (p. 96). Thus, there is a clear and present need to build further upon the development of an appropriate and where possible standardised educational and teaching framework of coaching psychology. Currently, we remain at the forefront of the debate about the development of a standardised coaching psychology educational strategy and important discussions around what topics to include in the development of a university-level curriculum (undergraduate and postgraduate). Additionally, there are some inconsistencies between commentators in the field on the entry points to qualification pathways to achieve recognition as a coaching psychologist, with some arguing that a psychology undergraduate degree should not actually be a pre-requisite. This proposal differentiates coaching psychology from many other formally recognised areas and academic routes in psychology. Thus it may be argued that this ‘postgraduate only’ pathway could potentially present implications for the positioning of coaching psychology within the broader psychological profession in many parts of the world. On the other hand, it might also offer an opportunity to move beyond more traditional routes of psychology training, which appear to be aligned with the positioning of coaching psychology thus far. Following on from Grant’s formative paper, responses were sought from the international coaching psychology community in relation to educating coaching psychologists (see: Cavanagh, Palmer et al., 2011). Many of the themes highlighted can perhaps also helpfully be incorporated within this context as summary questions to bring together key strands for discussion and help inform the way ahead: • • • • •

What are we trying to achieve? What is our agenda? How do we define coaching psychology? What are the contextual issues? What might be the curriculum content and teaching process? What are the risks associated with fixing a coaching psychology curriculum at this early stage of development? Should the route to becoming a coaching psychologist commence at undergraduate or postgraduate level?

What do we currently know? A number of academic coaching psychologists have contributed to our understanding by sharing student insights and broader experiences of undergraduate coaching psychology university programmes (e.g. Burns & Gillon, 2011; Steele & Arthur, 2012). Generally speaking at undergraduate level, education runs for the period of one academic semester with an emphasis on academic-centred content. However, tutorial-based or practical sessions are also often included alongside skills-based coaching practice sessions or workshops (e.g. Steele & Arthur, 2012; Burns & Gillon, 2011). It is particularly interesting to note that even when taught in the final year of an undergraduate psychology programme, it may still be the first opportunity that students actually have for skills development within a psychology degree format (Cavanagh & Palmer, 2011). This supports Palmer (2008), who has put forward a case for including coaching psychology within undergraduate psychology programmes, suggesting it is timely for a ‘. . . psychology degree to become more relevant to professional practice’ (p. 41). 579

Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer

Whilst some findings have shown limited student knowledge of coaching psychology prior to undertaking a final year undergraduate university module, post module gains have also been identified such as transferable skills, personal development (e.g. enhanced interpersonal skills and reflective abilities), employability skills and a clearer understanding of the application of some psychological theories (Burns & Gillon, 2011; Steele & Arthur, 2012). Other additional benefits appear to be when students experience the role of coach and coachee, enabling them to make progress on goals and acquire coaching psychology skills, leading Burns and Gillon to conclude that the ‘. . . multiplicity of learning outcomes makes coaching psychology a highly valuable addition to any undergraduate psychology programme, with the potential to become a core aspect of the undergraduate psychology syllabus’ (p. 90). Following the inclusion of a coaching psychology module within a graduate level psychology programme, Spaten and Hansen (2009) argued that coaching should form part of the psychology curriculum. Using pre-, mid- and post-course measures, their study showed increases in students’ skills (social and emotional) and coaching competence. Grant has also identified and discussed the relevance of ten core areas to be covered in a graduate coaching psychology programmes. This included ethical principles, professional models of practice and mental health issues that might arise in coaching. To provide a ‘point in time’ reflection of the current international coaching psychology context, the authors conducted an online survey-based study (Palmer & O’Riordan, 2014). E-invitations were sent to representatives known to the authors as active in the field of coaching psychology from South Africa, Poland, Israel, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, Scotland, Italy, Australia, USA, Ireland, Holland, Spain, Sweden, Japan and Brazil. The findings suggested that educational programmes in coaching psychology and coaching are offered in a number of the countries represented within the survey.3 This ranges from recognised/accredited training in coaching or coaching psychology by a professional body to postgraduate doctorate level programmes. It is interesting to note that there does seem to be more undergraduate level modules/elements offered currently within the UK than elsewhere in the world. It was well beyond the scope of this short survey to ask about the actual content of these various programmes and training options. However, to help inform the development of a coaching psychology educational framework[s], it would certainly appear to be of value to be able to identify commonalities and distinctions across different training and educational coaching psychology programmes. As O’Riordan has observed, one of the key potential challenges we now face is that there is a high volume of training providers delivering courses/programmes in coaching psychology, coaching and the psychology of coaching (Cavanagh, Palmer et al., 2011). Alongside university-based programmes, there are also a number of coaching psychology courses that are affiliated, accredited or recognised by universities. Often these are shorter-term options involving blended learning and are designed for people new to the field or those wishing to build further upon their current skill set and learning. It has been noted that psychologists bring along with them to coaching psychology factors such as: professional training, understanding the importance of theory, ingrained ethics, professionalism, the scientist-practitioner approach and core micro skills (Palmer & O’Riordan, 2014). Thus it would appear to be important that these elements are included and reflected within any future structured coaching psychology educational process or framework. Interestingly, Bachkirova and associates (2017) have argued that a coherent philosophical position is needed to underpin the education of coaches. They recommend a conceptualisation informed by pragmatism and constructivism. Whatever pathway someone takes to achieve their academic and/or professional training in coaching psychology, one important point to note is that the acquisition of knowledge and skills development and the seeking of opportunities for reflective practice should be career/lifelong.

Continuing professional development/education (CPD/E) In order to sustain and advance the profession, a central area for ongoing consideration is offering and accessing options for CPD/E for coaching psychologists. More generally, 30 to 40 hours per annum now seems a pre-requisite of many professional bodies to achieve levels of membership beyond affiliate or 580

Global activity in the education and practice of coaching psychology Table 43.3 Example CPD/E activities Example of Activity

Total maximum contribution to 40 hours of CPD/CPE

Psychology related CPD/CPE. Reading coaching psychology books/journals. Publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals, chapters and/or books. Undertaking coaching psychology research. Attendance at coaching psychology or relevant workshops, seminars and conferences. Developing and delivering coaching psychology-related workshops; giving conference papers or keynotes. Related developmental activities such as peer observation, chairing meetings or participation in professional coaching psychology activities.

10 hours 15 hours 15 hours No maximum 15 hours 5 hours

associate status as well as to fulfil ongoing accreditation/certification requirements as a coach or coaching psychologist. At a minimum, engagement in suitable activities plays an important role in offering opportunities for learning and reflection as well as skills and professional development. But, what activities might actually form CPD/E for coaching psychologists? And, who benefits from the coaching psychologist engaging in CPD/E? The first question has been addressed by the ISCP (2013), which has identified the following areas as shown in Table 43.3. Here we can see that there is a range of different activities that might be undertaken. However, contributing to the field by disseminating knowledge via publications and conferences, delivering workshops and engaging in professional coaching psychology activities seems particularly important to engage and inform others if the profession is to continue to grow. On the second question, there are a number of benefits in participating in CPD/E for the coaching psychologist, including personal and professional development. This also offers a level of quality assurance for the buyer and coachee, particularly if accompanied by a commitment to supervision.

