The slow pace of women’s advancement to senior levels in organisations is an ongoing topical debate. Resolving this issue through appropriate developmental support interventions is the subject of much discussion. An understanding of the use of coaching and mentoring to address this individual, organisational and societal problem is, however, underresearched in a UK context, and more widely. In the coaching and mentoring literature there is limited research concerning the voice of the coachee/mentee and even less research relating to executive women. This study sought to address this deficiency and explore the experiences of executive women who have been coached and mentored, in order to gain an understanding of the role of these interventions and how they assisted the women’s development. Qualitative research was conducted using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology and involved semi-structured interviews with twelve executive women, all of whom worked at senior levels in UK organisations. The data were subsequently analysed using Smith, Flowers and Larkin’s (2009) interpretive framework. The findings highlight the positive impact of coaching and mentoring on the careers of the executive women in this study. Mentoring provided early career and psychosocial support, while coaching provided later support and challenge that encouraged the development of skills, authenticity and identity; aided coping with and adapting to the work environment; and in some cases assisted with broader life decisions. The participants’ subsequent commitment to coach and mentor others was a further outcome of this research. This study contributes not only to understanding the context of a coaching assignment involving executive women, the ‘experience’ of coaching and mentoring, and the importance of the coaching relationship, but also to the application of such learning to assist others. The implications of this research expand knowledge and provide new insights to add to the limited literature on coaching and mentoring executive women in the UK.

Background: Executive coaching has become a mainstay of leadership development practice worldwide. Some aspects of executive coaching such as return on investment are well studied, but the client experience of coaching is underexplored. This study aims to describe how clients perceive their first coaching experience and create a conceptual model of this experience to guide coaching practice. Methodology: 15 executives who had previously experienced their first coaching session took part in semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the interview protocols wasbased on Grounded Theory methodology. Results:Reports of client experiences were used to develop a conceptual Discovering, Agency, Roles, Expectations (DARE) model. The client experience of executive coaching is saturated with discoveries. Discovering of coaching, oneself and also a view of one’s potential from one’s own and third party perspectives are at the heart of the executive coaching experience. Perceptions of the experience are further influenced by client expectations, the conditions surrounding coaching and the different roles taken by coach and client. A sequence of agency emerged from the analysis. Conclusions: The thesis explores the implications of the emerging model of the first experience and how coaches can use this understanding of the coaching experience to enhance the client experience. Further research is needed into some aspects of the experience, such as the roles of coach and client and prevalence of discovering as a core experience in subsequent coaching sessions.

Coaching and mentoring have grown rapidly in the last twenty years, reflecting increased level of interest in these fields. The widespread popularity, however, has been largely attributed to the anecdotal feedback about their effectiveness due to considerable gaps in the empirical research base. The aim of this study was to explore the role of coaching and mentoring in relation to transformational changes with particular reference to housing association mergers in the UK. As a result of constant merger activity, the largest twenty housing associations own 30% of the market share and the trend is likely to continue, making the research outcomes useful for future strategic planning of housing association mergers. This thesis includes empirical work through data gathered by semi-structured interviews and analysed by constructivist grounded theory methodology. The study found that coaching and mentoring play an important role in housing association mergers and transformational changes especially in creating a new shared identity and staff integration after housing association mergers. Integration can keep the merged housing associations together, thus reducing the merger failures in the housing associations. This study makes an original contribution to knowledge by presenting a conceptual framework. The framework incorporates different forms of coaching and mentoring, such as, one to one coaching, team coaching, executive mentoring and peer mentoring used in housing associations for the transformative learning of the housing officials.

This research developed a qualitative Case Study to explore the role of coaching and mentoring in supporting the alignment of academic staff and organisational strategy. The study employed documentary data, interviews and a questionnaire to examine a four year period of a seven year change programme at a University in Southern England. Documents provide background to the case. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen leaders, two external coaches and eleven internal mentors. A questionnaire completed by thirty six academics preceded six semi-structured interviews with academic staff. Participant perceptions of alignment and their experiences of coaching and mentoring were analysed using a data coding approach influenced by Grounded Theory. As a result of this study, the researcher developed a Model for Improving Credibility in Insider Research to demonstrate how they dealt with the challenges of being an employee of the organisation in which the research was completed. The study shows how a new Strategic Plan impacted on academic staff roles. In responding to the changes, academics were faced with career, role, time and psychological challenges. The findings indicate that the alignment of academic staff and organisational strategy does not need to be a tension, but that it can provide opportunities for both organisation and individual if they can identify and focus on ways to fill the gap between them. The Individual and Organisation Alignment Map, developed from this study, demonstrates a new understanding of alignment of the individual within the organisational context. Coaching and mentoring helped academics to respond to the challenges by providing support for a focus on the future and forward momentum, as well as role implementation and psychological support. A new model showing how The Transitional Space Provided by Coaching and Mentoring can provide support for outer and inner world challenges has been developed as a result of this research. In addition, the new definition of ‘Emerging Academics’ developed during this study provides a different starting point for considering the career development of academic staff.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Directed by DiAnne Borders; submitted to the School of Education. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Aug. 12, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 140-149).

