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The purpose of this paper is to explore the expansion of the coaching context in organizations through team and group coaching. The paper provides definitions and several examples of what these engagements look like, along with key considerations when expanding the coaching conversation.

The paper is based on research undertaken during the writing of two books on group and team coaching, including more than two dozen interviews with team and group coaches.

Group and Team Coaching are two modalities for expanding the coaching conversation in organizations. They provide opportunities to scale coaching, build organizational capacity and reduce the silos.

The paper provides examples of what team and group coaching can look like in action, informing coaches, leaders and other practitioners as they approach expanding the coaching conversation.

Group and team coaching are emerging sub-disciplines of the coaching profession. This paper will stimulate dialogue regarding how these modalities can be leveraged within organizations, and differences with related fields.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss feedback-based group coaching as a strategy towards school leaders’ development. On the basis of data collected within the framework of the project “Professional Learning through Feedback and Reflection” (PROFLEC), this case study explores the Cypriot school leaders’ views about feedback and coaching as developmental tools. The PROFLEC project was implemented in participating countries during 2013-2015 and involved completing an online leadership self-assessment inventory, training as well as coaching sessions.

Observations and interviews with coachees and coaches illustrate participants’ views on feedback-based group coaching, the critical conditions of its implementation and the perceived value of the particular model.

The study concludes that feedback-based group coaching can enhance school leaders’ organisational socialisation and learning; yet, certain aspects, such as the nature of the feedback, the role of the coaches, the establishment of trust as well as voluntary participation are required to enhance reflection towards action for school leaders.

This paper supports the importance of feedback-based group coaching as a developmental strategy for school leaders.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effect on Learner Autonomy Profile (LAP) scores and academic success of a five‐week coaching intervention for pre‐diploma university students in Malaysia.

A quasi‐experimental designed was used. Participants completed the LAP pre‐ and post‐intervention. The experimental group of 35 participated in five weekly learner autonomy coaching sessions and wrote in computer‐managed reflection logs between meetings. A 52‐member control group received no intervention. Null hypotheses expected no significant differences in post‐ over pre‐intervention LAP scores or in GPA, Math, or English grades for either group.

Two null hypotheses were not supported and one was. Significant increases in mean post‐ over pre‐intervention LAP scores of the experimental group were found in eight of 22 components and two of four constructs of the LAP. No significant differences were found in the mean post‐ over pre‐intervention LAP scores of the control group. Significant increases were found in post‐ over pre‐intervention grades of both groups. However, the experimental group achieved a greater positive difference in grades than did the experimental group.

There was no hypothesis related to the use of group coaching versus the traditional individual coaching model in this study.

Learner autonomy group coaching and reflection activities appear to enhance behavioral intentions to learn and academic success.

Enhanced behavioral intentions to learn and academic success benefits the learner and society.

This is the first study designed to test the capacity to influence learner autonomy expressed in terms of behavioral intentions through coaching and its relationship to academic success.

The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to group coaching in the workplace that can enhance shared learning in groups and teams through dialogue as opposed to group members’ individual positioning through discussion and debate.

An action research project conducted throughout one year in collaboration between the management groups of the Elderly Care in a Danish municipality, two organizational consultants and two researchers from the Department of Communication and Psychology at Aalborg University. The dialogical approach to group coaching is developed in the interaction between dialogue theory and the performance and close analysis of 12 video-taped coaching sessions with four management groups. The development of the dialogic group coaching concept is further supported through common reflections between researchers and groups in initial meetings as well as during the coaching sessions and final interviews, reflections between researchers and groups in initial meetings as well as during the coaching sessions and final interviews.

The non-directive approach of dialogic group coaching is inspired by Transformative Mediation. This approach includes a focus on empowerment and recognition within the group in terms of promoting common reflection and learning. This also appears to diminish conflict talk and conflict-based relationships. Further, the dialogic approach emphasizes the importance of a coaching contract to create a common basis for reflection and action, which is found to reduce individual positioning.

The paper develops a dialogic concept of group coaching in theory and practice, while focusing on the learning processes and development of the participating management groups.

Gender differences in leadership and issues around differential progression of male and female leaders are receiving more attention in the fields of human resource and leadership development. However, little is known about how interventions designed to support female leaders are being experienced within real-world contexts of global organizations. There is limited research and discussion on how such interventions are experienced at a more systemic level. This study aims to contribute at this very level.