A current international perspective on coaching psychology: education and practice Status of the practice of coaching psychology: challenges and opportunities We can offer some encouraging but mixed reflections about the current global and local status of the practice and development of coaching psychology. For example, there are continuing debates and considerations in the field about how best to promote coaching psychology both externally (e.g. to buyers and the general public) and within the profession of psychology itself. There also seems to be a range of potential issues and ongoing challenges within the field regarding the establishment of coaching psychology as a distinct area of research and practice with psychology. The focus on running coaching psychology events/conferences and the publication of journals by professional bodies and groups appears to be relatively well established. However, themes such as regulation, standards, accreditation/certification, qualifications and exams still need to be carefully addressed and evaluated to ensure systems are fit for purpose. Whilst presenting challenges, standardisation and quality assurance might debatably be the bedrock to moving the profession of coaching psychology forward and achieving less resistance and wider acceptance both inside and outside of the field of psychology. Features such as regulation (in some countries), building 581

Siobhain O’Riordan and Stephen Palmer

upon the evidence base, a commitment to supervision and promoting research and publications might arguably also be areas where coaching psychology can be seen to differ from coaching. Thus, the challenges and opportunities we find ourselves negotiating are also helpful key themes to keep in the forefront as we advance upon the progression of the practice and education of coaching psychology. Opportunities offered in terms of the development of standards, competencies and protocols for coaching psychologists include working towards the further integration of coaching psychology within a university, training and academic context for psychologists. Looking ahead, technological advancements are also likely to offer an interesting set of opportunities in the coming years in relation to the education and practice of coaching psychology. Developments around areas such as blended learning involving onlinesystems, e-coaching, coach avatars and neuroscience may all play a role in shaping future research, theory and application of coaching psychology.

Conclusion In summary, coaching psychology has observably evolved in the areas of practice, teaching and education over recent years. This has included the rise in the number of coaching psychology groups and associated activities, the establishment of a coaching psychology community, the International Congress in Coaching Psychology series of events, an emergent research/evidence base and an increase in the number of coaching psychology units/centres and university-based modules/elements. All of this aims to support coaching psychology in its goal to define itself as a recognised route in psychology. As we look to the future, the need to be introspective and enquiring around the coaching psychology agenda may also be key factors in the prudent emergence and sustainability of a distinct and established profession. However, perhaps the biggest challenge for current coaching psychologists and those embarking on this pathway is now to continue to contribute to maintain the momentum achieved thus far.

Discussion points 1 2 3 4

To what extent is the role of coaching psychology bodies and groups critical to the ongoing development of the profession? In what ways has coaching psychology taken a more pragmatic approach to its development than more traditional routes in psychology, such as occupational psychology and counselling psychology? List five themes that have been identified in this chapter. Discuss what these means for those entering the profession of coaching psychology (including psychology graduates and psychologists). In some countries, anyone can legally call themselves a ‘coaching psychologist’! Discuss the implications of this viewpoint for the profession of psychology, coachees and the sponsors and stakeholders of coaching psychology.

Notes 1 See Cavanagh and Palmer (2012). www.coachingpsychologycongress.net 2 See www.iscpresearch.org/about 3 Whilst we provided the option for respondents to share the country in which they were based as part of the survey, a number of respondents chose not to complete this information.

Suggested reading Cavanagh, M., & Palmer, S. (2006). Editorial: The theory, practice and research base of coaching psychology is developing at a fast pace. International Coaching Psychology Review. 1 (2), 5–7. Cavanagh, M. J., Palmer, S. et al. (2011). Educating coaching psychologists: Responses from the field. International Coaching Psychology Review. 6 (1), 100–125.

582

Global activity in the education and practice of coaching psychology

Grant, A. M. (2011). Developing an agenda for teaching coaching psychology. International Coaching Psychology Review. 6 (1), 84–99. Law, H. (2013). Coaching Psychology: A Practitioners Guide. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell.

References Bachkirova, T., Jackson, P., Gannon, J., Iordanou, I., & Myers, A. (2017, November 2). Re-conceptualising coach education from the perspectives of pragmatism and constructivism. Philosophy of Coaching: An International Journal. 2, 29–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.22316/poc/02.2.03 British Psychological Society (n.d.). Special Group in Coaching Psychology. Publications. Retrieved from http:// www. bps.org.uk/networks-and-communities/member-networks/special-group-coaching-psychology/publications Burns, L., & Gillon, E. (2011). Developing a teaching agenda for coaching psychology in undergraduate programmes. The Coaching Psychologist. 7 (2), 90–96. Cavanagh, M. J., & Palmer, S. (2006). Editorial: The theory, practice and research base of coaching psychology is developing at a fast pace. International Coaching Psychology Review. 1 (2), 5–7. Cavanagh, M. J., & Palmer, S. (2011). Introduction. In M. J. Cavanagh & S. Palmer et al. Educating Coaching Psychologists: Responses from the field. International Coaching Psychology Review. 6 (1), 100–125. Cavanagh, M. J., & Palmer, S. (2012). Editorial: Coaching psychology coming of age in the 21st century. International Coaching Psychology Review. 7 (1), 4–5. Cavanagh, M. J., Palmer, S. et al. (2011). Educating coaching psychologists: Responses from the field. International Coaching Psychology Review. 6 (1), 100–125. Grant, A. M. (2001). Towards a Psychology of Coaching: The Impact of Coaching on Metacognition, Mental Health and Goal Attainment. Doctoral dissertation, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Grant, A. M. (2011). Developing an agenda for teaching coaching psychology. International Coaching Psychology Review. 6 (1), 84–99. International Society for Coaching Psychology (2013). Accreditation/Certification Process. Retrieved on 1/9/16 from www.isfcp.net/accreditation.htm Palmer, S. (2008). A coaching psychology perspective. Psychology Teaching Review. 14 (2), 40–42. Palmer, S., & O’Riordan, S. (2014, December). Developments in the Education, Practice and Establishment of Coaching Psychology: An International Perspective 2014. Coaching Psychology: An International Perspective. Paper presented at the SGCP 4th International Congress of Coaching Psychology. British Psychological Society, London. Palmer, S., & Whybrow, A. (2007). Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A Guide for Practitioners. Hove: Routledge. Sanchez-Mora, M. (2016). Update: The Catalan psychologists society. Coaching Psychology International. 9 (1), 56–57. Spaten, O. M., & Hansen, T. G. (2009). Should learning to coach be integrated in a graduate psychology programme: Denmark’s first try. The Coaching Psychologist. 5 (2), 104–109. Steele, C., & Arthur, J. (2012). Teaching coaching psychology to undergraduates: Perceptions and experiences. International Coaching Psychology Review. 7 (1), 6–13.

583

Afterword Stephen Palmer and Alison Whybrow

Following on from the success of the first edition of the Handbook of Coaching Psychology: A guide for practitioners, a second edition was inevitable. The first edition quickly became a key text on many coaching and coaching psychology programmes. The life of this second edition has followed a similar pattern to the point of publication. The field of coaching psychology has continued to grow and develop apace, with new insights and new integrations taking place. This second volume is significantly expanded. As we close the covers on this edition, it’s clear that the essence of coaching psychology not only has a humanistic underpinning but one where positive psychology has a significant defining impact. We hope that this second edition follows in the first edition’s footsteps in the way it is received and embraced. We are curious as to what the next decade will bring. Coaching has shifted beyond just focusing on improving performance at work and now includes enhancing resilience and wellbeing with an evergrowing interest in team coaching too. Will coaching psychologists become more involved with social prescribing where coachees with an interest in improving their wellbeing could be directed to local community groups such as walking or gardening clubs (Palmer, 2018)? Some young people in schools are being trained as peer coaches and mentors. In addition to increasing their own self-efficacy and confidence, their peers benefit too. Will greater numbers of young people be trained in coaching and mentoring over the next ten years? The advent of advanced technology could see coaching apps such as automated conversational agents or chatbots without the need of a practitioner. In other words, an enhanced coaching version of Woebot (see Fitzpatrick, Darcy, & Vierhile, 2017). Due to the conversational and psychoeducational nature of these chatbots, a stress management, well-being or health ‘coachingbot’ could easily be developed. Alternatively, the human touch may prevail. Thank you for joining us on the coaching psychology journey. We are interested in receiving your feedback and possible suggestions for new topics in later editions. We can be contacted on: Stephen Palmer: [email protected] Alison Whybrow: [email protected]

References Fitzpatrick, K.K., Darcy, A., & Vierhile, M. (2017). Delivering cognitive behavior therapy to young adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety using a fully automated conversational agent (Woebot): A randomized controlled trial. JMIR Ment Health, 4(2):e19. Available: https://mental.jmir.org/2017/2/e19 DOI: 10.2196/mental.7785 Palmer, S. (2018). Can positive and coaching psychologists become more involved in social prescribing? Coaching Psychology International, 11, 1.

