Table Of ContentTHE SHIFT IN COACHING DYNAMICS
DURING LONG-TERM BUSINESS COACHING RELATIONSHIPS
AXEL E. MEIERHOEFER
A DISSERTATION
Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership & Change Program
of Antioch University
in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
May, 2011
This is to certify that the dissertation entitled:
THE SHIFT IN COACHING DYNAMICS DURING LONG-TERM BUSINESS COACHING
RELATIONSHIPS
prepared by
Axel E. Meierhoefer
is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
Leadership & Change.
Approved by:
_______________________________________________________________
Mitchell Kusy, Ph.D., Committee Chair date
_______________________________________________________________
Carolyn Kenny, Ph.D., Committee Member date
_______________________________________________________________
Louellen Essex, Ph.D., Committee Member date
_______________________________________________________________
Cynthia Roman, Ph.D., External Reader date
Copyright 2010 Axel E. Meierhoefer
All rights reserved
Acknowledgements
My thanks go out to my committee chair, Dr. Mitch Kusy, who took me under his wings
when it looked like I could not read fast enough, well enough, or ever finish a literature review as
part of learning how to perform on a scholarly level. We have not always spoken the exact same
language, which might appear logical for a non-native speaker and a native speaker, but our
conversations were always in the spirit of success and support. Mitch, thanks for that from the
bottom of my heart.
I could not have done this work without Dr. Carolyn Kenny, who often encouraged me
when I was frustrated, gently introduced me to phenomenology—the method she made me
love—and who pushed me when there was more to gain from one more layer of inquiry. I thank
Dr. Louellen Essex and Dr. Cynthia Roman for giving me examples of excellent work and for
being very fast when the finish line drew near. All of you allowed me to expand my horizons
and abilities beyond what I could have ever imagined possible, and you did it with a gentle,
while persistent touch.
Finally, the greatest amount of gratitude goes to my family, my daughter, and especially
my wife, Heidi, who loved me when I was grumpy, who allowed me to stay in “the cave” for
hours and days on end, and who always encouraged me when thought I could not do it. I love
you and know our love has allowed us to overcome every hurdle in the last quarter century and
will be the foundation that will carry us to new successes in the next quarter century.
Many more people in my company team, my business partners, and in my cohort helped
and supported me and I am very thankful to them for letting me be who I am and develop slowly.
This journey has taken 7 years to complete and now feels more like passing through a starting
gate than reaching the finish line.
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Abstract
The focus of this dissertation was on the changes in long-term external business coaching
relationships (defined as more than 4 months). The current study intended to answer two
questions: (a) how does the relationship between a coach and a coachee change in long-term
coaching engagements? and (b) how do these changes impact the coaching process dynamics and
results? The phenomenon that was discovered through this research is called the shift moment.
It exemplifies the transition from skill or problem oriented issues, which often represent the
original cause of the coaching relationship, to the holistic transformation of the coachee. A
qualitative study using a phenomenological approach and semi-structured interviews of 8
participants was conducted. Multiple rounds of interviews were performed to allow increasing
depth. The interview plan was developed based on a previous pilot study. The semi-structured
interviews lasted 55 to 75 minutes, were conducted via phone or digital meeting software, and
were recorded and transcribed. Detailed findings centered around 4 themes: trust and depth;
shifting dynamics; the new, post shift moment coachee; and the impact for leadership and
coaching. First, a significant level of in-depth trust between the coach and the coachee was
fundamental to a successful long-term coaching relationship. Second, the indications in shifts
from short-term to long-term relationships were diverse and, to be able to recognize them, the
coach needed to be very sensitive and experienced. Third, while the coachee was initially
interested in business-related issues, over the long-term coaching relationship, the shift moment
opened the focus to the whole person. The various behaviors that identified the coachees in
relationships with employees, bosses, and the organization as a whole, involved the way they
expressed themselves when they encountered others, and often evolved into new behaviors.
