1. Advanced Coaching:
Accelerating the Journey
from Good to Great
David B. Peterson, PhD
david.peterson.phd@gmail.com
14 November, 2013
Congresso Brasileiro de Coaching
Sao Paulo, Brasil
Copyright © 2013, David B. Peterson, PhD. All Rights Reserved.

2. Propositions
1.
Coaching works
2.
Easy to be a good coach, hard to be a great coach
3.
Human behavior is inherently complex: ―People
are complex and the world is messy‖ (Peterson, 2006)
4.
Great coaching constantly adapts to address the
complexity, messiness, and uniqueness of each
individual
5.
It requires years of coaching experience and diligent
practice to develop the advanced skills and
capabilities for great coaching

3. How do we know coaching works?
A popular study reports that 77% of coaching
participants showed improved relationships with
their direct reports.
Does that mean that coaching is:

Extremely effective?
 Extremely ineffective?

4. What if 77% improved when…

100% had a goal of improving relationships with direct
reports?

50% had that goal?

0% had that goal and the purpose was to improve
strategic thinking and time management?

The ratings for everyone improved from ―very ineffective‖
to ―ineffective‖?

5. What if 77% improved when…

Their coaching program consisted of

Three one-hour sessions provided by recently certified
coaches from a two-day training program?
 A full year of weekly coaching from certified master
coaches?

Ratings were based on:

Self-report?
 Ratings from the direct reports themselves?
 Ratings from trained observers?

12% didn’t accomplish any of their coaching goals?

6. Coaching works?
Well, here’s what the research says:

7. But seriously… Coaching works
(Peterson, 1993, 2010)

Personal testimonials, popular press, coaches’ marketing materials

Surveys and self-report ratings of participants (Bush, 2005; Davis & Petchenik, 1998; Kombarakaran,
Yang, Baker, & Fernandes, 2008; Leedham, 2005; Seamons, 2006; Thompson, 1986; Wasylyshyn, 2003; Wasylyshyn,
Gronsky, & Haas, 2006)

Surveys of and ratings from bosses (Peterson, 1993)

Surveys of HR purchasers / managers of coaching programs
(Dagley, 2006; Leedham, 2005;
McDermott, Levenson, & Newton, 2007)

Individual case studies (Blattner, 2005; Diedrich, 1996; Hunt, 2003; Kiel, Rimmer, Williams, & Doyle, 1996; Kralj,
2001; Libri & Kemp, 2006; Natale & Diamante, 2005; Peterson, 1996; Peterson & Millier, 2005; Schnell, 2005; Tobias,
1996; Wasylyshyn, 2005; Winum, 2005)

Organizational case studies (See Clutterbuck & Megginson, 2005; Hunt & Weintraub, 2007; Jarvis et al., 2006)

ROI evaluations (Anderson, 2001; CLC, 2004; Holt & Peterson, 2006; McGovern et al., 2001; Parker-Wilkins, 2006;
Phillips, 2007; Schlosser et al., 2006)

Carefully designed, quasi-experimental studies (Evers, Brouwers, & Tomic, 2006; Finn, 2007; Finn,
Mason, & Griffin, 2006; Grant, Frith, & Burton, 2009; Offermans, 2004 [see Greif, 2007]; Peterson, 1993b; Smither et al.,
2003; Steinmetz, 2005 [see Greif, 2007]; Sue-Chan & Latham, 2004)

Literature reviews critically evaluating the above (De Meuse, Dai, & Lee,2010; Ely et al., 2001 ; Feldman
& Lankau, 2005; Fillery-Travis & Lane, 2006, 2007; Jarvis et al., 2006; Joo, 2005; Kampa-Kokesch & Anderson, 2001;
Kampa & White, 2002; Levenson, 2009; Mackie, 2007; Passmore & Gibbes, 2007)

8. Plus some simple logic….
Many techniques are well-known to be effective in
facilitating learning (Jarvis et al., 2006; Latham, 2007):









Goal setting (Locke & Latham, 1990; 2002)
Communicating performance expectations (Buckingham &
Clifton, 2001; Buckingham & Coffman, 1999)
Feedback (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; London, 1997)
Enhancing self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997)
Behavioral practice (Druckman & Bjork, 1991)
Spaced practice and repetition
Reflection (Burkey & Linley, 2007; Seibert & Daudelin, 1999)
Accountability (Holton & Baldwin, 2003)
A trusting, supportive relationship (Lambert & Barley, 2002;
Mahoney, 1991)

9. So coaching works,
but we have one small problem…
We don’t really know how or why it works,
or what works best, or whether one
approach is better than others….

10. “Great coaches ask powerful questions”

And so do good coaches, mediocre coaches, and bad
coaches….