Weblink Woebot: https://woebot.io

584

Appendix 1 Coaching and coaching psychology professional bodies

Key: Coaching psychology body = * American Psychological Association, Division 13, Society of Consulting Psychology* www.societyofconsultingpsychology.org Association for Coaching www.associationforcoaching.com Association of Coaching Psychologists, Sweden* www.coachandepsykologer.se Association for Professional Executive Coaching & Supervision (APECS) www.apecs.org Australian Psychological Society, Interest Group in Coaching Psychology* www.groups.psychology.org.au/igcp/ British Psychological Society, Special Group in Coaching Psychology* www.sgcp.org.uk Danish Psychological Association, Society for Evidence-based Coaching* www.sebc.dk European Mentoring and Coaching Council www.emccouncil.org Hungarian Association for Coaching Psychology* www.coachingpszichologia.hu Hungarian Psychological Association, Coaching Psychology Section* www.coachingpsychologycongress.com/hpa-cps-hungary International Association for Coaching www.certifiedcoach.org International Coach Federation www.coachfederation.org/ICF/ 585

Appendix 1

International Society for Coaching Psychology* www.isfcp.net Israel Association for Coaching Psychology* www.coachingpsychology.co.il Korean Psychological Association, Korean Society of Coaching Psychology (Division 14)* https://coachingpsychology.or.kr New Zealand Psychological Society, Coaching Psychology Special Interest Group* www.psychology.org.nz/membership/member-groups/special-interest-groups/ Official College of Psychology of Catalonia, Section of Psychology Coaching* www.copc.cat/secciones/3/Seccio-de-Psicologia-Coaching Psychological Society of Ireland, Division of Work & Organisational Psychology, Coaching Psychology Group* www.psychologicalsociety.ie/groups/Special-Interest-Group-in-Work-and-Organisational-Psychology-CoachingPsychology Singapore Psychological Society, Coaching Psychology Special Interest Group* www.singaporepsychologicalsociety.org/coaching-psychology-sig Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology of South Africa, Interest Group in Consulting and Coaching Psychology* www.siopsa.org.za/pages/interest_groups#igccp Society of Coaching Psychology Italy* www.scpitaly.it Swiss Society for Coaching Psychology* www.coaching-psychology.ch Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) www.wabccoaches.com/

586

Appendix 2 Coaching- and coaching psychology-related publications

Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice is an international, peerreviewed journal with explicit focus on the theory, research and practice of coaching. www.tandfonline. com/toc/rcoa20/current Coaching at Work (CaW) is an independent magazine, published bi-monthly. www.coaching-at-work.com Coaching Psychology International (CPI) is the international publication of the International Society for Coaching Psychology. It focuses on research, theory and practice. www.isfcp.net Coaching Psychology: The Danish Journal of Coaching Psychology (DJCP) is an open access journal. It is published by the Coaching Psychology Unit, University of Copenhagen and the Coaching Psychology Research Unit, Aalborg University, Denmark. https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/CP Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research ® (CPJ) is published by the Educational Publishing Foundation in collaboration with APA Society of Consulting Psychology (Division 13). www. apa.org/pubs/journals/cpb/ European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology (EJAPP) is a peer-reviewed journal. This new journal will publish theory, research and practice articles on all aspects of positive psychology. The EJAPP is published by the National Wellbeing Service Ltd and sponsored by the ISCP. www.nationalwellbeingservice.org International Coaching Psychology Review (ICPR) is an international publication with a focus on the theory, practice and research in the field of coaching psychology. www.bps.org.uk/publications/ international-coaching-psychology-review International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring (IJEBCM) is an open access, international, peer-reviewed journal published bi-annually online in February and August. http://ijebcm. brookes.ac.uk Journal of Positive Psychology (JPP) provides an interdisciplinary and international forum for the science and application of positive psychology. www.tandfonline.com/loi/rpos20#.V6ChgLgrLIU Korean Journal of Coaching Psychology (KJCP) publishes papers on empirical and theoretical articles about coaching psychology. https://coachingpsychology.or.kr/journal/rule1.php The Coaching Psychologist (TCP) publishes articles on all aspects of coaching psychology research, theory, practice and case studies. www.bps.org.uk/publications/coaching-psychologist

587

Appendix 3 University-based coaching psychology units and centres

Centre for Business and Coaching Psychology, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland www.hw.ac.uk/schools/social-sciences.htm Coaching Psychology Unit, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark www.communication.aau.dk/research/knowledge_groups/cqs/coaching Coaching Psychology Unit, Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark http://nexs.ku.dk/english/research/units/sport-individual-society/projects/coaching/ Coaching Psychology Unit, Laboratory of Panic and Breathing, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil http://www.ipub.ufrj.br/pesquisa/#1521741754320-1ab8ccfd-7420 Coaching Psychology Unit, City, University of London, UK www.city.ac.uk/psychology/research/CoachPsych/CoachPsych.html Coaching Psychology Unit, University of Sydney, Australia www.psych.usyd.edu.au/psychcoach/

588

Appendix 4 International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP)

The Society for Coaching Psychology was launched in April 2008. The Society took forward some of the key concepts from the International Forum for Coaching Psychology which had been previously set up in December, 2006, after a meeting was convened at the BPS SGCP 1st International Coaching Psychology Conference held at City University, London, UK. On 18 July, 2011, the Society was granted permission to change its name to the International Society for Coaching Psychology. The ISCP promotes coaching psychology around the world and encourages the development of the theory, research and practice in this field. In order to assist this development the ISCP undertakes various activities. The Society’s research arm runs the ISCP International Centre for Coaching Psychology Research which undertakes research and coordinates Research Hubs. The ISCP publishes the journal Coaching Psychology International and sponsors the peer-reviewed publication, the European Journal of Applied Positive Psychology. It also publishes daily e-newsletters. The ISCP has an accreditation pathway for coaching psychologists and supervisors. The ISCP runs an Approval System for training Centres and also has a recognition system for course/workshop providers offering CPD/E in coaching psychology and allied topics. It is an active member of the International Congress of Coaching Psychology (ICCP) forum. On behalf of the ICCP collaborating organisations, the Society maintains and sponsors the forum website. The Society holds annual international congress events and sponsors events internationally. To further the development of coaching psychology internationally, the Society has Memorandum of Understandings (MOU) with the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology South Africa (SIOPSA), SIOPSA Interest Group in Coaching and Consulting Psychology (IGCCG), Society for Coaching Psychology Italy (SCPI), Israel Association for Coaching Psychology (IACP), Official College of Psychology of Catalonia (COPC), Association of Coaching Psychologists (Sweden), Hungarian Association for Coaching Psychology (HACP), Hungarian Psychological Association (HPA), New Zealand Psychological Society Coaching Psychology Special Interest Group (NZPsS CPSIG, New Zealand), the American Psychological Association, Society of Consulting Psychology (Division 13, APA), the Society for Evidence Based Coaching of the Danish Psychological Society (SEBC DPS) and the Australian Psychological Society Coaching Psychology Interest Group (APS CPIG). In 2018 it signed an MOU with the Swiss Society for Coaching Psychology (SSCP).

