An Examination of Executive Coaches' Use of Creativity in Their Coaching Practice

This study investigated perceptions of organizational change management among executive coaches working with British higher-education leaders and factors that make leaders effective when managing change. This basic qualitative research used semi-structured interviews with eight executive coaches selected through purposeful sampling. As main challenges to efficient, inclusive change management, participants mentioned leaders’ lack of a strategic vision or plan, lack of leadership and future leader development programs, and lack of clarity in decision-making. They recognized that leaders’ academic and professional profiles are positively viewed and said that, with coaching and support in leadership and strategic planning, these people can inspire the academic community and promote positive change. Additional emphasis was given to the role of coaching in the development of key soft skills (honesty, responsibility, resiliency, creativity, proactivity, and empathy, among others), which are necessary for effective change management and leadership in higher education. The paper’s implications have two aspects. First, the lessons of the actual explicit content of the coaches’ observations (challenges to efficient change management and views of leaders); second, the implications of these observations (how coaching can help and what leaders need).

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Spiritual development in executive coaching

Journal of Management Development ◽

10.1108/jmd-04-2019-0133 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 38 (10) ◽

pp. 796-811 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stuart Allen ◽

Louis W. Fry

Keyword(s):

Spiritual Development ◽

Executive Coaching ◽

Spiritual Needs ◽

Executive Development ◽

Leadership Coaching ◽

Executive Management ◽

Executive Leaders ◽

Content Type ◽

Executive Coaches ◽

Performance Development

Purpose Spiritual topics emerge in executive leadership coaching. However, the scholarly literature has emphasized the performance development aspects of executive coaching (EC) more than the development of executives’ inner lives, although there is some evidence of practitioners addressing spiritual topics. Executive leaders have spiritual needs and executive coaches may be well positioned to address the intersection of the leaders’ work and spiritual lives, provided coaches observe skill boundaries and the limitations of the coaching context. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the merits of including spiritual development (SDev) in EC and how executive coaches can incorporate it in their practice. Design/methodology/approach EC, SDev and spiritual direction are compared, drawing attention to conflicting and complementary aspects of SDev applied in EC. Organizations’, clients’ and coaches’ likely concerns about such integration are explored and addressed. Suitable contexts, principles, a basic developmental framework and practical steps for executive coaches considering the inclusion of SDev in EC are proposed. Findings The paper provides coaches, consultants, executives and those charged with executive development with a foundational understanding of the role of SDev in EC. Originality/value A framework is provided for professionals involved in executive management development to address executive leaders’ spiritual needs through EC.

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Executive Coaches in Organizations: Insiders from Outside

Talent Management of Knowledge Workers ◽

10.1057/9780230277526_10 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 180-196

Author(s):

Konstantin Korotov

Keyword(s):

Executive Coaches

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A guiding framework for multi-stakeholder contracting in executive coaching

SA Journal of Human Resource Management ◽

10.4102/sajhrm.v17i0.1114 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 ◽

Author(s):

Zelda Burger ◽

Salome Van Coller-Peter

Keyword(s):

Executive Coaching ◽

Line Managers ◽

Executive Coaches ◽

Interview Guide ◽

Managerial Implications ◽

Value Add ◽

The Individual ◽

Multi Stakeholder ◽

Line Manager ◽

Three Phases

Orientation: Multi-stakeholder contracting provides a platform for the coaching stakeholders: the individual being coached (client), the organisation (sponsor and line manager) and the coach for achieving aligned outcomes within executive coaching. Contracting is not optimally implemented by stakeholders in all three phases of executive coaching (commencement, execution and conclusion).Research purpose: The research’s purpose was to develop a guiding framework for multi-stakeholder contracting in each of the three phases of coaching.Motivation for the study: Stakeholders ensure outcomes achievement for the individual and the organisation in executive coaching. Limited research exists relating to the contractual elements and practices implemented by stakeholders during the three phases of coaching.Research approach/design and method: A qualitative, inductive, exploratory approach using purposive sampling was used to identify 12 participants, consisting of three: executive coaches, clients, line managers and sponsors from three corporate organisations. Participants were interviewed using a customised interview guide categorised into the three coaching phases.Main findings: Findings showed that contracting was included at the commencement coaching phase. The study indicated the advantages of contracting in all three coaching phases with all stakeholders emphasising phase-specific accountabilities.Practical/managerial implications: A guiding framework for multi-stakeholder contracting for each of the three phases of coaching could assist stakeholders; in particular human resource practitioners when contracting for executive coaching.Contribution/value-add: Outcomes alignment at the commencement phase, agreement on progress and results feedback during the execution and conclusion phases are enabled by implementing the guiding framework for multi-stakeholder contracting offered by this research.

