To frame the global research on coaching, it is helpful to briefly explore coaching
models outside of higher education. Several definitions exist to capture the roles and
reasons for coaching. Perhaps the most common use of the word “coach” has been in
association with athletics. However, aside from athletics, coaching has been adapted in
various venues including career, executive, K-12 education, tutoring, leadership, and
several other fields. The following section presents (1) global definitions of coaching, (2)
history of coaching as a support service, and (3) a brief overview of the International
35 Global Definitions of Coaching
The word “coach” holds several meanings. In 1849 the verb referred to “to
prepare someone” (www.etymonline.com). In the field of business, coaching is defined
as “a partnering of two people, one client and one coach, who together create an
alliance which is designed to deepen the client’s learning of themselves and supports
them in forwarding their learning to action” (Vansickel-Peterson, 2010, p. 1). Executive coaching is defined as “a facilitative one-on-one, mutually designed relationship
between a professional coach and a key organizational contributor” and focuses on skill
building, performance enhancement, and career development (Kappenberg, 2008).
Brock’s (2008) dissertation on the history and emergence of coaching used a definition by Cavanagh & Grant stating “a goal-directed, results-oriented, systematic process in
which one person facilitates sustained change in another individual or group through
fostering the self-directed learning and personal growth of the coachee” (2006, p. 147).
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defined professional coaching as
“partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them
to maximize their personal and professional potential” (ICF, 2012). Reciprocal peer coaching (RPC) is defined as “a form of co-operative or peer-assisted learning that encourages individual students in small groups to coach each other in turn so that the
outcome of the process is a more rounded understanding and a more skillful execution
of the task in hand than if the student was learning in isolation” (Asghar, 2010, p. 403).
Self-reflection, accountability, developing meaningful goals, asking good questions, and
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relationship. The concept of coaching focuses on outcomes and emphasizes self-
directed learning, goal setting, and action planning (ICF, 2012). Generally speaking,
coaching is intended to result in improved performance in various venues such as
business, management, and education.
While these ideas are helpful in providing a global definition, there is still
ambiguity in how and what differentiates coaches from other roles specifically on a
college campus.
History of Coaching as a Support Service
In his dissertation on executive coaching, Kappenberg’s (2008) research revealed
coaching began in the 1940’s as a form of developmental counseling. Psychology is
deemed as having the greatest influence on coaching, adapting many of the tools and
models as a framework (Brock, 2008). In the business arena, Kappenberg discussed the
initial negative connotation associated with coaching. He argued, “Coaching historically
was more often reserved for executives whose performance was failing, as a last ditch
effort to salvage their career” (Kappenberg, 2008, p. 6). However, he also stated that
the perception has changed and today coaching has a much more positive connotation.
Perhaps the most comprehensive literature on the history and emergence of
coaching as a profession stems from a dissertation written by Vikki Brock (2008). Brock
asserted “Coaching found its place in history, and most recently in the business world,
when it exploded into the corporate environment in the 1990s” (Williams, 2004, p. 1, as
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coaching was published in 1955 in the Harvard Business Review. Coaching themes in this original article surrounded performance improvement and management development.
While Brock (2008) provided one of the most comprehensive research studies on
the history and emergence of coaching (i.e. a 513-page dissertation), the study leaves
the reader without a sense of precision as to exactly what coaching entails. The study’s
strength lies in the grounded theory of the profession. However, as with other studies, it
fails to provide a solid, clear definition of coaching that could apply to higher education.
International Coaching Federation
Established in 1995, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) is a global
organization whose aim is to advance the practice of professional coaching (ICF website,
2013). ICF proclaimed that coaching is a distinguished profession separate from other
service professions such as therapy, consulting, mentoring, training, and athletic
development. ICF currently certifies over 21,000 members spanning over 100 countries
in a variety of areas such as Executive Coaching, Life Coaching, Leadership Coaching,
Relationship Coaching, and Career Coaching. As stated on their website:
ICF, the world’s largest coaching organization, remains successful in its core purpose: to advance the coaching profession. According to the ICF 2012 Global Coaching Study, approximately 47,500 professional coaches are now in business worldwide (bringing cumulative annual revenue close to $2 billion) as compared to 2,100 professional coaches in 1999.
Clearly the role of coaching reaches far beyond the realm of higher education. Only
recently (i.e. approximately year 2000) have colleges adopted this position as a means
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