Reseraching your practice

Judith Barton, Director of Coaching&Mentoring

Once you have identified your research topic and refined your research question, the next stage is to decide on your design and methodology – what and how information you will collect to answer your question.  Once you have decided on these, a plan with SMART goals and a realistic timetable is necessary to ensure successful completion. 

Research Design

A key component of your question in determining the appropriate design is whether or not you want your results to be ‘generalisable’ – i.e. to apply to all similar research participants now and in the future; or are happy to find out what applies only to the people who actually participated in your project – a ‘snapshot in time’? The former will require statistical input to identify the sample size sufficient to answer your question; and the method of selection from all the possible participants in who you are interested (the sample)  - the method of randomisation. The latter is much more straightforward – the people in the organisation or setting of interest who you can approach and who agree to participate. 

The nature of the design and methodology will be determined primarily by your research question, but may also be influenced by time and resources available to you. You might ideally wish to generate results which can be generalised, but in the real world time, expertise and other resources may lead you towards a snapshot approach. 

For the purpose of this blog, I am concentrating on research which looks at effectiveness – particularly the effectiveness (or otherwise) of coaching and mentoring. This could focus on the impact on an organisation; a single individual; or a number of individuals.  Examples of research methods which look at effectiveness include experimental, observational, surveys, case studies, qualitative research.  

Experimental research requires that the ‘research subjects’ or participants receive an intervention which is expected to have an impact on them and/or their organisation; measurements are taken before and after the intervention; and the researcher can conclude whether the intervention ‘makes a difference’ to the things which are being measured. Examples of interventions include executive coaching with Board level directors; performance coaching with middle managers; mentoring with young people.  

The ‘gold standard’ for identifying whether an intervention achieves its desired outcome is the ‘randomised controlled trial’ (RCT) (as used in trials of clinical interventions such as new medicines). Briefly, this method involves at least two groups (those receiving the intervention, the ‘experimental’ group’) and the ‘control’ group (who do not receive the experimental intervention).  ‘Before’ and ‘after’ measurements from each group are compared. The two groups are matched for key indicators – e.g. age, gender, level of seniority in the organisation. The total numbers and the numbers in each group are determined by a statistical process, the power calculation.  Research participants are allocated to each group by a process of randomisation, which means that each individual has an equal chance of being allocated to either group. The processes of the power calculation and randomisation improve the likelihood that the results are genuine and can be generalised or happened by chance and only apply to the individuals included.  

RCTs clearly involve complex, expensive, and time consuming processes. Whilst new medications cannot legally be brought to market without proven safety and effectiveness, other types of intervention can be evaluated by less intensive methods – although the results will not be as robust. A more readily used ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparison, either without a control group or with an unmatched control group would be the cohort study – when a group of people are assessed before the intervention – e.g. a programme of executive coaching - and again after the intervention has been completed.  If used with a single organisation this approach could be described as a case study, although a full case study would also involve analysis of the organisational context as well as the impact of the coaching programme. If involving a single individual this would also be a case study, but would not give any information beyond the individual concerned. 

Research Methods

When looking at impact or effectiveness of coaching and mentoring, organisational and individual indicators can be used – for example the impact of management coaching on sickness absence rates and/or on retention and turnover figures; or the reported well-being and motivation of coachees before and after the programme.  This approach (using both quantitative and qualitative methods) is described as a ‘multi-method’ study, rather obviously because - it involves more than one method.  The quantitative information includes those mentioned above – absence rates, turnover, or productivity, which organisations will be collecting routinely.  Information about individuals will probably need to be collected specially by the researcher. This could be achieved through questionnaires, individual interviews or focus groups. Questionnaires may be used to collect quantitative information (e.g. age, gender, ethnicity; or answers to ‘multiple choice’ questions) about participants and qualitative information with their attitudes and behaviour in respect of either giving or receiving the coaching.   