Objectives of the International Society for Coaching Psychology: an international professional membership organisation The objectives for which the International Society for Coaching Psychology is established are to provide an organisational and practical basis for the activities in the field of coaching psychology and in particular: 1 To promote and develop the science, profession and discipline of coaching psychology. 2 To aid the advancement of the theory, practice and science of coaching psychology. 3 To publicise and comment on courses for continuing professional education with the objective of raising standards of those practising coaching psychology.

589

Appendix 4

4 To bring together those persons engaged in the practice of coaching psychology for the interchange of views, experiences and for mutual consultation. 5 To arrange seminars, conferences and discussion groups on matters of common interest and act as a clearing-house for the exchange of ideas and information on the practice of coaching psychology. 6 To publish a Journal and/or Newsletter and other publications, maintain a website and run email discussion groups. 7 To facilitate the formation of sectional or regional branches of the Society or groups with special purposes. 8 To be a representative of the field of coaching psychology and to develop and foster relationships with other bodies or authorities. 9 To recognise and/or accredit coaching psychology courses and centres of coaching psychology expertise. 10 To maintain national and international Registers of Accredited or Certified Coaching Psychologists. 11 To maintain national and international Registers of Accredited or Certified Coaching Psychologist Supervisors, Trainers and Consultants. 12 To facilitate the registration of members and coaching psychologists to any relevant voluntary or compulsory register in their country. 13 To undertake all such other things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects or any of them. 14 To initiate and promote the maintenance of accountability for all the activities in the field of coaching psychology in agreement with legal, ethical and professional standards related to the field of coaching psychology.

ISCP and associated websites International Society for Coaching Psychology: www.isfcp.net ISCP International Centre for Coaching Psychology Research: www.iscpresearch.org International Congress of Coaching Psychology: www.coachingpsychologycongress.net

590

Index

Note: Italicized page numbers indicate a figure on the corresponding page. Page numbers in bold indicate a table on the corresponding page. ABCDEF coaching model 111–113, 398 ABCDE model of emotional regulation 108 ability psychometrics in coaching 514 abstract conceptualization 370 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) 57 action-oriented approach to coaching 506 action planning 35–37, 37, 45–46, 73, 99, 103–104, 114, 392, 397 action stage of change 45 action steps 40–43, 41, 42 active experimentation 370 Adler, Alfred 270 administration of psychometrics in coaching 517 adult learning approach to coaching: case study 378–379; coachee benefit 378; concept and origins 369–375, 371, 372, 375; Experiential Learning Model 370–371; integral theory 371, 371–372; Integrated Experiential Coaching Model 372, 372–373; introduction to 343, 369; in practice 375–378; theories 83 affiliation in compassion focused coaching 208–209 affirmations 147, 148, 401, 460 After Action Review (AAR) supervision 565 agency assumption 259 alcohol abuse counselling 145 alliance in coaching see working alliance in coaching alliance-outcome relation 472 allied domains in coaching relationship 474–475 ambiguity in organisational coaching 426–427 ambivalence 45, 119, 144–150, 277, 401 American Management Association 527 American Psychiatric Association (APA) 539 American Psychological Association (APA) 6, 515 American Psychologist 57 anxieties, unconscious 326–327 anxiety in coachees 539–540 appreciation assumption 259 Appreciative Inquiry (AI) 456 Appreciative Inquiry Coaching (AIC) 453–454, 456–458 approach goals 38 Aristotle’s rule of rhetoric 69

assertion training strategies 119 assessment in coaching 111, 157 attachment in compassion focused coaching 208–209 attention training 210–211 attitude psychometrics in coaching 514 attractors in complexity perspective 416 Austin, John Langshaw 219 Australian Psychological Society (APS) 6 Australian Psychological Society Interest Group on Coaching Psychology (APS IGCP) 51 Authentic Happiness (Seligman) 52 authentic self 40, 348 autonomous motivation 196–198 autonomy: mindfulness coaching and 199–200; organisational coaching and 426; transactional analysis and 300, 300–301 avoidance goals 37, 38, 46, 204 awareness in gestalt coaching 184, 185–186, 186 Bandler, Richard 282 Bandura, Albert 25–27, 100, 385 BASIC ID framework 398 basic psychological needs 198 Bateson, Gregory 283 behavioural coaching: case study 105–106; coachee benefits 104–105; coaching psychology 93–94; development coaching and 361; development of 99; four-stage coaching model 103, 103; GROW coaching model 86, 99, 101, 101–103; introduction to 99; in practice 101–103; theory and basic concepts 100–101 behavioural experiments in cognitive behavioural coaching 119 behavioural strategies in cognitive behavioural coaching 119 behaviour imitation 20 behaviour in leadership 440 being focused coaching 94 belief psychometrics in coaching 514 Berg, Insoo Kim 270 Berne, Eric 297, 311

591

Index

best possible future self technique 58 bio-cybernetics 229 Biswas-Diener, Robert 52, 57 body/consciousness connections 230 Boszormenyi-Nagi, Ivan 311 boundaries between coaching and counselling: complications with 488–489; current understanding of 487–491; exceeding competence and capabilities 491; explicit amalgamation of 489–490; implications of 494–497; incentives to resolve the issue of 491–493; introduction to 487; management in leadership and executive coaching 445–446; unresolved issues 490–491 Boundaryless Career 382 Brief Therapy Centre 270 British Psychological Society (BPS) 6, 515 business management 470, 527, 529, 538–539 butterfly effect 416–417 Cambridge Research Hub (UK) 578 Campbell, Joseph 221 career coaching: adaptability and resilience 386; career management 389; case study 390–392; challenges 383–384; coachee benefits 390; confidence and 385–386; development of 382; informing theories 388, 389; introduction to 381; life stage theory 384–385, 385; in practice 387–389; pressured contracting 387, 387, 388; summary 392; theory of 382–386 case formulation method 375–376 Catalan Psychology Society (COPC) 576 centrality of existential coaching psychology 172–173 Centre for Personal Construct Psychology 244 Centre for the Study of Human Learning 244 change process in compassionate coaching 213 change skills 441 change talk 144, 147–149, 401 Chaos Theory 386, 386 chaotic edge 417 Chapman, Lloyd 372, 372–373 choice in existential coaching psychology 171–172 Christian Teamwork Trust 325 chronic illness management 145 CLARITY coaching model 398 classical conditioning model 100 client-centered therapists 134 Client-Coach system 566 coach-coachee relationship 47, 259, 471–472, 474–475 coachee activities 158 coaching presence 301 coaching psychology: behavioural and cognitive behavioural approaches 93–94; being focused approaches 94; constructive approaches 95; defined 8–9; existential approaches 94; future of 10–12, 11; global nature of 6–7, 7; individual transitions in life/ work 343–344; introduction to 3–4, 5, 343; in practice 9–10, 10; professional bodies 469–470, 585–586; regulatory landscape of 8; related publications 587;

