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given the number of responses for each). No responses were received for 3/10 or less and so do not appear in the table.
Table 6: Calculating the mean
Benchmark Question: On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being ‘very little’ through to 10 being ‘totally’) how
much do you feel that you have achieved the objectives set?
Answers to Benchmark question
(out of 10)
Number of Responses Number of Responses
x Rating x f fx 4 1 4 5 3 15 6 2 12 7 23 161 8 18 144 9 10 90 10 8 80 65 506 Mean = 506 / 65 = 7.78
The mean is calculated at 7.78 and indicates that a high level of success was perceived.
Survey Analysis
The survey questionnaire comprised 41 questions; 33 closed ended questions and 8 open ended questions (see Table 7 on page 144). It was split into the following sections: the Process; Coach Characteristics; Client’s Experience; Style; Outcomes; and Factual including information about their management seniority, name of the coach, and date of completion of the Coaching Programme. The following statement was used to gauge the overall success of the effective coaching session and is regarded as the benchmark question: On a scale of 1-
10 (1 being ‘very little’ through to 10 being ‘totally’) how much do you feel that you achieved the objectives set?
142 Table 7: Breakdown of Questionnaire
Sections Number of Closed Ended Questions in Questionnaire Number of Open Ended Questions in Questionnaire Total number of questions in Questionnaire 1.Process 7 1 8 2.Coach Characteristics 6 1 7 3.Client’s Experience 14 2 16 4.Style 1 3 4 5.Outcomes 2* 1 3 6.Factual 3 0 3 Totals 33 8 41
*Denotes the benchmark question: On a scale of 1-10 (1 being ‘very little’ through to 10 being
‘totally’) how much do you feel that you achieved the objectives set?
The Process
Statements in this first section of the questionnaire were about what the client felt was important in the process of the coaching sessions; including exploring how they achieved their objectives, progress made on the objectives, who led the discussion in the coaching sessions and whether they felt the coach was instrumental in their success. This would relate to the research question about the coaching having an impact on achieving business outcomes.
In the survey the majority of respondents ‘strongly agreed’ that the following 4 aspects in the process were important (n=80):
• Exploring possible solutions to achieve objectives (67.5%) • Setting objectives to achieve success (51.9%)
• Discussing the intentions of how to achieve objectives (53.2%)
• Discussing the progress made on objectives at the following session (62%)
This demonstrates that the coaching session was considered more effective in achieving the business outcomes if the discussion between the coach and client was structured to include these aspects. However, it is recognised that the objectives set during the session need to be aligned with the business outcomes in order to achieve success here. This supports the hypothesis that coaching contributed to a positive impact on the business outcomes.
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In the survey, 46.8% (37) of the 77 people who completed this question agreed that the coach was important to their success. Overall 82.20% (65) of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that this was so and only 5.1% (4) disagreed with this statement. Defining the coaching style of specific coaches would also support the research question regarding the coaching style contributing to obtaining positive results.
Coach Characteristics
The previous section illustrated that the coach was important to the success of the internal coaching. This section looks more closely at the coach’s characteristics, as perceived by the clients.
The survey listed six characteristics that were drawn from the narratives as important. These included the coach understanding the culture and operations of the business, being independent to the department from which the client is based, trustworthy and objective. The following responses from the survey show how many participants felt these characteristics were important:
• the coach understands the culture and the operations of the company 61.5% (48);
• the coach is independent to the department 45.6% (36);
• the coach is someone who you can trust in confidential matters 78.5% (62);
• the coach has business credibility 48.8% (39); • the coach is an objective person 64.6% (51);
• the coach is not the client’s line manager 61.3% (49).
All of these were rated ‘strongly agree’ by the majority of respondents in all cases.
When considering the research question of whether the coach should be trained and qualified, it is noteworthy that the characteristics mentioned above are not conditional of training to be a coach; these are criteria which can be satisfied even if a coach has not undertaken any training. Indeed, they may not be prevalent in some coaches who have received training.
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The analysis of the data showed that it was important to the client that the coach was an objective person and was independent from the department. Qualitative data taken from the narratives and survey also supports this outcome.
I have enjoyed having time with an independent person to discuss issues relating to work whose view I respect and that I know is unbiased (Participant 14.7 from the survey).
I enjoyed speaking to my trainer as someone outside of the company locally about issues I would not discuss to the same with anyone within my department (Participant 28.7 from the survey). Good to take the time out to talk to someone who is not always in our business area (Participant 44.7 from the survey).
As this was independent to my department and role it meant I was more open and honest about my own abilities. It made me look deep inside and challenge things I believed to be right and look for different ways to achieve the same outcome (Participant 64.6 from the survey).
It was good to have someone from outside my direct line of management to talk issues through and look to reach an agreeable solution / action plan (Participant 79.6 from the survey).
Considering the qualitative findings and the quantitative survey data then the profile of an effective coach is inferred as someone who is
1. trustworthy with confidential matters, 2. an objective person,
3. understands the culture and operations of the company, 4. not the client’s line manager,
5. has business credibility,
6. is independent to the department.
Comments from the coaches’ narratives also supported the requirement for a coach who is objective;
Meeting regularly allowed (the client) the opportunity to plan her interventions, discuss her concerns about them, put them into practice and review them with someone objective (Coach, from narrative 11).
I was slightly concerned that I would not be objective enough given my relationship with (the client) but actually I think it aided the process as (the client)’s trust in me was obvious (Coach, from narrative 12).