So, what do I mean by ‘quantitative’ information and ‘qualitative’ information? Fundamentally, the former is expressed in numbers; and the latter in language. Quantitative information is expressed through numbers – it may be rates, inputs such as hours worked or outputs such as the number of goods produced or services completed; or numbers may be allocated to linguistic answers (e.g. Male = 1; Female = 2; LGBTI = 3). Qualitative methods are especially useful for researching people’s feelings and thoughts about processes and allow you to probe more deeply into matters which could be quite sensitive.  Some examples of the main methods for collecting information are provided below, with some of the strengths and weaknesses identified. 

1 Questionnaire surveys – these are usually self-completed without you being present to offer clarification to the respondent.  These may be administered as paper documents or, more commonly now, online.  The benefits of questionnaires include the fact that they relatively inexpensive and easy to send out.  Weaknesses include the need to phrase questions so that there is absolutely no ambiguity about precisely what information is being requested and encouraging people to complete and return the questions.  Ease of analysis will depend on how well the questions are phrased and whether the answers requested are numerical or linguistic. A higher number of participants can be approached for the same resource input as interviews or focus groups.

2. Organisational information such as sickness absence rates and staff turnover are usually collected routinely – as a researcher you will need to be able to access this information. Some thought should be given to how this information will be analysed. 

3.  Semi-structured and structured interviews are often used to collect ‘feelings’ information from people, for example about how they experienced the process of coaching or being coached.  These have the advantage of the researcher being present so that the interviewee(s) can seek clarification and the researcher can probe more deeply into the answers provided. If you are wanting to ask about more sensitive and personal issues (e.g. career plans) interviews will have an advantage over focus groups in which people may not be willing to divulge their personal plans and ambitions.  These methods have the advantage of sharing some skills with coaching – e.g. building rapport, questioning and deep listening.  

4.  Focus groups can be useful in that the opinions a larger number of people can be collected at one session; and members of the group may ‘spark’ ideas off each other. Using group discussion will require some additional skills to individual interviews – e.g facilitating the discussion, ensuring all members of the group have opportunity to contribute, similar to team coaching.

There are some similarities in the skills required for research and for coaching, although the purpose is different – to collect information which will enable you to draw conclusions about the question you originally asked. 

Research Planning

As with any complex set of activities, successful achievements depends on a clear and realistic plan.  The precise details will of course depend on the specific details of the research project.  The following example of a plan is based on a case study approach to a research project which will evaluate the effectiveness of introducing a programme of coaching into an organisation.  The organisational plan is to provide Executive Coaching training to Board directors; and Performance Coaching to senior and middle managers. The middle managers will be trained in two consecutive cohorts – the cohort to be trained first will be the ‘experimental’ group and the second will the ‘control group’. Both groups will be asked about their motivation and commitment to the organisation and their engagement.  The research has been commission by the L&D Lead and will be carried out by an external researcher.

Task	Person responsible	Deadline
Coach training programme and associated research agreed.	Board	Day 1
Draft pro forma for collecting information from organisational sources – policy for introducing coaching, procedures for introducing coaching; quantitative information on sickness absence, turnover.	Researcher	Week 4
Draft interview topic guide (for Directors) and focus group guide (for managers and coachees)	Researcher	Week 4
Draft letters for trainee coaches and coachees	Researcher	Week 4
[Identify Board Directors to be trained as coaches	L&D Lead	Week 4
[Identify middle managers to be trained as coaches and allocate them to members of the 1st and 2nd cohorts;	L&D Lead	Week 4
Identify staff to be coached by both Directors and managers.	L&D Lead	Week 4
Negotiate details of research with organisation (HR, L&D, CEO) to have access to organisational information; and to approach trainee coaches and coachees to invite them to participate in the research. Specifically issues to do with confidentiality.	Researcher	Week 4
Pilot and refine as necessary pro forma; topic guide; focus group guide.	Researcher	Week 5
Collect baseline organisational information	Researcher	Week 6
Carry out baseline interviews with Directors	Researcher	Week 7
Carry out baseline focus groups	Researcher	Week 7
Interview Directors	Researcher	Week 25
Hold focus groups with trainee coaches and cohort 2.	Researcher	Week 26
Collect organisational information after the coaching training is completed.	Researcher	Week 27
Analyse organisational information	Researcher	Week 27
Analyse Director interviews	Researcher	Week 28
Analyse focus group information	Researcher	Week 29
First draft of research report	Researcher	Week 35
Review and refine research report	Researcher	Week 38
Submit final report to commissioner	Researcher	Week 39
Present key findings to Board	Researcher	Week 40

