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Article
Publication date: 16 July 2019

David Gray, Erik De Haan and Sally Bonneywell

Gender differences in leadership and issues around differential progression of male and female leaders are receiving more attention in the fields of human resource and leadership…

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Abstract

Purpose

Gender differences in leadership and issues around differential progression of male and female leaders are receiving more attention in the fields of human resource and leadership development. However, little is known about how interventions designed to support female leaders are being experienced within real-world contexts of global organizations. There is limited research and discussion on how such interventions are experienced at a more systemic level. This study aims to contribute at this very level.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reports on a predominantly coaching-based development program that was designed to further the careers of female leaders within a complex multi-national organization. The study was conducted in a large, global health-care corporation employing 100,000 people based in over 120 countries. The qualitative research design for this study was exploratory, involving a reflexive process at each of the two stages.

Findings

The findings from this qualitative research take the debate on “the gendered organization” further by including the voices of female leaders. They demonstrate that whilst theoretically the concept of the “ideal worker” may inhibit progression, this is not necessarily a barrier to career advancement. Coaching, both individual and group, is shown to have a powerful effect on promoting reflection, self-confidence and focus.

Research limitations/implications

There are two research limitations. While confidentiality was promised, the responses of some interviewees were nevertheless still guarded. Other limitations relate to the extent to which this study can be generalized to other contexts, as it was conducted inside a single global corporation.

Originality/value

The study addresses the complex and urgent topic of differential progression and makes a broader contribution by offering a systemic perspective on gender and development in global organizations.

Details

European Journal of Training and Development, vol. 43 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-9012

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Article
Publication date: 16 February 2011

Erik de Haan, Vicki Culpin and Judy Curd

Executive coaching is gaining in popularity, both as part of personal or organisational development programmes and as a tailored form of individual consulting. The purpose of this…

10460

Abstract

Purpose

Executive coaching is gaining in popularity, both as part of personal or organisational development programmes and as a tailored form of individual consulting. The purpose of this study is to examine how various aspects of the executive coaching intervention make a difference to the clients of coaching themselves.

Design/methodology/approach

The study involved a web‐based questionnaire (163 closed and three open questions) completed by 71 executive coaching clients shortly after the beginning of their coaching contract and by 31 of those again approximately six months later.

Findings

The research found that clients' appreciation of coaching was high. In response to the research question “What determines helpfulness for clients?” a picture emerged of a client valuing the relationship with and the qualities of the coach, while making little distinction between specific interventions of that same coach. The findings support the idea that common factors are at work in executive coaching, so that helpfulness is much less predicted by technique or approach than by factors common to all coaching, such as the relationship, empathic understanding, positive expectations etc.

Research limitations/implications

For further quantitative research into the effectiveness or helpfulness of executive coaching it will become increasingly important to explore the relative effectiveness of the various common factors.

Practical implications

The findings show that professional executive coaches would do well to enhance the common factors in their work, such as the quality of their empathic understanding, the quality of the coaching relationship as perceived by the client, and the expectations of their client.

Originality/value

This research shows that a broad range of techniques are deemed helpful, and equally so. It is therefore not the preference for a specific technique that makes a difference, but rather the ability to employ many techniques, to use them well and at the right moment. This is clear support for a common‐factors perspective on executive coaching

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2008

Erik de Haan

There is a hidden paradox inherent in the ideal of continuing professional development (CPD) for executive coaches, stemming from the fact that the coach wishes to retain or…

1902

Abstract

Purpose

There is a hidden paradox inherent in the ideal of continuing professional development (CPD) for executive coaches, stemming from the fact that the coach wishes to retain or preserve the freshness and openness of a “beginner”, whilst also acquiring greater robustness and resilience in the face of difficult assignments. The paradox reminds us of the “castle and battlefield” metaphor of Roger Harrison: on the one hand a strong container is needed and on the other vulnerability to allow the coach to be affected and even hurt by the coaching experiences. The objective of this paper is to find ways of resolving this paradox, based on what coaches themselves say about critical moments in their practice.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 69 critical moments as reported by 60 coaches are content‐analysed with the help of grounded research.

Findings

In the analysis a picture emerges of doubts (instrumental, relational and existential), which the coaching process opens up for coaches, and which CPD may help them become aware of, explore and lay to rest. The most promising methodology for doing this seems to be coaching supervision, conducted in the safest possible environment.

Research limitations/implications

From this qualitative research by a single researcher inter‐rater reliabilities cannot (yet) be reported.

Practical implications

It emerges that what coaches need most from their CPD is robustness in the face of their instrumental and existential doubts, and vulnerability when it comes to their relational doubts.

Originality/value

With the growth of the executive coaching profession, there is increasing interest in the value of CPD for coaches. Executive coaches are embarking on CPD in large numbers, and are asking what is most relevant to them in their ongoing development. This paper offers empirical data that may inform CPD.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 37 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

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Article
Publication date: 26 October 2010

Max Visser

In recent research the strength and nature of the relationship between coaches and executives appears as a critical success factor in successful coaching outcomes. However, little…

2754

Abstract

Purpose

In recent research the strength and nature of the relationship between coaches and executives appears as a critical success factor in successful coaching outcomes. However, little theory has as yet been devoted to an analysis of how relationships are used in executive coaching. Such an analysis requires going from the monadic, individual level of analysis to the dyadic, relational level. The purpose of this paper is to develop a theory of relating in executive coaching at this dyadic level of analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual analysis of relating in executive coaching is presented, drawing on a combination of the behavioural approach (Skinner and others) and the systems approach (Bateson and others). A verbatim of a coaching conversation serves as an illustration.

