Research Matters 

Abstract: "Background It has been argued that the quality of daily interactions within organisations effects the wellbeing of both individuals and the broader organisation. Coaching for leadership development is one intervention often used to create organisation-wide changes in culture and wellbeing. Leadership style has been associated with employee stress and wellbeing. Coaching has also been shown to improve individual level measures of wellbeing. However, almost all the research into the effectiveness of coaching interventions assumes a linear model of change, and expects that any flow-on effects are also linear. In other words, much of the research assumed that any change in the leader has relatively uniform effects on the wellbeing of others, and that these effects can be adequately accessed via standard linear statistical analyses. We argue that linear approaches do not take the complexity of organisations seriously, and that Complex Adaptive Systems theory (CAS) provides a useful non-linear approach to thinking about organisational change and the wellbeing of individuals embedded in these systems. The relatively new methodology of Social Network Analysis (SNA) provides researchers with analytic tools designed to access the relational components of complex systems. This paper reports on changes observed in the relational networks of an organisation following a leadership coaching intervention. Methods An AB design coaching intervention study was conducted across an organisation (N = 225). Wellbeing measures were taken for all employees and a social network analysis was conducted on the degree and quality of all organisational interactions. Twenty leaders (n = 20) received 8 coaching sessions. Individual self report measures of goal attainment as well as 360 feedbacks on transformational leadership were assessed in the control, pre and post intervention periods. Results A significant increase in the goal attainment, transformational leadership and psychological wellbeing measures were observed for those who received coaching. Average change in the perceived quality of interaction improved for those who received coaching. However there was a decline in the perceived quality of the interaction others believed they were having with those who were coached. It was also found that the closer any member of the network was identified as being connected to those who received coaching, the more likely they were to experience positive increases in wellbeing. Conclusions This research highlights the influence of leadership coaching beyond the individual leader, and has important implications for organisational wellbeing initiatives and how we measure the impact of interventions aimed at organisational change. Our findings suggest a more nuanced approach is needed in designing interventions in complex adaptive systems."

O’Connor, S., Cavanagh, M. The coaching ripple effect: The effects of developmental coaching on wellbeing across organisational networks. Psych Well-Being 3, 2 (2013)

Absract: "Emotional intelligence has been hailed as a hallmark of successful leaders since the term was popularized in the 1990s. Around the same period, executive coaching emerged as a beneficial resource for leadership development in organizations. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of emotional competence and coaching on the effectiveness of leaders. Eighty-five senior executives at a North American financial services organization completed a leadership development experience which included training on emotional intelligence, multi-rater assessment, and executive coaching. Survey responses were collected and triangulated with job performance data and multi-rater feedback. Results indicated that both emotional competence and a quality coaching relationship lead to desired workplace outcomes. Findings revealed that emotional competence directly impacts job performance, work engagement and career satisfaction and that a quality coaching relationship amplifies leader work engagement, career satisfaction and expression of a personal vision. These results may be of particular benefit to scholars and practitioners interested in leadership development, leader effectiveness, emotional intelligence, coaching relationships in the workplace."

Van Oosten, E. "The impact of emotional intelligence and executive coaching on leader effectiveness." Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (2014).

Abstract: "Executive coaching, which surfaced as a leadership development practice over a decade ago, is now among the most widely used executive development techniques. Yet, despite its growing tenure as a leadership development practice, executive coaching is still used sparingly in many organizations, and has remained underutilized. The authors believe this is because the paucity of empirical research into its effectiveness leaves the field open to speculation and subjective opinion."

McGovern J, Lindemann M, Vergara M, Murphy S, Barker L, Warrenfeltz R: Maximizing the impact of executive coaching: Behavioral change, organizational outcomes, and return on investment. The Manchester Review 2001,6(1):1–9

Abstract: "Mindfulness training is a novel method of leader development but contrary to its rising popularity, there is a scarcity of research investigating how mindfulness training may affect leader capabilities. To gain a better understanding of the potential of a new research field, qualitative research is advantageous. We sought to understand how senior leaders experience the impact of mindfulness training in their work lives and leadership ability. The sample comprised 13 leaders (n = 11 male) working in six organizations that completed a 10-week workplace mindfulness training (WMT). We conducted semi-structured interviews 6 to 12 months following course completion. We analyzed the data following thematic analysis steps and based on these findings, we devised a framework of the perceived impact of mindfulness training on self-leadership and leadership capabilities. We show that WMT exhibited impact on three self-leadership capacities: mindful task management, self-care and self-reflection and two leadership capacities: relating to others and adapting to change. Participants’ recounts additionally suggested effects may expand to the level of the team and the organization. We show that WMT may be a promising tool for self-directed leadership development and outline avenues for future research."

Rupprecht S, Falke P, Kohls N, Tamdjidi C, Wittmann M, Kersemaekers W. Mindful Leader Development: How Leaders Experience the Effects of Mindfulness Training on Leader Capabilities. Front Psychol. 2019;10:1081. Published 2019 May 15. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01081

Abstract: "The article describes a field study of a large-scale management development program designed to stimulate middle managerial change. The development of a change typology suggests that middle managers are capable of making both transformational and transactional change targeted at themselves, their work unit, and their organization. Those with low levels of self-esteem, job affect, and social support tended to limit their efforts to changing themselves and thus had little impact on the organization. In contrast, individuals with high levels of self-esteem, job affect, and social support were more likely to make transformational changes. Thus the analyses suggest that individual mind-set prior to attending the program moderates the type of change undertaken by the middle managers. The most surprising finding is that those middle managers who were plateaued were most likely to make the most radical changes. The findings have implications for change mastery as well as resistance to change."

Spreitzer, Gretchen; Quinn, Robert (1996). "Empowering Middle Managers to be Transformational Leaders." The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 32(3): 237-261

Abstract: "Annual spending on executive coaching in the United States is estimated at 1 billion dollars. Yet information about coaching's effectiveness is scarce and unreliable. No one has yet demonstrated conclusively what qualifies an executive coach or what makes one approach to executive coaching better than another. Barriers to entry are nonexistent--many executive coaches know little about business, and some know little about coaching. The coaching certifications offered by various self-appointed bodies are difficult to assess, and methods of measuring return on investment are questionable. But strategic coaching can provide critical help both to individuals and to organizations. In this article, Stratford Sherman, a senior vice president of Executive Coaching Network, and Alyssa Freas, the founder and CEO, explore the popularity of executive coaching and investigate ways to make the most of the experience. They argue that coaching is inevitably a triangular relationship between the client, the "coachee," and the coach. Its purpose is to produce behavioral change and growth in the coachee for the economic benefit of the client. The best way to maximize the likelihood of good results is to qualify all the people involved. Even so, many triangular relationships continue to generate conflict among all three parties. At the most basic level, coaches serve as suppliers of candor, providing leaders with the objective feedback they need to nourish their growth. Coaching gets executives to slow down, gain awareness, and notice the effects of their words and actions. On a larger scale, the best coaching fosters cultural change for the benefit of the entire organization. It provides a disciplined way for businesses to deepen relationships with their most valued employees while also increasing their effectiveness."

Sherman, Stratford & Freas, Alyssa. (2004). The Wild West of Executive Coaching. Harvard business review. 82. 82-90, 148.