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This article is a reprint of a Coaching Research in Practice (September, 2018). All ReciproCoaches receive complimentary limited-time access to each new issue (10 per year). For unlimited access to more than 10 years of Coaching Research in Practice archives, purchase a membership or a subscription. In an unprecedented year of bush/wildfires, a pandemic, outrage against racial injustice and a highly controversial US election, work-related strain on coaches has been noticeable. The negative impacts of coaching clients through climate crises, protracted lockdowns and social and political unrest have shown up at ReciproCoach in coaching relationships, as well as group mentoring and supervision sessions. This issue of Coaching Research in Practice considers research on one group of coaches who commonly feel strain as part of their regular coaching work. It considers factors contributing to life satisfaction and work-related mental strain, provides some suggestions for reducing negative effects of coaching and offers some consolation for coaches who have been feeling the pressure of the year of 2020. COACHING RESEARCH In their 2019 paper “Coach and no regrets about it: On the life satisfaction, work-related mental strain, and use of supervision of workplace coaches”, Müller, Kotte and Möller highlight the way in which the increasing demands of workplaces impact upon workplace coaches. Factors include the nature of self-employment, the expectation of ROI, “competing agendas of different organisational stakeholders … [and] rising demands of the working world” (p. 17), in addition to “difficult or unpleasant contents of the coaching sessions … [and] unpleasant behaviour towards the coach” (p. 17). They also point out that “research findings suggest that most coaches experience on average seven negative effects for themselves per coaching engagement” (p. 19). Müller et al. started their study with four hypotheses. Firstly they hypothesised that “coaches’ cognitive and emotional strain differs from those of a representative sample of the general working population” and secondly that “coaches’ life satisfaction differs from those of a representative sample of the general population” (p. 20). Their last two hypotheses were that “the majority of coaches would choose their job as coach again in retrospect” and that “coaching supervision has a moderating effect on the relationship between mental strain (i.e., cognitive and emotional strain) and coaches’ job satisfaction” (p. 20). One hundred and ten workplace coaches from Germany, Austria and Switzerland completed a questionnaire that sought to measure work-related mental strain and life satisfaction. Here are the findings: Coaches show significantly less cognitive and emotional strain than the average working population. Coaches are more satisfied with their jobs and leisure time, in comparison to the general working population. While coaches had a similar financial situation to the norm, they “were more satisfied with their income as coach than the representative population” yet “less satisfied with the financial security of their work as coach … and also with provision for retirement” (p. 23). Of these coaches, 73.6% would definitely “choose their job again from today’s perspective” (p. 23), 23.6% would most likely choose it again, and only 2.7% would likely not choose their job again. When coaches have an average level of mental strain, job satisfaction is average too irrespective of coaching supervision; however, “if work-related mental strain is high, job satisfaction is higher when coaches use supervision … whereas coaches without supervision show substantial declines in job satisfaction” (p. 23). In summary, while coaches are better off than the average individual in the workforce in terms of work-related mental strain and life satisfaction, they experience some concern about their financial future. Furthermore, in times of higher work-related mental strain, supervision supports coaches in maintaining job satisfaction. IN PRACTICE Given the year that we’ve had in 2020, where coaches have experienced numerous negative effects of the job as a result of unpleasant and intense session contents, uncertain financial times and the high demands of the changing workplace, this study highlights that in such times, as well as in times of ordinary work-related strain, supervision is a valuable resource for coaches. This provides a clear recommendation to engage in supervision to maintain your own sense of life satisfaction, despite any work-related strain. Indeed, this study recognised the important role supervision plays in coaches’ self-care. In addition, in their discussion of the study findings, Müller et al. highlight that although coaches had a “relatively high prevalence of negative effects of coaching for coaches themselves, that is, on average seven negative effects per coaching engagement and their impact on the well-being of the coach” (p. 24), their job satisfaction is still high. Their consideration of this sheds light on another point for practice, in that “hav[ing] a repertoire of support resources [may] counterbalance possible negative effects” and that “professional coping strategies might mitigate work-related strain” (p. 24). Indeed, as Müller et al. suggest, as a coach you are able to professionally support others, so in turn, you could equip yourself with the same support. This might include having your own coach, for example through reciprocal peer coaching, or through self-coaching. Indeed, if you are feeling stress related to future financial security and provision for retirement, as a result of being a coach, this could be a good topic to focus on with a coach of your own. Finally, you may do well to intermittently ask yourself, “If I could choose again, would I choose to be a coach?” Indeed, this question could act as an effective gauge for any negative effects you might be experiencing in your work as a coach. If your answer is no, take it to your next session with your coach or to a coaching supervision session. Reference: Müller, A. A., Kotte, S., & Möller, H. (2019). Coach and no regrets about it: On the life satisfaction, work-related mental strain, and use of supervision of workplace coaches. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 13(1), 16-29. doi:10.1080/17521882.2019.1636841 Translating coaching research into a coaching practice, Kerryn Griffiths, PhD (The Process of Learning in Coaching), PCCReciproCoach Founder and Global Coordinator

