How to Tell If Managers Are Good Coaches and How to Help Them Improve during Adversity? the Managerial Coaching Assessment System and the Rational Managerial Coaching Program

Abstract

AbstractManagerial coaching has attracted much attention over the last decades and two models have emerged in the literature: the behavioral and the skills model. Both of them have been criticized and the literature is lacking empirical research on the measurement of managerial coaching, its impact on organizational outcomes, and on how it can be developed through training programs. In this article we try to fill these gaps with a first study describing the initial validation of a new instrument for measuring managerial coaching behaviors/skills - The Managerial Coaching Assessment System (MCAS), and a second study testing the effectiveness of a newly developed program for enhancing managerial coaching - The Rational Managerial Coaching Program (rMCP). The MCAS is a multirater instrument, allowing for ratings from managers (self-report), employees (other-report) and external observers (observational). In study 1 (N=94) we found the MCAS to have adequate psychometric properties (Cronbach's alphas between .72 and .93 for the three versions) and to be a strong predictor for performance over a six months period, r(17)=.68, p=.003. We obtained a one factor structure for the self- and other-report versions and a two factors structure for the observational version. In study 2 (N=22), results show that rMCP is effective in increasing coaching abilities reported by middle-level managers, t(19)=-2.75, p=.031, and by external observers, t(17)=-2.47, p=.024. We also found an increase in managerial rational attitudes, t(21)=-2.22, p=.037, and a decrease in irrational attitudes t(21)=4.59, pKeywords: managerial coaching, cognitive-behavioral coaching, rationalemotive coaching, rational and irrational beliefs, emotional intelligenceIntroductionThere is no universal agreement referring to the definition of managerial coaching, but Hagen (2012) offers a synthesized definition, describing managerial coaching as an effective leadership practice facilitating learning process of the employees for performing better and being more effective; thus, the employee benefits the most from the managerial coaching process, together with the manager and the organization. It is considered nowadays (Hamlin, Ellinger, & Beattie, 2006) that managerial coaching can bring competitive advantages for organizations, especially through empowering and motivating employees for performance, and bringing more satisfaction and commitment (Ellinger, Ellinger, & Keller, 2003; Liu & Brat, 2010). Thus, managerial coaching is considered an essential managerial competence, and organizations increasingly choose to invest in development actions meant to build this set of skills (Hamlin et al., 2006). However, the problem is that there is no agreement in the literature over the managerial coaching competencies (Hagen, 2012), and thus is difficult to establish training needs. Furthermore, although there are validated approaches (e.g., Grant, Curtayne, & Burton, 2009) proved to be suited and work in organizational settings [cognitive-behavioral coaching (CBC), especially the Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy/Coaching approach (REBT/C; Ellis, 1962)], they have not been consistently incorporated in programs meant to develop managerial coaching competencies. Moreover, although development initiatives are usually imposing serious costs for the organizations, the effects of the programs implemented are not well documented. We aim to fill those gaps by developing a reliable assessment system of managerial coaching competencies, and test the effectiveness of a coaching program based on the CBC & REBT/C targeting managerial coaching skills.The article is structured in two separate studies, with partial overlap in the samples used. The first study describes the development and initial validation of an instrument for assessing managerial coaching behaviors and skills, while the second study describes the development and testing of the effectiveness of a CBC/REBC training program aiming at enhancing these skills and behaviors in managers. …

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