Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This research assignment is an exploratory qualitative study into mapping unplanned outcomes of executive coaching. The research purpose was twofold: to address the lack of a common and comprehensive framework for the mapping of outcomes of executive coaching, and to add to the body of knowledge regarding unplanned outcomes of executive coaching. In developing the mapping framework, the available literature was reviewed and, through an inductive process, a framework, model, taxonomy and mapping tool were developed. Based on core concepts attributable to Kirkpatrick, Wilber and Jaques, the mapping tool developed was then tested, using data obtained from a purposive sample of seven semi-structured interviews with Gauteng based coachees. The sample excluded any individuals who had been coached by the researcher. During the data analysis, the planned outcomes were mapped using the mapping tool and related processes. Thereafter the actual outcomes were mapped, identifying those outcomes that matched planned outcomes and those that supported the planned outcomes. A technique named ‘outcome chains’ was developed and used for this process. The unplanned outcomes were identified by a process of elimination, being those that remained unallocated in the planned chain process. It was found that outcomes of executive coaching can be mapped using a framework based on the principles of Kirkpatrick, Wilber and Jaques, with all identified outcomes being mapped successfully. Four categories of unplanned outcomes were identified, namely those that hinder the attainment of planned outcomes, insufficient evidence of achieving planned outcomes, actual outcomes related to planned outcomes but with scope different to planned and, fourthly, actual outcomes unrelated to planned outcomes. Additionally, three themes of unplanned outcomes, each with two sub-themes, were identified, namely personal (sub-themes: physical and spiritual), family (sub-themes: immediate and extended) and work (sub-themes: positive and negative). The most surprising finding was that all seven coachees experienced unplanned outcomes, which is markedly different to previous research findings and may be due to the inclusion of non-work related outcomes. The key recommendations arising from this research assignment embrace the research into, and practice of, executive coaching. Regarding the research elements, it is recommended that the mapping framework developed in this research be further refined and tested as a holistic standard for evaluating the outcomes of executive coaching, including those outcomes that impact the coachee as an individual. For the executive coaching fraternity, it is recommended that coaches challenge themselves and their practices regarding the probability, categories and impact of unplanned outcomes, and introduce measures to maximise the upside and minimise the risks of unplanned outcomes. Finally, the regular testing and recording of the coachee’s reaction to executive coaching is recommended as a predictor of coaching efficacy.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

The purpose of this Summary of Portfolio is to set the thesis within a context of the work previously assessed within the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) programme. It therefore reflects on the learning achieved and summarises key findings of the pre-thesis work, Personal and Professional Review: Action Learning; and Business Research Methods, while recognising the personal and professional journey undertaken and reflecting how I reached the starting point of the thesis component of the programme. For many years, I considered that the opportunity to undertake doctoral study would be pinnacle of my academic achievement. I wanted to have the opportunity to make a fresh and meaningful contribution to practice-based knowledge of the Human Resource Profession. The pre-thesis programme commenced with Personal and Professional Review module, that enabled me to review my previous Human Resources career, and my development and learning over this period. This reflection allowed me to gain a deep insight into my own actions and preferences that had guided and supported my career choices. I was able to engage in deep reflection on achievements in the light of the enhanced personal self-knowledge and review my whole career progression and achievements and plan for the future. An element of this reflection triggered a major development in my career and at the mid-point of the DBA programme I decided to leave my role as a Director in a large local authority. Human Resources and Organisational Development was a career I had followed for over twenty-five years when I decided to start the next stage of my career as an independent Executive Coach and Organisational Development Consultant. The development of individuals and organisations had been an area of professional interest for a considerable time and in 2007 I qualified as an Executive Coach through Leeds University. As a senior practitioner, my first-hand experience in Executive Coaching, together with an interest in how individuals use coaching had led to the desire to research the use of Executive Coaching in Local Government. Through the Business Research Methods module I was able to formulate a detailed proposal for my thesis. In the module I re-engaged with both qualitative and quantitative research methods and further increased my knowledge in this area with the acquisition of advanced research skills that provided a sound base for the commencement of my major research project. During the journey I have had the opportunity to use my capabilities as an independent, self-reliant and self-motivated learner, together with incorporating my