2024.02.15

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If you’ve ever been curious about how researchers go about studying executive coaching, there is a systematic review paper (Athanasopoulou & Dopson, 2018)¹ that is nontechnical and a fairly straightforward read (and it’s ungated). It presents an analysis of all the peer-reviewed research papers on the outcomes related to executive coaching as well as implications for practitioners.

Here’s what Burnout Proof thinks is relevant for the coach practitioner to know about research on executive coaching.

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Context

This analysis focuses on executive coaching provided by a coach that is external to the organization, typically sponsored by the organization and in collaboration with the organization.

The working definition of executive coaching used in the paper is “targeted, purposeful intervention that helps executives develop and maintain positive change in their personal development and leadership behavior” and excludes other practices such as mentoring.

Outcomes as a result of coaching are the key topic for this particular systematic review. The researchers identified 110 peer-reviewed papers that studied outcomes from executive coaching. For a secondary analysis, the researchers excluded coach-authored papers and a few others, resulting in a subset of 84 papers.

The paper’s two main research questions are:

• How are executive coaching outcomes researched and what are the strengths and weaknesses of their research designs?
• What do we know about executive coaching outcomes and how and why do contextual factors affect these outcomes?

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Findings

The 110 studies included a variety of research methodologies, coaching approaches/frameworks, and stakeholders.

Research methodologies span the spectrum and include case studies (individual), case studies (organization), surveys/quantitative data, qualitative interviews, mixed methods, experimental/quasi-experimental/RCT, meta-analysis or systematic reviews of empirical studies, and ROI studies.

Coaching approaches/frameworks were divided into seven categories:

• cognitive-behavioral/cognitive/behavioral,
• positive psychology / strengths coaching,
• solution-focused,
• emotional intelligence / systems oriented / goal-setting / GROW,
• Gestalt / NLP / psycho-dynamic / developmental coaching,
• competency approach / coaching in context / salutogenisis / transformational coaching / EMDR / three principles psychology approach / process consultation coaching, and
• mixed approaches/methods.

Additionally, 71 studies didn’t specify what approach was used or the coaching approach wasn’t a part of the study design.

Studies also varied in their stakeholder focus. Categories include a focus on the coachee, coach, sponsoring organization, coach and coachee interaction, coachee and sponsoring organization, coach and sponsoring organization, all three stakeholders (coach, coachee, organization), or focused on the coaching intervention as a process.

9 categories of positive outcomes from coaching were identified:

• Overcoming regressive behaviors or experiences (e.g., reduced stress)
• Executive coaching is seen as effective, positive, or life-changing
• Better personal management or self-control (e.g., resilience)
• Improved personal skills/abilities or acquisition of new ones
• Better leadership skills
• Better quality of interactions and relationships
• Work performance/productivity and planning
• Nurturing working environment (e.g., feeling more valued at work, better ability to build cross-functional relationships, enhanced workplace well-being)
• Positive organization-level outcomes
• Positive perceptions of coach’s effectiveness
• Coach’s personal development

See Table 3 in the paper for a detailed list of factors that affect coaching outcomes and what works according to the published research.

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Implications for Coaches

The paper also lays out some implications for coaches to keep in mind.

• The organizational culture (structure, power relationships, rituals/routines, control systems) may help or hinder the executive coaching intervention outcomes and their persistence over time.
• Coachees face job demands that might be contextual constraints or might be choices. It is worth exploring the nature of the job demands from that lens.
• It is worthwhile to explore how you as a coach view leadership and compare it with how the sponsoring organization views leadership.
• The use of psychometrics can be helpful.
• It is helpful to understand both your and the coachee’s approach to skill mastery and reflection.
• Coaches, HR professionals, and management educators should collaborate to explore how coaching can be better integrated into other leadership development initiatives.

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¹Research Citation: Athanasopoulou, A., & Dopson, S. (2018). A systematic review of executive coaching outcomes: Is it the journey or the destination that matters the most? Leadership Quarterly, 29, 70-88

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