TOWARDS A PROCESS-BASED TYPOLOGY OF WORKPLACE COACHING: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

Abstract

Research into work-based coaching has been prompted by the need of a new discipline to demonstrate its effectiveness, often assuming that coaching is a homogeneous activity. The multifaceted and multipurposeful nature of coaching now requires the development of meaningful typologies that reflect this diversity and are grounded in the analysis of coaching process. There are many reasons empirical investigations of the coaching process are extremely rare. The aim of this article is to present a study leading to an empirically derived model representing a 4-dimensional coaching typology. The research was based on a “qualiquantological” Q methodology involving 47 participants. Actual coaching sessions were evaluated from the perspective of professional coaches and their clients, with professional coaches observing recordings of these sessions. A Q methodological factor analysis led to a clear identification of 2 types of coaching: “client-led coaching,” in which the coach and client work together in a flowing dialogue exploring the client’s issues, and “process-led coaching,” characterized by an actively engaged coach using a wide range of coaching techniques, visibly structuring the coaching process. There was partial support for a third type—“dialogic coaching”—and a fourth approach was inferred as being the inverse type of client-led coaching.