Relational Coaching: Journeys Towards Mastering One to One Learning [Hardcover]

"Relational Coaching by Erik de Haan is a book which covers the coaching profession and speaks about the personal journey on which Erik has been travelling since getting lost in the maquis. The book discusses Eriks quite earth shattering statement that in fact it is the coachee that we should focus on rather than the tools of the coach with which to "handle the client.

Part I begins: The Ways of Coaching, and this sounds like a great place to start. de Haan takes us through trends; how coaching practice has grown and what he believes are the "active ingredients"; and even raises the stone tablets of the "Ten Commandments of the Executive Coach"; before finally working through the critical moments of the coaching relationship. In each of these we get a glimpse of the profession and personal side of de Haan's practice and his passion for excellence.

There is a significant chunk of the book dedicated to the data collected. Indeed the whole of Part II (and that's 120 or so pages) takes us through the process of gathering and analysis of said data. I found myself quite interested and amazingly I even read carefully statistics that when delivered by others in different formats had helped me sleep better. And as indeed de Haan found whilst on his holidays, the engaging nature of the research makes it hard to stay away from. These in-sites or clips of real coaching experience are essential reading for both beginners and experienced practitioner. To have access to such data will give coaches a deep well of experience to draw from.

Part III, continues along the "courageous" theme and is titled The Ways of Excellence. Here de Haan lays down the paths that have fed into his practice and what areas the practicing coach should focus ON to achieve excellence via training and accreditation - an area that has been of particular benefit to me, supervision groups. Led by an experienced coach facilitating and peers with whom you can exchange experiences it is a safe and revealing space in which to build and experiment with your style.

de Haan concludes with the "Library of the Executive Coach", where we find out about the texts which he feels have given the most to the coaching profession and explain how to be in the relationship. As with most of De Haan's writing this section is littered with references to classic Greek philosophy and mythology as well as some modern day classic's from Heron and Peltier and Carl Rogers.

Overall this book is an academically "clever" experience (which you can dip in and out of with ease), that reflects Eriks personality, and it is his passion and enthusiasm for the subject that really offer the newest and most revealing of all the tools that have been presented to the reader, because it is upon reflecting on these that one understands why we all coach: the power of watching someone else do something that makes them shine."

In this text, deHaan seeks to answer a very pertinent question: "How can coaches make the best use of the only effective ingredient that they are able to influence - that of the coaching relationship?". The book examines the relationship between coach and coachee and through a combination of personal insight, rigorous research (both cited from other sources and that conducted by deHaan and colleagues) and case material, examines this relationship mainly from the perspective of the coachee.
The book is divided into three sections, each focusing on a different aspect of the coaching relationship; from the main effective ingredients of coaching derived from the latest research to a critical overview of the aids and activities that coaches may utilise. The appendices also include a very comprehensive set of ethical guidelines for coaches (taken from Ashridge Business School) and verbatim exerpts from coaching sessions. These exerpts, along with the other case material provide an effective way to illustrate the research conclusions, and are used to very good effect.
The book, whilst providing an outstanding coverage of contemporary research on coaching, is written in an accessible way, and will be suitable for coaches, coachees and those with an academic interest in the field. In addition, individuals who are new to the area of coaching will find clear explanations of the coaching process and of the role of coach and coachee.
deHaan has written a book that demonstrates the academic rigour around aspects of coaching and where the future of the discipline may lie, with a specific focus on the most important predictor of the outcome of coaching; the relationship between coach and coachee.
Well written, insightful and thought-provoking; suitable for both novice and professional.

Relational Coaching, Eric de Haan (2008)
A review by Des O'Connell

Do you ever look back on a coaching session and wonder if you've done the right thing? Worry about whether you may have done too much, or too little? Or (if the session has gone well) wonder what, if anything, you did that made a difference? If you do, I strongly recommend this book.

Some books on coaching can seem `top down', didactic - describing what good coaches do (or ought to do). This is more `from the inside out' - exploring what it feels like coaching; acknowledging the uncertainties that lurk within the emergent process, the courage required to go into the fog, with the coachee, not knowing where things may end up; trusting the process, hoping.

Its central message is simple, radical and liberating: focus on getting the relationship right - the working alliance between you and your coachee. Research shows that if you get that right, it won't matter too much what style of coaching you adopt or what interventions you make or don't make. The coaching is likely to be effective.

Lessons from the world of psychotherapy

De Haan begins with a look at extensive meta-research now available in the field of psychotherapy which shows that -

* Therapy works
* No one school or approach appears more or less effective than another
* Even within a single approach (e.g. CBT) no one intervention seems more or less significant in terms of its impact

This suggests that what matters is not the differences between approaches, or the individual ingredients within a given approach, but the factors that all these approaches share. De Haan explores in detail the common factors which studies show to be linked to positive outcomes and lists the four which have the greatest impact. They are (in descending order of impact):

1. External factors
What happens outside the therapy sessions! The client's work environment, colleagues, family and support network

2. The person of the client
A particularly important factor here is the degree of `hope' or `expectation' which the client holds about the therapy

Clearly these factors are largely or totally outside the sphere of influence of the therapist. Two other factors, which rank broadly equally in their impact, and which the therapist can influence are:

3. The person of the therapist

4. The relationship between client and therapist, as experienced by the client

The personal characteristics of therapists which, from research, clients identify as impacting outcomes are:
* Empathy, understanding, warmth and authenticity
* Being attractive (sic), inspiring confidence, appearing competent - in that order!
* The therapist's own mental health
* The ability to let go of one's own system of values and to communicate within the other person's value system.

