Research Paper: The 10 Practices of Effective Coaching: The Development of the Coaching Practice Inventory (CPI)

Communicating the Message (CM)

Interpersonal skills allow people to communicate clearly and straightforward (Bambacas & Patrickson, 2006). Effective communication permits two ways communication, encourages the respect for people and avoids the use of slang (ICF, 2008). In addition, an effective communicator is able to listen with empathy, ask opened-ended questions, summarize, paraphrase and mirror back what other people have to say during an interaction (Castleberry & Shepherd, 1993). For instance, a good communicator can engage other people by suspending judgment (Tyler, 2011) and by displaying honest interest on the message of other people within a conversation (Bambacas & Patrickson, 2008). In coaching, the coaches should be able to communicate a clear, consistent and unbiased message to ensure effective communication with clients. Thus, based on the literature review and the ICF competencies, the coaching practice of communicating the message (CM) was identified, which entails six behaviors. The six behaviors of an effective coach are presented below:

1. I ensure messages and ideas are articulated clearly and avoid the use of jargon.
2. I encourage an open communication and respect clients by fostering a two-way dialogue.
3. I am able to suspend judgment and pay undivided attention and focus on clients’ messages to ensure ongoing connection.
4. I use empathetic listening to genuinely understand clients’ concerns and point of view.
5. I ask open-ended questions to respond to clients’ and to clarify clients’ messages.
6. I summarize, re-state, mirror back and paraphrase to fully understand client’s messages.

Endowing Compassion (EC)

Coaching with compassion entails a caring relationship between the coach and the client. A compassionate act occurs when someone is able to integrated three acts sensing, feeling an acting toward another person who suffers to help, empathize and address the other person’s issue (Boyatziz & Blaize, 2008). A compassionate person is someone who is able to create a safe climate where other people can feel understood and accepted (Lilius et al., 2011). For example, compassionate practices can also include acknowledging other people strengths, rewarding people for their accomplishments and providing strong emotional support (Lilius et al., 2011). While compassionate actions are important to build caring relationships, compassionate body language during a dialogue is also essential (ICF, 2008; Goetz et al., 2010). Therefore, based on the literature review and the ICF competencies, the coaching practice of endowing compassion (EC) was identified, which demands six behaviors. The six behaviors of an effective coach are presented below:

1. I notice, feel and proactively respond to clients’ personal challenges.
2. I create a safe environment where clients feel understood, accepted and able to speak up.
3. I am able to display non-verbal signals of compassion such as facial expressions, tactile touch, postural behaviors and tone of voice.
4. I acknowledge clients’ strengths, efforts, small wins and accomplishments.
5. I come up with ideas to celebrate clients’ important personal milestones.
6. I develop high quality connections by providing strong emotional support.

Elevating Self-Awareness (ESA)

Self-awareness permits someone to understand one’s self-resources. People with self-awareness skills are able to know their purpose in life (Taylor, 2010) and able to answer the question who am I?. People with the understanding of one’s self-resources can distinguish between their own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, people who have high self-awareness are able to link their decisions with their personal values to make consistent actions (Hess, 2011). In addition, self-awareness not only allows someone to understand one’s self-resources, but it also helps someone to understand how one’s actions is perceived by other people as it promotes self-reflection (Ashley, 2012). Within coaching, the practice of creating self-awareness is important because it supports clients to discover themselves and their underlying apprehensions (ICF, 2008). Therefore, based on the literature review and the ICF competencies, the coaching practice of elevating self-awareness (ESA) was identified, which demands six behaviors. The six behaviors of an effective coach are mentioned below:

1. I help the coachee to explore and understand one’s self-concept by asking:  who are you? What is your purpose in life?
2. I assist clients to assess their own knowledge by identifying strengths and weaknesses and understanding their personality.
3. I support clients to increase their own confidence and self-acceptance by saying: “I believe in you.”
4. I help the coachee to explore his/her emotions by understanding the impact of the emotions on one-self and others.
5. I assist clients to practice their own reflection by grasping new insights.
6. I encourage clients to increase their own autonomy and master their own management by adapting to new situations.

Managing the Contract (MC)

A client service agreement or contract is a written document wherein the parties agree to set forth the terms and the conditions of a joint visioning process (Levine, 2004). A good client agreement discusses the work scope, service fee, timeline and other specific services needed to enhance collaboration between parties (ICF, 2008). Using an informed consent allows to set the tone of a specific service and clarify service outcomes (Campbell, 2001). For instance, in coaching, it is recommended to use an informed consent to explain the difference among coaching, counseling, therapy and consulting. Another benefit of a service agreement is the opportunity to create ground rules between parties to set expectations on responsibilities and forms of communication (Burke & Bandick, 1998; Zabrosky, 2004). Hence, based on the literature review and the ICF competencies, the coaching practice of managing the contract (MC) was identified, which demands six behaviors. The six behaviors of an effective coach are mentioned below:

1. I create individualized coaching service agreements, discuss the coaching work scope and get a mutual consensus with the client.
2. I use an informed consent to explain the difference among coaching, therapy and consulting.
3. I discuss the coaching service fee, timeline, date/timing calls and the number of sessions.
4. I review the coaching relationship with clients and set up ground rules.
5. I explain the process and deliverables of the coaching services.
6. I discuss the coach and client’s responsibilities and set up forms of communication between coaching sessions.