Toward a Model of Coaching Transfer

Abstract

Executive coaching has become a respected learning and development strategy. Coaching outcomes and the conditions required for coachees to implement and sustain their development in the workplace have yet to be fully understood. These deficits impede coaching evaluation. The present study sought to operationalize a successful coaching outcome (SCO), and to propose and verify a model of coaching transfer. Two sub-studies were conducted. Study 1 used a descriptive qualitative approach to explore coachees', coaches', and organizational stakeholders' perceptions of an SCO and the facilitators and barriers to transfer. Study 2 surveyed coachees using a self-report questionnaire developed from the results of Study one to explore possible relationships between transfer and coachee motivation, work environment psychosocial factors and situational factors. In study 1, 25 coachees, nine coaches and five organizational stakeholders each participated in an hour-long, semi-structured interview. In Study 2, 110 participants completed the online coaching transfer questionnaire. Qualitative analyses revealed coachees, coaches, and organizational stakeholders believed coaching outcomes comprised intrapersonal development, personal, and performance outcomes. Coaching transfer comprised two stages: application, and generalization and maintenance. Correlational analyses of questionnaire data (N = 110) suggested transfer depends on interactions between the nature of the coaching output, the stage of transfer, and the type of development sought via coaching. Although exploratory, this study provided some understanding of the influence of the factors that impact on coaching transfer. The findings indicate there is value in coaching research examining the complex interplay of factors beyond the coachee–coach relationship.

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