Report Six: Does ICF Certification Make a Difference?
It is in this sixth report that we find the most interesting differences in perspectives regarding coaching practices. While the categorization being used was imprecise (ICF or not-ICF certified), two worlds of coaching seem to be revealed, with one world (populated by those with ICF certification) embracing a more externally focused perspective on their practices and the second world (populated by those without ICF certification) embracing a more internally-focused perspective. In this report, the metaphor of a frontier town is first introduced with some residents wanting the town to remain relatively untamed and other residents wanting to make it more respectable and law-abiding.
Report Seven: Are There Differences Between Personal and Organizational Coaches?
The seventh report brings to the fore the perspectives of those practitioners who are primarily engaged in personal coaching and those engaged primarily in organizational coaching. While the categorization is once again quite imprecise (since many coaches are involved in both types of coaching), there were a few interesting differences in mean scores, suggesting that the organizational coaches responding to these two surveys might be more experienced than the personal coaching respondents. It is also interesting to note that the organizational coaches might more readily work in isolation from other coaches – or the personal coaches might be more open to receiving support and insights from their colleagues. The present study offers many intriguing questions regarding personal and organizational coaching that require more study in the next phases of this project.
Report Eight: Are There Any Differences between Coaches from USA and from Other Countries?
The final specific report concerns potential differences in perspective as a function of the country in which a professional coach is practicing. Once again, the categorization in this initial study is imprecise (USA-based or non-USA-based). Even with this imprecision, some intriguing findings emerged from the analysis that point to the value of future cross-cultural dialogue. The USA coaches tend to be more optimistic and are less likely to have problems with their clients; furthermore, USA coaches are significantly more likely to refer a client with whom they are having difficulties than is the case with non-USA coaches. I offer several possible reasons for this cross-cultural difference.
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