Negative effects for coaching clients and coaches and implications for their prevention
This dissertation is a thesis by publication, which is based on four studies. The results have been published in international peer-reviewed journals or are submitted for publication. This work introduces the overarching background and goals of this dissertation, its core findings, and how they contribute to the dissertation goals. The full-length manuscripts are presented in the end. Background: Coaching researchers and practitioners alike call for the need of evidence-based coaching. However, evidence-based coaching that acknowledges both positive and negative effects is largely lacking so far. Whilst positive effects of coaching have received much attention, researchers started only recently to examine negative effects. Objectives: This dissertation pursues three goals. First, prior studies solely used the coaches’ perspective. This dissertation strives to examine how clients themselves experience negative effects and if they relate to coaches’ experiences. Second, negative effects can emerge not only for clients, but also for coaches. The second goal is to explore their relationship and the conditions under which their relationship may take place. Third and most importantly, this dissertation aims to identify antecedents of negative effects to support their prevention in coaching practice. Methods: Surveys were used to measure negative effects for clients and for coaches, as well as their potential antecedents. The included studies employed a variety of research designs and samples. Specifically, Study I employed the clients’ perspective and used a field sample of German clients (N = 111) in a time-lagged design. Again in a time-lagged design, Study II employed the coaches’ perspective and used an international sample of professional coaches (N = 275). In bringing together the findings from both perspectives, Study III used a field experiment with matched dyads of clients and novice coaches (N = 29). Study IV used meta-analytical methods (N = 26 samples). Findings: The studies showed that negative effects for clients and coaches occur frequently in coaching. Both clients and coaches reported that more than every second client experienced negative effects. In the matched sample of clients and novice coaches, negative effects occurred slightly more often and although clients and coaches reported similar frequencies, they did not agree when compared to each other. Nearly every coach reported negative effects for themselves across the different samples. The findings showed that negative effects for clients are related to negative effects for coaches but only when coaches evaluated the negative effects for their clients. This relationship only emerged when coaches did not use supervision and was intensified when coaches were high in neuroticism. Coaches’ perceived competence might explain why negative effects for clients are related to negative effects for coaches. The relationship quality between clients and coaches as well as coaches' competence seem to act as antecedents for negative effects for clients and coaches. Limitations: To assess negative effects for clients and coaches, this dissertation employed subjective measures after coaching completion. Therefore, it depicts them as coaching outcomes and not their development over the course of the coaching processes. Causal assumptions cannot be made (except regarding coaching supervision). This dissertation investigated the number of negative effects and cannot predict specific effects that they comprise. Contributions: This dissertation contributed three core aspects to the coaching literature. The findings showed that clients and coaches could differ in their evaluations of negative effects for clients and indicated that the employed perspective is crucial. Furthermore, this dissertation was the first to introduce the relationship between negative effects for clients and for coaches and also contributed to its explanation and boundary conditions, which support the need for coaches' self-care. Most importantly, this dissertation took the conceptual leap from demonstrating that negative effects exist to explain why they occur. This knowledge can be used to prevent them in coaching practice.
@phdthesis{doi:10.17170/kobra-20191216878, author ={Graßmann, Carolin}, title ={Negative effects for coaching clients and coaches and implications for their prevention}, keywords ={150 and Coaching and Evidenz and Negativität}, copyright ={https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/}, language ={en}, school={Kassel, Universität Kassel, Fachbereich Humanwissenschaften, Institut für Psychologie}, year ={2018-02-28} }