592

Socratic method and 5–6; supervision and 563; systemic approaches 95; system level interventions 344; university-based units/centres 588; see also existential coaching psychology; life-coaching psychology; positive coaching psychology; research in coaching psychology coaching psychology globally: continuing professional development/education 580–581, 581; current perspective on 581–582; establishment of 574–578, 575, 577; introduction to 573–574; summary of 582; teaching themes 578–581, 581 Coaching Psychology International (CPI) 576 coaching psychology supervision: case study 568–570; effective use of 567–568; historical background 562–563; introduction to 562; meaning of 564–565; models for understanding 568; other areas of 570; psychology and 563; summary of 570–571; supervisees 565–566; supervisors 565; systemic supervision 566, 566–567 coaching psychology units (CPUs) 578 coaching relationship: allied domains 474–475; coach contributions to 478–481; coachee needs 480; coaching implications 480–481; collaborative contributions 475–476; context of 481–482; counseling and psychotherapy 474; early influences on 471–472; emerging models of 475; emotions and critical moments 480; evidence-informed coaching relationships 473–474; in gestalt coaching 188; individual contributions to 477–478; introduction to 471; literature on 471–472; mutual findings 476–477; outcomes vs. 472–473; research on 472–473; sport psychology 474–475; summary 482; terminology and usage 473 Coaching Skills Self-Efficacy Scale (CSSES) 31 Coaching Supervision Academy 562 coaching within organizations see organisational coaching co-created coaching 256, 418, 430 cognitive behavioural coaching (CBC): ABCDEF model 111–113; assessment 111; behavioural strategies 119; case study 120–123, 121, 124; coachee benefits 120; coaching psychology 93–94; defined 361; development of 108–109; effectiveness of 113–114; goals of 114; imagery techniques 118–119; interactive modalities 110–111; introduction to 9, 86, 108; leadership and executive coaching 443; negative automatic thoughts 118; performance interfering thoughts 117–118; in practice 114–115; PRACTICE model 60, 109–110; problem acquisition and management 114–115; process of change 113; structure of 114; techniques and strategies 115–118; theory and basic concepts 109–113; thinking errors 115–116; typical structure 115 cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) 108 cognitive-developmentalism: application to coaching 553–554; case study 556–559; cognitive-reflective strand 549–550; ego-development strand 551–553, 553; introduction to 548; models of 554–556, 555–556; summary of 559; theoretical background 549–553

Index

cognitive-reflective dimension in coaching 554–556, 555–556 cognitive-reflective strand 549–550 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 3D Brain app 16 collaborative contributions in coaching relationship 475–476 collaborative development of coaching psychology 6–7, 7 collaborative learning 259 communicative connectedness 416 compassion focused coaching (CFC): application of 212–213; attachment and affiliation 208–209; case study 213–215; coachee benefit 213; development of 206; introduction to 206; in practice 210, 210–212; theory and concepts 206–210, 208 Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) 206 compelling direction, defined 454 competence and mindfulness coaching 200 competencies for diversity coaching 503–506 competing goals 39, 41 complementary goals 39 complexity assumption 259 complexity perspective on coaching: attractors 416; case study 420–421; central concepts 414–417; coachee benefits 420; co-created coaching 418; communicative connectedness 416; edge of chaos/chaotic edge 417; fitness landscape 416; fractality 417; introduction to 413–414; narrative-based interactions 418–419; in organisational coaching 426–427; phase space 415, 416; in practice 418–420; reflective and emergence nature of 419–420; sensitive dependence on initial conditions 416–417 concrete experience 370, 376 conflicting goals 39, 41 containment 327, 329, 332–333, 335 contemplation stage of change model 45, 399 continuing professional development/education (CPD/E) 580–581, 581 contracting method in transactional analysis 301–304, 303, 303, 304 contracting organisational coaching 430 contractual method in transactional analysis 299 conversational ethics 259 Conversations for Action and Collected Essays (Flores) 220 Cooper, Mick 154 coping strategies 363 counseling and coaching relationship 474 counter-transference 286, 327–328, 332 critical incident methodology 73 cross-disciplinary intervention 82, 82–83 Cultural Orientations Framework (Rosinski, Abbott) 477 Damasio, Antonio 286 Dean, Ben 52 decisional balance sheet 148 defences, unconscious 326–327 de-labeling 117 Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) 400 depression in coachees 538–539

de Shazer, Steve 270 design stage in team and group coaching 457–458 destiny stage in team and group coaching 458 Developmental School 297 development coaching: case study 365–367; coachee benefits 364–365; development of 358–359; generational factors 361; INSIGHT framework 361–362, 363; introduction to 358; life transition points 359; in practice 361–364, 362, 363, 364; social/ general factors 359; theory and concepts 359–361 Dewey, John 243 dialogic existentialism 182 dialogue in gestalt coaching 187 direct-comparison critical moment study 480 discovery stage in team and group coaching 457 discrimination in coaching 500–501 distal goals 37, 203 diversity coaching: case study 507–510; client referrals 506; coaching relationship 476–477; competencies for 503–506; cross-cultural understanding 477; equal opportunities 501–502; introduction to 500–502; knowledge and 504–505; leadership and executive coaching 441–442; overview of 502–503; prejudice, discrimination, and stereotypes 500–501; selfawareness and 503–504; skills and 506 dominant-friendly coaching 479 dream stage in team and group coaching 457 Drive System 209 dynamism 414–415, 419 Eastern meditation practices 229 eco-auto-causality 414 eco psychology 399 edge of chaos/chaotic edge 417 ego-development dimension in coaching 554–556, 555–556 ego-development strand 551–553, 553 Ehrenreich, Barbara 313 Eitington, Max 563 e-learning products 529 electroencephalography (EEG) 15 Ellis, Albert 108 emergence principle 415 emotional contagion 20–21 emotional intelligence 246 emotional selves 212 emotional states 27 emotions: ABCDE model of emotional regulation 108; coaching relationship and 480; positive emotions 22, 46, 53–54, 56–57, 203, 208, 290–291, 398; soothingaffiliative emotion 206, 208, 209 empathy 103, 132–134, 147–148, 259, 350, 444, 479, 503–504, 552 equal opportunities in coaching 501–502 Erickson, Milton 270, 282 ethical coaching 469–470, 532 ethos 69, 71, 74, 391 European Coaching and Mentoring Council (EMCC) 562

593

Index

European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling 154 European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) 36, 73 event related potentials (ERP) 15 evidence-based coaching: coaching relationships 473–474; coaching research 69–70; as cross-disciplinary intervention 82, 82–83; defined 81, 81–82; evolution of 85, 85–86, 87; introduction to 80; neuroscience and 14; positive coaching psychology 56; research in coaching psychology 69–70, 74–75; research methodologies 83–85; role of psychology in 84–85; systematic review comparisons 87, 88; types of 72–73 executive coaching see leadership and executive coaching existential anxiety principle 170 existential coaching psychology: case study 175–178; centrality of 172–173; choice in 171–172; coachee benefits 175; introduction to 94, 169; key principles 169–172; meaning/meaninglessness 170–171; in practice 172–175; theory and concepts 169 experience as evidence 334 experience corollary 245 experiential learning 257, 564 Experiential Learning Model 370–371 experimentation in gestalt coaching 187–188 external coaches 69, 73, 86, 196, 431, 433–435, 535 external/horizontal transformation 258 extrinsic motivation 196–197, 197 face-to-face coaching 176, 188, 335, 361, 470, 519–520, 527–535 facilitative conversation 248 facticity 171 feedback culture in pluralistic coaching 159 feedback of psychometrics in coaching 518, 519–522 Feldenkrais, Moshe 230 field theory 182, 186, 444 fitness landscape 416 Flaherty, James 220 Flores, Fernando 220, 230 flourishing, defined 53–54 fluid theory of personal construct coaching 247 4-D Cycle Model 456–457 four-stage coaching model 103, 103 fractality in complexity perspective 417 Freud, Sigmund 325, 327 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) 15 Fundamental Postulate of PC Theory 244, 245 generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) 538, 539 Gestalt Centre in London 311 gestalt coaching: blocks to awareness 184, 185–186, 186; case study 183–184, 188–193; coachee benefits 188; development of 181; introduction to 180; leadership and executive coaching 444; phenomenological approach 182–184; in practice 187–188; theory and concepts 181–186, 182 Global Excellence in Management (GEM) Initiative 456 goal hierarchies 40–43, 41, 42

