Executive Coaching Research Articles

Executive coaching history: Growing out of organisational development

The aim of this conceptual review paper is to uncover the link between coaching psychology and organisation development. While coaching is one of the fastest-growing professions, it has been argued to lack good research data. Nonetheless, executive coaching has grown from a rogue and unstandardised process to a profession with proven results and a credentialing process. Upon exploring the history of the coaching psychology intervention as it has grown into a profession, it is evident that executive coaching has a connection to the business world and truly started to define itself in the 1980s. Its roots clearly define its strong ties to the organisation development field as a positive-focused development tool which is exemplified through numerous coaching outcome studies. It is hoped that more collaborative studies can be undertaken between the OD consultants and the coaches to improve organisational performance both at the micro (individual) and macro (organisation) level.

EL COACHING EJECUTIVO COMO INSTRUMENTO DE MEJORA DEL CLIMA ORGANIZACIONAL EN EL AREA DE LOS VISITADORES AGRARIOS. CASO: PROCURADURIA AGRARIA DEL MUNICIPIO DE ESCARCEGA, CAMPECHE

In the present work, a proposal of an instrument of the organizational climate for a program of training in executive coaching for the personnel of the position of Agrarian Visitator of new entrance, with the aim is approached to improve the organizational climate impacting the performance of personnel in their office and field activities, raising the quality of the service given to the ejidatarios of the municipality of Escarcega and considering that the human capital, is without a doubt One of the most important forces that an organization has, in turn, is guaranteed in this way that the administrative process is efficient and considered quality. It is important to mention that this training program and the promotion of improvement of the organizational climate will be carried out in the offices of the Agrarian Prosecutors Office in the municipality of Escarcega. Based on the above, information of a theoretical nature and success stories based on serious research on this subject is collected.

An Empirical Investigation of Leader Identity Formation and Implications for Executive Coaching and Leadership Development

An Empirical Investigation of Leader Identity Formation and Implications for Executive Coaching and Leadership Development

Washington View: Leadership in a tumultuous year

The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 an especially chaotic year for education leaders who were already facing pressure on multiple fronts. Maria Ferguson speaks with Michael Hanson, former superintendent of Fresno Unified in California and now an executive coach for districts across the U.S., about how education leaders are weathering the crisis.

Influence of Coaching on Employee Retention in Commercial Banks in Kenya

Purpose: The main objective of the study was to determine the influence of employee coaching on employee retention in commercial banks. The study specifically aimed to determine the influence of performance coaching, career coaching, life skills coaching and executive coaching on employee retention in commercial banks.Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive research design and the target population comprised of a total of 306 staff working in the six selected Commercial Banks in Kenya. The selected commercial banks included; Cooperative bank of Kenya Ltd; Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd; Consolidated bank of Kenya Ltd; Standard Chartered bank Kenya Ltd and CFC Stanbic Bank Ltd and NIC bank. The study adopted a probability sampling design by using a stratified random sampling technique to select the sample size of 136 respondents. Questionnaires were used as the main data collection instruments and pretested for validity and reliability using a pilot study. Data gathered was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics and presented using tables and charts.Findings: The study findings indicated that performance coaching factors notably, goal setting, feedback, personal development and goals achievement influences employee’s retention in commercial. The study also noted that career coaching ensured that employee personal interests are considered, employee career expectations are met there is achievement of employee personal goals and employees are able to effectively plan their careers. The study concluded that performance coaching is the major coaching method that influences most employee retention in commercial banks, followed by career coaching, then executive coaching and lastly life skills coaching.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that to improve on performance coaching, the bank management should offer performance coaching programmes which equips employees with skills to enable employees to understand organization goals and set their goals and work towards achievement of the goals. The bank management should adopt effective career coaching programmes which motivate employees to stay working in the organization in order to advance their careers. The bank management should provide coaching programmes which ensures that employee personal interests are considered, employee career expectations are met and there is achievement of employee personal goals and employees are able to effectively plan their careers. This will contribute towards employee career development and growth which influences most employees to remain working in organization and hence leading to increased rate of retention

Introduction to the Special Issue of the SBM Mid-Career Leadership Institute: leadership and behavioral medicine in context.