This plan includes activities which need to be carried out by other parties, in italics.  The purpose of this is to highlight the dependence of researchers on others.  It may take longer for the organisation to complete its tasks; and there may be reasons (outside the researcher’s control) why the timescale may drift – it is essential to be prepared for this and to be realistic in your timescale and to build in some ‘slack’ so that the eventuality that there are delays it remains likely that you will complete the project on time. 

My next blog will look at issues of data collection and analysis.

                                  

Resilience

Martin Hill, Senior tutor BSC

The recent adverse weather conditions that has struck the UK recently has been a remarkable demonstration of the resilience people have when faced with adverse situations.

Resilience has been one of the “hot topics” in coaching developments in 2015, together with the concepts of mindfulness and wellbeing. As a coach you are likely to encounter situations where you will have to assist the client in overcoming setbacks and disappointments; whether in their personal life or their career; and thereby to help the client with their enhanced resilience to achieve their potential.

Resilience means “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness” or “The ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity”. Sometimes this is described as “bounceback-ability.” One of the challenges we often face as coaches is how to position our services to potential clients- how can we “sell” resilience as a benefit to potential clients? For me, I think there are clear links to performance improvements – for example reduced absenteeism; increased creativity etc.

In her book “Resilience – A practical guide for coaches”- Carole Pemberton [2015] Open University Press (Coaching In Practice series), Pemberton describes resilience in terms of human behaviour as “the capacity to remain flexible in our thoughts, feelings and behaviours when faced by a life disruption , or extended periods of pressure, so that we emerge from difficulty stronger, wiser and more able.” 

Pemberton suggests that as coaches we “do not just know what resilience is , but that we recognise the different needs our clients bring with them in relation to their own resilience, These needs encompass:

• Building protection – through taking action;
• Building capacity– through developing resilience skills;
• Building renewal – through being helped to use the learning from difficulty to move forward.”

Pemberton suggests the use of the ABC model –

• Adversity: the what, where and when
• Belief: Authentic and Realistic
• Consequence

She describes a four stage approach:

1. Strength Inventory – what strengths does the client have that are unrelated to the present challenge- either in their daily habits or linked to their values.
2. Construct a bespoke personal resilience model based on the strengths identified in step 1. What skills and strengths have they already noted, but which they are not using in the current situation?
3. Invite Client’s Thoughts –invite the client to consider how they could better maintain resilience in the face of their current difficulty by using the strengths they have identified in step 2. The focus here is not on how they can overcome the difficulty using the strengths they have identified, but how they can use them to persist in the face of difficulty.
4. Practice resilience by agreeing a behavioural experiment using the personal resilience model. Ask the client to predict how they think their resilience will play out in the situation. The aim is not to focus on the outcome of the encounter, but to focus on their resilience within the encounter.

Finally, Pemberton looked at the roles of the coach in dealing with the resilience process:


“Strength does not come from what you CAN do; it comes from OVERCOMING the things you ONCE thought you couldn’t.” Rikki Rogers.

Martin Hill LL.B (Hons), FCMI, FInstLM, FISQC, MAC, EMCC Member, Coach & Coach Supervisor
Director for ILM 7 Executive Coaching & Mentoring Courses

Keep calm and get a coach in 2016

Judith Barton, Director of Coaching&Mentoring

As I reflect back on the previous year I find myself thinking of things I didn’t do and now become part of my must do list for 2016. A large part of my life focuses on reflection and self development, which is just me! It can be quite easy to sit and write a long list of the things we need to get better at, but what will make the biggest impact? Where is the greatest return for my investment?

