Simply tracking results and client behaviors over a period post-coaching, as Lew Stern (2014) discussed in his LPC interview, can be valuable. In particular, post-coaching tracking can show, using objective evidence that the client’s changes in thinking and behavior have been internalized and are sustainable. It also provides persuasive evidence of the effectiveness of a particular coach’s model and practice as long as it is offered with a caveat about the limited nature of the data. Moving from data collection for individual learning to data collection and analysis for purposes of marketing does require a higher level of awareness regarding the potential for bias. If a coach sets out to “prove” his coaching works, the potential for limiting the data sources and overlooking contradictory information is high.  Discussing and reviewing data with a colleague, mentor, or supervisor, or partnering with a coach who has formal research experience can be very beneficial in maximizing these research opportunities and producing results which are reasonably valid and credible.

Research for Publication

Formal studies published in peer-reviewed journals are essential if the field of coaching is to rest on a shared body of evidence-based knowledge and practice principles. While there are many qualified individuals who are engaged in this type of research as an individual pursuit, there are several benefits from partnerships and collaborations that bring together coaching practitioners and academics or formally trained researchers. Collaborative projects benefit from a mix of coaching practitioners and researchers who can contribute to meaningful dialogue on study design and development. Research partners and group collaborators also tend to have a wider range of familiarity with relevant literature.

In the case below, we had the benefit of an experienced researcher in the development of psychotherapists and a collective of academics and experienced coaching practitioners to provide input into the formulation of the survey items with language relevant to coaching and to offer different perspectives on methods of data analysis.  With a collaborative or action learning group, a facilitator or coordinator is key in managing the process and in eliciting and integrating the input of the members. The case study offers just one way of proceeding with a collaborative study. While the initial group involved six individuals, the resulting study using data from the one qualitative question on the survey was conducted by only two of the members. The case provides some chronology, challenges and observations about the collaborative process.