2010 has been a good year so far for coaching literature. A wealth of fascinating surveys, interesting research and compelling articles have been published, with coaching researchers and scientists collaborating more frequently than before. These are our favourite pieces of coaching literature.
OUR TOP THREE SURVEYS
Non-directive coaching - A survey of 121 leadership consultancy partners showed that only 2% of coaches claim to follow a purely non-directive approach. http://www.prlog.org/10669317-the-myth-of-the-non-directive-coach.html
Impact on Performance - Research from the HDA showed that 97% of companies believe that coaching positively impacts performance but that 55% of coaching offered is reactive rather than proactive. http://www.top-consultant.com/articles/HDACoachingSurvey2010.pdf
Return on Investment - Meanwhile the take-with-a-pinch of salt award goes to MetrixGlobal who found that coaching gives a 529% Return on Investment in this study: http://www.metrixglobal.net/images/pdfs/metrixglobal_coaching_roi_briefing.pdf
OUR TOP THREE PIECES OF RESEARCH
Team Development - Ashridge undertook a study on team development that showed an overall lack of consistency in approach across top organisations, including the frightening figure that one third of top teams never discuss their team development or ways to improve their overall performance. https://www.ashridge.org.uk/Website/ic.nsf/wFARATT/Development%20at%20the%20top:%20Who%20Really%20Cares/$file/DevelopmentAtTheTop.pdf
Gender Preferences - Research from the American Psychological Association showed that gender preferences for seeking help don’t apply to executive coaching (i.e. men who conform strongly to masculine norms are comfortable asking for coaching but not always for therapy). http://www.edb.utexas.edu/faculty/rochlen/documents/RMABRpub2010.pdf
Health Benefits - Okay, so it’s more about life coaching, but this rigorous study showed that solution-focused, cognitive-behavioral coaching can facilitate goal attainment, improve mental health and enhance general life experience (now we just wish someone would do the same study for executive coaching). http://www.reframe.dk/The_Impact_of_Life_Coaching.pdf
OUR TOP THREE ARTICLES
Neuroscience - It’s nice to see that coaching is becoming more involved with neuroscience these days. Personnel Today had this good article which summarised the relationship between personal transformation and the brain. http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2010/06/08/55860/hr-transformation-the-neuroscience-way.html
And there was also this article from Psychology Today on how brain science can change coaching - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201002/how-brain-science-can-change-coaching
Emotional Intelligence - There’s a great intersection between Emotional Intelligence and coaching. This year we found one of the most intelligent articles on EI to date; it’s from Brunel University and called ‘Emotional Intelligence: Elias, Foucault and the Reflective Self’. Those wanting to stretch their brain should click here: http://ej.lib.cbs.dk/index.php/foucault-studies/article/view/2942/3013
State of the Industry - One of our favourite book chapters is in the International Review of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, who devoted a whole section to a good review of the state of coaching in 2010: http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MkVBx4n5Y6EC&oi=fnd&pg=PT137&dq=executive+coaching&ots=W9sFZ-nU_t&sig=RkE3rLwqoH56Zu5M2s0Qg4TAcc0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Happy Reading.