I invite clients to think of themselves as their own finance director and ask some tough questions. Remember to consider the longer term return on investment, not just the next 12 months, will it add to your skills and the service you offer clients. It is likely that whatever your work is now it will be different in ten years.

In the UK the fastest growing workforce is the over 50’s. With the removal of a compulsory retirement age and an increase in health and life expectancy, many individuals are continuing to work longer in their field or move to a new field of work which may require training and support. So being ready mentally and physically for our next career will become increasingly important. Of course not all of us will be able to continue in our chosen career, look at the work of Frey and Osborne 2013. In their study they indentified those jobs that are likely to be extinct in 10 years (2023) from now, so don’t train for extinction!

Investing in Evidence Based Development

If we are able to continue developing we are continuing the process of learning (Viall 1996). As a coach we need to invest in our CPD (continuous professional development) by firstly considering what will make the greatest difference to our clients. To do this we really need to understand our performance as a coach. Understanding our own performance will come from:

• Client feedback +
• Supervisor feedback +
• Self reflections +
• Peer coaches +
• Supervisor +
• Coaching +

= Analysis

Real understanding will come from analysing all of the above. Then identify and prioritise what will make the greatest difference.

An example could be, you are working with a client that would benefit from more focused career coaching work and you recognise this is likely to be the area of need from potential clients for the next 5 years and you feel less comfortable in this area. A second very easy example for all coaches is the return on investing in supervision. Supervision provides the essential ‘scaffolding’ to support your practice – the quality control, an assurance to your clients, or thirdly sometimes we forget, get a coach to support your development in 2016.

We then apply our learning to our activities to add value to ourselves and of course our clients. In certain countries such as the Nordic ones, lifelong learning is embedded in the culture. Learning new stuff is pleasure in itself.

In the coaching profession and other fee for service environments learning is more likely to depend on the impact it has on the services we offer and on the performance of the session. In order to make this impact we need to really understand ourselves and our performance. Coaches I work with will be well aware of my passion for indentifying how well we perform and what makes the difference in our performance. I advocate frequent self review and reflection supported through supervision and essential to this is client feedback using the following model.

Through this approach you will be able to compile your evidence and prioritise your development needs.

Analysis and Definitions
When we consider areas for development we can be quite general ‘I need to be a better listener’. ‘I want to improve my questioning’. The first step is to analyse what is listening, for example, what needs to be improved? By truly understanding this, the coach can identify the focus. For example, is the coach an effective listener but runs out of energy? So energy and stamina during the session is an issue, not listening. Once the analysis is complete and the development issues are defined move to prioritisations.

Prioritisation
How are you going to prioritise your investment in the next 12 months based on impact? A very important question to ask yourself is what does impact mean to you? An example, impact = an improvement in my coaching performance, which consequently enhances the client experience, which in turn leads to return/attracting more clients.

Using a methodology such as this will focus thinking and investment. It also offers an evidence based development approach to share with clients, sponsors and professional bodies.

Have a very successful coaching and mentoring year. Remember support yourself, to then support your clients, with a coach/supervisor in 2016.

Space and time to think

Judith Barton, Director of Coaching&Mentoring

If you follow my blogs on a regular basis you will be aware of the importance I place on reflection, learning and applying this learning to our practice.

In a previous blog (How to become an even better coach – Identifying the slither of difference) I discussed the slither of difference idea identify the elements that require further development.

Thinking and reflection provides what I like to think of as the nutrients to sustain and grow our skills.

In order to do this we need two essential resources: time and space, to this, we need to add quality – quality time and quality of space. Just as when we are coaching, reflective thinking takes energy and focus – as for best results find a space we are productive in calm, free from interruption.

If you only spare fifteen minutes for reflection make it the most ‘thinkingly’ productive. Fifteen minutes of quality time and space is unlikely to be available all the time, it will need to be created. You may need to do this through negotiation and may require an element of compromise. This doesn’t mean defaulting to an ‘it’s ok, I can manage with five minutes’ or ‘it will do’, response either literally or as part of your self talk. It requires space and time for uninterrupted thinking.