Common research problem: Sampling on the
dependent variable:

If you only study subjects based on their success, e.g.,
Studying great coaches
Benchmarking against the most admired companies


You can’t differentiate what works and what does not
work
We need to know what differentiates the most
effective/successful coaching/coaches from less
effective coaching/coaches.

11. Good  Great? Five stages of expertise
(Dreyfuss & Dreyfuss, 1986)
1.
Novice

2.
Advanced beginner

3.
Work based on conceptual models and past experience. Can handle more
complex situations. Typically rely on heuristics or surface features.
Proficient

5.
Use guidelines and rules based on context. Not able to handle exceptions
or unforeseen problems.
Competent (Good)

4.
Focus on accomplishing specific tasks. Follow explicit rules & instructions.
Have experience with wide variety of situations and challenges. Adapt
approach based on principles and conceptual framework.
Expert (Great)

Identify and solve problems intuitively, based on extensive experience and
experimentation. See underlying patterns effortlessly and adapt well, even
to complex and unique situations. Consistently generate superior
performance.

12. Advanced Coaching
Easy to be good. Hard to be great.

Good coaches?

Competent, generally effective
 Experienced: At least 3 years, 30 clients

Great coaches?

Mastery, deep expertise, versatile
 Highly experienced: At least 10 years, 300 clients
 Effective even with difficult, complex, challenging
engagements (e.g., resistant, narcissistic) and novel
situations

13. Why is it so easy to be a good coach?
(Peterson, 2010)
1.
External, objective perspective


Validate or challenge assumptions
Offer new perspectives
2.
Create space for reflection, thoughtful planning
3.
Positive, encouraging relationship is often a vehicle for
change in itself
4.
First steps of change are often easy and obvious
5.
Provides accountability


Follow-up conversation
Going public with one’s commitment

14. Why is it so easy to be a good coach?
6.
Readily available coaching tools (e.g., 360, MBTI) and
models (e.g., GROW)
7.
Many easy-to-leverage backgrounds and transferable skills:
Consulting, psychology (organizational, clinical, counseling,
social, developmental), HR, OD, trainer, teacher, helper…
8.
Coaching is adaptive

Coaches learn as they work and they adapt their approach to
what is most useful to the person
 See the person’s reaction, ask what the person wants or
prefers, get feedback on what is most useful
 Coaches get multiple tries

15. Why is it so easy to remain a good coach?
9.
Sometimes good is good enough
10.
Coaches fall in love with their tools
11.
Want to maintain a great relationship that is mutually
rewarding – reluctant to really stretch, challenge client
12.
Easy to place blame elsewhere when it doesn’t work,
rather than ask yourself what you could have done
differently
Rigorous self-examination and critique is hard

16. Why is it so hard to become a great coach?
(Peterson, 2010)
1.
Long cycle time with slow, distal outcome feedback

It takes a long time to see the real, lasting outcome and
impact

Immediate feedback is often deceptive

Difficult to connect any specific factor to outcomes

17. Why is it so hard to become a great coach?
(Peterson, 2010)
2.
People are prone to self-serving biases (Kahneman, 2011)

Confirmation bias
People are more likely to confirm beliefs than to challenge
them, even when they have no vested interest in the
beliefs.‖ (Gavetti & Rivkin, 2005, p. 59)
When I am successful, it’s clear evidence that my approach
works. When I’m not successful, it’s clear that something
external got in the way…

Fundamental attribution error
More likely to attribute personal success to our own skill and
personal failure to extenuating circumstances.
Tend to explain other people’s actions by their character traits with
little regard for the power of circumstances

18. Why is it so hard to become a great coach?
(Peterson, 2010)
3.
Coaching is a complex, multifaceted process

Probabilistic: Nothing works 100% of the time

Pleiotropic: Same coaching behavior can produce different
outcomes

Polygenic: Different coaching behaviors may produce same
outcome
** Coaches get multiple tries, but we are not necessarily good at
extracting the right lessons

19. Brief tangent: The Development Pipeline
(Peterson, 2006)
INSIGHT
MOTIVATION
Do
people
know
what to
develop?
Are they
willing to
invest the
time and
energy it
takes?
CAPABILITIES
Do they
have the
capabilities
they need?
REALWORLD
PRACTICE
Do they have
opportunities
to apply their
capabilities
at work?
ACCOUNTABILITY
Do they
internalize their
capabilities
and feel
accountable to
actually improve
performance
and results?

