CHAPTER 7
An Adult Learning Approach to Coaching
ELAINE COX
IN THIS CHAPTER I will be considering how theories associated with adult learning also have critical relevance for coaching. Despite its rapid growth in popularity there has been very little academic writing that positions coaching in relation to adult learning theory. In this chapter, therefore, I aim to address this situation by outlining a number of concepts relevant to adult learning and exploring the links between these and coaching practice. Using two case studies, I also introduce a coaching process based on adult learning principles, theories, and approaches that illustrates the theories in practice.
In the first part of the chapter I identify eight learning theories that have a particular relevance to coaching. Each theory has a particular part to play in adult learning and has been identified because of its practical application to the coaching process. Briefly, these eight theories are:
1. Andragogy, which Knowles (1980, p. 43) defines as the “art and science of helping adults learn.” Knowles developed his theory specifically to contrast the needs of adult learners with those of children.
2. Transformative learning theory, introduced by Mezirow (1990, p. 18), and described as involving a “particular function of reflection: reassessing the presuppositions on which our beliefs are based and acting on insights derived from the transformed meaning perspective that results from such reassessments.”
3. Reflective practice, described by Boud et al. (1994, p. 9) as consisting of “those processes in which learners engage to recapture, notice, and re-evaluate their experience.”
4. Experiential learning draws on the work of John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget, but has been extensively developed by Kolb (1984). It can be summarized as learning by doing. The experiential learning model is an inductive learning cycle comprising four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation.
5. Learning styles were introduced by Kolb (1984) as individual orientations toward learning based on the four different forms of knowledge production identified in the experiential learning cycle.
6. Lifecourse development is concerned with whether there are particular phases that human beings pass through during the course of their lives. Levinson (1978), for example, argues that the life cycle comprises a sequence of four eras, each lasting for approximately 25 years. He also identifies a number of developmental periods within these eras, concentrating on early and middle adulthood.
7. Values and motivation. Values are ideas about what is good and what is bad, and how things should be, and motivation is the internally generated state (feeling) that stimulates us to act. Motivation is linked to needs (Maslow, 1998), but also to values and as Locke (1996) argues, values have a central correlation with intrinsic motivation.
8. Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1994) has its roots in social learning theory and can be described as the general or specific belief that people have regarding their capacity to succeed at tasks.
Following a discussion of these theories in more detail, I then introduce an adult learning informed model of coaching that I apply to two case studies. In my conclusion I reinforce the claim that an understanding of adult learning principles is vital to effective coaching practice.
KEY CONCEPTS IN ADULT LEARNING
FROM ANDRAGOGY TO COACHING
Andragogy builds on the theory of constructivism, which suggests that learning is an active process where experience is used by learners to construct new learning based on their previous understandings. Constructivist learning theory maintains that learning is a process of constructing meaning from experience and connects directly to beliefs about the central role of experience in adult learning “as both a resource and a stimulus for learning” (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 263). Many of the aspects of constructivism, such as encouragement of ownership in learning and the emphasis on experiential learning, can be observed within the principles of andragogy (Knowles, 1978). For example, Knowles claims that adults accumulate a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning and that readiness to learn is oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of the social role.
Rachal (2002, p. 212) argues that “the significance of andragogy and Knowles continues to engage us” and verifies this, reporting that Knowles has “garnered more journal citations over the last six years than any of the half-dozen of the field’s most well-known and well-published authors.” Thus, although there have been concerns about the empirical underpinning for the theory, it is evident the principles of andragogy have been assimilated into the learning culture. I would argue, in fact, that andragogy has reached its zenith with the advent of coaching as a learning approach: Knowles’ definition of andragogy in 1980 confirms the birthright; the learner is perceived to be a mature, motivated, voluntary, and equal participant in a learning relationship with a facilitator whose role is to aid the learner in the achievement of his or her primarily self-determined learning objectives.
In Table 7.1 Knowles’ six principles of andragogy are presented alongside some of the key elements of coaching in order to make the association explicit.
From this comparison the elements of coaching can be seen to reflect the principles of andragogy. It could be argued, therefore, that andragogy, as well as providing the core principles that underpin adult learning, also, since coaching is an adult learning situation, too, offers the philosophy for coaching. The goals and purpose may differ from individual to individual and from context to context, but the principles remain. As an example, in Flaherty’s (1999) model, for coaching to succeed, there must be true enrollment into the coaching process; that is, there must be voluntary, intrinsic motivation—it must not be coerced or extrinsic. If coaching is mandated as part of, for example, a remedial program, the coach will need to work on achieving client enrollment or buy-in to the process. This aligns nicely with andragogical principles.
Another example of where adult learning practice parallels coaching is in relation to learning contracts. Learning contracts are similar to the contracts or action plans frequently used in coaching to help organize learning/performance more effectively. In the adult learning context learning contracts are used to negotiate learning programs. The learning contract is viewed as a means of giving learners control of the learning event by helping them with planning subsequent activities (Hiemstra & Sisco, 1990; Knowles, 1978). In coaching, the action plan indicates what clients will do to achieve their goal. Introducing written, manageable goals is one way to bolster clients’ confidence in managing their own progress and accomplishments.