First identify:
A) From experience what is the optimum time and space for you?
B) When does the appropriate quality of time and space come together?
C) What will this look like, feel like when you have it?
D) How will this make you feel?
Then…
E) When will your mind have the capacity to truly think? E.g. on the weekend, when the children are in bed or during the holidays.
F) What will help your thinking?
G) Where is your preferred thinking space?
H) What timings work best for you?
I) How will you capture your thoughts?
J) How will this impact on others? E.g. family
K) How often will you make time for thinking?
L) How will the thinking and learning be fed into your practice?
M) Where will you document your development?
N) Who will share your “gems” of discovery through this structured thinking process?

If you try this and it makes a difference to your practice I would have to hear from you. Email me judith@britishschoolofcoaching.com

The P.A.T Model

Judith Barton, Director of Coaching&Mentoring

The NIKE tick and tagline “just do it” is probably one of the most recognised brands. This call to action may be interpreted as do it – now! Implying immediate action, dive straight in. Whilst diving straight in may work it isn’t an approach that is likely to be the most effective for the client.

The P.A.T Model is an approach I have developed and our coaching clients continually refine. It has been developed through commercial experience, coach and client practitioner experience, the needs of the sponsor, risk and reflection. I use this model to prepare myself and use it as a checklist.


1. Values and Standards
Values are the basis of everything we do and shapes how we see professionalism. We define professionalism through many ‘frames’, culture, upbringing, parents, nationality, experience, own values, professional standards, the organisation we worked for, mentors and sponsors.

Every coach, just as every client, is different. Some clients will select a coach or mentor for their point of difference, e.g. a creative agency may wish to select a coach who presents in a more structured formal way. Whilst another client selected a coach that mirrored behavior they were aspired to for. This really highlights why the initial conversation (chemistry conversation) with a potential client is so important.

What is important is 1) recognising what sits under the professionalism heading for you and
                                  2) having a consistent approach.

Standards and by some degree expectations are likely to be governed by the professional bodies you have elected to join (ISQC, AOC, EMCC, ICF – see bottom of page for references). Whilst professional bodies are not a complaints resolution service they do offer clients an assurance.

When I am coaching and training coaches I operate from the fundamental principle of ‘do no harm’. Many will recognise this as the corner stone of all practice, clinical, legal. This serves as a constant reminder to check ‘is this coaching assignment within the scope of my ability?’ Do you have a protocol in place for a referral? Do I have supervision in place?

2. Mental Preparation
“If you want a job done ask a busy person” is not necessarily the right approach when selecting a coach. If a busy person has a busy mind there may be little space left to think. Having the mental capacity to think before, during and after a session is the difference between an effective coach rather than an adviser, instructor or boss.

When training coaches I always ask them to prepare their mind, their mental space before a session, just as I would do their physical space – the environment they are coaching in.

Over the last 12 months at BSC we have introduced a mindfulness development workshop, introducing techniques aimed at coaches who may wish to introduce the approaches into their practice and those who may wish to practice the techniques as part of their lifestyle. Mindfulness workshop

Managing our mind can be more difficult than managing our body and of course one directly impacts the other, so give it a go – why not commence your session with a 1 or 2 minute mindfulness exercise; we would love to hear how you got on (email Judith@britishschoolofcoaching.com).

3. Physical Preparation
At the November 2015 Coaching Network in the Middle East my colleague Brenda McKay who leads the mindfulness and wellbeing programmes opened the session by reminding us that “a 2% reduction in water intake has a 50% reduction in mental performance”.

The question I ask myself is what can I control that will have a positive impact on my performance as a coach? Hydration is one; food is the other very important one. For me, starting my day with food to sustain my energy and alertness is key for example: porridge, blueberries, a boiled egg and spinach. If the coaching sessions are later in the day avoid food highs and lows. It can create great energetic intros for 10 to 20 minutes and then a great low. Have an emergency food with you such as almonds, banana and of course water.