An additional finding is that belief, conviction or commitment with respect to a given approach makes a significant difference to the outcome. To be clear, it is not the particular approach that is linked to better outcomes; it is the therapist's belief in it. De Haan concludes that, whatever school or approach the therapist favours, it provides an effective framework to hold the client and the relationship during the therapy. Where therapists clearly demonstrate their passion for their approach (whatever it is) clients seem to do better.

De Haan also cites findings which suggest that the majority of change occurs as a result of the first session or within the first few weeks. And studies have even found clear indications that significant changes can occur before the first session (which prompts one to wonder how much is down to the client's `hope' or `expectation' of benefit - or even to the Hawthorne Effect).

Application to coaching

De Haan's goal is to explore the extent to which these findings from psychotherapy apply equally to coaching. His opening proposition is surprisingly cautious :

"I can't be sure that the translation of the results from [psychotherapy] to coaching is more than a thought experiment."

He reviews a number of research findings relating to training and coaching which clearly show that coaching is effective - in one study, four times as effective as training.

"[Coaching] yields a modest but quantifiable outcome ... [It] appears to make a demonstrable, positive difference time after time."

And, even before assessing the findings from his own research studies in coaching, he confidently suggests that there are powerful lessons here for coaches. Ones that stand out for me are:

1. Trust yourself
Don't worry too much about the specific things you are doing

2. Trust the coachee
He/she will do all the important work that they are ready to do

3. You can be robust
Your clients are robust. You don't have to confine yourself to facilitation, exploring and supportive interventions; you can make use of more directive, suggestive and confronting interventions, if that seems appropriate

4. Let the coachee decide whether you should continue or stop
If the coachee finds the relationship positive, keep with it. If the relationship is not ideal in the coachee's eyes, don't hesitate to refer (and support the coachee through the transfer)

He adds a couple of words of warning:

* Don't be overly eclectic, or nihilistic (his words) about coaching approaches. Demonstrating a belief in an approach may matter
* Be careful about any intervention that could jeopardise the working relationship

And a recommendation, linked to the finding about the impact that the client's sense of `hope' has on outcomes: A typical coachee question might be: "Will this help me?" Here the coach might feel inclined to say - in honesty: "I don't know yet. I have no idea if this will help you". De Haan encourages us as coaches to connect with our own sense of optimism to find a positive - and still honest - reply. For example: "I personally have very positive expectations about the outcome."

De Haan's research studies into coaching effectiveness

De Haan sets out the method and findings of four studies he has carried out into coaching effectiveness. The four groups studied were:

1. Coachees (71 respondents at outset; 31 respondents in the follow up study)
2. Less experienced coaches (72 respondents)
3. Experienced coaches (47 respondents)
4. Very experienced coaches (28 respondents)

(1) Research among coachees

The question which de Haan posed to research participants was -

What is it that makes the coaching journey worthwhile/effective/helpful to participants: how is it that they themselves feel that they learn or change through executive coaching?

The main findings from the research were:

(1) The nature of specific coaching interventions seem less important to coachees than the coaching relationship itself. Those who reported the overall coaching experience as more helpful appreciated all the behaviours of their coaches .
(2) Coach qualities such as listening, understanding and encouragement were most valued by coachees
(3) Coachees who identified attributes of their coach such as friendly, courteous, approachable, available, attentive, and responsive generally experienced a significantly better outcome

These findings are consistent with the earlier findings from psychotherapy. And they support de Haan's view that what is really important here is the working alliance: the coaching relationship, as experienced by the coachee. This, says de Haan, is the best predictor of outcome.

(2) Research with less experienced coaches

De Haan is particularly interested in what he terms `critical moments' in coaching sessions:

"...the moments when the coaching relationship is really put to the test.... In moments where fear of the new, uncertainty and doubt overcome coach and/or coachee, they are both closest to a breakthrough...it is often solely as a result of such moments that the coachee actually begins to learn and change"

De Haan's aim, by studying such moments, is to obtain a greater understanding of the processes that lead to change through coaching. He acknowledges that this approach is narrative and qualitative in nature - as distinct from the more common quantitative studies (using, for example, a Likert scale).

In this study de Haan invited a group of less experienced coaches to -

"Describe briefly one critical moment (an exciting, tense or significant moment) with one of your coachees. Think about what was critical in the coaching journey, or a moment when you did not know quite what to do."

This produced 80 critical moments which de Haan analyses. His conclusions are:

(1) Critical moments go hand in hand with doubts
(2) At root, these amount to "What is going on? Do I have an answer for it?" or "What do I see? How do I respond?"
(3) Handled properly, critical moments are the starting point for significant learning - i.e. Read more ›