Coaches, over time, will develop their own style and find coaching tools that they favour over others. This will depend on varying factors, their own personality, the industry they work in, the type of clients they are generally working with. One thing that often happens without the coach realising is the type of intervention they tend to favour. For example, in 1989 John Heron discussed his ideas on the categories of interventions. In the third edition of his book the ‘six category intervention analysis’ he theorised that interventions are either authoritative or facilitative in nature and can be broken down as follows:
- Authoritative - Informative
- Authoritative - Confronting
- Authoritative - Prescriptive
- Facilitative - Cathartic
- Facilitative - Catalytic
- Facilitative - Supportive
Although this approach is aligned with leadership in general, the principles can certainly be applied to coaching. However, there are several factors a coach must consider before deciding on their course of action. How well do they know the coachee, some categories have a high degree of challenge and require a solid foundation to be effective. Which approach will work best for the coachee, the needs of the coachee must always be forefront in the mind of the coach, are they new in role or new to the business for example. What are the overall aims of the session, what is it that the coachee is trying to achieve.
There are of course other types of intervention open to coaches. One such example is Cognitive behavioural coaching (Neenan & Dryden, 2020), this approach focuses on the use of the ABC model (Ellis A, 1994) which is a simple model used in cognitive behavioural therapy to examine how events effect different people in different ways:
A = Activating Event
B = Beliefs or Thoughts
C = Emotional and Behavioural Consequences
In developmental terms it can be argued that the event itself directly causes the emotional response, this is referred to as A-C thinking, however, this does not take into account differing viewpoints to that event. In order to understand why ‘C’ happens, ‘B’ must be understood, this is therefore referred to as B-C thinking, in that it is in fact our own beliefs that determine the emotional response. A coach must not lose sight of the activating event but drawing out what the coachee believes or feels about the event will ultimately lead to greater understanding and awareness along with a clearer view on how to move forward.
Another approach that can be taken is Solution Focussed Coaching (O’Connell et al, 2012), this approach seeks to change the narrative from one of identifying problems, to one of identifying solutions, or in simpler terms, focussing on what is possible rather than what problems/barriers exist currently. This could be described as reverse engineering as the coach and coachee will work together to identify the solution, then navigate the best pathway to it. This approach does require a shift in mindset from both the coach and coachee, being future focussed is key, the ability to look forward at the solution and treat the problem as being in the past is a different approach to most traditional coaching methods. The coach must also have trust in the coachee, that they are the expert and will be capable of identifying the solution that works best for them.
The ability to select from various tools and techniques within a coach’s arsenal can often be the difference between real behavioural/attitudinal change and mere posturing. None of the intervention types discussed in this Hot Topic will provide a coachee with overnight success, what they will do though with commitment, honesty and openness is lead to long lasting change that will only benefit the coach and the organisation they work for/with.
Action Point
Complete the table below, looking individually at each intervention category. Think about the types of situation/scenario they would be best suited to.