Searching for the elusive model of coaching: Could the ‘Holy Grail’ be right in front of us?

Abstract

Efforts to conceptualise and design facilitative models that support coaching practice have been prevalent in both the peer-reviewed and industry-based literature since the popularisation of coaching as a human development methodology. A myriad of models claim to provide robust and efficacious methodologies that produce effective and targeted change and growth for clients. Whilst some of these models have gained greater popular acceptance from practitioners than others, many make erroneous and unfounded claims within the industry literature of relative superiority over other proprietary models. In apparent contradiction to the popular discourse, the current paper suggests that all coaching psychology interventions occur within a broad androgogy (or in the case of minors, pedagogy) or specifically, within a generic experiential learning process. With this assumption established it is proposed that future exploration and research into coaching intervention efficacy may be more valuably focussed on understanding and examining the techniques, methods or strategies that are utilised within this generic experiential coaching process in an effort to build a unique evidence base for coaching psychology practice.