Table 7.1 Coaching: Andragogy’s True Heir
| Andragogy: Six Assumptions about Adult Learners (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1998) | Some Corresponding Principles of Coaching |
|---|---|
| Adults are self-directed in their learning. (Rogers, | • The agenda comes from the client. The relationship is a designed alliance (Whitworth, Kimsey-House, & Sandahl, 1998, p. 3). |
| • The client sets the agenda 2004, p. 8). | |
| Adults are goal-oriented: they need to know why they are learning something before they learn it; that is, learning needs to be relevant. (Flaherty, | • Coaching links inner purpose to outer work (Hudson, 1999, p. 15). |
| • Each client has his or her own commitments and immediate concerns 1999, p. 11). | |
| Adults have a vast wealth of life experiences to bring to their learning. (Flaherty, | • The client is resourceful and the coach’s role is to spring loose the client’s resourcefulness (Rogers, 2004, p. 7). |
| • The client is naturally creative, resourceful, and whole (Whitworth et al., 1998, p. 3). | |
| • Clients are not empty vessels 1999, p. 11). | |
| Adults are interested in learning to solve real-life dilemmas. Learning needs to be relevant. | • Coaching means action and learning (Whitworth et al., 1998, p. 5). |
| • Coaching is a collaborative solution-focused, result-oriented, and systematic process (Grant, 2003). | |
| Adults have a practical orientation. Their learning needs to have application in their personal and professional lives. 1996, | • Coaching addresses the whole person—past, present, and future (Rogers, 2004, p. 8). |
| • People will seek to engage in those activities that help them to meet their needs (Whitmore, p. 104). | |
| Adults respond more to intrinsic motivators (increased self-esteem and quality of life) than to extrinsic motivators such as qualifications. | • The focus is on connecting a sense of purpose with a vision of a coaching result (Hudson, 1999, p. 30). |
| • Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximize their own performance (Whitmore, 1996, p. 8). |
TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING
Fahrenkamp (2001) reminds us that where change is necessary, in a leadership context for example, personal transformation creates the possibility for organizational transformation. Transformative learning theory has had an important influence on adult learning, beginning back in the early 1970s with Paulo Freire’s emancipatory philosophy of transformation, developing through the work of Jack Mezirow, and culminating now, I would contend, with its essential application to coaching.
Transformative learning involves a deep, fundamental alteration in beliefs, principles, and feelings (Mezirow, 1990). It is a shift of perception that radically alters understanding of ourselves and others, and our sense of possibilities. Merriam (2004, p. 61) supports this view: “In transformational learning, one’s values, beliefs, and assumptions compose the lens through which personal experience is mediated and made sense of.” Personal transformation usually begins with a disorienting dilemma, and the process includes critical reflection, self-examination, and a reorientation that results in revised action and deep learning.
Mezirow (1991, p. 78) claims that engaging in such discourse leads us to “more developmentally advanced meaning perspectives.” Tennant and Pogson (1995, p. 119) summarize this as representing a developmental shift, a new world view “rather than simply developmental progress” and suggest that researchers and practitioners need to recognize this distinction in order to avoid confusing perspective transformation with normal development. Crucial to the notion of transformative learning then, is the element of social and historical critique: taken-for-granted assumptions have to be challenged from all perspectives in order for transformation to occur (Mezirow, 1991; Tennant & Pogson, 1995).
Mezirow has proposed that there are three types of meaning perspectives: psychosocial, sociolinguistic, and epistemic. Epistemic meaning perspectives are those that connect with what we know and how we come to know it. They are embedded in our developmental phase (Kegan, 1994), cognitive or learning style (Kolb, 1984), and sensory preferences. These preferences can be well developed or distorted. For example, clients who insist they learn only from concrete experience, “activists” in Honey and Mumford’s (1992) classification, may need to have their epistemic meaning perspective challenged in order to develop a more inclusive style. Sociolinguistic meaning perspectives relate to the social norms, language use, and cultural codes that underpin all our assumptions and often lead to prejudices, stereotypical judgments, and the like. Psychological meaning perspectives relate to our understanding of ourselves as individuals and how we are shaped by our self-concept, inhibitions, defense mechanisms, and psychological type preferences.
Thus a meaning perspective is a “habitual set of expectations that constitutes an orientating frame of reference that we use in projecting our symbolic models and that serves as a (usually tacit) belief system for interpreting and evaluating the meaning of experience” (Mezirow, 1991, p. 42, cited in Cranton, 1996). It is these meaning perspectives that need to be challenged if deep learning is to occur. Cranton (1996, p. 83) also reminds us that “to grow, one has to question,” but suggests that it is not possible to articulate assumptions without the help of others. This suggests some work for the coach. A coach can help the client understand assumptions and beliefs and uncover their roots. Such beliefs may lie in childhood or in past experience, may be embedded in culture or language, or may be influenced by the media, as suggested by Mezirow, but once beliefs are understood in this way, then there is freedom to choose whether to maintain the beliefs.
Strategies for articulating and questioning meaning perspectives make use of different types of reflection. Mezirow suggests three types: content reflection, process reflection, and premise reflection. Only the third of these, where the reflection involves probing the relevance of the problem itself, can lead to perspective transformation. Through premise reflection assumptions, beliefs and values are questioned and this questioning process leads to transformative learning. Thus techniques for promoting transformative learning include critical incident analysis, role-play, journal, and biography. Later in this chapter, I describe a process whereby autobiography that takes account of social and historical standpoints is used as the basis for the coaching process, leading ultimately to perspective transformations.