existing learning achievements, qualifications and experience into academic credits towards a DBA. The programme has allowed me to develop real expertise in areas of interest to me, and my profession. On reflection, it has allowed me to fulfil my desire to prove that I could operate as proficiently in an academic environment as I do as a practitioner. I now feel that I have addressed, what I felt was an in-balance. Before this journey, I considered my practitioner ability was far greater than my academic ability. Through doctoral study, I have addressed this, and recognise my achievement of gaining extensive academic knowledge, understanding and academic skills, and feel I can hold my own in an academic setting. I have also been able to gain an overview of theory and conceptual frameworks that further strengthen my approach to teaching and learning. The research into new areas and developing wider knowledge has resulted in a new Executive Coaching model that will now be shared through academic forums and professional networks to the advancement of my own professional practice and for the benefit of the wider profession.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Emotional intelligence has been a much debated topic in leadership circles globally, since the idea was first conceived in the 1970s, and later made popular by Goleman in the 1990s (Goleman, 1995: 5). In an endeavour to effect a culture change at the Glencore SA operations, a process of emotional intelligence (EI) training has been rolled out to the leadership at the mining operations over the past four years. This has met with varying degrees of success, but it begs the question: What is the value of this training, and how effective is it expected to be? This research set out to assess the correlation between the results in productivity and safety, with that of the exposure of emotional intelligence to the leadership at the Goedgevonden (GGV) coal mining operation. To this end, this research sought to develop a view of the levels of emotional intelligence, or the lack thereof, prior to any form of intervention, and to draw comparisons with the present EI levels. The hypothesis being: EI training of the leadership team at the Goedgevonden operation has significantly improved performance. The research then tested a sample of the GGV leadership for their emotional intelligence quotient using a commercially available test. These test results have been included in the findings. The concept of group emotional intelligence (GEI) was studied in the course of the literature review, and it was further deemed pertinent to examine this concept as to its relevance at the Goedgevonden operation. Tests were conducted with two teams. A distinct disparity arose from the findings of the team emotional tests, which did not correlate with the similar training to which both teams had been exposed. The findings of the team emotional tests also correlated significantly with the performance of the two teams over the past three years. A ten percent discrepancy in performance exists, as with a very similar percentage in test scores. A strong sense of need for emotional intelligence training evolved from the interview process. More significantly, was the need for this training to be aimed at the lower levels of the organisation, as well as for this training to incorporate a strong element of team EI. These aspects are both articulated in the recommendations also.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISCH ABSTRACT: Purpose – The purpose of this research was to explore the role of coaching in enhancing reflective practices in managers. The experiences and perceptions of coachees were explored to answer the research question. Design/methodology/approach – This research was a qualitative study. Using an inductive approach, it sought to explore and interpret data collected from the coachees on their experiences and perceptions of coaching and the extent to which it influenced reflective practices. A purposive sampling approach was used. A total of five coachees from a FMCG company that the researcher is employed at, in the Durban area, participated in the research. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and researcher field notes and observations during the coaching process. Findings –The key findings revealed that coaching played an important role in enhancing the reflective practices and reflection in managers. Coachees found that the coaching process supported and enabled the achievement of their coaching goals. Further it was found that coachee use of reflective practices were enhanced through coaching, leading to greater levels of self-awareness, improved self-regulation and improved decision-making. Reflective practices emerged as a valuable competence for leadership. Reflective tools and practice were enablers to leadership development. Enhanced use of reflective practices led to greater reflection and self-awareness and insights leading to better self-mastery and personal growth. Greater self-awareness and enhanced reflective practices also saw coachees transferring the tools they had used and learnt to others. It was found that as coachees developed self and others their leadership capability improved. Organisational buy in, support and practices that value reflection were found to be critical for effective learning and leadership capability development. Coachees identified in the coaching process, the coach- coachee relationship, trust and coachee goal accountability as important enablers and from an organisational context, identified leadership support for time for reflective practices as a critical enabler. Research limitations/implications – A small sample size was used in the study. These findings, whilst true for the coachees