Findings

It is found that the behavioural and systems approaches may be fruitfully combined in one behavioural systems approach. Following this, relating in executive coaching is characterised as systemic, behavioural, communicational, and patterned.

Originality/value

The paper is among the first to study executive coaching at the dyadic level of analysis, and to develop a combined behavioural systems approach towards that purpose. This approach and its outcomes add to and can be clearly distinguished from the more common humanistic, psychodynamic, and cognitive approaches to executive coaching.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 29 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 26 October 2010

Erik de Haan and Charlotte Sills

1261

Abstract

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 29 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

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Article
Publication date: 26 October 2010

Elaine Robinson

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate a reflective use of literary devices, within an over‐arching concept of narrative, in practical coaching. The paper also aims to show the…

2774

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate a reflective use of literary devices, within an over‐arching concept of narrative, in practical coaching. The paper also aims to show the benefits of working with literary devices within the coaching relationship and provide a few practitioner tips.

Design/methodology/approach

Using case study methodology and based on the recorded field notes of five participating coachees, the nature of the relationship between coach and coachee in coaching conversations forms the empirical basis of the paper. A framework of sub‐headings of different forms of narrative; stream of consciousness, metaphor, time and space, analepsis, prolepsis and focalisation are applied to the case studies in the context of coaching sessions. The analysis includes reflections of the coach.

Findings

Literary language devices associated with narrative can be applied in the coaching context. Such techniques can be used for the analysis and interpretation of coaching conversations to enable sense‐making and enhancement of insightful questioning, interpretation and reflective practice.

Research limitations/implications

There are many other literary devices which could be studied and applied to coaching both as part of reflective practice and in coaching supervision.

Practical implications

There is a need for active listening by the coach and a heightened awareness of literary techniques and deep culture to explore and probe meanings through narratives embedded within coaching conversations.

Originality/value

Literary techniques are used as a means to analyse the coaching relationship and for the discovery of insightful coaching questions and reflective practice.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 29 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 27 June 2008

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research.

1090

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings

Silence, some say, is golden. According to coaching guru Dr Angus McLeod it is also enormously powerful in that it can help people talk themselves into uncomfortable reality.

Practical implications

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

Originality/value

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

Details

Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7282

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 6 February 2009

707

Abstract

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

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Article
Publication date: 26 October 2010

Andrew Day

This paper aims to describe how organisation coaches can work at relational depth with their clients by exploring the unconscious relational dynamics of the coaching relationship…

1797

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe how organisation coaches can work at relational depth with their clients by exploring the unconscious relational dynamics of the coaching relationship and their links to unconscious dynamics in the client's organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on relational psychoanalytic theory of the individual and system psychodynamic theories of organisations to argue that unconscious dynamics that emerge between the coach and client can be understood as: a complex unconscious interaction between how the client and coach organise their relationships; a repetition of how the client participates in unconscious organisation dynamics; and shaping the coach's subjective experience in the work, including their emotional and embodied responses to the client. These propositions are explored through an in‐depth qualitative case study of the author's work with a client.

Findings

The case illustrates how unconscious organisation dynamics shaped the client's experience of his role, evoking in him feelings of powerlessness and anger. The coach initially identified with these feelings because of his own relational past. As a result, the relationship became stuck in a repetitive dynamic which could be understood as an expression of the stuck dynamics in the organisation around the unconscious management of anxieties within its management structures. A shift in the coaching relationship was brought about through the coach's disclosure of his own experience and naming of feelings and emotions that were previously implicit and out of awareness in the coaching relationship. The subsequent exploration of the dynamics of the coaching relationship helped the client to understand at a deeper level his struggle in the organisation and to take up a different position in the organisation dynamics. The case study highlights how the dynamics of the coaching relationship can be understood as a repetition of unconscious processes by the client in the organisation.

Practical implications

The paper highlights how coaches can understand and work with unconscious dynamics in the coaching relationship. This requires coaches not only to be self‐aware, but also to possess the emotional maturity and confidence to work with difficult emotional material.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates how psychoanalytic theory of individuals and organisations can be integrated into a relational approach to coaching which facilitates the exploration of the client's experience of their work in an organisation context.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 29 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 26 October 2010

Bill Critchley

The purpose of this paper is to articulate and elaborate on the practice of “relational” coaching, and to suggest that there are significant implications for coaching practice, in…

2903

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to articulate and elaborate on the practice of “relational” coaching, and to suggest that there are significant implications for coaching practice, in particular the need for coaches to risk themselves by engaging their whole person in what is an unpredictable and intimate process.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is to draw on perspectives from psychology, neuroscience, sociology, complexity science and philosophy, which all imply or suggest the centrality of relational dynamics in human interaction, and in particular an interaction in which the coach inevitably becomes a “significant other” for his or her client.

Findings

The main conclusion of the paper is that the dynamic of the relationship between coach and client needs to be explicitly attended to, as it is the main means through which change takes place in two key respects; first, because it serves as an analogue of the dynamical patterns which tend to configure a client's relationships in their work context and, second, because the quality of embodied resonance between the coach and client has been shown to be the main factor in effective coaching outcomes.

Originality/value

These findings are generally understood in the field of psychotherapy in particular, but much less so in the field of coaching. The findings arising from the particular synthesis of these perspectives in the context of coaching is original, and their potential implications for coaching are believed to have considerable potential value.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 29 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

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