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In the survey, a little less than half of respondents 48.7% (37) disagreed that they would rather have discussed the issues with their line manager. In fact, 65.8% (50) of the 76 respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with this suggestion (80 respondents completed the actual survey). 61.8% (47) ‘strongly agreed’ that it was good to have a neutral and objective person to discuss issues with.
Clients’ Experience
In the survey, 50% of respondents said that the Coaching Programme was an extremely positive experience; 44.7% said it was positive; and 5.3% were neutral. This was also rated 3rd in the table showing percentage coverage of narrative for
specific activities (Table 5 on page 141) and therefore can be considered important to clients.
The survey found that having realisation moments and ensuring that the sessions were challenging were rated highly. The majority of responses ‘agreed’ that it was important to have realisation /eureka moments 39.5% (30) and a total of 68.4% (52) either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that this was important. 48.1% (37) ‘agreed’ and a further 42.9% (33) ‘strongly agreed’ that it was important that the sessions were challenging and made you think differently. This supports the research hypothesis that internal coaching has contributed to a positive impact on business outcomes.
In fact, 91% or 70 of the 77 respondents who answered the question either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that it was important that the sessions were challenging and made them think differently. Comments from the survey confirm the finding that realisation moments were valued;
My light-bulb moment was in dealing with some specific colleagues; I now understand the way they work, and approach them in a way they understand, instead of what I thought they expected (Participant 61.14 from the survey).
One client who completed the narrative account supports the survey comment above that thinking differently and having time to reflect is important;
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I found this to be a productive coaching session with (Coach). I think the fact that it all seemed to be an informal meeting, but you come away with some structured objectives is a very good way of coaching. I always feel energised and enthusiastic following these sessions. They always make me think about trying new ways of doing things and involving people (Client, from narrative 2).
Other comments from the qualitative sections of the survey supported the activity that making the client think differently was effective;
Helped me to see things more objectively (Participant 4.2).
The coaching helped me to take a step back, and think about how to approach my role (Participant 6.2).
Has made me look at how I approach things and question if I should continue to work in a particular manner. I am able to delegate better as a result (Participant 32.2).
The process allowed me to take a step back and reflect on situations and circumstances, which then lead to discussion of things I might have done differently (Participant 44.2).
It made me re-evaluate what I had been doing and put in place opportunities to try some of the changes discussed in the session to see if a different outcome could be achieved (Participant 64.2).
Comments from the survey .
Many comments were made relating to increasing clients’ confidence through the internal coaching. In the survey, 39% (30) ‘agreed’ and 32.5% (25) respondents ‘strongly agreed’ that their confidence had increased as a result of the coaching. Only 7 respondents ‘disagreed’ with this statement. Qualitative data from the narratives and survey questions supported the quantitative survey data;
Before starting the process, I wondered if any tangible outcomes would result from the coaching so was delighted to see (client) throw herself into her development. I was able to give her positive reinforcement as she achieved each of her goals she set herself and felt rewarded by her obvious gain in self-confidence (Coach 4, from narrative 11).
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After being doubtful about the coaching at the beginning, (the coach) has worked her magic and I feel I am a different news editor to the one I was before. I have accepted that I panic, have learned to deal with that, and have become a lot more confident in what I do (Client, from narrative 10).
(The coach) also helped me with short-term goals throughout the process, which build up my knowledge and confidence. I think the most significant moment was early in the process when I started to fully understand comments made by some of my colleagues…. (Client, from narrative 9).
I have become more assertive in questioning why and when things are wrong. I am not afraid to take things to a higher level and I am more confident with confrontation (Participant 11.14 from the survey).
My confidence definitely grew as a result of the coaching course. This has been evident as this is commented on by many of my peers and management (Participant 59.7 from the survey).
Also my confidence has improved therefore I feel I am able to deal with situations in a better way to achieve results (Participant 41.14 from the survey).
My confidence is a lot higher than it used to be and I feel confident about certain challenges than I possibly would have felt in the past (Participant 60.14 from the survey).
These testimonials support the research hypothesis that the internal coaching had a positive impact in achieving the business outcomes, especially due to increased confidence.
Style
In the survey, 63 participants (50.4% of responses) perceived that a coaching style had been used; 27 participants (21.6%) perceived that a mentoring style was used; and 25 participants (20%) perceived a counselling style. Here, respondents were permitted to illustrate if a blend of styles were used by indicating more than one response. Therefore, there were a total of 125 responses for this question from 63 participants.
148 Graph 2: Different Styles used in the Sessions
The coaching style was perceived to be very evident in the coaching sessions. The response percentage for a coaching style was 90%. A mentoring style received a response percentage of 38.6%, counselling style was 35.7% and instruction style was 14.3%. This indicates that a blend of styles was perceived by the clients to be used in the coaching sessions.
Outcomes
When participants were asked in the survey if they had seen any changes in terms of business outcomes that they could attribute to the Coaching Programme, 44.9% said yes; 34.8% said they were sure they contributed but were unable to demonstrate this; 10.1% said they were unsure; and 10.1% said no. Nearly 80% of the respondents confirmed that in their perception, coaching had contributed towards changes in terms of business outcomes and over half of these felt that they could demonstrate this. This claim supports the idea that internal coaching has an impact on achieving business outcomes.
Qualitative comments from the survey also support this finding that perceived changes in terms of business outcomes were attributed to the Coaching Programme;
63
27 25
10 Coaching Mentoring Counselling Instruction 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Nu m be r o f r esp on se s