Executive coaching: It works!

Outcomes of this empirical study demonstrated that executive coaching is an effective method of leadership development. One hundred fourteen executives and 42 coaches were surveyed using instruments designed to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. Results indicated that executive change occurred in 5 areas: people management, relationships with managers, goal setting and prioritization, engagement and productivity, and dialogue and communication. This study also highlights the importance of coach selection, executive commitment to behavioral change, and the role of good program and environmental support. The success of this coaching program also suggests that investment in well-designed and implemented programs can contribute to leadership development and the retention of talent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trudging Toward Dodoville: Conceptual Approaches and Case Studies in Executive Coaching.

This article introduces the 3rd Consulting Psychology Journal special issue on executive coaching and briefly examines the current status of the scientific knowledge base in the field. It compares the emergence of the empirical literature on coaching to the historical pathway created by psychotherapy and hypothesizes that research on executive coaching may be lead in the future to the examination of "empirically validated models and methods" of coaching leaders in organizations. S. Rosenzweig's (1936) Dodoville conjecture in which he hypothesized that the major positive impacts of various psychotherapies were due to various nonspecific common factors forms the metaphoric foundation of the analysis. The article explores this controversy briefly within Jerome Bruner's (1986) concept of 2 modes of cognition--the paradigmatic and the narrative--and suggests that case studies as a narrative way of knowing and creating meaning are an extremely useful way of examining the practice and efficacy of executive coaching. The articles in the issue are briefly introduced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When Shadows Fall: Using Psychodynamic Approaches in Executive Coaching.

This article makes the major point that events, feelings, thoughts, and patterns of behavior that are outside of the conscious awareness of executives can significantly influence what they decide and how they act. It provides a succinct overview of the conflict and object relations approaches to understanding psychodynamics and embeds the material in recent scientific reviews of unconscious mental and emotional phenomena. The situations in executive coaching in which psychodynamic material may be relevant are described along with the purposes that these concepts and methods may serve in coaching engagements. Conflicts, attachment styles, and methods of using interpretations appropriately are described and discussed. Pitfalls and limitations of using these approaches in coaching engagements are also reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Still more about coaching!

This foreword to the fifth special issue devoted to executive coaching highlights some of the work already done as well as the need for continuing discussion and research. Brief introductions and summaries for each article are included. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive coaching: A comprehensive review of the literature.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 60(1) of Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research (see record 2009-06606-001). The author would like to indicate that unfortunately, Peterson’s (1993) dissertation on executive coaching outcomes was excluded from the original literature review conducted by Kampa-Kokesch and Anderson (2001). Later, Kampa and White (2002) stated that Peterson’s (1993) dissertation was excluded due to the programmatic nature of the coaching conducted in the study. Specifically, it was written, “this research did not investigate executive coaching as practiced by consultants in the field,” (p. 145). However, all of the coaches in Peterson’s study were field-based PDI consultants and the individuals being coached did receive individual coaching from those consultants. In the future, Peterson’s research, which was a well-designed long-term outcome study of 370 coaching participants, should be reviewed when considering executive coaching outcomes.] Executive coaching as a consultation intervention has received increased attention in the literature within the past decade. Executive coaching has been proposed as an intervention aimed toward helping executives improve their performance and consequently the performance of the overall organization (R. R. Kilburg, 1996c). Whether or not it does what it proposes, however, remains largely unknown because of the lack of empirical studies. Some also question whether executive coaching is just another fad in the long list of fads that have occurred in consultation and business. To explore these issues and the place of executive coaching in consulting practice, this article critically examines the literature on executive coaching. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Kampa-Kokesch and Anderson (2001).

Reports an error in "Executive coaching: A comprehensive review of the literature" by Sheila Kampa-Kokesch and Mary Z. Anderson (Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 2001[Fal], Vol 53[4], 205-228). The author would like to indicate that unfortunately, Peterson’s (1993) dissertation on executive coaching outcomes was excluded from the original literature review conducted by Kampa-Kokesch and Anderson (2001). Later, Kampa and White (2002) stated that Peterson’s (1993) dissertation was excluded due to the programmatic nature of the coaching conducted in the study. Specifically, it was written, “this research did not investigate executive coaching as practiced by consultants in the field,” (p. 145). However, all of the coaches in Peterson’s study were field-based PDI consultants and the individuals being coached did receive individual coaching from those consultants. In the future, Peterson’s research, which was a well-designed long-term outcome study of 370 coaching participants, should be reviewed when considering executive coaching outcomes. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2002-00097-001.) Executive coaching as a consultation intervention has received increased attention in the literature within the past decade. Executive coaching has been proposed as an intervention aimed toward helping executives improve their performance and consequently the performance of the overall organization (R. R. Kilburg, 1996c). Whether or not it does what it proposes, however, remains largely unknown because of the lack of empirical studies. Some also question whether executive coaching is just another fad in the long list of fads that have occurred in consultation and business. To explore these issues and the place of executive coaching in consulting practice, this article critically examines the literature on executive coaching. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How executive coaching can change leader behavior and improve meeting effectiveness: An exploratory study.

