A Large Scale Study of Executive and Workplace Coaching – The Relative Contributions of Relationship, Personality Match, and Self-efficacy

De Haan, Grant, Burger, Eriksson, 2016

Short summary: A very interesting study. In the first place because of the scale of the research, in the second place because research is being done into so-called ‘active ingredients’ in coaching: which elements determine the effectiveness of coaching? Data was collected from 1,895 coach-client pairs (366 different coaches) and 96 ‘clients’ in 34 countries with a total of 3882 ‘matching surveys’. Specific research was conducted into a number of assumed active ingredients, namely the coach-coachee relationship, self-efficacy, and personality matching (the influence of personality types coach and coachee on the effectiveness of coaching). A strong point of this research is that it was also possible to look at relationships between the active ingredients mentioned.

We summarize the results as follows (it is certainly worthwhile to read the entire research thoroughly): The quality of the relationship between coach and coachee is important for a good outcome of the coaching. This also applies to the coachee’s self-efficacy. At the same time, the quality of the relationship also seems to have an impact on the coachee’s self-efficacy. And a strong emphasis on ‘goals’ in the working alliance may partly be a compensation for a low self-efficacy. The authors indicate that a strong coach-coachee relationship ánd appropriate goal-setting appear to be the fundamental aspects of effective coaching.

Finally, the authors offer suggestions for further research, including examining in more detail the role of ‘relationship’ and ‘goal-setting’.

Link: http://bit.ly/3nqWJZg

Published in: Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research Vol. 68 No. 3 2016

Research type: Quantitative

Number of participants: 3882

Control group: Nee

Keywords: Coach-coachee Relationship, Personality, Self-efficacy, Coaching Effectiveness

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