Conference report – 1st European Mentoring and Coaching Council Research Conference, University of Twente, The Netherlands, 7-8 July 2011
Power to transform
Executive boards in France have low humility and a low ability to adopt a metaposition, making it harder for transformation to happen, suggested Michael Moral from France. Team coach and researcher Moral has developed a questionnaire looking at readiness for change and both preservation and transformation qualities.
Not just any moment
Significant moments in the study of coaching was a widespread theme.
Joanne James wondered if there was a need for a shock or jolt to initiate development.
Lise Lewis, EMCC UK’s next president, talked about the “edge of understanding” as the right moment to give feedback.
Erik de Haan, of the Ashridge Centre for Coaching, and Christiane Niess, explored the methods and findings from 10 years of research into moments, the latest exploring what stakeholders see as transformational (see “Altered Images”, vol 6, issue 4).
Gaze not glaze
Aspiring researchers need to be clear about their methodology and to recognise that their research represents an arbitrary and partial choice that can lead to things not being seen, said David Megginson.
He highlighted the difficulty of reaching valid conclusions in studies based on insider accounts by coaching sponsors. Lots of things jeopardise ROI such as overpaying bankers. “Coaching research has tended not to emphasise context, compared to mentoring,” he said.
Coaching at Work, Volume 6, Issue 5