It can be seen from this account that the questioning techniques of coaching have the potential to achieve perspective transformation. In addition, there are several popular strategies for challenging others in this way: Nancy Kline’s “Time to Think” (2001) and Susan Scott’s “Fierce Conversations” (2002) are examples of two strategies designed for challenging beliefs through dialogue.
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
Brookfield (1986), like Mezirow, suggests that the most effective way of externalizing deep-seated assumptions that lead to transformation is through critical questioning and reflectivity. This is where learning occurs. Brookfield argues that significant personal learning “cannot be specified in advance in terms of objectives to be obtained or behaviours (of whatever kind) to be performed. Thus, significant personal learning might be defined as that learning in which adults come to reflect on their self-images, change their self-concepts, question their previously internalised norms (behavioural and moral), and reinterpret their current and past behaviours from a new perspective” (Brookfield, 1986, p. 213). West and Milan (2001, p. 8) describe how the coaching task is to create the right conditions for reflective learning. They suggest that the coach can do this by creating a “psychological space” that allows the client to stand back from the workplace. The coach then provides the support and challenge necessary to help the client “gain perspective on his or her experiences and self, and on his or her leadership task within the organisation.”
Reflective practice involves examining actions in order to challenge beliefs and has its origins in the work of John Dewey (1963). Subsequently, the idea has been bolstered by the work of Donald Schön (1987), whose notions, such as “reflection in action,” have become part of the language. Again, underpinning reflective practice is the theory of constructivism, where learning is viewed as an active process involving reflection on current and past knowledge and experiences to generate new ideas and concepts.
Elsewhere I have argued that the regular use of a reflective practice tool or model makes learning from experience a more reliable and faster method of gaining access to necessary knowledge and wisdom about our work processes and about ourselves (Cox, 2005). Thorpe (2004, p. 339) discusses how reflective learning journals, although demanding and time-consuming, are essential to professional development and professional practice. Thus both coaches and clients need to engage actively in the process.
Reflection, then, is where professionals come to terms with their feelings, learn from their mistakes, explore their successes, and develop empathy and understanding. It is an important practice for both the client and the coach. An individual identifies a critical event or incident, describes it in writing, and then thinks deeply about how the person’s beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge influenced the outcome.
Bolton (2001, p. 11) reports that the practitioners she is working with consider that discussions with supervisors/mentors about their reflections are a process of “re-storying,” which is just as much a part of the process as reflective writing. Later, in the analysis of the case studies, I describe the reflective process of identifying life chapters, which is also a form of re-storying. The choices made in the identification of the life chapters indicate how the client frames his/her life now, and illustrate how the self is an emergent and changing project, not a stable and fixed entity: “Over time our view of ourself changes and so, therefore, do the stories we tell about ourselves” (Goodson, 1998, p. 11).
In autobiography, therefore, life is transformed into a story. As Gusdorf (1980, p. 35) explains: “The author of an autobiography gives himself the job of narrating his own history; what he sets out to do is to reassemble the scattered elements of his individual life and to regroup them in a comprehensive sketch.” Autobiography differs from a private journal that records the writer’s experiences, impressions, and mental states. Rather, it requires one to take a distance with regard to oneself, to draw the meaning from one’s life, to reconstruct “the unity of a life across time” (Gusdorf, 1980, p. 37), and to find the “larger story” that distinguishes one’s life from that of another (Houston, 1987). Learning in these contexts results from finding patterns and meaning in our life, perhaps even building a theory of our life, or of life in general. Having stepped back and reflected, we know something now that we did not know before. Our knowledge has been extended (Olney, 1980).
Adult learners who reflect on their lives in this way embark on a process of recollection, distillation, and analysis that can yield both insight into life’s meaning and purpose and understanding of self and others. Learning in the service of self-awareness and self-understanding involves processes of critical reflection, self-awareness, meaning making, and perspective change (Mezirow, 1991; Tennant & Pogson, 1995).
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Experiential learning theory is a theory that operates on the premise that individuals learn best through experience. Boud et al. (1994, p. 8) claim that experience cannot be bypassed as “it is the central consideration of all learning” and that “learning builds on and flows from experience: no matter what external prompts to learning there might be.” The insights and learning revealed during a coaching session by the examination of experience illustrate this theory in practice.
Kolb (1984), building on the work of Dewey (1933) and Lewin (1951), introduced an experiential learning model to explain how people learn from experience and process that experience in different ways in order to generate understanding. He suggested that the process is cyclical and comprises four elements: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation.
Kolb and Fry (1975) suggest that the learning process often begins with a person experiencing and reporting on a particular action (concrete experience). Following this, the second step (reflective observation) is to reflect on the effects of the action and understand these effects so that if the same action is taken again in the same circumstances it would be possible to anticipate what would follow from the action. The third step (abstract conceptualization) would be to understand the general principles that affect the action. The last step is planning a new course of action. It was also suggested that the learning cycle can begin at any one of the four points—and that it should really be approached as a continuous spiral.
There is a significant role for the coach in ensuring that each of these four elements is addressed: Coaches can augment a discussion of the concrete experience by encouraging full descriptions of the experience, perhaps even sharing their own experience, if appropriate; the reflective observation element invites consideration of feelings and an exploration of different perspectives on the same experience; abstract conceptualization involves trying to make sense of the experience by drawing on prior knowledge and understanding in order to shed light on the experience; the planning phase, sometimes called active experimentation, requires a pragmatic approach to the whole. This is the opportunity to pull the learning from the experience and plan how to do things differently in the wake of the new understandings.
