Change agent or neutral bystander? An exploration of how the coaching practices of internal coaches in Higher Education Institutions support organisational change

Abstract

The study explores how internal coaches working in the HE sector manage the interplay of individual change and organisational change, and the implications for undertaking a change agency role during the coaching process. It is a qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory. The context for the research is Higher Education institutions operating internal coaching and mentoring services. The research offers a conceptual framework for how internal coaching supports organisational change, integrating three models constructed from the findings: the wayfaring organisational change model, the coach as change mediator model, and the coaching fulcrum model.

Keywords

• internal coach
• coach-mentor
• organisational change
• change agency
• change agent