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Graduating With Honors in Resilience: Creating a Whole New Doctor

Global Advances in Health and Medicine ◽

10.1177/2164956120976356 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. 216495612097635

Author(s):

John Paul Mikhaiel ◽

Jack Pollack ◽

Emory Buck ◽

Matt Williams ◽

Aisha Lott ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Emotional Intelligence ◽

Medical Student ◽

Leadership Development ◽

Identity Formation ◽

Medical Training ◽

Student Leadership ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Student Leadership Development ◽

Executive Coaches

Background Although coaching programs have become a prominent piece of graduate medical education, they have yet to become an integral part of undergraduate medical education. A handful of medical schools have utilized longitudinal coaching experiences as a method for professional identity formation, developing emotional intelligence and leadership. Objective We developed A Whole New Doctor (AWND), a medical student leadership development and coaching program at Georgetown University, with the aim of fostering resilience, leadership, and emotional intelligence at the nascent stage of physician training. To our knowledge, ours is the only program that is largely student-managed and uses certified executive coaches in the medical student population. Methods Cohort 1 of AWND started in October 2016. For each cohort, we hold a kickoff workshop that is highly interactive, fast-paced and covers coaching, complex thinking, reflective writing, and a coaching panel for Q&A. Following the workshop, students work with coaches individually to address self-identified weaknesses, tensions, and areas of conflict. We believe the program’s student-driven nature provides a new structural approach to professional development and leadership programs, offering students a simultaneously reflective and growth-oriented opportunity to develop essential non-technical skills for physician leaders. Results Of the 132 students in the program, 107 have worked with one of our coaches (81%). Student testimonials have been uniformly positive with students remarking on an increased sense of presence, improvements in communication, and more specific direction in their careers. Conclusion Our pilot coaching program has received positive feedback from students early in their medical training. It will be important to further scale the program to reach an increasing number of students and quantitatively evaluate participants for the long-term effects of our interventions.

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Evaluating a training programme for executive coaches

SA Journal of Human Resource Management ◽

10.4102/sajhrm.v10i3.425 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Karolyne Beets ◽

Suki Goodman

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Training Programme ◽

Systematic Evaluation ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Executive Coach ◽

Executive Coaches ◽

Managerial Implications ◽

Hr Managers ◽

Training Programmes ◽

Coach Training

Orientation: The evaluation of training programmes provides methodological and logistical challenges to evaluators and human resource (HR) managers. The training of executive coaches is no exception in this regard. Research purpose: The study aimed to investigate one particular aspect of the results of an executive coach training programme, and the extent to which knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired during the programme were applied in practical settings.Motivation for the study: Too little is known in South Africa about the effectiveness of training programmes, including executive coach training programmes. There is a need to demonstrate methodological approaches that would provide valid and reliable data.Research design, approach and method: The success case method (SCM) was used to guide the study, consisting first of a survey of 80 participants in the training programme, followed by eight interviews to compare successful with less successful cases of skills transfer.Main findings: All six successful coaches were applying the proximal outcomes from the training with good results, with several valuable consequences resulting from the training. Barriers to successful implementation included personal circumstances and unfulfilled expectations of the programme content.Practical/managerial implications: Aspects of the training programme that could be improved included: the buddy selection system, more individualised feedback about self-development, closer supervision, and more support from programme managers.Contribution/value-add: This evaluation contributes to the evaluation literature by providing a documented exploration of a systematic application of the SCM. It also contributes to the coach training literature by providing a systematic evaluation of a coach training intervention in South Africa.

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Family business leadership transition: How an adaptation of executive coaching may help

Journal of Management & Organization ◽

10.1017/s1833367200002686 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 378-391 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Charmine EJ Härtel ◽

Gil Bozer ◽

Leon Levin

Keyword(s):

Organizational Climate ◽

Family Business ◽

Executive Coaching ◽

Business Environment ◽

Leadership Transition ◽

Business Leadership ◽

Executive Coaches ◽

Family Culture ◽

Business Environments ◽

The Family

AbstractWithin the traditional business organizational climate in which an executive coach operates, the identity of ‘the coached’ (coachee) can be quite clearly differentiated from the business identity. This is not the case within the world of family business, where the incumbent family business leader, the successor, the business and the family culture, are interwoven. This unique feature of family business means that, for executive coaching to be effective within the family business environment, a radically different approach to that used in traditional business environments must be adopted – namely, the consideration of what generally are thought of as noneconomic variables. This article represents a first attempt to effectively address the key and unique variables executive coaches need to know to work within the family business environment.

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