In models of coaching, the Kolb learning cycle can often be seen guiding the process. For instance, the GROW model (constructed by Graham Alexander in the mid-1980s and made popular by Whitmore, 1996) maps directly onto the cycle as depicted by Kolb (1984, p. 33). “Goal setting” equates to an actual or proposed concrete experience; the exploration of “Reality” is equivalent to reflective observation; “Options” involves abstract conceptualization, and “What will you do?” suggests active experimentation.
LEARNING STYLES
Kolb and Fry (1975, pp. 35-36) also argue that effective learning involves the development of four different abilities that echo the four poles of the learning cycle: concrete experience abilities, reflective observation abilities, abstract conceptualization abilities, and active experimentation abilities. They suggest that people develop strengths in, or orientation to, one of the poles of each dimension. As a result a learning style inventory was developed (Kolb, 1976) that placed people on a line between concrete experience and abstract conceptualization, and between active experimentation and reflective observation. Using this, Kolb and Fry proceeded to identify four basic learning styles.
Building on Kolb’s work, Honey and Mumford (1992) built a typology of learning styles around this same sequence, identifying individual preferences (or styles) and naming them Activist, Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist. It is claimed that neglect of some styles can prove to be a major obstacle to learning.
In a coaching situation it is often useful to introduce some kind of learning styles questionnaire in order to gauge client preferences for working in one area of the learning cycle. This enables the discussion of strengths and weaknesses in relation to learning and is also useful in promoting an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of others (Jackson, 2004). This knowledge can then be used to bolster weak areas and capitalize on existing strengths.
LIFE COURSE DEVELOPMENT
In addition to learning styles, it is also valuable to consider whether clients are affected by the phase in life that they have reached. Such an understanding can enable self-understanding and help significantly with goal setting.
The most influential study of life phases was undertaken by Levinson (1978), whose longitudinal research with 40 men, 10 from each of four different occupations, revealed that their lives fell into distinct phases, characterized by stable periods and periods of transition. Levinson (1978, p. 321), building on Erikson’s work (1959), described how, within each phase, a man also does some work on the tasks of other periods; “tasks that will become primary in later periods may be activated early.” The major transitions Levinson identifies are times of significant discomfort, questioning, reassessment, and redirection in a man’s life. They are followed by a period of consolidation and stability.
Levinson (1996) also researched the lives of women, interviewing a diverse group of 45 women—both homemakers and career women. This study substantiates Levinson’s thesis that all human beings go on developing throughout their lives. While the transitions are different for each person and the results are different for each person, each phase has to be worked through.
It is important for the coach to have an understanding of life phases and adult life course development since, as Levinson demonstrates, the phase is often linked to the realization of particular goals. The goals of the young man or woman will have a different emphasis than those of someone approaching, say, the midlife transition or someone in late adulthood.
VALUES AND MOTIVATION
Learning to understand their own motivations is an important step for coaching clients.
McKenna (2000, p. 89) has described motives as consisting of “inner states that energise, activate, and direct the behaviour of the individual as he or she strives to attain a goal.” Smith and Spurling (2001, p. 2) contend that “in real life, motivation is not just a person’s keenness for something; it always favours that action or goal against some perceived alternative(s),” which may or may not be clearly perceived. Smith and Spurling (2001, p. 7) also describe how motivation is not single-valued: “it is inherently multivalued or fragmented, taking up different values even when directed towards the same action or decision.” What this “multi-valuing” suggests is that no action or goal has an inherent ability to motivate.
Vroom’s (1964) expectancy theory is pertinent here. He argues that people are motivated by the value of the outcome to them as well as the expected results of their actions. He claims that the force of motivation is a product of:
• Valence—the value of the outcome to the individual.
• Expectancy—the probability that effort will result in success.
The theory suggests that individual motivation has its genesis in what we value and what is imperative for us, as well as being governed by what we believe we can achieve. For coaching, this emphasis on values is extremely important. The coach therefore needs to help clients to recognize their multiple values and explore how these relate to life goals and project-level goals in an attempt to understand motivations.
Setting negotiated goals for learning using learning contracts is seen by Knowles (1978) as a means of empowering and motivating the learner. Thus the ownership of the goals by the client is central. Locke (1996, p. 119) confirms that high commitment to goals is attained when the individual is “convinced that the goal is important.” He further suggests that “events and situations seen as threatening to one’s values give rise to negative emotions (e.g., fear, anxiety, dissatisfaction), whereas events and situations seen as furthering one’s values produce positive emotions (e.g., happiness, satisfaction, love)” (1996, p. 119).
SELF-EFFICACY
Closely related to motivation is the notion of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is rooted in a view of human agency “in which individuals are agents proactively engaged in their own development and can make things happen by their actions” (Pajares, 2002). It is defined by Bandura (1994, p. 1) as “people’s beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives.” Thus self-efficacy determines how people feel, think, behave, and motivate themselves. It can be seen, alongside valence, as the other vital element in Vroom’s (1964) expectancy theory equation.