Fourth, the shift moment experience and resulting long-term coaching relationship had impact on
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the coachee’s new behaviors for business, leadership, and for the coachee as a person in all
aspects of life. The confirmation of a shift in dynamics, the discovery of the shift moment, and a
limited set of indicators that signified the occurrence of this moment were important results of
this study. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center,
www.ohiolink.edu/etd
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements i
Abstract ii
Table of Contents iv
List of Tables vi
List of Figures vii
Chapter I: Introduction 1
Situating the Researcher 6
Purpose of Study and Formal Research Question 10
Literature Disparity 14
Scope, Limitations, Delimitations, and Criteria for Evaluation 15
Contents of This Dissertation 18
Chapter II: Literature Review 21
Need for Coaches and Benefits of Coaching 22
What Clients Need From Coaching 23
Definition of Coaching 25
Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal and External Business Coaches 29
Models of Coaching 33
Effective Coaching 36
Leadership is Part of Being an Effective Coach 38
Leadership Qualities 38
Leadership Styles 40
Overview of Mentoring 41
Coaching Versus Mentoring 42
Long-term Coaching 45
Choosing a Coach 46
Research Data About Background of External Business Coaches 48
Chapter III: Methodology 51
Positioning the Researcher 51
Qualitative Methods in General 52
Phenomenology 54
History of Phenomenology 55
Husserl’s Ideas on a Pure Phenomenology and on a Phenomenological Philosophy 56
Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception 58
Phenomenology as a Discipline 59
How is Conscious Experience Studied? 59
Seven Widely Accepted Features of the Phenomenological Approach 60
Specific Method in Phenomenology 63
Instruments: In-depth, Semi-structured Interviewing 66
Procedures 69
How was the Interview Plan Developed? 70
Participants 73
Analysis 74
Ethical Issues 75
Chapter IV: Results 78
Karen 82
The Early Stages 83
The Shift/Transition 84
Working in the Deep Relationship 86
Coachee Feedback/Reflection 86
iv
The Role of the Coach/Name 86
Uwe 87
The Early Stages 88
The Shift/Transition 89
Working in the Deep Relationship 90
Coachee Feedback/Reflection 91
The Role of the Coach/Name 91
Jacqueline 92
The Early Stages 93
Working in the Deep Relationship 94
Coachee Feedback/Reflection 95
The Role of the Coach/Name 96
Chris 97
The Early Stages 98
The Shift/Transition 99
Working in the Deep Relationship 100
Coachee Feedback/Reflection 101
The Role of the Coach/Name 102
Harry 102
The Early Stages 103
The Shift/Transition 104
Working in the Deep Relationship 105
The Role of the Coach/Name 106
Mike 107
The Early Stages 107
The Shift/Transition 108
Working in the Deep Relationship 111
The Role of the Coach/Name 112
Kristin 113
The Early Stages 113
The Shift/Transition 115
Working in the Deep Relationship 115
Feedback/Reflection/Role 116
HeideMarie 117
The Early Stages 118
The Shift/Transition 119
Working in the Deep Relationship 119
Coachee Feedback/Reflection 121
Chapter V: Conclusion 122
Relationships 126
Trust and Depth 132
Shifting Dynamics 135
The New Coachee—Post Shift Moment 137
Impact for Leadership and Business 140
Summary 142
Chapter VI: Impact on Leadership, Change, and Coaching 145
Leadership and Leadership Behaviors 147
Implications for Coaching 150
Opportunities for Future Research 152
References 155
v
List of Tables
Table 2.1 Common Terms Related to Coaching 25
Table 2.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal and External Business Coaches 30
Table 2.3 Leadership Attributes (Frank, 2005) 38
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List of Figures
Figure 2.1 Background of External Business Coaches (Pennington, 2009) 48
Figure 2.2 Experience of External Business Coaches (Pennington, 2009) 49
Figure 3.1 Interview Rounds Increasing Depth and Decreasing Quantity 69
Figure 4.1 Sequential Procedures of Study 82
Figure 4.2 Structure Used to Organize Interview Results 82
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Description:DURING LONG-TERM BUSINESS COACHING RELATIONSHIPS AXEL E. MEIERHOEFER A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership & Change Program of Antioch University
