Exploring the common factors that contribute to an effective coaching engagement : a thematic analysis

The world of professional executive coaching is growing and being utilized by organizations around the world. Industries of all types, sizes, and functions are turning to executive coaching to enhance their employee's performance, retention, and well-being. The field of coaching relies heavily on psychology and human behavior research and approaches yet is largely unregulated with a variety of approaches and styles being implemented from coaches with varying levels of education and training. The practice of coaching and psychotherapy are remarkedly similar in their use of foundational skills and are often conducted by highly trained and licensed psychologists. In the same way that psychotherapy research has identified and presented a common factor model, this study seeks to identify and better understand the common factors that contribute to effective coaching, particularly when facilitated by those trained formally in psychology. The research presented is the result of 15 semi-structured qualitative interviews with experienced clinicians who all hold professional licenses in psychology. Findings identified five salient themes that contribute to effective coaching: 1) The Relationship, 2) Trust, 3) Goals, 4) Context/Environment, and 5) Theory/Model. These findings illustrate the importance of psychological research and training when conducting effective executive coaching.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Ed, School and Counseling Psychology (MU)

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Missouri--Columbia

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Graham, Zachary W.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Rottinghaus, Patrick

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/105891

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/105891