This study aims to develop a theoretical and practical model of coaching for gravitas in a business leadership context. Gravitas is described as a psychological phenomenon and concept used frequently, but not well researched and understood. While leadership practitioners frequently refer to gravitas as a desirable quality, there have been no specific empirical studies into gravitas as either a leadership quality or more general phenomenon. A review of the literature specifically associates gravitas with the leadership concepts of authenticity and charisma, which are often discussed together with the concepts of power and authority. The role of followers is described as important in all leaders’ qualities, but the context of a leader’s organisation is a frequent omission in typical studies. A collaborative action research approach was adopted with six practising leaders and 12 of their followers from one organisation. An initial model of coaching for gravitas was developed and four cycles of action research were conducted over a 12-month period. The first action research cycle used a conceptual encounter method to create a conceptual model of gravitas that was specific for the six leaders coached during the next three cycles of research. The evolved conceptual model described gravitas through four dimensions of confidence, courage, communication, and control. Under each dimension, potentially coachable elements were identified and explored in action with the participants over subsequent research cycles. Specific coaching methods were used to develop these elements. A wide range of data was collected and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings suggested that situational forces on individual gravitas constantly moved and that the model of an individual’s gravitas was therefore always changing. The leaders learned how to recognise these forces and use them for focusing their attention. In spite of individual differences, the embodied reactions of leaders to the reported feelings of gravitas showed significant similarities. A weight and stillness of the body and mind was connected to the ability to see clearly in changing situations involving complex forces in action. Recognition of these feelings enabled an active use of them in practice. Participants described reflective processes within the action research as the most informative part of the coaching process. The journey of the participants and researcher was translated into a mapped process allowing development of a model of gravitas useful for recognition in themselves and others. The study concludes with a number of implications for leadership theory and practice, suggesting that coaching can contribute to the development of leadership gravitas.

Coaching generally remains under-researched and in particular the transfer and sustainability of learning from coaching is extremely sparse in the field of empirical research and theoretical development. This qualitative research was conducted with four leaders from UK voluntary sector organisations, namely Advance, Mencap and Rethink. Within a social constructivist and interpretivist paradigm, this longitudinal study explored the findings of three action research cycles for a period of just over one year. An original approach to collaborative action research methodology was developed and utilised, combining the dual role of coach/researcher, the role of the leaders being coached as collaborative action researchers, research diaries data, and data from feedback provider sessions. The data emerging from the research diaries and the feedback provider sessions was analysed using a thematic analysis approach, with categories and themes identified which either help or hinder the transfer and sustainability of learning from the coaching sessions to outside that experience. The ethical challenges of this newly developed approach to collaborative action research were also identified and analysed. The emergent Collaborative Action Coaching for Leaders model comprises six categories made up of thirty-three themes: Client Centred Process (eight themes), Enabling/Facilitating Learning (six), Session Content (two), Active Learning (five), Coaching Relationship (eight), and Reflective Learning (four). The study found that the transfer and sustainability of learning outside the coaching experience is encouraged by the coach and the client having both individual and shared responsibilities. The coach has responsibility for tailoring the coaching to each individual client and for enabling and facilitating learning; the client has responsibility for the content of the coaching sessions and for active learning; and both the coach and the client have shared responsibility for the coaching relationship and reflective learning. Within the approach there are factors which both help and hinder the transfer and sustainability of learning, although the data is heavily weighted towards the factors which help. It is clear from the emerging data across the three action research cycles, that it is the combination of all six categories (and the thirty-three themes) which over time enable the transfer and sustainability of learning; there does not appear to be any weighting of a specific category or theme. There are two main findings from the study: coaching can help the transfer and sustainability of learning; and both the coach and the client have individual and shared responsibilities in the transfer and sustainability of learning from the coaching sessions to outside that experience. The Collaborative Action Coaching for Leaders model contributes to the coaching profession, providing an evidence-based coaching model for coaches to explore through use in their professional work with leaders in organisations. The study findings add to the theoretical knowledge of coaching and inform future coaching research into the transfer and sustainability of learning from the coaching experience.

