Connecting to what matters : how meaning in life is explored and developed in coaching
type: CreativeWork
description: Background: Meaning in life (MIL) is physically, psychologically, spiritually and socially important to both individuals and societies (Shin and Steger, 2014; Kim et al., 2022; Routledge and FioRito, 2021). Yet societal shifts have led to a gradual loss of shared meaning from religious and authoritarian structures (Martela, 2020; Vos, 2022), leaving individuals to find their own meaning. The pursuit of meaning may be seen as challenging in the current fast-paced, fragmented, hypercomplex digital age leaving little time for quality connections, reflection and making meaning (Dominici, 2018; Stelter, 2016a). Alongside this, individualistic aspirations fuelled by neoliberal values of freedom and autonomy promote the pursuit of happiness and success often at the expense of meaning and wellbeing (Wong, 2011b; Becker, Hartwich and Haslam, 2021). Individuals are left to self-manage their success and wellbeing with coaching criticised as part of a self-management toolkit, reinforcing neoliberal values by helping coachees find ways to do more and achieve more (Stelter, 2018; Bachkirova and Borrington, 2020; Tabarovsky, 2015). An alternative perspective proffers coaching as a fertile ground for meaning development by providing time and space to reflect, and connect to what matters (Stelter, 2019). However, while coaching approaches claim to support coachees to make meaning there is currently no theoretical understanding of how meaning exploration and development takes place within coaching. Purpose: This study sought to find out how meaning exploration and development is taking place within coaching. It aimed to provide both a theoretical and practical contribution to coaching by understanding the process from the perspective of practicing coaches. Methodology: Intensive interviews were carried out with experienced accredited coaches to explore how they work with meaning within coaching. Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) was employed as an iterative approach of simultaneou…
abstract: Background: Meaning in life (MIL) is physically, psychologically, spiritually and socially important to both individuals and societies (Shin and Steger, 2014; Kim et al., 2022; Routledge and FioRito, 2021). Yet societal shifts have led to a gradual loss of shared meaning from religious and authoritarian structures (Martela, 2020; Vos, 2022), leaving individuals to find their own meaning. The pursuit of meaning may be seen as challenging in the current fast-paced, fragmented, hypercomplex digital age leaving little time for quality connections, reflection and making meaning (Dominici, 2018; Stelter, 2016a). Alongside this, individualistic aspirations fuelled by neoliberal values of freedom and autonomy promote the pursuit of happiness and success often at the expense of meaning and wellbeing (Wong, 2011b; Becker, Hartwich and Haslam, 2021). Individuals are left to self-manage their success and wellbeing with coaching criticised as part of a self-management toolkit, reinforcing neoliberal values by helping coachees find ways to do more and achieve more (Stelter, 2018; Bachkirova and Borrington, 2020; Tabarovsky, 2015). An alternative perspective proffers coaching as a fertile ground for meaning development by providing time and space to reflect, and connect to what matters (Stelter, 2019). However, while coaching approaches claim to support coachees to make meaning there is currently no theoretical understanding of how meaning exploration and development takes place within coaching. Purpose: This study sought to find out how meaning exploration and development is taking place within coaching. It aimed to provide both a theoretical and practical contribution to coaching by understanding the process from the perspective of practicing coaches. Methodology: Intensive interviews were carried out with experienced accredited coaches to explore how they work with meaning within coaching. Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) was employed as an iterative approach of simultaneou…
author: Simmons, Phoebe
language: en
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:42:07Z
provider: Oxford Brookes University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Oxford Brookes University

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.24384/dq4g-rt48