Coaching and Mentoring: A Critical Text

Citation

Isabel Raemdonck (2013), "Coaching and Mentoring: A Critical Text", European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 327-330. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090591311312787

Book synopsis

This book is written for coaches, HR practitioners, trainers, management educators, students and academics participating in coaching and management development programmes. Through a critical lens, the author wants to offer a broader scope on the field of coaching and mentoring and question some of the normative assumptions of coaching in the existing literature.

The author begins with an introduction in which the core aims of the book are described and the coaching phenomenon is presented. Coaching is positioned between the “wounded self” and the “celebrated self”. In coaching sessions, a bridge is made between these two selves by focusing on positive change, transformation, self-discovery, improved performance while at the same time working on the hidden parts that appear of the wounded self. Similarities and differences between coaching and mentoring are discussed and the diversity in the typology of coaching and mentoring landscape is described.

In order to better understand the micro-practices of coaching, the macro-social influences should be examined first, according to the author, to gain a clearer picture. Therefore, this book on coaching and mentoring contains an in-depth analysis of the historical, social and cultural background of coaching. The reader is taken through three historical periods: pre-modernity, modernity and post-modernity. Each historical period is analysed from three perspectives: friendship, the soul healer and the work realm. The way coaching has emerged as a distinct, new and hybrid practice is elaborated. Thus, the author ' s retrospective examination helps to shed new light on contemporary practice.

The book reveals four dominant discourses within coaching: the soul guide discourse (describes how coaching works as a “mirror to the soul”, the coach focuses on human experience), the psy expert discourse (reveals how coaches work as “technicians of the psyche”, the coach focuses on personal performance), the managerial discourse (describes how coaches work in the discourse of managerialism, where the coach focuses on productivity) and the network coach discourse (which situates the individual in the network of work and society to realise interdependencies, where the coach focuses on connectivity). Coaching and mentoring will depend on which discourses dominate in each coaching context. The author discusses each of these discourses in terms of strengths and challenges and how they influence and shape the coaching practice.

Finally, the author sets out a theoretical outlook for future coaching practice. In so doing, the author develops a meta-theory of coaching which includes a micro and macro perspective and describes a pedagogy aligned to the four discourses. A coaching process and pedagogical guidelines are set out for future coaching and mentoring.

Evaluation

Current literature on coaching leans heavily toward the micro-practices of coaching and mentoring. The author of this book stipulates the importance of a macro perspective that goes beyond the dyad of coach and coachee – thus a key strength of this book is that coaching are situated within a historical and social context. The author demonstrates how coaching can be an interesting return to pre-modernism as it continues an oral tradition that is linked to contemplation and reflection. As in pre-modernism, the apprenticeship ideas of learning from another, from context, and learning form experience and practice is also present in coaching. Coaches transfer knowledge though their behaviour, self-presentation and the content of their dialogue. The strength of modernism is that it encouraged specialists and experts in the capacity of “technician of the psyche” in light of advances in science and rationalism. As in modernism, expert interventions on technical or motivational issues are one of the basic ingredients of psy expert coaching. The coach stance is focused on short term goals and behavioural changes to the outward self. These modern expert interventions with a focus on instrumentality and efficiency, paved the way for contemporary workplace coaching. The author demonstrates how coaching arrived as a product of post modernity drawing upon multiple sources, creating its own hybrid and diverse path. Four different discourses are discussed on basis of their particular underlying assumptions. In order to fully understand and enter into these different discourses, I think one needs to be a coach practitioner at a more advanced level.

Contrary to most books on coaching, practitioners should not expect a practical guide to coaching and mentoring. In my opinion, this book must be seen as a source of reflection for practitioners. The coaching practitioner is challenged to think about the underlying assumptions in his own coaching practice. Discourse mapping, as proposed in this book, can help coaches to make once assumptions more explicit towards the organisation, the team, the coachee etc.

Shall I recommend this book to coaches, trainers, researchers? As a novice coach, I think this critical analysis would not necessarily fit my developmental needs. I recommend this book to more experienced practitioners who are in search of reflection upon their coaching practice. More specifically, it is recommended for practitioners who want to become more aware of the underlying assumptions and discourses affecting their practice. The book supports coaches in identifying their coaching type.

In my opinion, researchers will benefit less from this book. Although the author highlights different theoretical perspectives (psychotherapy, philosophy, sociology, organisational psychology, human resources) researchers must not expect a review of the coaching literature. As a scholar I often found it difficult to enter into the wording of the text and identify with the different concepts used. It is not clear to what extent the different (pairs of) discourses presented are empirically grounded. The author himself aims to develop a meta-theory “which is about what a good theory (of coaching) might look like” (Western, p. 228) and sets out the challenge of not developing the wrong “scientific” meta-theory in the realm of explanatory power (p. 232). I do not agree with his argumentation, which I found a bit over-simplified, as one can develop an appropriate “scientific” theory which is empirically grounded without having the attempt to find causal relationships and without being reductionist. However, I do agree upon the importance of taking into account a macro-social perspective.

In the author's own words

“To coach is to work intimately and at depth with individuals (Depth analysis), coaching them to enhance their autonomy, freedom and well-being (Emancipation analysis), to help them influence their independent networks and to think connectively about their organizations and stakeholders (Network Analysis), and finally to see things differently, releasing creativity and innovation (Looking Awry).” (p. 40, italics in original)

About the reviewer

Isabel Raemdonck received an MA degree from Ghent University in 1998 and a PhD degree from Ghent University in Belgium in 2006. From 2006 to 2010, she was assistant professor in “Corporate Learning”at the Institute for Child and Education Studies at Leiden University. Since 2010 she is a professor in “Adult Education and Learning” at UniversitéCatholique de Louvain. She is associate editor of the EARLI book series New Perspectives on Learning and Instruction. Her current research interests are workplace learning, self-directed learning, motivational processes in adult learning, employability and ageing at work.