UTS Project
University of Technology Sydney and Business Coaching Systems Partnership
The New Discipline of Business Coaching - Research Project
Working Paper No: 2008/5 |
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The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) in partnership with Business Coaching Systems (BCS), as part of an ARC Linkage Grant, are conducting a significant national study into the emerging practices of business coaching. As an increasingly influential form of organizational intervention, business coaching practices remain unclear and highly variable. Indeed, to date we know very little about who is doing business coaching, what the credential and skills basis is, how it is done by various coaching firms, and with what effects. In response to this, the aim of the study is to develop a comprehensive understanding of how the practices of business coaching shape managerial and organizational behaviour.
Importantly, our research examines:
- How business coaching works?
- What business coaches do when working with their clients and how?
- Why business coaching is important?
- The indicators of success used before, during and after the coaching process.
- The credential and skill basis currently employed by coaching organizations to recruit and promote their business.
- How and why the implementation of coaching at the organizational level leads to particular outcomes?
- How business coaching as a practice changes the relationship between learning and work in contemporary organizations in order to be able to construct a model for business coaching?
Project Outline
Business Coaching is a growth industry. Given its very recent emergence, however, little is formally known about what different business coaches do, how they do it or what the outcomes are. In response to this, the School of Management at the University of Technology, Sydney is has undertaken a major research project in partnership with Business Coaching Systems, to study the practice of Business Coaching in Australia.
Project Aims
The research will:
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of the emerging practices of business coaching and the implications and effects of this on managerial and organizational behaviour.
- Examine how coaches do what they do, with their clients and analyse how and why they lead to particular outcomes.
- Analyse how business coaching changes the relationship between learning and work in contemporary organizations.
Project Significance
The research will make a significant contribution to the formal study of business coaching and learning in organizations. The knowledge derived from this project will:
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Contribute to business practice by researching methods of business coaching in order to develop a model of its practices. It will provide an analysis and benchmarking of what business coaches are doing and how they are doing it.
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Contribute to industry by developing perspectives on the benefits and appropriate applications of business coaching as a professional field. It will provide client organisations with informed and impartial feedback on the process and effects of business coaching.
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Contribute to theory by developing knowledge of emergent learning practices embedded in contemporary workplaces. This will allow business leaders and managers to better understand and incorporate coaching considerations into their business.
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By evaluating what is done and with what organisational outcomes, this research will contribute to the development of industry standards and quality frameworks for business coaching.
Research Design
This research requires people to be involved in one or more of the following procedures of data collection:
- Observing coaching activities of business coaches in action as they work with individual clients in the field, as well as observing group coaching activities all from a distance, whereby the researcher does NOT participate in the activities observed. This could take up to one day of participant time during the normal course of their duties;
- Interviewing of business coaches and their clients before, during and after specific coaching interventions which will generally take between 1 to 2 hours in length. This will involve individual interviews with coaches and staff members of the client organisations;
- Telephone and/or web-based survey to more closely investigate the effectiveness of business coaching from the client perspective. This will require approximately 30-40 minutes for participants to complete.
- Organisational case study analysis of the outcomes of business coaching which will be developed from the above interviews and observations. These case studies will examine the long-term impact that coaching has had on their organisations.
The Research Team
The UTS Research Team includes Professor Stewart Clegg, Associate Professor Carl Rhodes, Ms. Alexandra Pitsis and Ms. Kjersti Bjørkeng who will be involved in different aspects of directing, managing and implementing the project.
Professor Stewart Clegg
BSc (Hons), PhD, FASSA, DMANZAM
Professor Stewart Clegg is a widely experienced researcher and author with experience spanning over thirty years in the fields of sociology and organization theory. He brings to the project advanced knowledge and experience of management and organization together with expert knowledge in the research methodologies to be employed. Professor Clegg has produced many acclaimed books and directs ICAN Research at UTS. Current and future work include projects developing and delivering several International Encyclopaedia, Dictionaries and Handbooks in the organizations field, as well as a very strong stream of top-tier journal publishing and research grant activities.
Associate Professor Carl Rhodes
BSc Econ (Hons), MEd (Adult Ed), EdD
Associate Professor Rhodes has researched and written widely on issues related to knowledge, language, culture and learning in organizations. He has been involved professionally in human resource management, organizational development and change management for the past fifteen years. As well as having worked at UTS, he has held positions as a manager and consultant in organizations including The Boston Consulting Group, Citigroup and Lend Lease. He brings to the project, research expertise in the application and use of educational and learning interventions in workplace and organisational settings. Dr. Rhodes’ research focuses on issues related to learning, work, and knowledge in and about organizations. He is an accomplished researcher publishing in top-tier journals such as Organization and Management Learning.
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