Mentoring receives a consistently favourable press and its merits and benefits are widely researched and acclaimed (for example Clutterbuck, 1995 and Harrington, 2011). Some advocates appear almost evangelical in their perspective and responses to the mentoring process. From offender schemes (Tarling, Davison and Clarke, 2004), to initiatives for small businesses (NWDA, 2010), the UK government continues to invest heavily in the concept of mentoring. Despite these plaudits mentoring relationships can occasionally founder and, due to the intensity of the relationship harm can be inflicted on both mentor and mentee alike. Such failing relationships are usually ascribed the provocatively charged label of 'toxic' mentoring (Feldman, 1999; Gray and Smith, 2000). Both the human and financial implications of failed mentoring relationships are a serious problem for government investment. Although a relatively under-researched phenomenon the incidents of negative mentoring experiences are not uncommon (Simon and Eby, 2003). Investment in mentoring has grown, with a proliferation of progressive schemes addressing an array of specific issues, from adult substance misuse (Welsh Assembly, 2009) to workplace gender inequalities (EC, 2007). With investment ranging from thousands of pounds in small scale schemes to hundreds of thousands of pounds, the economic implications of failure are potentially significant. Hamlin and Sage (2011) argue that while research has studied the benefits of mentoring, there is little focus on what constitutes effective mentoring in formal settings, or the interpersonal processes involved. Allen and Poteet (1999:70) noted that research was "desperately needed to assess the specific design features" of successful mentoring programmes. The focus has been on the programmes themselves rather than the individuals within them, and findings have centred on programme improvements and objectives or better matching processes in order to understand successful mentoring (Eby and Lockwood, 2005). The measurement of mentoring success however, is problematic and a uniform model for evaluation remains elusive. In one study (Gaskell, 2007) just 34% of organisations were able to successfully measure the impact of coaching, despite the availability of adequate resources and substantial investment in the programmes. Demonstrating return on investment for enterprises involving soft skills can be challenging, particularly when endeavouring to separate the mentoring aspect from other influencing factors. Establishing return on expectation is however, a more manageable proposition and can prove valuable. Attempts to identify the impact of professional development interventions have generated some innovative approaches such as the 'isolation factor' identified in research by McGovern, Lindemann, Vergara, Murphy, Barker and, Warrenfeltz (2001). The study separates out the effects of coaching but is generated purely from the perspective of the participants, which arguably lacks objectivity. However its success is measured, the popularity of mentoring continues to grow and its benefits remain appreciated (CIMA, 2002). Ineffective mentoring may be avoided through understanding its characteristics and the rationale of failed relationships may prevent repetition, providing a valid objective worthy of further research.

Peer support interventions have been widely used within the Higher Education sector as a means to enhance student success and retention. However, much of the evidence to measure the impact of mentoring and coaching has relied on anecdotal, self-reported evidence from the participants. In addition there is much confusion in the terms to describe peer support interventions making it difficult to compare and contrast the different programmes. The need for evidence of a more robust, quantitative nature has long been called for by a number of authors such as Jacobi (1991), Capstick (2004) and Medd (2012). This is a mixed methods case study of an extant coaching programme in Higher Education in the UK. It makes explicit the process of the peer coaching intervention by use of individual case stories and measures the impact of the peer coaching on academic attainment in the form of module grades. In addition, the use of a control group enables a comparison to be made of the academic attainment of non-coached students with those who received peer coaching. Academic behaviour confidence of those who were coached was also measured pre and post-coaching using the Sander and Sanders (2009) ABC questionnaire. There was found to be a statistically significant impact in the academic attainment of those students who received coaching when compared to those students in the control group who did not. It was seen that the peer coaching had a beneficial impact for particular groups of students such as those in their first year of study and those who were performing less well at the outset as well students within the business school. There was found to be a significant increase in the academic behaviour confidence of those who received coaching as well as a reduced attrition rate when compared to those in the control group.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different coaching styles on elementary school age girls, who were involved in a competitive basketball program. The study was concerned with effects of athletics and coaching styles upon the emotional, personality, and character development of girls. A comparison of girls who were not involved in competitive athletics with those who were was also undertaken. The sample included thirty-two participants and fourteen non-participants. The groups studied consisted of Grade VII girls attending Catholic elementary schools, in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada. The thirty-two participants were divided into three selected groups. Group I girls were exposed to a non-aggressive, "easy-going" coach for a period of approximately 3-1/2 months. Group III girls were exposed to an aggressive and autocratic coach, while Group II girls were exposed to a coach who fell between these two extremes. A control group of non-participants was selected from each school. This study was designed to investigate hypotheses based on the following five problems: I. changes in personality characteristics of participants as elicited by different coaching styles, II. changes in sportsmanship attitudes of participants as elicited by different coaching styles, III. changes in the self-concept of participants as elicited by different coaching styles, I.V. differences in attitude of the players toward their coach as elicited by respective coaching styles, V. differences in sportsmanship and personality between participants and non-participants. A 3 X 2 multivariate analysis of variance was performed on the fourteen personality variables as well as the two attitude variables to test hypotheses I, II, III and IV. Hypothesis V was tested by a 2 X 2 multivariate analysis of variance on the same dependent variables with the exception of attitude toward the coach, to test the differences between the changes elicited in the participants (from all schools) and the non-participants (also from all schools). The empirical findings were not in agreement with the predicted hypotheses. The differences among the three coaching styles, in the changes elicited in personality characteristics including self-concept and sportsmanship attitudes were found to be non-significant, at the .05 level. It was also predicted that there would be differences among the three coaching styles in the attitude of the players toward their coach. The differences in the attitude of the players was found to be non-significant at the .05 level. Finally, the differences between the participants and non-participants in personality and sportsmanship attitudes were once again non-significant at the .05 level. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

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