In reflecting back on this concluding statement and relating it to the tentative findings in this latest analysis of the development of coaches data, I would suggest that the need for a culture of evidence and collaboration might be even more needed – especially in the United States. It might also be the case, however, that a move to this culture is not very closely aligned with the mentality of autonomy and self-referral found among at least some American coaches.
How do the tentative findings from this comparison of USA and non-USA coaches compare to the previous analyses I have conducted? There were significant differences regarding influence (overall) for ICF certified and non-certified coaches—which amplifies on the sense that ICF certification is part-and-parcel of a field that is becoming more established and its activities becoming more circumscribed. Conversely, I noted in the previous essay that there are virtually no differences of significance between respondents who work primarily as personal coaches and those who work primarily as coaches in an organizational setting, though I noted that:
. . . there is a near significant difference in the item concerning coaching course, seminars and workshops, with personal-oriented coaches being often influenced by these activities than organization-oriented coaches. . . . It will be interesting to see if a subgroup of the organizational coaching group (those who provide training) are less influenced by training they have received as learners than are the coaches that they themselves train. This will have to await future analyses.
Perhaps the organizational coaches and those coming from the USA are great at teaching others (and perhaps even providing supervision to newly minted coaches)—but are not themselves inclined to still learn from others or be influenced much by the research evidence being accumulated. These coaches might indeed embrace a culture of autonomy and self-sufficiency. They might be good storytellers (about the “good old days” when this was still a field saturated with new ideas and innovations that often come from other fields that are far-afield and radical. They might even be good short-term teachers who are sharing their personally acquired insights and wisdom with those just entering the field. However, they probably would be unfit as certifiers of coaching competencies or formal instructors in a structured training or academic degree program.