This study reports on a predominantly coaching-based development program that was designed to further the careers of female leaders within a complex multi-national organization. The study was conducted in a large, global health-care corporation employing 100,000 people based in over 120 countries. The qualitative research design for this study was exploratory, involving a reflexive process at each of the two stages.

The findings from this qualitative research take the debate on “the gendered organization” further by including the voices of female leaders. They demonstrate that whilst theoretically the concept of the “ideal worker” may inhibit progression, this is not necessarily a barrier to career advancement. Coaching, both individual and group, is shown to have a powerful effect on promoting reflection, self-confidence and focus.

There are two research limitations. While confidentiality was promised, the responses of some interviewees were nevertheless still guarded. Other limitations relate to the extent to which this study can be generalized to other contexts, as it was conducted inside a single global corporation.

The study addresses the complex and urgent topic of differential progression and makes a broader contribution by offering a systemic perspective on gender and development in global organizations.

Leadership coaching has become an increasingly common method to maximize competency development and behaviors for organizational leaders as well as to improve retention and career mobility. Few empirical studies have tested its capacity to generate such outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a coaching program within a healthcare organization, showing significant impact to the leaders’ behaviors and retention, measured through non-self-report data.

In the present study, the behaviors associated with leadership competencies were evaluated using a quasi-experimental design to determine if significant gains have been achieved following a coaching intervention when compared to prior competency ratings. Retention and career movement of participating leaders were tracked to compare rates against a control group.

In the present study, leadership coaching was evaluated. Results indicate that individuals who participated in the program, in comparison with those that did not, showed significantly improved leadership competencies and significantly higher retention rates one year post-program. Implications for leadership development programs are discussed.

One possible limitation of this study is the program structure in the experimental condition received both individual and group coaching so the competency improvement cannot be parsed out to one type of coaching vs another. The authors suggest that this limitation is an opportunity for future research to explore differing effects by coaching type.

This study provides the healthcare organization with unique quantitative data regarding the positive implications of a leadership program that has not been reported previously. The findings will provide further justification to support leadership coaching programs.

Mood and anxiety disorders affect 20–30 percent of school-age children, contributing to academic failure, substance abuse, and adult psychopathology, with immense social and economic impact. These disorders are treatable, but only a fraction of students in need have access to evidence-based treatment practices (EBPs). Access could be substantially increased if school professionals were trained to identify students at risk and deliver EBPs in the context of school-based support services. However, current training for school professionals is largely ineffective because it lacks follow-up supported practice, an essential element for producing lasting behavioral change. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this pilot feasibility study, the authors explored whether a coaching-based implementation strategy could be used to integrate common elements of evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) into schools. The strategy incorporated didactic training in CBT for school professionals followed by coaching from an expert during co-facilitation of CBT groups offered to students.

In total, 17 school professionals in nine high schools with significant cultural and socioe-conomic diversity participated, serving 105 students. School professionals were assessed for changes in confidence in CBT delivery, frequency of generalized use of CBT skills and attitudes about the utility of CBT for the school setting. Students were assessed for symptom improvement. The school professionals showed increased confidence in, utilization of, and attitudes toward CBT. Student participants showed significant reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms pre- to post-group.

These findings support the feasibility and potential impact of a coaching-based implementation strategy for school settings, as well as student symptom improvement associated with receipt of school-delivered CBT.

Recent debates within the literature and amongst practitioners of coaching have been focussed on defining the scope and practice of coaching as a form of organizational intervention that can facilitate organizational and individual change. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate about what coaching is by reviewing an emerging comparative conceptual framework of coaching as a form of practice for management and organizational development.

The framework was developed through an exploratory study involving a focus group of practitioners in coaching and management. The overall approach to this study blends a conceptual consideration of the practice of coaching with the results gained from a focus group. The study uses cognitive mapping, thematic grouping and content analysis to seek to define the key characteristics of coaching in comparison to other forms of management practice.

A framework of “meta‐categories” of management practice are identified and the role and processes of coaching is compared in relation to these. Results from the study suggest that coaching adopts a holistic approach to management and organizational development and that certain key characteristics can be identified that differentiate it from other forms of management and organizational development. Results also open the way for research into forms of coaching required to facilitate and support whole systems change.