Self-efficacy is built from four main starting points that are each important for the coach to consider:
1. Mastery experience. Self-efficacy is built upon previous successful experience, which suggests that attention should be paid to goal setting. Locke (1996, p. 120) also explains that in addition to having a direct effect on performance, self-efficacy influences the difficulty of the goal chosen and the commitment to the goal. This theme has been picked up by Csikszentmihalyi (1997), who suggests that “flow” can be achieved only if goals are clear and at the right level.
2. Vicarious experience. Self-efficacy is encouraged through the sharing of experience or modeling behaviors. Thus mentors can be advantageous in promoting self-efficacy.
3. Verbal persuasion. Self-efficacy is heightened through the provision of positive, but honest, feedback on achievement to date.
4. Physiological states. Positive moods and well-being enhance self-efficacy.
Bandura claims that people with a strong belief in their capabilities approach difficult tasks as challenges to be mastered rather than as threats to be avoided. Such an efficacious outlook, he says, “fosters intrinsic interest and deep engrossment in activities.” He also highlights how self-efficacy changes following failure: A strong sense of self-efficacy enables people to attribute failure to insufficient effort or deficient knowledge and skills that are acquirable. They approach threatening situations with the assurance that they can exercise control over them. Such an outlook produces personal accomplishments, reduces stress, and lowers vulnerability to depression (Bandura, 1994, p. 1).
IMPACT—A MODEL FOR COACHING
Readers who like mnemonics may want to follow what I have called the IMPACT model for coaching. This is an adult learning-informed process model of coaching that I now use here to describe the coaching process with Bonita and Bob. Throughout the discussion I draw on the theories highlighted earlier to point up the adult learning approach to coaching.
The process has six elements (Identify Life Chapters, Make Sense of Transitions, Plan, Act, Consider, Track), and is basically similar to other coaching models, such as GROW, that follow the Kolb learning cycle. However, this model differs in that the emphasis at the beginning of the coaching process is on identifying and making sense of life transitions through the introduction of the “Identifying Life Chapters” and “Making Sense of Transitions” exercises. Thus there is a strong initial element of structured reflective practice and the potential for transformative learning. The model then provides opportunities to explore life experience in depth and to identify transitions before following through on the learning cycle. I would argue that this method of getting to know clients and helping them to know themselves is fascinating and rewarding for both the coach and the client and produces excellent material that can be worked with throughout the coaching engagement.
CASE STUDIES
The Case of Bonita
Potential Issues
Our case study client, Bonita, is, I would suggest, in transition. For an event to be classed as transitional, Hopson suggests that there should be personal awareness of a discontinuity in the life space and “new behavioural responses required because either the situation is new, or the required behaviours are novel, or both” (1986, p. 136). Both of these are in evidence in Bonita’s case, and on the Holmes and Rahe social readjustment rating scale changing to a different line of work is rated 18th out of the 43 transitional events identified (Hopson, 1986, p. 133).
It is likely that Bonita will be experiencing a mixture of excitement and fear in relation to her advancement at work.
The promotion to a new working situation requires extra responsibility and involvement with a different team of people. Bonita is unsure, from her own track record, whether she can deal with the situation.
Confidence is therefore an issue for her. She is concerned with her performance abilities and is particularly unsure of her leadership capabilities. She has already received patronizing and critical remarks from Ken, her supervisor. This antagonism appears to be related to Ken’s sponsorship of Bill in the recent promotion round and the fact that he admires Bill’s more forceful leadership style. From an early assessment of the situation it is likely that this will be one of the main areas that Bonita will want to work on, as the relationship with Ken is likely to affect her confidence and self-efficacy. Fortunately, she appears to be a self-directed learner and is eager to learn and develop.
Bonita’s style is one of conflict avoidance: She prefers a logical, persuasive, and more collaborative style of communication. She likes to communicate by thinking out loud, and this may be an area that she will want to work on, since this degree of openness could be a risk in a more senior position. However, she likes to receive feedback from her colleagues and team, and this can be made to work to her advantage. There is an example in her previous role where Bonita’s style has been effective, and this demonstrates that she may not have to change her style in order to work successfully with Ken.
Bonita, like many working mothers, anticipates difficulties in maintaining her work-life balance while managing a challenging work role. She has two school-age children, aged 12 and 8, and her husband also has a demanding job. However, she does have extended family living nearby and it is hoped that, at least in the short term, the help coming from this area will be an advantage. Bonita needs to ensure that her family life and the demands it could make on her time do not make her vulnerable to criticism and so undermine her leadership position. Any need to take time off from work during the workweek could be seen as a weakness by Ken, especially in the early days.
Adult Learning Approach
Identify Life Chapters
The use of autobiography as a tool for learning has been described in detail by Karpiak (2000) and advocated by Hudson and McLean (2001, p. 49) as a way of “finding meaning and opportunity in valleys as well as peaks, in transitions as well as the chapters of life.” Thus it provides an opportunity for critical reflection, and ultimately may lead to considerable transformative learning.
In the first meeting with Bonita, therefore, I would want to ask her to review her life events by writing the outline of an autobiography (see Table 7.2). This would entail shaping her life events into a number of chapters, with the ending of each chapter reflecting a transition point. The potential for the exploration of historical and social elements, required by Mezirow as fundamental to perspective transformation, can be seen in the exercise, and can be elaborated if desired.