In 2016, we established the year-long Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) Mid-Career Leadership Institute. Individuals are often selected for leadership positions without intentional training in needed leadership skills, including strategic planning, building collaborative teams, goal setting, negotiation, and communication. The purpose of the Leadership Institute is to: (a) provide opportunities for mid-career professionals to build and sustain their leadership capacity; (b) create cohorts of connected fellows in behavioral medicine fields, disciplines, and institutions, who can support one another throughout their professional careers; and (c) enhance specific skills needed to navigate the challenges of mid-career. Over the first 4 years of the Institute, 139 fellows have participated, representing 35 states. Most of the fellows hold PhDs (93%) as a terminal degree. This special issue is dedicated to the leadership experiences of fellows, faculty, senior SBM mentors, peer mentors, and executive coaches.

Perspectives on the benefits of leadership training for career growth among three mid-career behavioral scientists.

Participation in the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) Mid-Career Leadership Institute was invaluable in navigating challenges and opportunities experienced by behavioral scientists at key mid-career transitions. Professionals are expected to take on more responsibilities at mid-career, often with minimal guidance and/or relevant training in the requisite leadership skills. The SBM Leadership Institute provided concrete practical strategies for managing time, work email, planning/goal setting, and conflict resolution. The purpose of this commentary is to review the impact of the SBM Leadership Institute on new leadership roles obtained by three SBM Leadership Fellows. Practices adopted as a result of the Leadership Institute will be discussed (e.g., right sizing the workload, "inbox zero," starting with priority work, and single tasking). The use of these strategies resulted in increased productivity and reduced work stress. Furthermore, one-on-one executive career coaching and participation in our learning community cultivated the direct, effective communication skills needed to take on new leadership roles/projects (e.g., transitioning to department chair, running for SBM board, launching ACSM Exercise is Medicine On Campus program). The leadership projects helped to push Fellows out of their comfort zones and provided excellent opportunities for networking and increased involvement in organizations and professional societies. In sum, the SBM Leadership Institute helped instill the confidence and focus needed to surmount midcareer obstacles and accelerate into the next career phase.

Designing academic career trajectories: identifying internal assets and evaluating external challenges.

When I joined the Society of Behavioral Medicine's Mid-Career Leadership Institute in 2016, I was at an academic crossroads where my motivation to pursue a research career was waning. Specifically, I was challenged in obtaining funding for my unique research focus, and by the loss of institutional mentors and sponsors. In this commentary, I describe how I utilized components of the SBM Leadership Institute, specifically executive coaching and peer mentorship, as well as introspection to identify career trajectories that align with my internal motivations, as well as acknowledge dynamics in my scholarship area and at my institution. By specifying several concrete possibilities for career advancement that are both personally meaningful and institutionally practical, I have been better able to focus my scholarly pursuits and seek out leadership positions. In general terms, the leadership institute helped me to evaluate my own internal assets (e.g., skills and passions), to critically examine trends in my area of scholarship, and to delineate alternative career pathways. In my view such periodic introspection and evaluation is critically important for maintaining a fulfilling academic career.

Competition and gender: Time’s up on essentialist knowledge production

This article is an intervention in current trends of thinking about competition and gender in essentialist and stereotypical ways. Such thinking has produced numerous comparative studies measuring competitiveness of women and men; ‘proving’ men as competitive and women as non-competitive. Based on experiments and written questionnaires, these studies reduce gender to perceived biological sex and treat competition as a ‘self-evident’, static and easily measurable phenomenon. To contribute new understandings and learning, we surface five fallacies of this comparative research, explaining why the approach is misleading, inequitable and socially harmful. Drawing upon gender as a social construction and women leaders’ narratives, we offer a blueprint for democratising knowledge production. We write differently, choosing not to provide a ‘balanced’ view of the field and construct competition as a processual, complex and contextually specific phenomenon with underlying gender dynamics, rather than a discrete, observable and fixed in time event. The article provides learning: for leaders and managers to resist automatic categorisation on the basis of perceived biological sex; for management educators to challenge the ways that leadership and management are traditionally taught; and, for executive coaches to support changes in practice, by embracing complexity of the contemporary contexts in which leaders operate.

