The coaching schematic: Validation through expert coach consensus

TLDR

Coaching research has largely framed coaching as a decision‑making process, but existing studies lack a comprehensive big‑picture perspective. The authors seek to create a model that fills this gap by offering a schematic representation of coaching. They develop a schematic that integrates content and information‑processing views, then validate it through interviews with 16 expert coaches who reviewed and commented on its accuracy. Analysis identified six categories—Roles, Goals, Typical Actions, Required Knowledge, Support for the Schematic, and Factors Influencing Development—where the first four implicitly supported the schematic and all coaches explicitly endorsed it, confirming its validity for coaching development interventions.

Abstract

Current research in coaching development infers that coaching is predominantly a decision-making process. The same and other research is not, however, informing the coaching development process due to a lack of a big picture approach. Consequently, there is a need for a model of coaching. In this paper, we offer such a model in the form of a schematic that reflects the coaching process from both a content and information-processing stance. To assess the validity of the schematic, 16 expert coaches were interviewed to elicit a complete description of their coaching process. The coaches were then shown a copy of the schematic and asked to comment on its design and content with respect to its accuracy in reflecting their coaching process. Following analysis of the interview, six general categories emerged: Roles, Goals, Typical Actions, Required Knowledge, Support for the Schematic, and Factors Influencing Development. The first four categories clearly displayed an implicit support for the schematic. Furthermore, all coaches offered explicit support for the schematic. Such strong support confirmed that the schematic was valid and could form the basis of focused interventions in coaching development.