Last week, we launched a brand new ReciproCoach website. Technology is evolving rapidly, and as coaches working in a digital age, we need to keep pace. With technology now becoming more embedded in everyday coaching practice, changing not only the ReciproCoach website but the landscape of coaching itself, it feels like a timely moment to reflect on the role it plays in our work and to consider some of the emerging research in this area.   This issue of Coaching Research in Practice reflects on a recent paper about the use of technology in coaching. It explores insights related to its effectiveness, as well as some challenges, and ethical and confidentiality concerns. The article concludes with some important recommendations for anyone coaching in this digital age.    Read full article here: https://reciprocoach.com/coaching-research#!#191   Written by Kerryn Griffiths, PhD, PCC and Global ReciproCoach Coordinator

Most coaches recognise the catalytic role metaphors play in deepening client insight. Yet too often, authentic metaphor opportunities are missed. Coaches may try to work with metaphors artificially by suggesting them or directly asking clients to think of one, or they become so blind-sided by the complexity of the client’s story that they forget to tap into the power of metaphors altogether.  The real art of working with metaphors lies in mining the conversation for those that naturally arise. From there, you can skillfully weave and leverage the metaphor throughout the entire coaching dialogue. When used this way, a single metaphor can open up layer after layer of awareness and transformation. It’s about milking metaphors for every bit of insight you can get so that the learning really lasts. That’s exactly what Lyssa deHart, MCC, explores in Light Up: The Science of Coaching with Metaphors. As Lyssa explains in her blog article The Transformative Power of Metaphors in Coaching, “When we invite and notice metaphors in our conversation, we’re stepping onto a bridge between conscious awareness and the deeper waters of a thinker’s lived experience.” We think metaphor is so powerful, and an invaluable tool for all coaches to master, that we’ve partnered with Lyssa to bring you Peer Coaching with Metaphors. In this peer coaching round, you’ll work through Lyssa’s book, Light Up, to explore the science behind metaphors and practice milking metaphors in your coaching sessions with your assigned client, and experience having your own sessions milked for metaphors by your assigned coach. Find out more about this round and what it includes here.  (registrations close June 15) If you would like to further deepen your skills, you also have the opportunity to join a group mentoring session with Lyssa (available for separate registration and not included in the peer coaching round). If you can’t attend live or miss out on one of the limited places, you can register for the observer-only session to listen in when it suits you and still benefit from Lyssa’s expert feedback and coaching insights. Join us in lighting up your coaching with metaphors, Kerryn Griffiths, PhD, PCC Global ReciproCoach Coordinator

In the spirit of International Coaching Week (ICW) and in recognition of the potential for “the profound impact of professional coaching” (ICF), this month’s issue of Coaching Research in Practice explores the role of coaching in advancing climate action.   While many organizations struggle to turn sustainability intentions into actual change, this issue highlights current research showing how inner development frameworks can empower coaches to help clients and teams to translate climate goals into lasting action for change. But it’s not just about organizational change; this issue also highlights how coaching can inspire individuals to take small, meaningful actions that contribute to wider climate solutions. These individual efforts, though modest in scale, can build momentum for collective and lasting environmental impact.   If you’re inspired to be part of this movement, join our annual Climate Peer Coaching Round. We open up registration for this round each year during ICW. Whether you’re looking to reduce your own climate footprint or support others in doing the same, this program offers 12 climate-focused peer coaching sessions to explore and act on your climate goals. No pre-determined climate goals are required to join, only a desire to make some kind of climate-positive change. Learn more and sign up here.   Read full article here: https://reciprocoach.com/coaching-research#!#190   Written by Kerryn Griffiths, PhD, PCC and Global ReciproCoach Coordinator

