Enabling Leaders to Navigate Complexity: An Executive Coaching Framework

The purpose of this project was to increase coaching effectiveness in complex assignments, such as those that have an objective of increasing an executive’s capability to navigate complexity or where the coaching is crossXcultural. In the context of complex assignments, a flexible framework is required that supports the coach in the process of developing an individualised programme that meets the needs of the coachee in their specific environment.
It is argued that the concept of case formulation can be applied to executive coaching to provide the foundation for a flexible coaching framework. Through this project, the Purpose, Account, Intervention, Reflect (PAIR) framework was developed, applied and evaluated with 12 coaching case studies in Australia and South East Asia.
A Realistic Evaluation methodology (Pawson & Tilley 1997) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the coaching and to identify what factors made the coaching effective and in which contexts. Outcomes were measured using a 360° survey, pre and postXcoaching interviews with the coachee and their manager, and coach and coachee session notes and reflections. The mechanisms of coaching and significant context factors were identified using session notes and reflections, and postXcoaching interviews. Successful coaching outcomes were identified in all 12 cases along with 17 key mechanisms of coaching effectiveness. Based on these findings, hypotheses regarding what makes coaching effective for which people and in what contexts were developed.
This study demonstrates that the use of the PAIR framework facilitates the application of a case formulation approach to executive coaching and its use assists coaches in creating individualised coaching programmes. This study also demonstrates how the PAIR framework is flexible enough to meet a range of different contexts, including complex executive development and crossXcultural coaching assignments. Different combinations of mechanisms of coaching effectiveness were identified in each of the 12 case studies assignments, reinforcing the need to develop individualised programmes to meet the specific needs of each coachee. The implications of these findings for executive coaching practice and future research are considered and recommendations made for both practising coaches and researchers in the field.