Executive coaching explained: the beginnings of a contingency approach

PurposeIn this paper, we problematize the prevailing assumptions in the executive coaching literature that effective coaching is deliberative, trust-based and relational in nature, thereby requiring significant time investment before the focal leader might realize enacted benefits from the coaching. Contrary to these prevailing assumptions, we propose five contingencies wherein a more direct, performance-first approach to coaching may be more effective.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper reviews relevant literature to develop testable propositions regarding directive coaching contingencies.FindingsWe develop propositions that argue executive coaches will need to employ a more directive, urgent and accountable coaching relationship when the executive's career is in jeopardy, the organization is in distress, if the leader needs to signal legitimacy, if the coaching occurs within the boundaries of a high reliability organization or if the coach is working with an executive who has interim status.Originality/valueThis paper intends to advance the theory and practice of executive coaching by challenging executive coaching orthodoxy regarding the need for a deliberative, relational approach to coaching. Future research should broaden this theorizing and empirically test our propositions.

New findings on the effectiveness of the coaching relationship: Time to think differently about active ingredients?

This article critically reviews two recent, large-scale, randomized controlled trials in executive coaching, to drive further exploration into the topic of the coaching relationship as a predictor of coaching outcome. One of the trials was designed at senior levels in an industrial setting and the other was an experiment with coaching in a business-school context. Each trial demonstrated considerable and significant coaching effectiveness with the coaching relationship (working alliance) as an important ingredient of effectiveness. The more recent randomized-controlled-trial sample, which was longitudinal, seems to show that we may have to radically change our understanding of the impact of the coaching relationship on coaching effectiveness. Contrary to previous consensus, it seems the between client and coach is not strongly related to coaching effectiveness. The strength of the only correlates with a higher effectiveness score from the beginning of the coaching relationship, but it does not significantly correlate with increasing outcomes through further coaching conversations. Some possible explanations for this unexpected and seemingly contradictory finding in the area of working alliance are put forward and critically reviewed.

Formative Evaluation of a Peer Video-Based Coaching Initiative

BackgroundFew opportunities exist for surgeons to receive technical skills feedback after training. Surgeons at hospitals within the Illinois Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative were invited to participate in a peer-to-peer video-based coaching initiative focused on improving technical skills in laparoscopic right colectomy. We present a formative qualitative evaluation of a video-based coaching initiative. MethodsConcurrent with the implementation of our video-based coaching initiative, we conducted two focus groups and 15 individual semistructured interviews with participants; all interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. A subset of surgeons participated in a group video-review session, which was observed by qualitative researchers. Transcripts and notes were analyzed using an organizational behavior framework adapted from executive coaching. ResultsParticipation in the initiative was primarily motivated by the opportunity to learn from others and improve skills. Surgeons highlighted the value of self-video and peer-video assessment not only to learn new techniques but also for self-reflection and benchmarking. Barriers to participation included logistics (e.g. using the laparoscopic recording devices, coordinating schedules for peer coaching), time commitment, and a surgical culture that assumes the intent of coaching is to address deficiencies. ConclusionsVideo-based peer-coaching provides a platform for surgeons to reflect, benchmark against peers, and receive personalized feedback; however, more work is needed to increase participation and sustain involvement over time. There is an opportunity to decrease logistical barriers and increase acceptability of coaching by integrating video-based coaching into existing surgical conferences and established continuous professional development efforts.

Integrating Intervention Approaches: Development and Initial Testing of an Early Childhood Education Intervention

Early care and education program interventions often focus on providing training, sometimes combined with coaching, to classroom educators. However, such interventions are uneven in their effectiveness. We describe the development of the Ready Educators Quality Improvement Pilot (REQIP), an intervention that integrates two approaches—one that focuses on the workforce through training and coaching at the educator level, and another approach that focuses on the program in which the educators work, through executive coaching for administrators and consultations on the classroom, building spaces, and curriculum materials. Ten center-based programs and over 60 educators participated in a 19-month intervention and evaluation. This article discusses the challenges faced during implementation and implications for practice, results of the evaluation, and implications for other applications of social science.

Executive Coaching Explored: Toward a Contingency Approach

The domain of executive coaching is becoming a crowded one. Despite its meteoric rise and use since the advent of the millennium, academic inquiry seems to lag the progress made in applied and practitioner circles. Even more, academic inquiry remains largely absent in the critique and investigation of commonly used practitioner models. In fact, the dominant logic surrounding the delivery and execution of executive coaching seems to affirm a thoughtful, mutual enterprise that unfolds over time and where trust is necessary. Put simply, the assumptions that underlie and underpin the thinking and execution of executive coaching rests heavily on the consultative, free form type of delivery and interaction. In this conceptual paper, we begin to challenge the veracity of this orthodoxy. In so doing, we plant the seeds of a contingency-based approach to executive coaching. In particular, we advance five contextual considerations that may argue for more of a directive, as opposed to consultative, approach towards the executive coaching experience.