This alternative to the more conventional time line, or other forms of assessment, enables clients to identify significant transition points in their lives. The recent promotion can then be seen in the context of Bonita’s whole life. The process will also highlight the phase in her life that she has reached. Levinson’s work (1996) shows that career women begin the midlife transition at around age 40. Coaching may need to prepare Bonita for this. I would suggest that life transitions are easier to manage if there is an understanding of the processes involved, and so I would try to include some discussion about this with Bonita.
The life chapter process may also reveal other issues, such as any racial or gender reservations that Bonita may have, and there would be an opportunity to transform any firmly held beliefs that may be holding her back.
Make Sense of Transitions
The next step in the process, which I would probably begin in the second meeting, is to make sense of the current transition by drawing out the continuity and contributory factors in Bonita’s life chapters. This has several benefits. First, it helps to emphasize coherence. Ibarra and Lineback (2005, p. 68) claim that coherence is crucial to a life story of transition because it is the characteristic that most generates trust. I would argue that belief in oneself through recognition of a coherent life story is important in the formation and maintenance of self-efficacy. Second, making sense of transitions allows the exploration of values, which, as suggested earlier, are intimately linked to motivation. The five phases in the “Making Sense of Transitions” process are outlined in Table 7.3.
Table 7.2 Identifying Life Chapters Exercise
| Chapter 1: Title: |
|---|
| Dates: From ________ to ________ |
| Critical events: |
| Significant places: |
| Significant people: |
| Main challenges: |
| Themes of this chapter: |
| Features of the ending and transition to Chapter 2: |
| [Add as many chapters as needed.] |
| Adapted from Hudson and McLean (2001). |
The results from this initial work will provide a foundation for future coaching sessions. For example, we will be able to build self-efficacy by exploring how previous events had been handled successfully. We will also have more certainty about why Bonita is pursing her career to this new level and how this fits with her values and life goals.
Table 7.3 Making Sense of Transitions
| 1. | Emphasize coherence. | |
| Ask questions of the life chapters, such as: | ||
| What have I always been interested in? | ||
| What have I always been good at? | ||
| 2. | Keep the reasons for future change or transition grounded in enduring values and character traits. | |
| What have I always valued? | ||
| What kind of person am I? | ||
| 3. | Provide multiple reasons for the change. | |
| Why is this happening now? | ||
| What in my life story has prompted this change? | ||
| How will accepting this change affect my values? | ||
| 4. | Review explanations that extend back in time. | |
| Why could I not pursue this goal earlier? | ||
| Why is the time right now, and not, say, 10 years ago? | ||
| 5. | Reframe your past in light of the change you want. | |
| How is what I am involved with now linked to previous | ||
| employment, interests, learning, and so on? | ||
| What are the similarities to previous events or experiences? | ||
| What skills can I bring from my past experiences to the new situation? | ||
| Adapted from Ibarra and Lineback (2005). | ||
Additional work at this initial stage therefore will involve examining Bonita’s values. It will be necessary to look at what success looks like for her and what is important to her and why. I would not presume, at this stage, to understand fully what the goals are, even though this may be evident from early conversations, but it is vital that performance, or project-level, goals relate directly back to life goals and ultimately to Bonita’s value system. This will ensure that her approach to her work is congruent and will help particularly with the work-life balance issue. If Bonita’s values are mainly related to her home and family, then work may need to be reframed to be shown to be contributing to family values. Then the conflict that Bonita, as a working woman, may feel can be ameliorated.
Development of the Relationship
Plan, Act, and Consider
The Plan, Act, Consider elements of the coaching process reflect Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle.
Planning sessions would focus on exploring and planning for some specific project-level goals (Smith & Spurling, 2001). Initially we would check that all the goals were congruent with the reasons for change identified in the “Making Sense of Transitions” exercise, and then we would prioritize to ensure we address the most important first.
Only then would it be appropriate to build together a negotiated learning or action plan in relation to each goal. If the goals were identified, for example, as leadership skills, conflict management, and work-life balance, then, having explored the options for development available for each, the three action plans may begin to be developed in the following way.
Leadership Skills
1. Find leadership style that is congruent with own style (reading, Internet search, etc.).
2. Keep diary of leadership opportunities, how and whether taken, how responded to, and so on.
3. Review plan of action once this data has been gathered (after one month).
Conflict Management
1. In all dealings with Ken, maintain open and collaborative style that worked previously with Rita.
2. Keep diary of actual and potential conflict encounters. In particular, reflect on critical incidents with Ken.
3. Review plan of action after one-month trial.
Work-Life Balance
1. Ensure that contingency arrangements are in place for childcare, and ensure that family members realize this may be only a short-term commitment while credibility in the job is established.
2. Check out clubs and other after-school activities for children.
3. Discuss sharing of household chores with husband and children.
4. Set up systems for managing household (cleaner, gardener)—again these arrangements could be short-term.
5. Note in diary what is working and what isn’t, and make swift, expedient adjustments.
Each action plan would incorporate a large chunk of reflective journal keeping, which is then reviewed in subsequent coaching sessions and plans are modified accordingly. This ensures that experiential learning is maximized.
Track and Terminate
At future meetings it is essential to review the actions detailed in the action plan and to provide feedback. Feedback is important to Bonita, and in the follow-up sessions the coach can use the appropriate point in the learning cycle, possibly augmenting the feedback with reflections on his/her own experience if appropriate in order to encourage different perspectives. The coach could also encourage Bonita to use evaluations and feedback from colleagues, including Ken. Bonita’s learning style analysis (Honey & Mumford, 2000) may reveal a preference in one particular area. The feedback may confirm this, and she should then be encouraged to build strengths in other areas.
