The power of coaching: a meta-analytic investigation

TLDR

Coaching is a one‑to‑one relationship aimed at achieving developmental goals, yet its relative effects on specific outcomes remain unclear. The study aims to assess coaching’s predictive power on coach–coachee relationship outcomes and coachee goal‑attainment outcomes. The authors applied meta‑analytic techniques to examine coaching’s impact on these relationship and goal‑attainment outcomes. The meta‑analysis revealed that coaching more strongly improves relationship outcomes than goal attainment, with the greatest effect on behavioral changes, and that sample type, study design, coach background, and session number significantly moderate these effects.

Abstract

Coaching is defined as a one-to-one relationship in which the coach and coachee work together to identify and achieve organisationally, professionally, and personally beneficial developmental goals. However, it is often unclear what the relative effects of coaching are on specific coaching outcomes. We adopt meta-analytic techniques to investigate the predictive power of coaching on coach–coachee relationship outcomes, and coachee goal-attainment outcomes. Our findings suggest that coaching has stronger effects on eliciting relationship outcomes with the coachee than goal-attainment outcomes. Moreover, of the goal-attainment outcomes, coaching has the strongest effect on behavioural changes as opposed to attitudinal changes. Sample type, study design, background of the coach, and number of coaching sessions all emerged as significant moderators. Implications of these findings are discussed.