A Research Paper By Ronda Harris, Blended Coach, NETHERLANDS
Coaching as a Vehicle for Change
The topic of this research paper is focused on the connection between the powerful outcomes derived from combining change management practices with coaching, and the efficacy of organizational and individual change. The basis of the general hypothesis is to explore the implementation of coaching as a means to fortify performance improvement measures within organizational constructs and to research the degree to which general individual well-being is a strong indicator of personal satisfaction and efficacy for professional success and overall performance. More specifically, the connection between coaching and change management as professional practices is explored, in that when individuals who are both change practitioners and professional coaches combine the two practices, the results are highly successful.
The purpose of conducting the research was to establish the value and importance of incorporating coaching practices – whether for individuals or groups – in a corporate setting and to validate the value of coaching as a vehicle for change and transformation on an individual level. The audiences thought to be most interested in this research are identified as belonging to one or more of the following groups: performance consultants, learning and development practitioners, change management practitioners, organizational managers, Human Resource professionals, executive leadership, entrepreneurs & other business ownership interests, and individuals interested in personal and/or professional transformation.
Coaching as a Vehicle for Change: Organizational and Individual Perspectives
Professionally trained change management professionals integrate a coach approach into their practices. This is part of one of the most recognizable and respected change models used today. It is widely accepted and backed by years of research that organizational change starts by changing the individuals within the organization first. This is where coaching plays a major role. Additionally, more professional coaches are beginning to embrace and train in the field of change management in response to the growing demand for organizational change management practices to be incorporated into overarching performance improvement initiatives.
Coaching was previously often overlooked as a valuable tool in performance improvement. However, it is now recognized as a powerful tool that can be leveraged for facilitating professional growth. Further, as the efficacy of coaching has grown, it is predicted that more organizations will expect change practitioners to apply coaching in their practice and also possess these skills whenever possible. Not only can the value of these two powerful practices be seen by the recent official collaboration between the two major accrediting authorities – the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the Association for Change Management Professionals (ACMP), but there’s also an increasing demand for coaching from the executive class.
Many key players who are responsible for overseeing organizational performance are also likely to have been supported in some way by some form of coaching, whether internal or external. Further, these individuals can often attribute their personal and professional success to having improved various areas in their lives, including how they communicate and interact with others, to how well they execute in a leadership role.
Anatomy of Organizational Behavior
According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Psychology is defined as “the science of mind and behavior…the mental or behavioral characteristics of an individual or group, or the study of mind and behavior in relation to a particular field of knowledge or activity.” More specifically, when discussing organizational behavior, “the field of industrial and organizational (O/I) psychology… is concerned with the study of work behavior in the context of business and industry” (Chyung, 2008). It’s necessary to make this distinction before addressing the matter of organizational change management and the relevant activities inherent in the practice of change management.
As we discuss the role of coaching in these contexts, it’s important to remember that the focus of the research described herein is mainly focused on the expected outcomes one can expect in a workplace setting when coaching is implemented within an organizational change initiative, and/or when individual change management is implemented into a coaching relationship. The overall message is that what can be observed in an organization’s behavior as a whole is derived from the individual behaviors exhibited among the people within it. The measures taken to shape (engineer) individual human behavior are plenty, with coaching and change management being two powerful approaches that, when combined, can create significant outcomes.
How Change Management Initiatives Help Shape Organizational Performance
Having established that coaching and change management can be used in concert to create powerful outcomes, let’s discuss how change management can help shape organizational performance. One may ask why change management is important, or how it relates to organizational performance. Organizations undergo many different types of changes on a regular basis. They grow and contract, increase and decrease their workforce, adopt new technologies, embrace new ideologies as their culture evolves, take on new leadership, or even merge with other companies. Companies must change in order to adapt to the ever-changing world around them.
Taking a proactive, consistent, and methodical approach to managing inevitable change is not only good business practice but also vitally necessary to the survival of the organization. In order to do that, the first thing one needs to understand is that organizations, being made up of people, will only change as a whole when the people within them change on an individual level. It may be assumed that because an organization has control over the daily activities of its workers, and as long as policies and procedures are in place, it may not ne necessary to focus on activities related to change management. However, years of research indicate otherwise.