I would imagine working with Bonita for about a year, in order to ensure that she becomes established in her new role and is able to deal effectively with the issues she has identified. It is important to remember that opportunities for reinforcing self-efficacy and for significant transformative learning may occur at any stage of the coaching process; so follow-up sessions, which may be spaced further apart as time goes on, can also provide opportunities for learning.
Griffiths and Tann (1991) have suggested that reflection on practice has five eras:
1. Rapid reaction (immediate).
2. Repair (habitual/pause for thought).
3. Review (time out to reassess, hours/days).
4. Research (systematic, focused over weeks/months).
5. Retheorize and reformulate (abstract, rigorous, over months/years).
This hierarchy suggests that reflecting on past events over a longer time span, described in eras 4 and 5, would produce diverse and very useful results. The separate iterations of reflection each enable a different kind of understanding to be made explicit. Orange, Burke, and Cushman (n.d.) suggest that each iteration “progressively refines and enhances the individual’s knowledge and expertise through reflection.” This staged reflection can also identify recurrent issues and problems. Therefore, the value of using a variety of modes and levels of reflection cannot be stressed too strongly.
Challenges for Bonita
The main challenges for the adult learning coach supporting Bonita will be in relation to those times of uncertainty that are inevitable as she establishes herself in her new, senior role. Particular attention will need to be paid to the development of her relationship with Ken. This is pivotal to her success and to her sense of self-efficacy. The coach may need to encourage Bonita to revisit her values many times in order to build authenticity and confidence that what she is doing is right.
It should be fairly easy to convince Bonita of the value of reflection, especially since she will already begin to see the results from the “Identifying Life Chapters” exercise. Encouraging her to keep a journal to reflect on her leadership style and opportunities plus any conflict situations will be crucial to her success. Ken appears to be the main obstacle here: Initially Bonita will need to work on proving herself to him, but definitely not by conceding her values and integrity, nor by compromising her collaborative style.
Bonita will also need to put very clear work-life balance plans in action and include contingency arrangements for children’s illness and so on. Having a specific action plan to set this course of actions in place should help in this respect, not least by relaying to the family the importance of these practical arrangements in the overall plan.
The Case of Bob
Potential Issues
Like Bonita, Bob is in transition. The company of which he is CEO is undergoing a merger, plus, at 58 years old, Bob may be approaching the late adult transition described by Levinson (1978). Bob will need to learn how to lead a successful merger. He may not be able to rely on his existing style of leadership. For example, previously Bob has relied very much on personal charisma to lead his organization. This may not be his best ally now. It will be necessary, through coaching, to explore what strengths he has and how these can be marshaled in order to ensure success. This exploration may reveal some weaknesses that will need to be addressed. He tends to have very clear and definite views in relation to the organization. He does not share Bonita’s collaborative style, for instance, and fails to take on board the perspectives of others. This “persuade or purge” style of leadership may not work during the merger. However, Bob is good at using people to get things done and there may well be an opportunity to capitalize on this strength and to delegate to someone with a different, more collaborative style.
Bob’s interest in the results that coaching has achieved for others is an area to explore with him in order to pinpoint what has impressed him. This suggests that Bob is results oriented, and the danger is that he may only be looking for bottom-line results.
The main goal for Bob is to negotiate a productive merger, and it will be necessary to explore with him what he means by “productive” and to consider what success looks like for him. His longer-term goal is to leave the business running perfectly. Any coach would also want to investigate what “perfect” means to Bob and why this is so important.
Adult Learning Approach
Identify Life Chapters
The explanation of the “Identifying Life Chapters” process will need to be different for Bob. Whereas Bonita may have been interested in developing the chapters for her own learning, the emphasis for Bob will need to be more instrumental and focus on uncovering good practices that may be of benefit during the merger. He will need to see the practical importance of such an exercise.
The use of the life chapters exercise, however, is key for Bob, and preferable to other more psychometric assessment tools, because it will provide insight into how his priorities might have changed over time. Bob will be approaching the late adult transition, as described by Levinson (1978, p. 35), and it might be that the goal to leave a perfect business when he retires is linked to this phase in his life course. Levinson suggests that the task for a man entering this phase is to sustain his youthfulness in a new form appropriate to late adulthood. So, rather than needing to prove that he is as good as he has always been by seeking perfection, perhaps there are other options available. The use of the life story facilitates a discussion of life phases and the differences between the drivers of the younger man and the needs of the older man.
“Identifying Life Chapters” also enables the discussion of values and of life and project-level goals. Questions that could arise from these conversations might include: What is still valuable to Bob? What if he can’t leave the business “perfect”? What would an acceptable compromise look like? What would be unacceptable?
Make Sense of Transitions
The “Making Sense of Transitions” exercise will again help Bob to explore continuity and congruence in his life and make it easier for him to see what he values and what is important to him. The exercise will help uncover his motivation. Is his desire for perfection, for instance, linked to a need for respect? Does uncertainty or insecurity about the future underpin his uncompromising approach? The coach would need to tease out the answers to these questions, as well as examine the skills and attributes that Bob used previously that would be useful in the current situation, and also explore what might not work now.
