The science of effective coaching

Fast. Goal-focused. Solutions-orientated. Measurable. These are the qualities of effective coaching that make an impact.

Approaches built on solution-focused therapy, behavioral enablement and mastery experiences have been shown to be more effective in generating solutions to a problem and achieving goals than the typical approach of exploring difficulties (which can be outright counterproductive). Let’s break down these three elements:

Rather than spending time thinking about the problem that currently exists, the reasons for it and the strengths and weaknesses of the individual that led to this — solutions-focused coaching approaches jump straight into asking what needs to change and the steps to get there.

A key element that determines whether coaching can improve performance is whether there is behavioral enablement in place to overcome the intention-behavior gap. In traditional coaching, the intention–behavior gap creates good intentions for action that people will do in their own time, but those intentions don’t translate to the desired behavior. Effective coaching will acknowledge the intention-behavior gap and equip participants with the tools they need to turn intention into action.

Mastery experiences involve creating a sense of continual progress and achievement for the coachee by regularly meeting self-set standards of improvement. This is accomplished by setting achievable goals and focusing on achieving this goal before moving on to the next one — rather than focusing on several different priorities or goals at once and chipping away at them over time.

Many traditional coaching solutions involve sessions spanning six to nine months, with that time spent setting goals and talking through problems. Having a set number of sessions to achieve goals keeps a tighter focus on what you want to get out of each session and can result in more action-focused change.

On the other hand, with more sessions, you risk having more time for distractions, ruminating over the current challenges and taking your attention away from the real goal: taking action to change. 

Creating a scalable learning strategy connected to metrics like performance and organizational priorities is a great foundation for observable, measurable coaching results.

3 important metrics for tracking discernible, measurable behavior change.

• First is internal change: this involves measuring the psychological constructs that predict behavior change.
• Next is behavior change, which measures whether the individual’s behavior has changed in the real world.
• Finally, it’s important to measure outcomes which showcase impact through engagement surveys, financial results and productivity metrics.

“When you encourage others, you in the process are being encouraged because you’re making a commitment to that person’s life. Encouragement really does make a difference.”

-Zig Ziglar

“Incremental change is better than ambitious failure… success feeds on itself.”

-Tony Schwartz

“Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is more often helping them to learn rather than teaching them.”

-John Whitmore