Coaches use questions, with other techniques, to facilitate progress for clients. The coaching practitioner literature provides advice on how to employ questions in coaching sessions, but there is little empirical evidence examining how coaches generate or ask questions. Investigating my own experiences and that of other coaches, in relation to questions, has been a long-standing professional interest. Thus, this research provides insight into exploring the experiences of generating questions in coaching. The approach to the research was relativist and employed heuristic inquiry as the research methodology. Eight experienced coaches were recruited as co-researchers, to share their experiences of generating coaching questions. Capturing experiences was achieved through post-coaching reflections and conversational interviews. Thematic analysis of the data identified categories and patterns that led to the creation of individual depictions of the experience for each co-researcher. In line with the research methodology, individual experiences were brought together to produce a final creative synthesis. A departure from heuristic inquiry was the omission of a group depiction. The selection of exemplary portraits was replaced with presenting the portraits of all coresearchers. Both of these amendments were felt appropriate in order to align the methodology more faithfully with a relativist approach. Coaches noticed a wide range of information when forming questions, originating from sources both inside and outside the coaching session itself. The background of the coach played a part in shaping the experience of generating questions, as did the transitory ‘state’ of both coach and client. Coaches asked questions when in an altered state that some described as a ‘flow’ or ‘zone’. Questions ‘pop’ into the heads of coaches in a non-conscious way at times, often accompanied for the coach by a somatic sensation, while some were generated more consciously. At the point of asking questions, coaches often used a prefacing statement for their own or their client’s benefit. Coaches frequently engaged in inner dialogue when asking questions that were usually focused on the coach or the question. The inner dialogue varied in nature, but often presented in the form of a question. The conclusions indicate that the experience of generating questions in coaching was deeply impacted by the coach themselves. This research highlighted three paradoxes that coaches tried to balance while enquiring of their clients. Suggestions for future research are also proposed.

Mentoring for secondary school headteachers in their first year in post was first proposed as a systematic strategy in the 1980s following research into the first years of headship (Weindling and Earley, 1987). Coaching and mentoring were introduced as part of a response to the concern that new headteachers were not sufficiently prepared before taking up the post. Coaching and mentoring are now incorporated into all National College for School Leadership (NCSL: currently the National College for the Leadership of Schools and Children‟s Services) leadership programmes. However, there is a dearth of current research exploring how secondary school headteachers use coaching and mentoring in their first year in post. Systematic reviews show that previous research has generally focused on improving coaching and mentoring schemes and thus is mainly evaluative. In contrast, this study focuses on the headteacher perspective. The study works within a social constructivist paradigm, taking a grounded theory approach because of the dearth of available theory. Data were collected from six newly appointed secondary school headteachers. Each was interviewed three times during their first year in post. After transcription each interview was analysed and coded and the results informed subsequent interviews. NVivo was used to manage the data and to develop codes. Preliminary findings were discussed with practising coaches and their comments contribute to the discussion. The study finds that new headteachers exercise significant agency in their coaching and mentoring engagements, including the choice of coach mentor, and the coach mentoring agenda. It finds that new headteachers seek coaching and mentoring beyond the assumed formal dyadic arrangements. Contributions to knowledge include the Confidence Loop model; three new models of coaching and mentoring; and a deeper questioning of the place the theory and practice of performativity should have in the coach mentoring relationship.

Companies today need to draw on the whole organisational team for the energy, ideas and collaborative approaches that bring sustainable organisational success in an interconnected world. Leadership and organisational studies increasingly support this endeavour by considering relational and interconnected approaches. However the leadership coaching literature tends to adopt a hierarchical approach focused on individuals and teams at the helm of organisations. A ripple effect is the metaphorical focus of the study drawing attention to an interplay of influences in an organisation following a leadership coaching initiative. This initiative is the starting point for this in depth organisational case study which is interested in drawing out the human dimension of organisational life. Multiple methods - interviews, anecdote circles and a company questionnaire - are used to explore patterns of influence flowing from leadership coaching in a small-medium sized enterprise (SME). Thematic network analysis of the experiences of participants in this study produced three categories of findings: personal needs, perceptions of leadership and cultural concerns. Each category is made up of competing influences that signify spectrums of opportunity for learning and development. From this investigation an holistic model of a ripple effect is developed showing the flow from specific coaching outcomes that blend business and human aspects. The concept of reciprocal learning space captures the scope for learning and change by uncovering competing influences that represent the variety of responses to coaching outcomes. An holistic framework for organisation focused coaching offers a practical contribution to coaching by setting out a route to identifying reciprocal learning space and helping to address wider organisational needs. It is argued that remaining in a hierarchical, leader centred mode limits the potential reach of coaching in organisations. This study offers a new integrated approach to coaching that signifies the potential to reach much more widely into organisations.

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.

Project report (D.Min.)--Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008. / Typescript. Description based on Print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-109).