It might be advantageous also, to use an appreciative inquiry (AI) approach (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2003). Appreciative inquiry is very much in tune with andragogical principles; it is based on valuing prior experience and best practice—looking at what has gone right, rather than what has gone wrong. The AI process begins by asking people to tell stories about their successful experiences and to relate these stories to their dreams for the future. With Bob’s level of experience this would be a valuable method of exploring development needs.
Plan, Act, and Consider
Once motivation and values have been clarified, the speedy development of an action plan for Bob will be important. He will want to see or feel some results fairly quickly.
If Bob’s goal is to negotiate a productive merger, it will be necessary to help him to map out how he could achieve this. Having first explored what “productive” means for him, and bearing in mind the need for quick, practical results, the plan for negotiating a productive merger might involve these initial three steps:
1. Information gathering. Bob would need to think about what information he needs to gather in order to ensure merger success. Are there pieces of information missing that would help the process?
2. Identifying helpful people. Part of the plan might be to include identifying the people he needs to help him make the merger a success. He has a history of using people to help him achieve his aims. In this case perhaps he could delegate some of the merger detail to someone with a more collaborative communication style, and thus achieve his aims. This would have two purposes: first to help him achieve his aim, and second to help him begin to see that other people have strengths that he can capitalize on, and therefore points of view that may be useful to augment his own vision.
3. Keeping a logbook. Instead of a reflective journal, which suits Bonita well, I would probably ask Bob to keep a log of merger processes and outcomes to consider at our meetings. This will begin the reflective process for Bob, but calling it a log will make it appear more systematic and businesslike to him.
In future coaching sessions, because Bob is not being expected to spend time reflecting in depth in his logbook, it will be necessary to provide time and space for this to happen in the session. Bob is probably an Activist or a Pragmatist (Honey & Mumford, 2000) and so will need encouragement to recognize the value of reflecting, theorizing, and planning. Using the logbook we would undertake a structured debrief, formulating checklists for further action, where necessary. This should meet Bob’s learning style while at the same time strengthening his reflective and theorizing capability.
Bob has demonstrated his ability to create a vision for the organization, and so I would also use scenario planning with him. Scenario planning provides descriptive narratives of plausible alternative futures (van der Heijden, 1998). It does not predict the future, but does provide a safe platform for formulating policies and contingency plans that are flexible and pragmatic. They are a valuable mode of learning that will help Bob to think critically and creatively about the merger. I would ask him to envisage, for example, three scenarios: one where the merger, or a crucial meeting or other significant event related to the merger, had gone supremely well, beyond expectations; one where it had gone hopelessly wrong; and one where the outcome was acceptable. We would then explore these three scenarios in some depth, looking at cause and effect, strengths and weaknesses of parties involved, and so on.
Scenario planning and appreciative inquiry are complementary approaches that are constructivist, nonthreatening, and results oriented.
Track and Terminate
At future meetings with Bob it will be vital to monitor the actions detailed in the action plan.
Maintaining Bob’s commitment to goals should not be a problem once these have been seen to be based on his values. The logbook that Bob will keep will provide a way for him to track his own progress.
I would anticipate working with Bob until he is confident that the merger is going to be successful. As he becomes more skilled at structured reflection and begins to enjoy the coaching process, I would like to think that he would begin to coach himself. There is also the possibility that he might like to mentor others in the organization, so that his knowledge is not lost in his retirement.
I would hope to have follow-up sessions with Bob in order to support his arrangements for leaving the business at retirement, but suspect that he would consider the work finished at the completion of the merger. I anticipate that he would want to see a real bottom-line benefit were coaching to continue.
Challenges for Bob
The main challenges for the adult learning coach supporting Bob will be in encouraging Bob to reflect critically on his own experience. Where people have closed their minds to other possibilities from an early age, as Bob appears to have done, it is particularly difficult to help them reflect and see things from different perspectives. Getting Bob to consider whether the leadership style that has stood him in good stead in his earlier career will do so again in this situation may be difficult. I would therefore want to use some of the tools that Mezirow (1990) advocates in order to help Bob to look at this experience in different ways. It may be ambitious to expect the fundamental changes that come via perspective transformation, but I feel that Bob’s goals may be realized if only some progress can be made toward this.
Another challenge will be in maintaining Bob’s motivation for coaching. It is hoped that this will be achieved by focusing on immediate goals and bringing a sense of instrumentality and urgency to the encounter. The success in this relationship will also depend on ensuring that Bob’s goals are really relevant to him and making visible progress toward them.
CONCLUSION
Adult learning has emerged from psychology, not as a distinct discipline, but as a field of application. Similarly, coaching relies on approaches from a number of other disciplines and these approaches would need to be incorporated into the coaching program in order for it to be a fully effective, rounded coaching program. However, an attempt has been made in this chapter to distinguish a particular approach to coaching informed by theories of adult learning.
Consequently, the chapter has explored Bonita’s and Bob’s coaching experiences largely from the perspective of adult learning. The influential theory of andragogy popularized by Knowles was taken as a starting point for the elaboration of an adult learning (informed) framework for coaching. The chapter highlights that there is already considerable synergy between andragogy and coaching, and the influences of adult learning theories can be seen clearly in current coaching practice.
The IMPACT framework for coaching includes two initial exercises that provide clients with the opportunity to explore their previous life experiences through life chapters and to reflect on continuity and congruence in order to inform their values and project goals. The Kolb learning cycle provides a framework to develop a coaching process that closely follows adult learning principles and practices.
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