RESEARCH FORUM and INSTITUTE OF COACHING

Then as a result of that–and also there was a second process going on simultaneously–the people who were more into research were also asking what kinds of research and what research topics were of highest priority.

That group, with the leadership of Carol Kauffman, who had been at Harvard for many years, identified that there was a need to form an academically-based, research-driven institute at a well-established, well-respected academic institution.

The Institute of Coaching was being formed. There was a need to pull together leading researchers in coaching from around the world five years ago at what became the first meeting of the International Coaching Research Forum (ICRF).  I was fortunate to be part of that Forum.  Each of us shared a view of where the field was, where research was and what we saw as the priorities of where it needed to go.  Then we spent several days literally brainstorming planning, given all the data that we brought with us, what we knew and what we didn’t know, and what we needed to find out through research and what kinds of research needed to be done.

We came up with a hundred different topics that needed to be researched. That list is available online.  In fact, many of these resources, including the Handbook of Coaching and this list of the needs for research in coaching and the different journals—they are all available at the instituteofcoaching.org.

As a senior advisor to the Institute, I’m a bit biased, but the Institute of Coaching really is the only academically based organization that is driving coaching research to practice.  It is an enormous resource for anyone who cares about doing evidence-based coaching and getting involved with research and coaching, best practices in coaching, and what have we learned.  There are tele-classes and master classes and tutorials, as well—many ways of accessing information and research.  I encourage people to join the Institute’s Professional Association to get access to all of these resources.

There is a lot of research going on in the field of coaching, and one thing the Institute has been trying to do is to provide financial resources, with the support of the Harnish Foundation, to allow people to get small grants to support the research that they want to do.  What the Institute is now moving into even more is a proactive role in driving the agenda for what research needs to be done.