594

goal neglect 41–43 goals and coaching: action planning 46; avoidance and approach goals 38; complementary and competing goals 39; controversy over 34–35; distal and proximal goals 37; goal hierarchies 40–43, 41, 42; goals, defined 35–37; importance of 46–47; integrated model for 43, 44; internal representations of 36; introduction to 34–35; monolithic entities 37–39; outcome goals 38; performance and learning goals 38–39; readiness to change 45; selection moderators 45; self-concordant goals 40; self-regulation and 36–37, 37, 42, 46; session moderators 45–46; SMART goals 35, 36; summary of 47; unconscious goals 39–40 Google Scholar 573 gratitude visit technique 58 grid methodology in personal construct coaching 248–249 Grinder, John 282 group coaching see team and group coaching GROW coaching model 86, 99, 101, 101–103 Hanna, Thomas 230 hard measure of productivity 72 harmonising function of the mind 245 harmony with other people 246 Health and Safety Executive in 2016/17 (HSE, 2017) 537 health coaching see stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching Hebb rule 283–284 Heraclitean legacy 184 hermeneutic constructionist assumption 259 hierarchy of evidence 81, 81 higher order abstract goals 41 higher order goals 41 high intensity low frequency (HILF) outbursts 530 holism 181, 182, 444 holistic health 229 humanistic coaching 93–94, 95, 103, 155, 181, 361, 584 humanistic theory 348, 351 human potential movement (HPM) 6, 229 human resource management (HRM) 347 Ideal Compassionate Other 211 Ideal Compassionate Self 211–212 identity formation 373 identity theory 257 I-focused realm 174 imagery 118–119, 211 in-depth work in coaching 490 individual active awareness 181 INSIGHT framework 58–60, 59, 61, 361–362, 363 integral theory 371, 371–372 integrated approach to leadership and executive coaching 445 Integrated Experiential Coaching Model 372, 372–373 integration, defined 197, 197 interest psychometrics in coaching 514 internal coaches 69, 73, 424, 430–432, 434, 446, 529–531

Index

internalization, defined 197, 258 International Centre for Coaching Psychology Research 578 international coaching psychology review (ICPR) 537, 576 International Coaching Psychology Review (ICPR) 86 International Congress of Coaching Psychology (ICCP) 7, 573 International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP) 562, 573, 574, 589–590 interpretation of psychometrics in coaching 517 Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) 83 inter-relational realms of discourse 174 intrinsic motivation 196–197 James, William 219 Job, Steve 530 Johnson, Samuel 272 journey theory 369–370 Kahn, Marc 373–375, 375 Kaleidoscope Career Model 385 Kelly, George 243, 244–245 knowledge and diversity coaching 504–505 knowledge state in coaching 70–74, 71 Kohlberg, L. 551 Kolb, David 370–371 landscape of action 260 landscape of consciousness 260 Lazarus, Arnold 108 leadership and executive coaching (LEC): case study 446–449; change skills 441; coachee benefits 446; development of 439–440; diversity skills 441–442; flexible format and media 446; good leadership 440; interpersonal focus 444; intrapersonal focus 443–444; introduction to 439; leadership development programmes 442; mapping domains of 442, 443; in practice 445–446; relationships in 475; relationship skills 441; systemic contracting and boundary management 445–446; systems of 444; theory and concepts 440–444, 443; working alliance 445 leadership development programmes 442 leadership in organisational coaching 427 learning assumptions 259 learning goals 38–39 learning intervention in organisational coaching 430 Learning Management Systems 527 learning wheel 257–258, 258 Leonard, George 229 letter writing with compassion 212–213 life-coaching psychology: assumptions about 349; authentic self 348; basic concepts 348–350; case study 353–355; coach-coachee relationship 348–349; coachee benefits 352–353; development of 347–348; ending the session 352; introduction to 37, 347; pitfalls 351–352; in practice 350–352; Socratic dialogue 349–350; therapy vs. 351

life positions in transactional analysis 305, 305 life stage theory 384–385, 385 life transition points 359 listening with the third ear 332 Lowen, Alexander 230 lower order goals 41 magnetoencephalography (MEG) 15 maintenance stage of change 45 map-is-not-the-territory concept 283 Maturana, Humberto 220 McCleod, John 154 meaning/meaninglessness 170–171 Meichenbaum, Donald 108 mental health disorders 538–543 mental health of coachees: anxiety and 539–540; case study 545; coaching vs. psychotherapy 544; common mental health disorders 538–543; depression and 538–539; introduction to 537–538; negative thinking patterns 543; obsessive compulsive disorder 538, 541–542; panic disorder and 540; personality disorders 542–543; in practice 543–544; psychoeducation 543–544; social support systems 543; summary of 545; supervision 544 Merleau-Ponty, Maurice 219, 220 metacommunication in pluralistic coaching 158–159 Meta Model in NLP 285 Miller, William 144 Milton Model in NLP 285 mindfulness coaching: autonomy and 199–200; case study 201–204, 202; coach and 198–199; coachee and 199; coachee benefits 200–201; cognitive behavioural coaching 119; compassion focused coaching 210–211; development of 195–196; introduction to 195; leadership and executive coaching 443; positive coaching psychology 54–55; in practice 198–200; selfdetermination theory and 94, 195, 196–198, 197 mindfulness techniques 400–401 modeling impact on self-efficacy 27 monolithic entities 37–39 Moreno, Jacob 243, 311 motivational interviewing (MI): affirmations 148; case study 150–152; change talk 148; coachee benefits 150; defined 93–94; development of 144–145; introduction to 144; leadership and executive coaching 443; in practice 147–149; reflective listening 147–149; techniques 401; theory and concepts of 145, 145–147 Motivation and Anchoring stage 262 motivation psychometrics in coaching 513 multimodal therapy 108, 398 multimodal transactional theory of stress 398 musical performance psychology 245 narrative-based interactions 418–419 narrative coaching: basic assumptions 259; blocks and goal achievement 259–260; case study 265, 265–267, 266; coachee benefits 264; defined 256, 361; definitional ceremony 264; development of 256–257;

595

Index

externalising conversations 261–262; landscape of action 260; landscape of consciousness 260; outsider witness re-telling 263; in practice 261–264; re-authoring 262, 262; re-remembering conversations 263; theory and concepts 257–260, 258, 260 negative automatic thoughts (NATs) 118 negative thinking patterns 543 neglect of goals 41–43 Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP): body language of 287; case study 288–291, 289, 291; coachee benefits 288; development of 282–283; goal setting 287; goals of approach 285; humans and phenomenological world 283; humans as goal oriented 284, 284–285, 285; humans as systemic social beings 283–284; introduction to 95, 282; language of 286; meta programmes 287; in practice 285–288; rapport in 286; representational system of 286; systemic dynamic 288; theory and concepts 283–285 neuro-myths 16 neurones in brain 18 neuroplasticity 18–20 neuroscience and coaching: benefit to coachees 22; defined 15–16; implications for coaching 19–22; introduction to 14–15; learning and 19; neuroplasticity and 18; usefulness of 16–18, 17 Newfield Network 220 NICE Guidelines 540, 541 non-directivity 131, 134, 430 obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) 538, 541–542 Occam’s principle 271 Occupational Health/Medicine practitioners 250 Occupational Interest Types 383 O’Hanlon, Bill 270 Olalla, Julia 220, 221 one’s own feelings as data 332 ontological coaching: case study 226–227; coachee benefits 225; development of 219–220; enquiry in 222–223; introduction to 94, 219; leadership and executive coaching 443; listening with whole self 223; new ways of being 224–225; in practice 221–225; surfacing the learning 224; theory and concept 220–221 open systems theory 328, 328–329 operant behaviour 100 Opportunity Structure Theory 386 optimism concepts in positive coaching psychology 55–56 organisational coaching: ambiguity and complexity 426–427; case study 432–435; coachee benefit 432; development of 424–425; infrastructure of 432; introduction to 424; job and work design 426; leadership 427; offerings in 431; performance/ productivity 82–83; in practice 427–432, 429; style of choice 431–432; theory and concepts 425–427 organisational role analysis (ORA) 325 Organisational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET) 400 organisation-in-the-mind 334

