Anne Scoular & P. Alex Linley

The study subjected two ‘sacred cows’ in coaching, goal-setting, and the use of personality instruments, to empirical testing. In an experimental between-subjects design (N=117) with two conditions, goal-setting and non-goal-setting, coaching occurred under standardised procedures, and both coach and coachee completed the MBTI and NEO-PIR questionnaires and post-coaching evaluations. Outcomes were re-tested at two and eight weeks. Surprisingly, given the extensive research basis for goal-setting, multiple regression analyses showed no significant difference between goal-setting and non-goal-setting conditions. Personality difference was, however, found to be significant.

Keywords: Coaching, Executive coaching, Individual difference, Goal-setting.

Full article: Volume 2, Issue 1 pages 9 - 11