Coaching-Based Leadership Intervention Program: A Controlled Trial Study

Abstract

In spite of the potential benefits that coaching-based leadership interventions can bring to organizations, basic questions remain about their impact on developing coaching skills and increasing psychological capital (PsyCap), work engagement and in-and extra-role performance. In a controlled trial study, 41 executives and middle managers (25 in the experimental group and 16 in the waiting-list control group) from an automotive sector company in Spain received pre-assessment feedback, a coaching-based leadership group workshop, and three individual executive coaching sessions over a period of 3 months. The intervention program used a strengths-based approach and the RE-GROW model, and it was conducted by executive coaching psychologists external to the organization. Participants (N = 41) and their supervisors (N = 41) and employees (N = 180) took part in a pre-post-follow up 360-degree assessment during the research period. Quantitative data were analyzed using Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) with a 2 × 2 design, paired-samples t-tests, and univariate analyses between groups. Results indicated that the intervention program was successful in increasing the participants' coaching-based leadership skills, PsyCap, work engagement, and in-and extrarole performance. Qualitative measures were also applied, and results from individual responses provided additional support for the study hypotheses. Regarding practical implications, the results suggest that the Coaching-based Leadership Intervention Program can be valuable as an applied positive intervention to help leaders develop coaching skills and enhance well-being and optimal functioning in organizations.

Bottom-Up Interventions Effective in Promoting Work Engagement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Participants also experienced that they developed resources in terms of self-acceptance, self-esteem, and compassion toward oneself and others as additional positive effects of the interventions (Mastenbroek et al, 2015;Verweij et al, 2016). In six studies (van Berkel et al, 2014;Lases et al, 2016;Verweij et al, 2016;van Wingerden et al, 2017c;Peláez Zuberbuhler et al, 2020), the qualitative results on the intervention outcomes to a great extent supported the quantitative ones, while the reported qualitative results in three studies clearly differed from the quantitative in that they were more positive (Mastenbroek et al, 2015;Muuraiskangas et al, 2016;Kloos et al, 2019).…”

“…The intervention effect on dimensions of performance was reported in nine studies. A statistically significant increase in performance was reported in all of them, in terms of task performance (Dubbelt et al, 2019, Study 2), adaptive, task and contextual (but not objective) performance (Gordon et al, 2018, Study 1 & Study 2), and (in−/extra-) role performance (van Wingerden et al, 2016(van Wingerden et al, , 2017aCoo and Salanova, 2018;Peláez Zuberbuhler et al, 2020). All these measures of performance were assessed with a variety of measurements, such as the Healthy & Resilient Organization (HERO) questionnaire (Salanova et al, 2012), the in-role performance scale (Williams and Anderson, 1991), and Goodman and Svyantec's (1999) task and contextual performance scale.…”

Positive Psychological Coaching Tools and Techniques: A Systematic Review and Classification

“…These assessment tools could either be aimed at measuring inherent psychological (or character) strengths [e.g., VIA Signature Strengths Inventory; (52)] or behavioral strengths (or competencies) through the Clifton Strengths Finder 2.0 (53). Strengths-Based psychometric tools provide a means to assess these underlying strengths and give way to a conversation around the function and purpose of these strengths in clients' lives (54). This, in itself, leads to a heightened awareness of one's strengths when it can be used and could lead to reframing events from a strengths-based perspective (26).…”

H-WORK Project: Multilevel Interventions to Promote Mental Health in SMEs and Public Workplaces

“…Group-level interventions typically address workshops on team cohesion, communication and performance [78]. Leader-level interventions may correspond, for example, to coaching-based leadership programs [79], increasing leaders' capabilities to manage workers' well-being and mental health, and leadership styles that may improve working conditions and workers' mental health and well-being. Finally, organisation-level interventions might include, among others, job redesign activities, such as work shifts rescheduling [80,81] or changing working practices and procedures, and developing human resources and occupational health policies to support workers' mental health and well-being.…”