  
4. Commercial and logistical Arrangements
Whilst this features at the end of this blog it is one of the first things that I focus on.
It is essential to have a common understanding and agreement of the service to be delivered. This will include; scope, who the clients are, location, environment, specific requirements, client/sponsor needs, review time periods, type of feedback to sponsor if any and so on.

Operational details to make the session happen can appear very simple but work through the planning with precision. A tip is to view this from the client’s perspective. Check, for example, if you require any particular approvals to enter the client premises, e.g. passport photo ID. Or if working at an airport and you need to go airside you will require a police check; this takes time, can be up to 6 weeks in the UK.

If you intended (with the permission of the client) to record a session any equipment may need approval and pre-screening, especially if using a mobile phone. All this takes time and will incur costs.

Don’t take any aspects of logistics for granted. Remember don’t get lost on the way to the session or in the session.
References:
International Society of Qualified Coaches (ISQC)
Association for Coaching (AC)
European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC)
International Coaching Federation (ICF)

What makes a good research topic? And: what makes a good research question?

Judith Barton, Director of Coaching&Mentoring

I will be writing first about what makes a good research topic. The research topic is the general idea or area of interest from which you will be able to develop a more specific research question.

You can identify research topics from any number of sources – your personal experience of coaching and being supervised as a professional coach; your experience of the role and benefits of coaching to individuals or organisations; discussion with colleagues, participation in online forums; attendance at conferences, webinars; reading – professional and/or academic articles, books, websites. You can ‘brainstorm’ with friends and colleagues, with clients and peers to come up with your research topic; researching existing literature to find ‘gaps’ in knowledge or interesting anomalies or contradictions in theory or practice. A combination of sources and techniques may generate more interesting and relevant topics.

One factor which will shape your thinking is the purpose of your research. A project you wish to publish in a professional article (and an add-on to the day job!) will be different from one to for a Master’s degree which will be different again from research which will be written up and examined as a PhD thesis. The purpose will influence both the complexity of your research (theory and methods) and the time and resources available to you for completing the work.
So, let’s look at criteria for deciding if a research topic is worth pursuing.

1. Are you really interested in the topic?
2. Why is the topic important (to you and others)?
   1. Does the topic have (actually or potentially) practical usefulness for yourself and others in developing coaching practice?
   2. Will the topic enhance or extend the knowledge-base underpinning coaching?
3. Do you have the time and resources (skills, finance, access to research subjects or information, access to research expertise)?
4. Is the topic innovative? Has it been researched and written about many times with little scope for new findings and conclusions?
5. Is the topic linked to theory – for example, it may be developing new theory about an aspect of coaching; or applying existing theory to a new aspect of coaching

Examples of a research topic might be – coaching as a technique for improving organisational performance; coaching as a management tool in improving employee performance; employee’s perceptions of coaching training.

The next stage in the process is developing a specific research question, based on the topic you have identified. The purpose of this stage is to come to an achievable focus on the topic which is practical for you to complete successfully. This needs to be practical in terms of being answerable through a recognised research design and methods, and practical in terms of your time, resources and expertise. The research question narrows the topic down into an achievable piece of work.

Taking one of the examples above, a broad question would be: How does coaching impact on organisational performance?

This is too broad to be answerable, it leaves open the questions: coaching who? What type of organisation? A more specific question would be: How does executive coaching impact on public sector organisational performance?

This is a better question, but is still broad: what type of public sector organisation? What about location?

How does executive coaching impact on performance of the public education sector in England?
Another approach would be to make a comparison: How does executive coaching impact on performance of the public, private and voluntary education sectors in England?

Depending on your time and resources, further narrowing may be appropriate – for example, not England but ‘a county’; not ‘a county’ but ‘an urban district’ in the county.

On the other hand, a research question can be too narrow – this is one which can be answered by a simple fact or statistic – e.g. how many headteachers in ‘an urban district’ are receiving professional coaching?

When planning your research think through very carefully the research topic, do you have the resources to work with the findings? Start small and grow from there.

The next blog in this series will look at research methods and developing a plan for carrying out your research project.