Business meetings are the focus of extensive executive time and effort. Research has shown that poor leadership during meetings results in negative outcomes; however, few studies have explored effective leader behaviors during team meetings. From “expert leader” observations, the author hypothesized that more effective meeting leaders ask questions, summarize, and test for consensus more frequently, and they disagree, attack, and give information less frequently. Executive behaviors were observed and tallied into these categories during team meetings before and after executive coaching. Three cases illustrate how coaching was done using these measures of meeting leadership behaviors. After coaching, study participants (20 men, 1 woman) exhibited significant behavioral changes. Implications for practice include the utility of new methodological tools and the efficacy of coaching on meeting leadership effectiveness. Research seems warranted on the measures themselves and on team and organizational outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality-focused coaching for leadership development.

The science of personality measurement in the workplace has developed a great deal in the past 2 decades, and the five-factor model (FFM) is generally recognized as the most notable taxonomy of "normal" personality. Meanwhile, coaching has become a well-established method of one-on-one leadership development in many organizations. Given the research investigating the relationship between the FFM and work-related behavior and performance, including leadership, the authors' aim is to advocate the profiling of personality against the FFM to provide a useful framework for behavioral change in executive coaching. Coaching typically deals with skill deficits, performance problems, change challenges, and issues raised by the executive himself or herself, and a research-based understanding of personality--behavior linkages can provide valuable insights for the coach and coachee and a path forward to a wide range of coaching challenges. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive Growth Along the Adult Development Curve.

This article describes how principles of adult psychological development can inform executive coaching. An adult developmental perspective is used to identify key transformational tasks of adulthood that help shape executive role functioning. The correlation of psychological competencies with leadership competencies is outlined in more detail for the roles of senior vice president and executive vice president. Coaching case material is used to further illustrate how consultants can use an adult developmental framework to better align organizational life with personal strivings for meaning and growth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental coaching for high school teachers: Executive coaching goes to school.

Teachers are in a very real sense the embodiment of leadership, providing direction, guidance, and feedback to their students in addition to acting as role models. Teachers may well thus benefit from developmental coaching that draws on theories of leadership. This study was both an experimental (randomly assigned conditions) and a quasi-experimental (pre–post) study. A randomized controlled design was used to explore the impact of coaching on goal attainment, mental health, workplace well-being, and resilience, and a quasi-experimental (pre–post) design was used to explore the impact of coaching on leadership styles. Forty-four high school teachers were randomly assigned to either coaching or a waitlist control group. The coaching used a cognitive–behavioral, solution-focused approach and was informed by theories of self-leadership and transformational leadership. Participants in the coaching group received multirater feedback on their leadership style and undertook 10 coaching sessions conducted by professional coaches over a 20-week period. Compared with randomly allocated controls, participation in coaching was associated with increased goal attainment, reduced stress, and enhanced workplace well-being and resilience. Pre–post analyses for the coaching group indicated that coaching enhanced self-reported achievement and humanistic–encouraging components of constructive leadership styles and reduced self-reported aggressive/defensive and passive/defensive leadership styles. Findings suggest that coaching, as a professional development methodology, has great potential to contribute to the development and well-being of society beyond the corporate and organizational settings with which leadership coaching and executive coaching are normally associated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive coaching in a cross-cultural context.

Many executive coaches today find themselves working with leaders from a variety of cultural backgrounds, as well as coaching leaders who work with culturally diverse teams. It is therefore increasingly important that coaches understand the role of culture in their work. This article begins with an overview of several ways that culture plays a role in coaching, including an exploration of how assumptions about culture can positively or negatively impact a coach's approach and their ultimate success with a given individual. A second section provides three general principles for coaching across cultures, emphasizing the importance of using cross-cultural knowledge as a way to customize coaching to each person. The third section focuses on five essential conditions for learning--insight, motivating, capabilities, real-world practice, and accountability--and how cultural differences can influence various steps in the coaching process. A variety of examples for each condition highlight specific tools and techniques that coaches can use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a model of the feedback process within executive coaching.

Recent literature concerning executive coaching consistently points out the need for a better conceptual understanding of the process of coaching. The current paper addresses this need with an emphasis on the role of feedback in executive coaching. Several existing models of the coaching process mention feedback as an important element, but none expand on the role and function of feedback in executive coaching relationships. This paper builds on several existing models of executive coaching and integrates London and Smither's (2002) model of the feedback process to create a model of feedback in executive coaching. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Cognitive-Behavioral Approach to Executive Coaching.

This article is an attempt to evaluate the appropriateness of the cognitive-behavioral approach for use in executive coaching engagements. The basic tenets of cognitive- behavior therapy, as well as its conceptual underpinnings, are reviewed. Following this, a discussion of how well the goals of executive coaching are met by a cognitive-behavioral approach is presented. The author recommends that for stress management and skill development purposes, cognitive-behavioral coaching is appropriate and likely to be highly efficacious. However, for coaching situations that call for a more in-depth analysis of unconscious motives and conflicts, this approach is not suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Case Study of Executive Coaching as a Support Mechanism During Organizational Growth and Evolution.