596

organismic dialectic needs 198 Organismic Valuing Process (OVP) 136 origination 171 outcome goals 28, 37, 38, 176 PACE model 110 Paisley, Pampallis 563 Palmer, Stephen 6–7 panic disorder in coachees 540 pathos 69, 71–72, 74 Pavlov, Ivan 100 Peer Coaching Training Scheme 265, 265–267, 266 peer-to-peer coaching 430 performance goals in coaching 38–39, 246–247, 247 performance interfering thoughts (PITs) 117–118 performance-related pay 100 Perls, Fritz 181, 184 PERMA model 53, 55, 60, 61 personal balance and momentum 245–246, 246 personal characteristics of good leadership 440 personal construct coaching: case study 250–253, 251, 252; coachee benefits 250; coaching intervention design 244–245, 245; concept overview 249; development of 243–244; facilitative conversation 248; grid methodology 248–249; harmony with other people 246; introduction to 243; performance and strategic goals 246–247, 247; personal balance and momentum 245–246, 246; in practice 247–249; psychological measurement 249; role enactment 249; story-telling through self-characterisation 248; task analysis 249; theory of 244–247 personal construct psychology (PCP) 95 personal development 36, 55, 82–83, 199, 220, 263, 347, 372, 439 personality disorders 230, 538, 542–543 personality studies in coaching relationship 478, 513 personal projects 35 personal strivings 35 person-centred coaching psychology: case study 137–141; coachee benefits 136–137; counseling vs. 136; development of 131–132; introduction to 34, 93, 131; necessary and sufficient conditions 132–133; non-directivity 134; positive psychology 135–136; in practice 135–136; research support 135; summary of 141–142; theory and basic concepts 132–135; see also life-coaching psychology Person-Environment theory 383, 386 person-in-role (P/R/O) model 333, 333–334, 336–337 Pert, Candace 230 phase space in complexity perspective 415, 416 phase theory 369, 370 phenomenological method 173, 182–184, 257 Piaget, Jean 549–550 Planned Behaviour theory 397 Planned Happenstance Learning Theory 386 pluralistic coaching: assessment 157; case study 160–164, 162–163, 164; change process 159; coachee benefits 159–160; development of 154–155; feedback culture

Index

159; framework for 157–158, 158; introduction to 94, 154; leadership and executive coaching 445; metacommunication 158–159; theory and concepts 155–157 P/N ratios 57 positive coaching psychology: benefit to coachees 61; case study 61–63; critique of 56–58; defined 52; in developmental coaching 361; development of 51–52; evidence-based coaching 56; flourishing 53–54; INSIGHT model 58–60, 59, 61; introduction to 51; key concepts 54–56; key theories 52–54; leadership and executive coaching 443; mindfulness 54–55; optimism concepts 55–56; PERMA model 53, 55, 60, 61; positive emotions 56; in practice 58–61; PRACTICE model 60; RAW model of flourishing 54, 54; self-determination theory 53; strength concepts 55; well-being 53 positive coping 60, 62, 363, 366 positive emotions 22, 46, 53–54, 56–57, 203, 208, 290–291, 398 positive organizational scholarship (POS) 453 positive psychology 9, 135–136, 398–399 positive psychology interventions (PPIs) 52 Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3-to-1 Ratio that Will Change Your Life (Frederickson) 57 positron emission tomography (PET) 15 PRACTICE model 60, 109–110 pragmatism 243, 383, 418–419, 425, 434, 487, 493 precontemplation stage of change model 45, 399 prejudice in coaching 500–501 preparation stage of change 45 pre-post-test study design 73 pressured contracting in career coaching 387, 387, 388 primary task 328, 328–329 process studies 70, 72–73 process-theory model of coaching 479 professionalisation of coaching 492 profession of coaching psychology 469–470, 585–586; see also coaching psychology Protean Career 382 proximal development of learning 257, 258 proximal goals 37, 203 psychoanalytic theory concepts 326–328 psychodrama 243, 249 psychodynamic approaches to coaching: authority and leadership 330–331; case studies 335–339; coachee benefit 335; containment 327; counter-transference/ unconscious communication 327–328; development of 324–326, 325; introduction to 324; leadership and executive coaching 444; management at boundary 329, 329; open systems theory 328, 328–329; personin-role (P/R/O) model 333, 333–334, 336–337; in practice 331–335, 333; primary task and 328, 328–329; psychoanalytic theory concepts 326–328; role analysis 331, 331, 337–339; social defence systems 329–330; systems-psychodynamic coaching 324–326, 325; theory and concepts 326–331; transference 327; unconscious anxieties/defences 326–327; unconscious mental life 326; work systems design 330

psychoeducation 543–544 Psychological Testing Centre of the British Psychological Society 515 psychology: basic psychological needs 198; eco psychology 399; musical performance psychology 245; personal construct psychology 95; positive psychology 9, 52, 135–136, 398–399; role in contemporary coaching 84–85; solution-focused cognitive behavioural psychology 9; sport psychology 474–475; see also coaching psychology; existential coaching psychology; life-coaching psychology; positive coaching psychology; research in coaching psychology Psychology of Coaching, The (Griffith) 6 Psychology of Personal Constructs, The (Kelly) 243 psychometrics in coaching: acceptability 516; accreditation requirements 515; case study 522–524; choice of 514–517; coachee benefits 522; creating insight 516; development of 512–513; effective feedback sessions 519–522; freedom from bias 516; introduction to 512; key concepts 513–514; practicality of 516–517; in practice 517–518; reliability 515–516; scope of 515; standardisation 515; by third party 518–519; validity of 516 psycho-physiological states 27 psycho-social development 550 psychotherapy and coaching relationship 474 PsycTESTS database 515 Q methodology 243 randomised control trials (RCTs) 9, 12, 71, 80, 83 rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT). 108, 397–398 RAW model of flourishing 54, 54 readiness to change 45 real team, defined 454 reference values 35 reflection-in-action 419–420 reflective listening 147–149, 401, 424 reflective observation 370, 373, 376–377 regulation of coaching 492 regulatory landscape of coaching psychology 8 Reich, Wilhelm 230 relatedness principle 169–170, 200 relationship skills 350, 441 relations oriented leadership 440 relaxation strategies 38, 119, 123, 402, 541 research in coaching psychology: coaching interaction 73–74; evidence-based coaching 69–70, 74–75; implications of 70–74, 71; introduction to 68–69; nature of evidence 69–70; outcomes 71–72; process studies 70, 72–73; summary of 75–76 resilience coaching see stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching RESOLVE model in NLP 286 Return on Investment (RoI) 430 Rogers, Carl 131

