Coaching is an increasingly popular method for personal growth. Although the field of coaching research is still developing, there have been efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of coaching on various outcomes such as stress levels, performance and wellbeing. We've gathered some of these studies for your reading pleasure.
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Coaching as the most effective solution for procrastination
A study at the University of Salzburg involving students who regularly procrastinate on academic tasks compared the effectiveness of:
(A) Individualised coaching,
(B) Group training,
(C) Self-coaching (i.e. where people are given self-help books for them to read on their own), and
(D) A control group (no intervention),
in managing procrastination, which is an issue that almost everyone faces.
Students were randomly assigned to the 4 groups above. Their outcomes were then compared (pre- and post-) in 4 ways.
Satisfaction - The highest satisfaction was reported by Group (A) (the students who went for individualised coaching).
Learning content (e.g. techniques on how to stop procrastinating) - This was highest for Group (B) (the students who attended group training). This isn’t surprising, as coaching doesn't teach content.
Achieving goals - This was highest for Group (A) (individualised coaching), but not statistically significantly higher compared to Group (B) (group training).
Actual behavioural change in reducing procrastination - Again, this was highest for Group (A) (individualised coaching), but not statistically significantly different compared to Group (B) (group training) and Group (C) (those who underwent self-coaching).
Coaching can amplify the productivity gains from conventional training
In what appears to be the first reported study on the effects of coaching in 1997, managers in a public sector agency underwent a conventional training programme followed by coaching. Their productivity increased by 22% after training, and 88% after training and coaching - a far more increase than that from training alone.
(This wasn't a randomised controlled trial.)
Coaching can drive greater academic success
From a study conducted among undergrads at a US university:
Students who scheduled their first coaching session early had 2 more sessions, on average, than students who didn't schedule early.
Each coaching session yielded an effect of about 0.2-0.3 grade points and 0.8 additional credits earned.
The study thus recommended that coaching initiatives should encourage students to arrange their first coaching session before the 6th week of class, and take up 4-6 sessions per semester for maximum impact.
Abstracts of other studies
The Institute of Coaching has compiled a list of abstracts of studies that seek to answer the question “Does coaching make a difference?” Founded in 2009, and based at McLean Hospital at Harvard Medical School, the Institute seeks to enhance global well-being through science-based coaching, and offers professional development, research, and a vast coaching library.
The book Evidence-based coaching, Vol 1: Theory, research and practice from the behavioural sciences, Cavanagh, M., Grant, A. M., & Kemp, T. (Eds.) (2005), Australian Academic Press (entire PDF here) contains 15 peer-reviewed chapters from leading experts, presenting coaching within contemporary theory and research, especially key presentations from the 2003 Evidence-Based Coaching Conference. The aim of the book is to develop a knowledge base and informed dialogue among coaches, emphasising scientifically grounded executive, personal, and life coaching.
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) has a research portal where you can search for more studies based on keywords, read abstracts and download full papers.
We also did our own literature review on youth coaching in the education context, still pending "review". Bookmark this page to check it out when it's ready!
Note on research findings
As with any research, there are inherent limitations, and we should never accept the conclusions unquestioningly.
Some general questions that we can ask ourselves after reading research findings are:
Does this make sense to me, based on my own experience? Do I agree with it? Why or why not?
How does this change what I already know?
Now that I know this, how can I apply this knowledge? Is there anything I'd like to do differently?
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