This case study follows the evolution of an executive coaching consultation provided to the leaders of an organizational system over a 5-year period. The clients were part of a community outreach center in an academic medical center, and the coach-consultant was part of an internal service group. During this extended engagement, the clients' organizational system experienced a dramatic period of growth and change. The diversification of leadership roles, the dynamics of moving beyond the leadership of an organizational founder, and the challenges of rapid growth are all highlighted in the coaching content. Lessons learned from this coaching experience include an understanding of (a) the advantages of using coaching as an adjunct to other forms of organizational consultation, (b) how to manage changes in contracting and intervention goals over time, (c) how to meet the challenges of coaching to a leadership pair, and (d) mechanisms for using coaching to support leadership succession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goals, feedback, and self-regulation: Control theory as a natural framework for executive coaching.

The popularity of coaching continues to grow at a rate faster than research can validate coaching practices. Although strong research and theory on coaching have been emerging over the past few years, we believe that this body of literature would benefit from more integration of theory and application of organizing frameworks. The current paper seeks to contribute to the coaching literature by applying a Control Theory (CT) framework to elements of executive coaching. The two core elements of CT—goals and feedback—are also critical components of executive coaching. By applying a CT framework, we hope to provide both structure and new ideas regarding the roles of goals and feedback in executive coaching. We also suggest that one role of executive coaches is to help coaches become more effective self-regulators and effectively engage in goal setting and feedback seeking, among other things, in order to facilitate development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a conceptual understanding and definition of executive coaching.

A review of the literature on coaching reveals that very little empirical research has focused on the executive coaching methods used by consultants with managers and leaders in organizations. Within the framework of a 17-dimensional model of systems and psychodynamic theory, the author provides an overview of a conceptual approach to coaching activities that incorporates 5 identifiable components plus an emphasis on goal setting, intervention methods, and hypothesized factors in negative consulting outcomes. A definition of executive coaching is offered as a way of summarizing the literature and differentiating these consulting activities from others for the purpose of improving conceptual clarity and encouraging specific research on the concepts, methods, and outcomes of such activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Action Frame Theory as a Practical Framework for the Executive Coaching Process.

Executive coaching has evolved as a practical activity undertaken to develop executive leaders and improve their functioning in highly competitive and challenging organizational environments. R. R. Kilburg (2000) proposed a holistic and integrated model to assist practitioners in their executive coaching engagements. However, further work is needed to operationalize the mediated focus outlined in his model of executive coaching. To address this need, the authors propose action frame theory (AFT) as a practical and sound framework to help guide the application of mediated focus, in addition to integrating the executive and system foci, during executive coaching engagements. AFT was developed from the theories of social action (T. Parsons, 1937) and functional job analysis (S. A. Fine & S. F. Cronshaw, 1999; S. A. Fine & M. Getkate, 1995). An illustrative application of AFT is provided to further clarify and explicate how AFT can assist in executive coaching assignments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy: A Behavioral Change Model for Executive Coaching?

The authors suggest the use of A. Ellis's (1971, 1994) rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) as a tool to help clients effect behavioral change in the context of a coaching relationship. The article begins with a brief overview of REBT followed by an argument for its usefulness in an executive coaching context. The authors outline the therapeutic components of REBT that may facilitate executive coaching and discuss the circumstances under which REBT may not be appropriate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The case for eclecticism in executive coaching: Application to challenging assignments.

This article argues that effectively addressing challenging problems in executive coaching requires the use of not one, but several, theoretical models (e.g., psychodynamic, cognitive–behavioral, and systems) and research findings (e.g., social learning theory, attribution theory) developed in the larger discipline of psychology. Through two case studies, this article presents approaches to coaching executives with a history of high achievement who present problems in leadership because of their emotional and behavioral responses toward others and the negative impact they have on retention, effectiveness, productivity, or all three, in the organization. The authors present step-by-step considerations for coaches as they develop a helping relationship and carry out a multifaceted intervention over time. The approach taken here involves interventions addressing the individual’s emotion communication process as well as group-level and organization-level processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behind the Mask Coaching Through Deep Interpersonal Communication.

Executive coaching can focus on personal behavior change, enhancing leadership effectiveness, fostering stronger relationships, personal development, and/or work-family integration or specific performance issues on the job. K. M. Wasylyshyn (2003a) and H. Levinson (personal communication, 2003) suggested that executive coaching reaches for a deeper level of clinical and therapeutic intervention. The authors propose a health-enhancing, developmental model of coaching anchored in a process of deep interpersonal communication. This approach is neither a surface approach nor a therapeutic approach. It is an interpersonal approach focused on safe, secure communication in which difficult, complicated issues are addressed and where crucial conversations occur. In this process, the executive is approached as a person, one who stands behind the executive mask or facade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)