Are certain types of coaching more beneficial within different organizational cultures? The coach’s perspective

Abstract

A sample of 115 professional coaches provided benefit estimates of four types of coaching (leadership, performance, life/personal, third generation) believed to result when coaching occurs within four distinct organization cultures (hierarchical, market, clan, and adhocracy). All forms of coaching were estimated to have higher benefits within clan and adhocracy cultures than within hierarchical and market cultures. Leadership coaching was assessed as most beneficial across all benefits and organizational cultures, though benefit estimates of other coaching types varied depending on culture and the specific benefit under consideration. Averaging across all cultures and coaching types, coaching was estimated as most beneficial for promoting personal growth.

Keywords

• organization culture
• coaching benefits
• leadership coaching
• performance coaching
• third generation coaching
• life coaching