Professional Coaching as an Interdisciplinary Art and Science

The Art and Science of Coaching

With these two narratives in place, we turn to four essays that were previously published in the Library of Professional Coaching. All four of these essays convey something about the art and science of coaching. They each exemplify the need for an interdisciplinary perspective in confronting the challenge of coaching in the world of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). This is a world that requires creative, thoughtful and ethical reasoning (the art and science of interdisciplinarity).

The first essay was written by one of us [WB]. It concerns the artful search for patterns and variations in the work we do as coaches with organizational leaders. Several different disciplines are engaged in this essay, including physics, mathematics, psychology – and even music.

The Art of Organizational Coaching: In Search of Patterns and Variations

The second article was written by John Bush (a coach, business owner and banker) who writes about the application of decision theory to the coaching enterprise. Several disciplines are brought in by Dr. Bush, including organizational psychology, economics, management, sociology, physics and system theory.

Decision Theory in Complex Systems

Our third essay was prepared recently by Alexandra Krubski (an educator and coach). She draws on concepts from psychology, philosophy, education, behavioral economics, evolutionary biology, neurobiology and psychotherapy to describe the revolution that has been taking place over the past half century in our understanding of how we think and reason – topics that are of critical importance in the practice of professional coaching.

Application of Cognitive Revolution Theories in Coaching Practice