Robson, Mark (2020) Being an internal coach: A study of the experience and its impact on those who took on the role. Doctoral thesis, York St John University.

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Abstract

This thesis is an account of a study of internal coaches, those employees who part-time, in addition to their day-job, coach colleagues in their organisation. The study addresses the research question: How does the experience of being an internal coach impact the coach? Although coaching is widely used to support employee development in organisations, and internal coaches deliver a significant, and growing, proportion of this activity, internal coaching remains under-researched. And there has been almost no research conducted which has focussed upon how internal coaches
experience their coach role. The study rectifies this knowledge gap using mixed methods research, an
on-line questionnaire survey (n=484) followed by one-to-one interviews (n=20).
From the research findings a conceptual map of internal coaches’ experience of being a coach has been constructed. This shows how internal coaches’ lived experience of coaching changes them, that their belief in the importance of coaching leading them to prioritise coaching and integrate it into their lives. It also highlights how, in response to the environment in which they coach, coaches take steps to protect their ability to keep coaching, driven by the belief that coaching is beneficial to those they coach, to their organisation, and to themselves. Specifically, the study sheds new light on the role of prior experience of coaching on the decision to become a coach; coaches’ choice to integrate coaching behaviours and values into their professional and personal lives; how different coaching environments impact the approach coaches take to their coaching; that coaches’ perspectives on coaching often differ from those of their line manager and how coaches deal with this; and the steps internal coaches take to protect their ability to coach. The study finds that coaching is seen as bigger and more important by internal coaches than it may appear to people around them.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Status:	Published
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
School/Department:	York Business School
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/5382

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