Academic background and executive coach training.

Academic background and executive coach training.

Key Factors Influencing Quality Coaching Relationships: The Role of EI Competencies

Executive coaching continues to explode in popularity as a means for individually-customized executive development. However, academic research on executive coaching has not expanded at the same rate. This is the first dyadic, qualitative study with external professional coaches and executive-level (Director, Vice President, and CxO-level) clients to empirically demonstrate EI competencies and their influence on quality coaching relationships within a business context. In addition, this is the first study to establish a shared validation of what coaches and clients experience as relevant and important competencies in their interactions. Our qualitative study of 32 coaching dyads finds that emotional intelligence competencies are key factors influencing quality coaching relationships. The top four EI behaviors displayed by outstanding coaches include the competencies of empathy, coach and mentor, inspirational leadership and adaptability. Study results indicate that outstanding coaches leverage their EI competencies to positively influence quality coaching relationships. By exploring how the coach’s EI behaviors influence quality dyadic coaching relationships, this empirical study aims to contribute to research and practice in the interdisciplinary fields of psychology, management, and executive coaching.

Can You Hear Me Now? The Influence of Perceived Media Richness on Executive Coaching Relationships

The leadership development industry has drawn scrutiny for being simultaneously costly and ineffective at developing effective leaders. Executive coaching has been demonstrated as one method of eff...

Contextualizing Paradox Management: The Political Role of Coaching

Paradox management is mostly attributed to individual abilities, such as cognitive or emotional abilities. This individual focus draws attention away from the role of context, overlooking how individuals think in relation with others and their environment. In particular, the political context of paradox management deserves more attention. Our research engages with this void by exploring how the political context of paradox management is shaped by coaching, a holding environment that potentially soothes tensions and facilitates paradox management. We conducted an inductive study of 57 semi-structured interviews with executive coaches using the critical incident technique. Our study shows that coaching shapes three different political contexts for paradox management, with distinctive holding units and holding functions. In doing so, it provides a dynamic approach to paradox management.

Outcomes of Mindfulness Based Coaching for Managers

The research literature exploring links between mindfulness and the effectiveness of executive coaching has little to say about coaching outcomes, or about the perceptions of coachees regarding to the utility of this training orientation. Furthermore, existing research does not explore the perceived outcomes of professional coaching, and variations therein, across time. This study analyses the assessments of 14 professional managers, working in the education system and the high-tech industry, of a 12 session coaching process incorporating mindfulness practices. The participants recorded their perceptions of coaching outcomes from each session, contemporaneously, in journals. In addition, they were interviewed at two points in time—at the end of the coaching sessions, and two years later. Generally, the study shows that when individual mindfulness practices are applied in coaching sessions, their effects are similar to that of individual mindfulness practices as applied in work organization settings. On the basis of the participants’ accounts, it seems quite safe to conclude that the mindfulness practices applied in the coaching enhanced their awareness of their body, thoughts and emotions—a process linked to developing the capacity to engage with multiple perspectives and to stress reduction, both leading to positive outcomes in terms of self-development, well-being and performance.

Leadership, academia, and the role of career coaching.

In academia, the competencies necessary to be an effective leader, including focused training in leadership skills are often overlooked. Incorporating a coaching component in leadership training programs has shown to have a beneficial impact. The purpose of this commentary is to present the rationale, description, and process of the executive coaching component of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) Mid-Career Leadership Institute. Institute Fellows are provided with a list of executive career coaches that includes their biography and coaching philosophy. Fellows are asked to rank their preferences from 1 to 3. Usually, Fellows are paired with their first choice. Rigorous evaluations of the benefit of career coaching within a comprehensive leadership program, such as the SBM Leadership Institute has not been conducted However, our evaluations to date show that the coaching component is highly rated by the Fellows and over 90% report using their allotted three sessions. Career coaching, conducted as part of a comprehensive leadership program, has the potential to positively influence career trajectories. A more rigorous evaluation of the SBM coaching program is needed to assess the true benefits.