20. Why is it so hard to become a great coach?
(Peterson, 2010)
4.
Some aspects of coaching are seductive….

Insight, asking provocative questions, offering feedback, giving
advice are easy, quick, tangible
Things the coach can directly impact and get credit for

Real-World Practice is slow, tedious, frustrating, unpredictable
The person does the hard work; rarely does the coach get credit
Absolutely necessary for real change

Great coaching appears relatively effortless
The person feels like they’re doing most of the work
The coach doesn’t much credit

21. Learning is easy, real change is hard

Two different aspects
1. Learning - Acquiring new competencies: Enhancing how much
people learn during coaching.
2. Performing (real change) - Applying new competencies:
Enhancing how much people apply what they learn to real-world
settings to actually improve performance.

The paradox: Techniques that enhance applying tend to
interfere with acquiring

―The crux of the problem is that learning and performance are not the
same… procedures that enhance performance during training may or may
not enhance long-term retention and transfer; conversely, procedures that
introduce difficulties for the learner and impair performance during training
may foster durable and flexible posttraining skills‖ (Druckman & Bjork,
1991, pp. 24-25)

22. Why is it so hard to become a great coach?
5.
Requires 10,000 hours of rigorous practice to develop
mastery-level expertise for complex behaviors (Colvin, 2010)


Consider complexity of the task as well as number of
completed cycles, so you can see final outcomes
Deliberate practice & reflection – ―experts in how to practice‖
Specific goals to improve performance
Critically examine minute behaviors and skills - Concentrate on
technique as much as outcome
Systematic experimentation with other approaches
Rigorous observation and self-reflection
Objective feedback from others
Continually test assumptions & build new, better mental models
Repeat frequently – occasional practice does not work

23. Bonus: Insights from neuropsych

Conscious processing (e.g., paying attention, working memory) is
a limited resource (Rock, 2006; Rock & Schwartz, 2006)


Prefrontal cortex is small, uses lots of energy, and can only do one
thing at a time
Similarly, willpower and discipline are limited, depletable resources
(Gaillot et al. 2007)

What we pay attention to and repeat rewires the brain’s neurons


Having to think and come up with your own answers fosters more
brain activity and faster rewiring than being told answers
Limbic system is hard-wired to interpret certain things as threats.


May be activated by power, negative feedback, uncertainty, lack of
control, etc.,
Limbic system can divert resources from PFC

24. Does it matter if someone works with
a good coach or a great coach?

25. “What you don’t know might kill you”
(Begley & Interlandi, 2009)
―Greatness‖ in cancer treatment
1.
Really severe cancers: Very low survival rate regardless of
treatment.
2.
Relatively minor cancers: High survival rate relatively
independent of treatment.
3.
Moderately severe cancers: Expertise, sound judgment and
swift action make a huge swing in survival rates.


Doctors who go with their instincts or based on single past
experiences are not as good as those who consistently rely on
statistical averages for their treatment.
Those who have lots of experience are better at diagnosing
more precisely.

26. Good is the enemy of great
(Gawande, 2004)
―Greatness‖ in treating cystic fibrosis: Patients’ expected
life spans


At average treatment centers: 30 years
At top centers: 46 years
―Warwick’s world view... excellence came from seeing, on a
daily basis, the difference between being 99.5% successful and
being 99.95% successful.‖

99.5% success = 84% chance you will get sick in one year

99.95% success = only 17% chance of getting sick in one year

27. Novice  Competent  Expert

Novice: Guided by rules and tools

How do I do this?
 What do I do next?

Competent: Guided by personal experience and
conceptual models


What do I think would be helpful?
Expert: Guided by the client and the context

What does the learner need?
 What will be most useful to them?

28. Puzzle, problem, or mystery?
(Lazar & Bergquist, 2003; Snowden & Boone, 2007)
Puzzle
One-dimensional, can be clearly defined
Has a correct answer, clear criteria
Simple – clear cause and effect
Problem
Multidimensional; multiple possible answers,
reasonable criteria
Requires judgment, discernment; not more data
Complicated – cause and effect are discoverable
Mystery
No correct answer; emergent, unpredictable
Defy definition and suitable criteria
Complex – can’t know effect until you have the
cause
Wicked – action produces unanticipated
consequences

29. Intentional Coaching:
What kind of coach do you want to be?
My approach to coaching is pragmatic, results-focused, actionoriented, and guided by two key principles:
1.
Be the kind of coach that I would like to work with. This principle has
led me to truly partner with people, to focus on accomplishing what
is most important to them and their organizations, and to emphasize
the most pragmatic and useful approaches we can find, all in the
context of a positive, supportive relationship.
2.
Aim to be a great coach; never settle for being a good coach—this
means a constant commitment to finding faster and better ways to
achieve results through coaching. The focus of my coaching is
always on finding the most useful ways to create the greatest value
for my clients.