Extensive research with hundreds of organizations undergoing major change [show] that the root cause of failure is not simply inadequate communications or poor training. Success is not to be found in excellent project management alone, or even the best vision or solution to a problem. The secret to successful change lies beyond the visible and busy activities that surround change. Successful change, at its core, is rooted in something much simpler: How to facilitate change with one person (Hiatt, 2006).
Using an effective change model that addresses change on the individual level is a best practice for impacting organizational performance. However, that is only the beginning. As previously stated, and as is the focus, coaching plays an important role in this approach.
The Role of Executive Coaching in Creating Better Leaders
Just as organizations are made up of people, it is equally important to recognize that people are inspired to engage by their leaders. Therefore, the quality of leadership within an organization is of critical importance. The degree to which leaders are effective in their roles can be impacted by employing high-quality coaching. Therefore, the better a leader is at his or her role, the more likely it is that he or she will make a meaningful impact on the organization they lead.
Since 2000, the rate and unpredictability of organizational change appear to have escalated, resulting in greater demands and stresses being placed on managers and executives. Not surprisingly, the executives and employees who work in such uncertain and unstable contexts sometimes struggle to develop the psychological and behavioral skills needed to deal with organizational change whilst remaining focused on reaching their work-related goals (Grant, 2014).
More than ever, and particularly since the onset of several economic crises over the past few decades, strong leadership is often the difference between an organization remaining intact and viable and failing and dissolving.
A form of coaching that many are familiar with, Executive Coaching, is often used by companies to enable executives and other members of leadership to face a diverse array of challenges and navigate change, thereby giving them the tools and support they need to be effective leaders and ensure the organization meets its goals.
Executive coaching is informed by a broad range of theoretical frameworks ranging from cognitive to psychodynamic and solution-focused. However, regardless of the theoretical framework, there is a common set of principles underpinning executive coaching and these include collaboration and accountability, awareness raising, responsibility, commitment, action planning, and action (Grant, 2014).
Coaching is a powerful and effective tool that helps leaders function more effectively. In “The Efficacy of Executive Coaching in Times of Organisational Change”, Grant writes that the research concluded that, “in addition to demonstrating that executive coaching can increase work-related goal attainment, enhance solution-focused thinking, develop greater change readiness, increase leadership self-efficacy and resilience, and decrease depression…the positive impact can generalize to non-work areas such as family life” (Grant, 2014).
Personal Development and Transformation
Having discussed the benefits of coaching in professional settings, it’s now time to focus on the impact of coaching on an individual level; more specifically as it pertains to personal development. Coaching is a powerful tool that can help people transform in ways that other interventions do not.
As previously stated, nothing happens or changes on an organizational level or in the world in general, until there is change on the individual level because everything starts from within. The next sections discuss the ways that coaching facilitates personal development, which then fosters a higher level of well-being, and how that translates into improved performance both in one’s personal and professional life.
The Value of Coaching for Personal Development
Professional coaches understand (or should at least) the value that coaching has when it comes to personal development. Coaching can take on many forms and be used in a variety of settings. For example, the most well-known form of coaching among the general population is life coaching – often made popular by high-profile figures on the public speaking circuit and in the media. However, there are many different styles of coaching and there are many coaching models from which to choose. Also, coaching happens in different settings, whether that be in primary education, academia (higher education), religious institutions, within special fields (industry specific), or in many forms of the common workplace, whether for-profit or non-profit organizations. Regardless of the style of the setting, the research is clear.
Life coaching has been found to produce specific positive outcomes, including a heightened sense of self-awareness and greater insight, as well as greater well-being and improved quality of life. Grant (2003) discovered that life coaching enhanced mental health and satisfaction with life in individuals, even though improving mental health was not the direct intention of the life coaching process. Life coaching has also been found to facilitate goal attainment (Grant, 2003) and has positive effects on one’s total hope, which could be related to one’s attainment of goals (Green et al., 2006). Coaching can also help individuals clarify and accomplish career goals (Tofade, 2010). The positive outcomes of life coaching have the potential to impact an individual’s life long-term and, if sustained, can assist in the pursuit of a better quality of life (Griffiths, 2005). (Lefdahl-Davis, E.M., et al., 2018).
