Value-forming micro-practices of managerial coaching

ABSTRACT In the managerial discourse, coaching is thought of, amongst other things, as a tool for achieving customer-oriented employees and for supporting employees in recognising opportunities for improving their job skills. This idea too often take for granted that being coached by a manager will automatically be experienced as valuable to the interactants. Although the positive potential of coaching is recognised, the bulk of research on managerial coaching has overlooked the mutuality, the co-creation aspect of coaching, and the potential of negative outcomes. In general, few studies address micro-practices of coaching and no studies have specifically focused on congruence regarding micro-elements of interactive coaching practices. This article addresses these weaknesses by drawing on both practice theory and an in-depth qualitative study of coaching sessions featuring instructors and bus/tram drivers in the public transport industry. Six overarching coaching practices are identified – i.e., checking, questioning, defusing, confirming, legitimising, and picturing. What is also identified is how specific elements of these practices – i.e., procedures, understandings, and engagements – are intertwined, resulting in either congruence or incongruence among the interactants. A theoretical framework is outlined, describing and explaining the essence of how coaching practices are constituted.