The framework could be of use to managers in assessing whether a coaching‐based approach to promoting and managing change is appropriate and what processes it involves.

An increasingly popular method of facilitating employee and leadership development is via a career community (Parker et al., 2004), where individuals self-organize to obtain career support. This study was driven by the following research question: how do external peer coaching groups – which are a form of career community – impact leadership development? The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a research study that examined one such career community focussed on providing peer coaching for managers in business organizations. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with participants who attended a leadership development program that was based on harnessing a career community for the purpose of peer coaching. The authors report the results of the study and its implications for leadership development programs.

The authors chose a qualitative methodology to conduct this exploratory examination, where the authors conducted in-depth interviews with participants in a unique leadership development program which involved peer group coaching supplemented by one-on-one personal coaching. A key reason for adopting a qualitative methodology was that the authors were looking for a deeper understanding of interviewees’ perceptions and experiences regarding peer coaching. The first component of the leadership program involved eight peer coaching sessions over a 12-month period. Participants met in small, exclusive groups – typically in cohorts of seven to eight peers, but as many as 12 peers – every six weeks to discuss a variety of topics relevant to their jobs and stage of career and to provide each other with peer coaching and advice. Each group was comprised of people from different organizations. Sessions were led by a facilitator and lasted three hours each. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 17 graduates of the program. The sample comprised 14 women and three men. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim and then analyzed using thematic analysis (King, 2004) to identify the key themes in interviewees’ experiences of the respective program.

Thematic interpretation of participants’ responses yielded the following four major themes: first, the value of a learning community; second, the utility of a formal approach to peer coaching; third, the value of diversity and “externality”; and fourth, the value of an open learning environment (each fully described in the manuscript). The study revealed that external peer coaching and personal coaching deliver distinct types of value as part of a complete leadership development program.

This was a case study and specific to one leadership development program. Consequently, the authors cannot necessarily generalize the findings.

The findings draw critical attention to the major contribution that learning communities can make toward leadership development. Although many leadership development programs assume that “leadership” is best learned from top leaders (e.g. Presidents and CEOs), organizations can acquire unique benefits by leveraging the concept of peer coaching, which can produce substantial results by having managers at the same organizational level learn from each other. In addition, the study underscores the potential value of external sources of peer coaching and leader development. Organizations may further maximize such benefits by sending their mid and senior-level managers to external peer coaching programs, which can deliver unique value in addition to any internal leadership development initiatives.

This study underscores the need to better bridge the gap between two literatures – careers and leadership development. Career scholars explore the activities involved in developing careers (e.g. career communities) and leadership development scholars explore activities involved in developing leaders. This study demonstrates the value of integrating knowledge from both these literatures to suggest that learning communities can impact leadership development in significant and positive ways.

This study makes a novel contribution to the literature addressing leadership development. It draws attention to the use of career communities for leadership development – an issue which has largely been ignored. In addition, while much of the extant research has focussed on either academic or student participants, the study focussed on business professionals. Few studies have examined the use of peers from outside organizations to serve as coaches for leadership development.

The study aimed to understand the effect of instructional coaching on teachers' implementation of a science teaching improvement programme and whether it varies in schools of different socioeconomic statuses.

The authors conducted an experimental study. A total of 59 seventh-grade classrooms from a representative sample of public schools from the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, were provided with research-based science educative curriculum materials (ECM) as resources to improve their teaching. A randomly selected treatment group received additional instructional coaching. Coaches met one-on-one with teachers on a weekly basis, providing pedagogical support to enact the ECM. After a 12-week intervention, the authors analyzed science teaching practices as evidenced in students' notebooks. The authors used a fidelity framework to understand the programme's implementation (with and without coaching), considering its adherence, dosage and quality, and compared how it varied across schools.

While teachers in both groups used the ECM in their science lessons (i.e. with high adherence), instructional coaching almost tripled science teaching time (i.e. the dosage) but did not increase the quality of implementation (i.e. the percentage of inquiry-based science activities taught). In low socioeconomic status schools, the effect of coaching on dosage was even more intense.

This study provides robust evidence on the impact of instructional coaching on teaching improvement programmes in science in developing countries, an under researched topic. The findings may contribute to developing targeted coaching interventions considering their effectiveness in different school contexts.