Interrupting. Cutting someone off. Talking over another person.These are all behaviours most people avoid.    Yet in coaching, these same behaviours can sometimes be essential, and there are moments when not interrupting is a missed opportunity.    As coaches, many of us have internalised the social belief that interruption is rude. But coaching isn't a polite conversation—it's a purposeful one. ICF PCC Marker 6.6 reminds us:    "Coach allows the client to complete speaking without interrupting unless there is a stated coaching purpose to do so."   Interrupting with intent is a skill —one that calls for awareness, courage, and clarity of purpose. That's why, ReciproCoach is once again offering, The Art of Effective Interruption with MCC Joanna Davis. This90-minute group mentoring session is focused on building confidence and capability around one of coaching's most nuanced and underutilised skills, as you explore:    The purpose of interrupting Good reasons to interrupt Why we mistakenly interrupt How to interrupt effectively Signs when to interrupt Signs when not to interrupt When we don't interrupt, but should   Participants are invited to submit recording excerpts showing both successful and unsuccessful interruption attempts (or lack thereof), and the group will discuss and learn from these in relation to the ICF Core Competencies. Time permitting, the session will also include opportunities for live practice and exploration of when and how interruption serves the coaching process—or hinders it. Registrations close June 17.    This session is limited to 10 participants, is suitable for coaches of any experience level, and counts for 1.5 MCC (or lower credential) group mentoring hours. Alternatively, participants may claim 1.5 ICF CCEs in Core Competencies towards credential renewal.    If you can't attend live, observer-only access to the recording is also available. More info here.    Supporting coaches to unlock the power of interruption,    Kerryn Griffiths, PhD, PCCGlobal ReciproCoach Coordinator

What should a coach do when a client shows signs of psychological distress? While the coaching profession agrees that we do not diagnose or treat mental health conditions, we are increasingly being called upon to recognise and respond to possible signs—particularly when many clients come to coaching because of their reluctance to engage in therapy.  This means coaches often encounter emotionally complex situations, especially with clients who are more open to coaching than to clinical support. These moments require us to reflect deeply: Where is the line between helping and harming? Between ethical coaching and inappropriate clinical overreach?  This issue of Coaching Research in Practice explores recent research that provides a thoughtful and practical model for navigating that line. It sheds light on how experienced coaches move from recognising signs of distress in their clients to making ethically grounded decisions about how to respond—without overstepping professional boundaries or missing opportunities to support those in need.  Read full article here: https://reciprocoach.com/coaching-research#!#189    Written by Kerryn Griffiths, PhD, PCC and Global ReciproCoach Coordinator  

How many leads did your website bring last month?   If your answer is “none,” “not enough,” or “I have no idea,” you’re not alone.   According to web designer for coaches, Kenn Schroder, over 90% of coaching websites never generate a single client lead. Why? Because most aren’t made to convert.   That’s where the Make Your Website Work peer coaching round comes in. This peer coaching experience combines Kenn’s Coaching Website Guide with six sessions as a client and six as a coach—a powerful double-accountability approach designed to help you stop procrastinating, start implementing, and finally create a website that works.   Whether you’re building your first site or giving your existing site a much-needed update, this round is your shortcut to a client-attracting online presence—one that builds trust, communicates your value, and yes, finally does what it’s meant to do: prompt visitors to reach out and make contact.   This round is designed to support you in three key ways: Coaching Website Guide by Kenn Schroder 6 sessions as coach, 6 as client—so you actually follow through Built-in time between sessions to implement, reflect, and refine   Together, these elements create a focused, supportive environment to help you finally get your website working for you. Find out more about what's included in this round and how it's impacted other coaches—then register before May 25.     This Make Your Website Work peer coaching round is your first step toward getting your website to actually do its job—clearly communicating your value and converting visitors into clients.   The next step is getting more eyes on it. That’s why we’re planning a follow-up round focused on generating website traffic and increasing visibility. But it all starts here. There’s no point spending time and money sending traffic to a website that turns visitors away. Get it working now so it’s ready to perform when the spotlight hits. Have you done this round before and your website needs a refresh? You’re welcome to join again at a discounted rate or use a standard membership coaching credit. Register as a returning participant here.  Supporting coaches in thriving in business,   Kerryn Griffiths, PhD, PCC Global ReciproCoach Coordinator

