An Analysis and Measure of the Use of Coaching Skills by Managers and

LeadersJoel A. DiGirolamoJ. Thomas Tkach

International Coach Federation (ICF)

Agenda

• Definitions

• Paradigm

• Research Questions

• Methods & Results

Definitions

• Coaching: Facilitating growth and change by evoking a client’s own resourcefulness

• Leading: Aligning and motivating toward a vision

• Managing: Planning, budgeting, facilitating day-to-day tasks

• Mentoring: Drawing upon domain knowledge and wisdom to educate and develop a less experienced individual

ICF Professional Coaching Definition

Partnering with clients

in a thought-provoking and creative process

that inspires them to maximize

their personal and professional potential.

Paradigm Shift

TodayMintzberg, 1973

Problem

Managing

MentoringLeading

Mgrs & LdrsUsing

CoachingSkills

Prof.Coaching

Skills

Mgrs & LdrsUsing

CoachingSkills

Existing Manager & Leader Coaching Scales• Ellinger, Ellinger, & Keller (2003ff) + Many Variants

• Originally 8 Items From a Literature Review• Many Follow-on Variants with Various Number of Items• Mixes in Constructs Other Than Coaching

• McLean, Yang, Tolbert, & Larkin Measurement Model of Coaching Skills (MMCS, 2005ff)

• Initiated From a Literature Review, 80 Items• Follow-on Variants• Mixes in Constructs Other Than Coaching

• Additional Scales Exist, None Purely About Coaching

Research Questions

• What manager & leader coaching skills improve team member outcomes?

• What benefits are accrued from managers and leaders using coaching skills?

• Are there any specific manager and leader coaching competencies?

Overview• Mixed Methods Study• Phase I: Interviews of Manager and Leader Use of Coaching

Skills Program Curricula Developers• Phase II: Interviews of Managers and Leaders Who Use

Coaching Skills• Phase II: Interviews of HR Professionals Who Support

Managers and Leaders in the Use of Coaching Skills• Phase II: Team Member Perception of Manager or Leader Use

of Coaching Skills• Phase III: Team Member & Manager or Leader Dyadic Survey

Phase II Team Member Survey• 154 Participants

• North America (49%), Europe (20%), Asia (15%)

• Male (40%), Female (60%), 88% of Respondents 40+ Years Old

• Coaching Competency Items, Frequency & Importance

• Many Open-Ended Items

Phase II Team Member SurveyOther Validated Scales

• sPLIS (Perceived Leader Integrity Scale {Short Form})

• LMX (Affect + Loyalty)

• MLQ (Individual Consideration)

• WAI-SR (Working Alliance Inventory – Short Revised)

• UWES-9 (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale)

• ItQ (Intention to Quit or Turnover)

Findings

• As Others Have Found, Use of Coaching Skills Becomes a Facilitative Management Style

• Use of Coaching Skills is Related to:• Empowerment & Engagement

• Especially Related to Challenging Assignments

Directive-Facilitative Spectrum

Time Perspective

Skills

Manager or LeaderCoaching Composite Scale (MLCC)

• How often did this manager or leader ask a question that initiated learning? (OftenMLAskQ)• How often did this manager or leader focus his or her complete attention on your conversation and

spontaneously build on your relationship? (OftenMLPresence)• How often did this manager or leader make an effort to develop a collaborative and trusting

relationship? (OftenMLDevTrust)• How often did this manager or leader actively listen and reflect on what you were saying or not

saying? (OftenMLActiveListen)• How often did this manager or leader use language that was direct? (OftenMLUseDirLang)• How often did your interactions with this manager or leader lead to greater awareness, insight, or

understanding? (OftenMLAwareness)• How often did this manager or leader work with you to design actions that will most effectively

promote your growth or job performance? (OftenMLDesignActions)• How often did this manager or leader work with you to plan and set goals that will most effectively

promote your growth or job performance? (OftenMLSetGoals)• How often did this manager or leader work with you to manage your progress and hold you

accountable for working toward your career or job performance goals? (OftenMLMgProgress)

Manager or LeaderCoaching Composite Scale (MLCC)

• Response Scale:• Never (5)

• Rarely (4)

• Occasionally (3)

• Frequently (2)

• Always (1)

MLCC ValidationScale Pearson r Cronbach’s αMLCC — .83WAI-SR -.70 .93MLQ (Indiv. Consideration) -.67 .86LMX (Affect + Loyalty) -.45 .86ItQ .44 .82UWES-9 -.43 .88sPLIS .37 .92

MLCC Item-Item Correlation: .14-.64MLCC Item-Total Correlation: .51-.77

Negative Correlations areDue to Reversed Response Scales

MLCC Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

ItemLearning& Goals

Team Member Experience

OftenMLSetGoals .87 .00OftenMLMgProgress .77 -.06OftenMLAskQ .53 .05OftenMLDesignActions .53 .19OftenMLPresence .02 .75OftenMLActiveListen -.02 .73OftenMLDevTrust .00 .73OftenMLAwareness .28 .26OftenMLUseDirLang .18 .28

Oblimin Rotation, RMSEA index = 0.74

Follow-on Study• Global Sample, n = 248

• Pavlína Honsová, Dissertation, 2019• MLCC ⇔ WAI-SR, r = .71• MLCC ⇔ Coaching Outcomes, r = .54

ICF Definition of Managers and LeadersUsing Coaching Skills

A facilitative management or leadership style

that integrates coaching skills into daily interactions

in order to maximize individual and organizational growth.

Follow-Up• Copy of Slides Available via E-mail• An Exploration of of Managers and Leaders Using Coaching

Skills, Consulting Psychology Journal• Contacts:

• joel.digirolamo@coachfederation.org• thomas.tkach@coachfederation.org

Phase I Interviews

• Literature Review• 10 Semi-Structured Interviews

• Europe (4), S. Africa (2), US (2), Puerto Rico, Thailand• Male (3), Female (7), Ages 39-76

• Thematic Analysis Using MAXQDA• First Pass by One Researcher• Second Researcher Coded Independently Using Same Code Book• Saturation Achieved by 9th Interview

• Code Book Became Basis for Phase II Interview Guides

Phase II Interviews

• 16 Semi-Structured Interviews• North America (9), Europe (2), Africa (2), Middle East (3)

• Male (6), Female (10), Ages 33-66

• Thematic Analysis Using MAXQDA• No New Codes in Last Five Interviews