Abstract
This chapter offers an additional example of practitioner-research. Earlier, in Chap. 5, I mainly presented my own research, in part with a systematic look at third-generation coaching practice.
In this chapter I present my analysis of four case studies of other coaches’ coaching practices in the form of four narratives. The purpose is to look at how practitioners reflect on their own practice and to see what general conclusions can be drawn from these practitioners’ reflections in light of existing pertinent research. In my choice of experts I have focused on professional coaches who enjoy national and international recognition, and who have extensive academic educational backgrounds – preferably also research training.
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Notes
- 1.
Clearly, there are many others that I could have chosen with equal expertise to the ones who appear here. A contributing selection criterion for me was their perceived status; the recognition they enjoy among their colleagues and clients as well as the formal documentation of their status in the form of specific positions they have held in coaching or coaching psychology. Furthermore, the selected coaching experts are part of my personal network. Some have wanted to remain anonymous. As a consequence, all the coaching experts have been rendered anonymous – which is clearly also an advantage in terms of safeguarding the anonymity of their clients.
- 2.
Three of the four interviews were done in English. The analysis procedure in the three cases was also based on the English original transcript. The Danish narrative was translated into English by a professional translator for this edition of the book. In order to facilitate the comprehension of all four stories, a small degree of language editing was carried out. Other than that, the stories are in the interviewees’ own words throughout. All the interview narratives were approved by the implied coaches.
- 3.
Here I owe a debt of gratitude to my academic research assistant in the department, Rikke Schou Jeppesen, who prepared three interview narratives and my Industrial Ph.D. scholar Morten Bertelsen, who prepared one of the narratives. Their efforts have contributed greatly to the quality of the chapter. The procedure behind preparing the narratives adhered to a clear set of guidelines: Essentially the intention of this analysis lies in coding the key interview passages based on selected coding concepts in order to structure meaning and develop a plot and narrative structure, which produces to the final narrative, which represents the interviewees’ key experiences, thoughts and reflections, here in relation to their own practice.
- 4.
See Kirkeby, 2009, p.132: “The goal of protreptic is Otherness. This could be named by the neologism ‘heterotelos’, (‘the Other person as goal’) … to act as the non-servile servant of the other person.”
- 5.
Of course, to some extent, these topics were highlighted as topics of interest. But at the same time, it is important to maintain that all four coaching practitioners were very interested in and focused on reflecting on these exact topics. Other topics that I was also interested in (for example the coach’s view of human nature or his or her meta-theoretical reflections) did not resonate with the interviewees to the same degree.
- 6.
In therapy research, self-disclosure is a relatively controversial form of intervention where the therapist discloses something of a personal nature. Research shows that clients generally perceive self-disclosure as helpful (Hill & Knox, 2002). In the literature, it is further found that humanist and experiential therapists use this form of intervention more frequently than therapists with, e.g., a psychoanalytic outlook. In my understanding of third-generation coaching, self-disclosure takes a particularly self-reflective form in the coach and thus takes on crucial importance for the collaborative process. This essentially turns intervention into interaction.
- 7.
The importance of acceptance, empathy and authenticity were already addressed by Rogers (1961).
- 8.
Robert Kegan is a developmental psychologist and a professor of adult learning at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and one of Kathrine’s collaborators. Among other titles, he co-authored How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work: Seven Languages for Transformation (together with Lisa Lahey). 2001.
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Stelter, R. (2014). Reflective Practice Among Coaching Experts. In: A Guide to Third Generation Coaching. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7186-4_7
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