Coaching thrives on trust and safety. Yet, even the most experienced coaches can unintentionally undermine this by steering their clients into certain reflective paths, unaware that they’re doing so.   ICF Core Competency 4.2 reminds us to respect the client’s identity, perceptions, style, and language, and this includes adapting our questioning to them. But if you listen in on any group mentoring session, you'll hear ACCs to MCCs defaulting to their own preferred way of reflecting and communicating, resulting in a subtle kind of directing rather than truly partnering.   Visual reflectors often ask what their clients see. Somatic reflectors typically ask what their clients feel. Logical reflectors tend to ask their clients what they think. Each of these approaches can unintentionally narrow the client’s options, forcing them to reflect through a channel that is not natural for them, rather than inviting them into an expansive reflective space that serves them best — an open channel.   For a second year running, ReciproCoach, together with MCC Melanie Parish, is offering a group mentoring session dedicated to developing the awareness and skill of Open Channel Questioning. In this interactive, small-group session, you’ll gain hands-on experience, live coaching, and stop-and-start guidance from Melanie to sharpen your open-channel questioning skills, ensuring you expand your clients' reflection rather than limit it.   Live session with MCC Melanie Parish (observer-only session also available if you can't attend live) Limited to 10 participants for hands-on learning Qualifies for 1.5 MCC (or lower) group mentoring hours or ICF CCEUs   Register for round here.   This is your chance to disrupt your default questioning patterns and deepen client trust by truly respecting your client’s perceptions, style, and language. What’s more, you’ll laugh while you learn, because with Melanie, you always do!  Looking forward to learning and laughing together,  Kerryn Griffiths, PhD, PCC Global ReciproCoach Coordinator

As humans, we all have some degree of duty of care. For some, it is an inherent moral responsibility, an inner compass for personal decisions and behaviour. For others, it is a legal obligation enforced by external professional or regulatory standards.   Within the field of coaching, there are Codes of Ethics that provide guidelines for our professional duty of care. Yet these do not fully address the intricate and systemic nature of our duty of care, and few coaches are adequately trained to navigate the complexity.   This issue of Coaching Research in Practice explores recent research on the topic. It explains the triangular, hierarchical levels of duty of care that can arise in coaching, how duty of care thereby extends beyond the client and how coaching practitioners can equip themselves accordingly.   Read full article here: https://reciprocoach.com/coaching-research#!#187   Written by Kerryn Griffiths, PhD, PCC and Global ReciproCoach Coordinator Not yet a member? Already a member?

You know that moment. You're nearing the end of a coaching session, and suddenly, it dawns on you that you've been circling the real issue for most of the session. And the worst thing? You have run out of time to coach on what really matters.    Even experienced coaches face this challenge more often than they'd like. But what if you could consistently uncover the real issue at the beginning of a session—rather than the end? That's exactly what Marion Franklin, MCC, teaches in her book The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching. If you haven't read it yet, don't miss it. And if you have read it, this is your chance to go beyond reading—to truly integrate and apply it in your coaching.   For the fifth year, we're partnering with Marion to bring you Laser-Focused Peer Coaching, a combined book peer coaching round, that will teach you to:   know exactly what to listen for in every session quickly identify what's really going on avoid getting seduced by the story ask questions that get right to the heart of the matter have the client do all of the summary know how to create the shift and what to do afterwards recognize the client's underlying pattern and know how to address it   You can find out more about our Laser-Focused Peer Coaching opportunity here, including testimonials from the last four years' participants. Or, if you already know you need to laser-focus your coaching, you can register right away.    There are also a limited number of places to join a separate Laser-Focused Coaching group mentoring session with Marion herself (not included in the peer coaching round, but available for separate registration). If you miss out on or can't attend the live session, join the observer session to get discounted access to the session recording.    If you participated in a past Laser-Focused Peer Coaching Round and want to refine your skills even further, you're welcome to join either the peer coaching round, the group mentoring session—or both!   Each time I revisit Laser-Focused Coaching, my coaching goes deeper and I get there faster. If you, like me, prefer doing a book rather than just reading it—this is your opportunity to put these powerful techniques into action.  Your future clients will thank you! Kerryn Griffiths, PhD, PCC Global ReciproCoach Coordinator