The Controversy over Progress in Coaching

How do you define progress in your coaching engagements?

Is that even up to you as the coach to define?

What do you do when there is no alignment between the various definitions of how progress will be measured, particularly if the client’s definition clashes with how other stakeholders in the organization might define success?

These issues and more are what Tanya Prescott explores in her research paper “Why is Progress a Controversial Issue in Coaching?” that was published in 2010 in the International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Special Issue No.4, pp.21-36.

A few excerpts are below so you can get the gist of what the paper discusses, but I recommend accessing it yourself at this link if you want to read the whole thing!

http://www.business.brookes.ac.uk/research/areas/coachingandmentoring/volume/SP4-2-Prescott.pdf

“Abstract
In coaching there is a lack of research that focuses specifically on progress, despite increasing global debate on what progress means for individuals and societies. This study uses the coach’s experience to explore some of the dilemmas and controversies that the coach may face when dealing with the phenomenon of progress. The heuristic inquiry, used metaphors to draw upon the experience of the researcher and ten other coaches from executive, life and community coaching. Three main themes arose; who determines what progress means in the coaching relationship, identifying indicators of progress, and the coach’s experience. The findings suggest that the coaching profession has both a duty of care towards its membership and an important role to play in contributing to the global debate on progress. Moreover, indicators of progress are paradoxical in nature and open to misinterpretation by different stakeholders but adopting a new mindset may help increase organisational effectiveness.”

“Introduction
This paper explores the dilemmas that the coach encounters in helping the coaching client progress. It focuses on the ethical and controversial issues that arise from various stakeholders in the coaching relationship seeking to define what progress means from their perspective. Coaching is defined here as:

…collaborative, individualised, solution-focused, results orientated, systematic… stretching, fosters self directed learning and should be evidence-based and incorporate ethical practice (Grant, 2006, p13).

The paper comprises five sections: an introduction that provides the context of the study; the Literature Review, evidencing current empirical research; a methodology section detailing the Heuristic Inquiry approach used; Findings and Discussion, exploring the three major themes that emerged and the Conclusion, outlining the recommendations for further research.

Russell (1961, p459) has argued that progress is an ethical and controversial issue, determined by a minority to the detriment of the majority,suggesting that “change is one thing; progress is another.” The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2009) website depicts progress as a complex phenomenon and contends that even between nations there is a lack of agreement about what it is: “progress undoubtedly means different things to different societies”.