Although these findings are related specifically to life coaching, one could confidently expect the same types of positive outcomes for other coaching styles. The positive effects of “enhanced mental health” and “goal attainment” are good indicators of predictable positive outcomes in other areas of life, such as career, entrepreneurial, and other worthy pursuits. This is further supported by the “various studies [that] revealed that life coaching positively affects characteristics of student success. For example,…academic self-efficacy, which is the strongest predictor of academic performance (Franklin & Doran, 2009),…is related to well-being, optimism, and problem-solving (Franklin & Doran, 2009) and…increased resiliency…” (Lefdahl-Davis, E.M., et al., 2018). All of these are success factors in professional settings.
The Connection Between Personal Well-Being and Workplace Productivity
The positive outcomes of coaching are clear. But the overall purpose of this research paper is to explore the degree to which coaching can be a vehicle – a powerful tool – for change. Again, all change starts on the individual level. So, the goal is to identify the connection between the well-documented positive outcomes and the well-being of coachees and the manner in which this manifests with regard to personal and professional productivity.
When talking about the workplace, a study found that “happy employees are as much as 20% more productive…than unhappy employees” and this is further attributed to overall “good health and wellness” (Aldana, S., 2023). So, when considering that “the positive outcomes of life coaching…, if sustained, can assist in the pursuit of a better quality of life” (Lefdahl-Davis, E.M., et al., 2018), it’s easy to deduce that, although not all happy employees are as such due exclusively to coaching, the practice has the ability to help people attain positive outcomes that can create happiness, and therefore can be a steppingstone toward ultimately enhancing productivity.
It is important to note that happy employees are not created in a vacuum. Particularly, when considering professional/workplace settings, there are many other factors that go into creating an environment and organizational culture that is conducive to employee happiness. Coaching is a powerful one that could be considered, for example, as part of an offering of a corporate wellness program or Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Here are some but not all of the ways in which happy employees affect productivity. First, companies with generally happy employees incur lower turnover rates, which has a positive impact on productivity due to retaining experienced workers and reducing costs associated with the recruitment and training of new employees. Next, happier employees create better customer experiences, which helps to retain customer loyalty. And “happiness can be infectious to people who may not be so happy. So, happy employees are more productive by influencing…coworkers in ways [that] boost energy, confidence, & excitement, encourages productive teamwork, reduces stress, and improves morale” (Aldana, S., 2023).
The Idea of Coaching as a Vehicle for Change
As we have explored the idea of coaching as a vehicle for change, both from an organizational and an individual perspective, we have uncovered the powerful impact that coaching has not only on an individual, but in terms of how that individual is transformed and then, therefore, is able to demonstrate the positive outcomes in the workplace, and in the communities where they live. We’ve discussed organizational change, how change management helps to shape organizational performance, as well as the efficacy of Executive Coaching and how it helps develop high-quality leaders and impacts organizational effectiveness.
Coaching plays a critical role not only in creating better leaders but also in creating better-equipped and more self-aware people in general. So, the conclusion is that by culminating a change management approach with a coaching approach and vice versa, incorporating a coach approach into a change management initiative, these two practices work together in an extremely powerful way to transform individuals – whether from a personal or professional perspective – and elicit desirable outcomes both in an organizational setting and in personal life. Further, these outcomes can benefit the lives of everyone around that individual.
References
Aldana, S. (2023, February 17). Why are happy employees more productive in the workplace? [WellSteps blog post].
Chyung, S. Y. (2008). Foundations of instructional and performance technology. HRD Press. Grant, A. M. (2013). The efficacy of executive coaching in times of organizational change.
Journal of Change Management, 14:2, pages 258-280, DOI: 10.1080/14697017.2013.805159
Hiatt, J. M. (2006). ADKAR: A model for change in business, government, and our community. Prosci Learning Center Publications.
Lefdahl-Davis, E.M., Huffman, L., Stancil, J., Alayan, A. J. (2018). The Impact of Life Coaching on Undergraduate Students: A Multiyear Analysis of Coaching Outcomes. International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring 16:2, pp. 69-83. DOI: 10.24384/000560