who participated, may not be generalised to the general population of leaders and or managers. The results however, could be useful to other coaches developing reflective capability in coachees, to organisations and leadership development practitioners focussed on establishing competencies for leaders and development programmes for leaders. Practical implications – The implications of this research include: Business and executive coaches To give consideration to the deliberate development of reflective practices in leader coachees thus enhancing their reflection, shifting awareness and leading to effective coaching outcomes. For leader coachees To be committed to the coaching process, development of reflective practices and committed to their self development. Further they are encouraged to focus on developing behaviours important for their leadership effectiveness. Organisational human resource development practitioners To include and address within leadership competency frameworks and development programmes the development of reflective practices and the value of reflection. In an organisational setting, reflective practice must be valued as a competency in order for benefits to be derived and the culture and leadership behaviours adopted be in alignment. Coaching academies or training providers and professional coaching bodies To position development of reflective practices as an important and primary outcome of a coach-coachee relationship linked to goal realisation and make reflection and reflective practices, an explicit competency in the coaching capability development framework linked to assessments. Originality/value – The study adds to the body of knowledge on understanding the impact of coaching in enhancing reflective practices in managers and contributes to the positioning of reflective practices in leadership competency frameworks and leadership development programmes. Future research around reflective practices is needed and recommendations have been made.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study was inspired by the quest of a South African public utility confronted with complex challenges which necessitated requisite leadership behaviour change, to understand what differentiated executive-level leaders who chose to engage in executive coaching from those who did not. Executive coaching was offered as a support mechanism to accelerate the absorption and application of learning for behaviour change during an executive-level leadership development programme. For the duration of the programme though, requests for executive coaching remained relatively low for the total executive-level leadership population. The study’s research question was: Is level of self-awareness in executive-level leaders a differentiator for openness to engage in executive coaching? This was delineated from the broad definition of self-awareness as the extent to which individuals see themselves as others see them. To answer the research question, three hypotheses were tested based on the three secondary objectives of this study in order to determine: 1) Differences in self-awareness from an emotional perspective for leaders who engaged in executive coaching versus those who did not; 2) differences in self-awareness from a developmental perspective for leaders who engaged in executive coaching versus those who did not; and 3) differences between leader self-awareness from and emotional perspective versus a developmental perspective. An exploration of existing literature on the focal topics of this study suggested that openness to both learning and behaviour change is positively associated with leadership self-awareness. The researcher postulated that an informed interpretation of such association could present worthwhile information to be employed towards the optimisation of executive coaching as a support mechanism to leadership development programmes. This study was conducted from a post-positivist paradigm. This allowed for researching a complex aspect such as openness to deep personal change and growth, through a quantitative exploration of associations between variables as well as the offering of possible explanations for those. Secondary data was analysed through the application of descriptive and inferential statistics. The study did not find statistically significant evidence to support the three research hypotheses postulated regarding a possible association between leadership self-awareness and openness to engage in executive coaching. However, at a descriptive statistical level, the study did reveal a general trend of a positive association between well-developed emotional-capacity on constructs commonly related to pro-change behaviour (adaptability, flexibility, impulse control and stress management) and a high level of self-awareness from a developmental perspective. Due to the inability of this study to find statistically significant evidence in support of the hypotheses postulated, the researcher had to conduct a further exploration of findings and conclusions from studies related to the current study, in an effort to interpret the current study’s findings. A comparison of the current study’s findings at a descriptive statistical level with other related studies generated a number of additional questions and recommendations for further research. It also brought to light support for executive coaching as a primary mechanism available to organisations to cultivate leadership self-awareness and adaptability to change. This study indeed produced more questions than answers, and the researcher is of the opinion that the value of this research lies in the reflections, further questions and recommendations for further research produced during the struggle to overcome the limitations of the study.