30. Reflecting on reflection: 4 directions
(Peterson, 2010)
Look inward
Who do I want to be?
What am I trying to accomplish?
What matters to me: Principles,
values?
Look outward
What does it take to be successful?
What matters to others?
How do others see me?
Look back
What new things have I tried?
What worked? What didn’t?
What have I learned so far?
Look forward
What will I do differently?
What do I need to do to keep learning?

31. A calendar for reflection
(Peterson, 2010)
Daily
(1 min)
What new thing did I try today?
What one thing will I do differently tomorrow?
Weekly
(5 min)
What progress did I make last week?
What do I need to focus on this week?
Monthly
(10 min)
How am I doing on my learning objectives?
What do I need to do to keep learning?
Quarterly
(15 minutes)
How am I doing on my development?
What is most important going forward?
Annually
(1 hour)
Where do I stand relative to what matters to me?
Where do I want to be a year from now and how do I get there?
What do I need to do to manage my learning more effectively?
Decadely
(1 day)
Who do I want to be?
What values do I want to live by? How am I doing against them?
What do I need to do in the next 5 years to accomplish what matters
most?

32. We learn more from
reflecting on our
experiences than from
experience itself.
— John Dewey (1933) —

33. Implications and advice:
What does this mean for you?

34. Advice for any level:
Novice, competence, mastery
1.
Get immediate feedback from clients


2.
What did you learn today and what did I do that helped make
that happen?
What was of greatest value to you today and why?
Get long-term feedback from clients: End of
engagement or months later




What has changed for you as a result of our coaching?
Looking back on the entire experience, what was most helpful
about our coaching and why?
What did I do that made a difference and what kind of
difference did it make?
What could I have done to make the experience more
effective?

35. Advice for any level:
Novice, competence, mastery
3.
Self-reflection (McGonagill, 2002) or critical reflection with
someone else






4.
What kind of coach do I want to be? What do I need to do to
become that kind of coach?
What are my goals in this coaching session?
What am I doing that gets in my way?
What would I like to be more effective at? What do I really need
to become more effective at?
What am I doing mindlessly out of habit and what might be a
more effective way to think about or approach that?
What did not go well and what could I have done differently,
even if it wasn’t clearly under my control?
Study the broad knowledge-base relevant to coaching

36. Advice for developing mastery
1.
Experiment: Systematically try new things in a variety
of situations
2.
Push yourself: Set challenging goals



3.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone with clients


4.
Make real progress asking only three questions
Reduce average time-to-outcome in half
Get clients to say ―wow, that was helpful‖ in first 10 minutes.
Find ways to stretch with current clients
Take on wider variety of issues and more challenging situations
Rigorously practice what is most difficult for you



Identify and acknowledge it
Critique yourself against a high standard
Try it over and over until you are successful and it feels natural

37. Advice for developing mastery
5.
Relentlessly reflect on each experience








6.
Am I being the kind of coach I seek to be?
What worked and what didn’t? Why?
Where was I coasting? Why?
What was I missing? Why?
What was I avoiding? Why?
What is the client struggling with or failing to do as fast as I would like
and what am I going to do to impact that?
What frustrates me about this client and how do I need to change to
impact that?
What do I need to do differently to advance my skills before next
session?
Seek coaching and supervision from master coaches and
others to stretch & challenge you from different perspectives

38. The more you crash, the more you learn
You have to make a choice.
If you stay inside your comfort
zone, you can make it.
If you go outside, you fall.
If you go on the edge, you win.
Racing is a process of learning
where that edge lies.
— Steve Podborski —

39. Appendix

40. Coaching also requires trusting relationship
(Peterson, 2010)
PARTNERSHIP
INSIGHT
Do
Do
people
people
trust you
know
enough
what to
to work develop?
with
you?
MOTIVATION
Are they
willing to
invest the
time and
energy it
takes?
CAPABILITIES
Do they
have the
capabilities
they need?
REALWORLD
PRACTICE
Do they have
opportunities
to apply their
capabilities?
ACCOUNTABILITY
Do they
feel
accountable?

41. GAPS
The
person’s
view
Others’
views
Where the
person is
Where the
person is going
Abilities
How they see
Goalsmatters to
& Values
What
themselves
the person
Perceptions
How others see
Success Factors
What matters
the person
to others
Copyright ©2007, Personnel Decisions International Corporation. All rights reserved.

42. Clear Goals, Conscious Choice,
Effective Action (Peterson, 2010)
Clear Goals
•
What are your goals? What are you trying to accomplish?
•
Goals drive behavior
• There are always multiple goals
Conscious Choice
•
What are your options? What choices do you have?
•
Help person generate their own options
• Help them compare pros & cons of each option against their goals
Effective Action
•
What’s the most effective thing you can do right now?
•
Help them create a plan
• Help them visualize acting on it step-by-step