The coach-client relationship and contributions made by the coach in improving coaching outcome

Abstract

This paper highlights the paradox of the potential importance of the coach-client relationship to coaching outcome, with a serious lack of studies in this area. Formal research into the coach-client relationship is critical, as its confirmation as a factor instrumental in coaching outcome would have implications for coaching effectiveness, coaching competencies, and coach training.

Executive coaching: A critical review and recommendations for advancing the practice.

“…■ offering an external, independent, objective perspective; ■ creating space and time for reflection (Burke & Linley, 2007); ■ identifying development goals and preparing an action plan; ■ sharing ideas, tips, tools, and models; ■ facilitating an accepting, positive, supportive, encouraging relationship (O'Broin & Palmer, 2007;Uhl-Bien, 2003; in the therapeutic literature, the relationship is often seen as one of the primary factors contributing to positive outcomes; Bachelor & Horvath, 1999;Horvath & Bedi, 2002;Lambert & Barley, 2002); ■ providing follow-up conversations that foster a sense of accountability, especially if the person makes a commitment to the coach to pursue a specific action (Goldsmith & Morgan, 2004); and ■ simply asking the person what would be helpful and responding accordingly.…”

“…The coaching relationship refers to the extent to which the working alliance or partnership between the coach and participant is characterized by trust, acceptance, understanding, open, honest communication, and other interpersonal factors that support learning and development. To date there has been little research on the coaching relationship (O'Broin & Palmer, 2007), although a great deal has been written by practitioners based on their experience and extrapolation from research on the working alliance in therapeutic relationships (e.g., Bachelor & Horvath, 1999;Lambert & Barley, 2002). The majority of research actually conducted on the relationship in executive coaching is based on interviews or surveys of participants, who consistently report that trust and a positive working relationship are among the most important, if not the single most important, elements of effective coaching (Baron & Morin, 2009;Bush, 2005;Creane, 2006;Dembkowski, Eldridge, & Hunter, 2006;Gyllensten & Palmer, 2007;Hall et al, 1999;Luebbe, 2005;Wales, 2003;Wasylyshyn, 2003).…”

Disability coaching in a pandemic

“…Indeed, the Equality Act (2010) in the UK places responsibility for change on the part of the employer, and the environment. In line with the concept of the "coaching triad" (O'Broin and Palmer, 2007) where the employer is included as a stakeholder in coaching direction and outcome, fit theories could adopt a consideration of upward influencing by co-opting the role of the manager/employer as central to progress in neurodiversity coaching. The outcome for coaching would then be to influence the employer by negotiating reasonable adjustments to environment, tools and role but without necessitating the employee to perform as less disabled, or "normal".…”

Coaching during a crisis: Organizational coaches' praxis adaptation during the initial stages of the Covid‐19 pandemic

“…He also proposed that the role of the working alliance is not limited to psychotherapy and could be generalized to any relationship between a person seeking change and a change agent. O'Broin and Palmer ( 2006 ) agreed with Bordin ( 1979 ) and proposed that the working alliance construct is easily transferable into a coaching context and that it is most likely vital to promote successful coaching outcomes.…”

“…Working alliance measures three aspects of the coach-client interaction: the goals they want to achieve through the intervention, the tasks that need doing to achieve the goals and the bond (respect, trust and liking) between them (Bordin, 1979;Graßmann et al, 2020). Working alliance is a robust predictor of coaching success (Baron & Morin, 2009;O'Broin & Palmer, 2006) with a number of meta-studies indicating supporting this claim (see, for example, de Haan et al, 2016;de Haan et al, 2020;Graßmann et al, 2020). The study by de Haan et al (2016) compared coach and coachee rating to determine whether the working alliance strength predicts coaching effectiveness.…”