Coaching has increasingly been used in organisations to develop leadership capability. However, due to a lack of empirical research, very little is actually known about what it is and how it works, resulting often in organisations experiencing difficulties and frustration when they come to use and review its effectiveness. Coaching carries many different definitions, none of which is accepted as ‘universal’. This implies that the term is complex. In order to understand coaching more clearly the thesis dedicates a separate chapter to each of the following eight sub-questions: 1. What is understood by the term coaching? 2. What impact does the retail organisation have on the coachee? 3. What are the desirable characteristics of the coachee? 4. What skills does a person need to be able to coach? 5. What does the coach do? 6. What does the coachee experience during a coaching session? 7. What are the outputs from coaching for the organisation and the coachee? 8. How can the organisational sponsors control the quality and consistency of the coaching? Qualitative research is gathered from coachees in a major UK retailer to suggest four key coaching insights. Firstly the majority of coachees experience a change in their ‘self’ as a result of their coaching. Secondly coaching is valued highly by coachees as the only opportunity they get to talk about themselves. Thirdly many of the potential benefits from linking coaching to broader theories and philosophies do not appear to be evidenced in this research. Fourthly there is little evidence to suggest there has been any explicit transfer of capability from the coach to the coachee. The thesis concludes that coaching is a complex that can be used to raise awareness in the multiple elements that constitute the self. In this way the coachee becomes more conscious of how they interpret events, more considered in choices they reflect, more precise in decisions they make, and more adept at controlling their reactions. Coaching can focus on different dimensions of the self and change in what is done accordingly. For example it can consider past events having similarities to therapy: it can consider current events with a focus on organisational performance and goals, and it can consider the coachee’s future potential to influence transformational change with a focus on theories and philosophies. Although changing depending on the element and dimension of self, coaching often involves talking, listening, and reflection to increase understanding. By focusing on deepening self-awareness, coaching has the potential to create a spiral of self-development. For this to be possible the coachee must prepare for independence from the coaches by taking responsibility for their own development. This is possible by firstly developing their own self-learning mechanisms and secondly by developing a ‘life goal’ or ‘guiding philosophy’ capable of igniting an inner drive to carry out these self-learning mechanisms on a continuous basis. The coaching stakeholders are responsible for what coaching achieves. The coach has a responsibility to make the other coaching stakeholders aware of its complexity as well as providing a profound appreciation of its potential. However the need for the coachee to be of the right mindset for coaching (i.e. willing to face themselves and commit to the rigors of intrinsic development) is a vital stakeholder characteristic if it is to be potentially successful. Coaching impacts the coachee’s self-awareness, which leads to greater ‘self-leadership’ capability, which is likely to impact their behaviours and actions and enhance the interpretation they give to others who recognise traits that may attract their followership.

This study was conducted to investigate and explore a coaching intervention in an organisation that received and implemented systemic coaching for the systemic development of leadership. Although dyadic coaching is widely used by individual leaders in organisations, its impact in enhancing the wider development of systemic leadership is limited. This limitation is largely compounded by the narrow appreciation of the loci of leadership and how leadership is conceptualised, perceived and discharged in organisations. The reductionist approach to leadership development has led to many organisational resources being reserved, directed and used exclusively for the development of the select few. The difference between leader and leadership development is discussed in literature. Leader development refers to the development of an individual leader for his/her personal developmental interests. This individualistic development often occurs outside the context of that leader’s peers, team and organisation. Leadership development refers to a collective development of leaders with the primary purpose of becoming a unified coherent force for the success and sustainability of the organisation Thus, leader development is preoccupied with the improvement of a leader, whereas, leadership development is preoccupied with building collective capabilities. It is a result of the current inadequate and reductionist view of leadership development in organisations that the study seeks to suggest a systemic approach to coaching for the systemic development of leadership in organisations. A qualitative approach was employed as a research methodology, to evaluate systemic coaching implementation in depth. An interview discussion guide was used to engage respondents. Eighteen respondents were invited to participate in the study. The researcher ensured hierarchical representivity, from CEO to general workers, given the interest in the systemic nature of the coaching experienced. This was also to ensure that the study sample was representative of respondents who participated in both dyadic and systemic coaching received at NAC. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and uploaded into Atlas ti.7 software for analysis. Regarding systemic coaching, the findings showed that systemic coaching is more adequate in the systemic development of leadership rather than dyadic coaching. Systemic coaching was found to promote a collective and inclusive development of leadership and focused with optimising performance for the entire organisation rather than just individuals. Systemic coaching benefits were identified as key in enhancing leadership capabilities, in fostering innovation and in transforming organisational cultures. Eighteen areas were identified where systemic coaching can potentially make a difference in organisations. Some of those areas include, employee retention, organisational alignment and innovation. Seven critical factors to be considered when implementing systemic coaching were identified, chief among those being organisational culture and client readiness. Finally, though systemic coaching serves as no panacea to organisational challenges, it was found to be an appropriate tool for systemic leadership development. Hence it is proposed as a method to complement the dyadic coaching approach.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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).