597

Index

role analysis 331, 331, 337–339 Rolf, Ira 230 rule of description 173 rule of epoché 173 rule of horizontalization 173 Satir, Virginia 311 Searle, John 219, 220 selection moderators 45 self-awareness 83, 490, 503–504 self-concordant goals 40 self-determination theory (SDT): autonomy and 199–200; in life-coaching psychology 348; mindfulness coaching 94, 195, 196–198, 197; positive coaching psychology 53; self-concordant goals 40 self-development 26, 27, 229, 440, 479 self-directed action 36, 45, 83, 140, 181, 273, 426, 543 self-efficacy: career coaching and 385, 392; defined 26, 100, 397; development coaching and 363; motivational interviewing and 145; as positive coaching outcome 83 Self-efficacy Coaching Model (SEC): application of 30–32; consequences of 27; development of 25–26; goals and outcome expectations 28; introduction to 25–26; overview of 28–30, 29; self-efficacy, defined 26; sources of 26–27; theory and basic concepts 26–28 self-identity 256, 262, 264, 551 self-judgment 28 self-knowledge in development coaching 366 self-motivation 27, 348 self-organisation 414, 425 Self-protection System 207–208, 209 self-reflection 46, 102, 210, 265, 306, 479, 531, 544, 552 self-regulation goals 36–37, 37, 42, 46 Seligman, Martin 52 sensitive dependence on initial conditions 416–417 session moderators 45–46 situated experience 257 skills and diversity coaching 506 skills psychometrics in coaching 514 Skinner, B.F. 100 SMACTEPPOMF characteristics in NLP 287 SMART goals 35, 36 social brain 21 Social Cognitive Theory 25, 27, 28, 397 social constructionism 207, 257 social defence systems 329–330 social phobia in coachees 539–540 social structure 21, 257, 329 social support systems 29, 58, 360, 366, 400, 543 social theories 257 Society for Consulting Psychology 573 Socratic method 5–6, 83, 349–350 solution-focused coaching (SFC): between-session tasks 276; case study 277–279; coachee benefits 276–277; competence seeking 274–275; in developmental coaching 361; development of 270–271; effectiveness of 113; expectations 275; feedback 276; introduction

598

to 9, 86, 270; letter writing 276; miracle question 275; in practice 273–276; pre-session change 274; problem-free talk 274; reframing 276; scaling 275–276; SOLUTION model 274; success from 38; techniques 399, 401; theory and concepts 271–273 solution-focused cognitive behavioural psychology 9 SOLUTION model 274 somatic arc of transformation 233–236 somatic coaching: case study 237–239; core principles of 232; development of 229–230; embodiment 236; historical stage 234; introduction to 229; landscape/ nature 232; new space 235–236; sites of shaping 234, 235; social context 232; somatic arc of transformation 233–236; somatic awareness 231; somatic opening 231–232; somatic practices 232; spirit/the mystery 232; theory and methodology of 230–233, 232; unbounded space 234–235; working on the body 232; working through the body 233; working with the body 233 soothing-affiliative emotion 206, 208, 209 soothing breathing rhythms 211 SPACE coaching model 110–111, 121 speech act theory 219 sponsorship in organisational coaching 429 sport psychology 474–475 stage theory 369, 384, 550 Stelter, Richard 256 Stephenson, William 243 stereotypes in coaching 500–501 Stone, Randolph 230 story-telling through self-characterisation 248 strategic goals in personal construct coaching 246–247, 247 strength concepts in positive coaching psychology 55 strength psychometrics in coaching 514 strengths-based team coaching 458 stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching: case study 402–405, 405; coachee benefits 402; development of 395; goal setting and self-efficacy 397; introduction to 395; mindfulness and 400–401; Motivational Interviewing 396, 401; in practice 399–402; solution-focused approach 397; solutionfocused techniques 399, 401; theoretical perspectives 396–399; theory and concepts 396; transtheoretical model of change 396–397 Strozzi-Heckler, Richard 229–230 structural determinism 220, 222 subjective categorisation 418 ‘Subject-Object’ relations framework 551–552 substance abuse counselling 145 Super, Donald 384–385, 385 synapses in brain 18 systematic review (SR) 80, 81, 83, 85, 85–87, 87, 88 systemic coaching 95 systemic constellations approach to coaching: belonging 314; case study 320–322; coachee benefits 319–320; conscience 313; consequences and qualities 314–315; development of 311–312; exchange 314; field, system,

Index

self 312–313; interventions 316–317; introduction to 311; leadership and executive coaching 444; limitations and considerations 320; mapping 316; not knowing concept 312; ordering forces 313–314; in practice 315, 315–319, 318; stance of coach 318–319; structured constellations 317–318; team coaching 319; theory and concepts 312–315; time and place 314 systemic contracting in leadership and executive coaching 445–446 systemic thinking 334 systems-psychodynamic coaching see psychodynamic approaches to coaching systems theory 95, 282, 324, 328, 330 talking cure 325, 326 Tavistock Institute of Human Relations 325 team and group coaching: case study 459, 459–461, 461, 462–463; coachee benefit 458; design stage 457–458; destiny stage 458; development of 453–454; discovery stage 457; dream stage 457; introduction to 431, 453; leadership and 455–456; necessary structures 454; in practice 456–458; stage models 455; summary of 464; theory and concepts 454–456 technology role in coaching: business management 529; case studies 533–534; coachee benefits 532–533; coach selection 528, 528–529; development process 527–528; ethics of coaching 532; evaluation of 531–532; face-toface coaching 529–531; future trends 532; introduction to 527; summary of 534–535, 535 Theory of Planned Behaviour 397 therapy vs. life-coaching psychology 351 they-focused realm 174–175 thinking errors in cognitive behavioural coaching 115–116 thinking skills practitioners 116 Threat System 207–208, 209 three-good-things technique 58 time management strategies 106, 119, 120, 530, 541 TOTE paradigm 285, 285 transactional (task oriented) leadership 440 transactional analysis (TA): autonomy and 300, 300–301; case study 306–309; coachee benefits 306; coachee engagement in 299–300; contracting method 301–304, 303, 303, 304; contractual method 299; development of 297–298; introduction to 95, 297; leadership and executive coaching 443; life positions 305, 305; philosophical bases 298–299; in practice 301–305, 303, 303, 304, 305; summary

of 310; theory and concepts 298–301; unconscious mind 299 transference 199, 286, 327, 332, 569 transition theory 360 Transtheoretical Model of Change 145–146, 396–397, 443 trust in coaching relationship 476–477 uncertainty principle 170 unconscious anxieties/defences 326–327 unconscious communication 327–328 unconscious goals 39–40 unconscious mental life 326 unconscious mind in transactional analysis 299 Universal Integrative Framework (UIF) 257, 259 Upside of Your Darkside, The (Biswas-Diener) 57 USA Cognitive Coaching 109 using strengths in a new way technique 58 value psychometrics in coaching 514 values, identity and purpose (VIP) 364 values in goal-setting 40–43, 41, 42 vertical transformation 258 vicarious experiences 27 volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) 159 Washington University Sentence Completion Test 554 Weakland, John 270 Weber, Gunther 311 We-focused realm 174 well-being: impact of work on 453; positive coaching psychology 53 wellbeing coaching see stress, resilience, health and wellbeing coaching well-formed outcome (WFO) 285 White, Michael 256, 259, 260, 262 ‘why coaching’ question checklist 428 Wilber, Ken 371, 371–372 witness-thinking 259 working alliance concept 73 working alliance in coaching 84, 156–158, 199, 350, 352, 429, 445–446, 473–482, 475–476 World Health Organization (WHO) 396 You-focused realm 174 Zarris, Peter 6–7 zone of proximal development 258 Zweierlei gluck (Weber) 311

599