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The effects of group coaching on executive health and team effectiveness : a quasi-experimental field study /
Abstract
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Regent University, 2006. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-113).
... The term group coaching when found in literature is most often reflective of team coaching, a leader working with his or her intact team which are all focusing on the same goal and outcome (Appleby & Phillips, 2007;Barrett, 2006;Brock, 2008;Goldsmith, Morgan, & Ogg, 2004;Kets de Vries, 2005;Showers, Murphy, & Joyce, 1996;Thorn, McLeod, & Goldsmith;2007). These approaches, although beneficial to the client(s), had more of a top-down or vertical approach with the emphasis on accomplishing one leader's objective. ...
... In team coaching, the purpose and entry of the coaching engagement is driven by the leader of an intact team or team lead (Barrett, 2006;Skiffington & Zeus, 2008). The coach focuses on the goal of the leader, not on the goals of each individual. ...
... It is often used in team building, developing a newly established team and increasing productivity of the team overall and so on. Sometimes team coaching can involve the use of peer coaching to help enhance team effectiveness (Appleby & Phillips, 2007;Barrett, 2006;Brock, 2008;Goldsmith et al., 2004;Kets de Vries, 2005;Showers et al., 1996;Skiffington & Zeus, 2008;Thorn et al., 2007). ...
Virtual group coaching exists at the intersection of coaching and the group experience. At a high level, virtual group coaching can be defined as exploring the coaching process with a group of individuals who are being coached by a professional coach utilizing the vehicle of group process to accomplish the goals and objectives of the individual. Currently, there exist no guidelines or standards for group coaching regarding approach or educational curriculum. As the field of coaching matures and evolves, investigating and gaining an understanding of what coaches need to know in order to effectively coach a virtual group will be not only helpful but necessary. Insights found in this article have been gained from both the author's research and experience as a group coach.
... In terms of effectiveness, both team and group coaching are associated with positive, measurable effects. For instance, quantitative studies show that group coaching increases authentic leadership (Fusco et al., 2016) and individual well-being (Barrett, 2007;Stelter et al., 2011), whereas team coaching contributes to better performance (Peters & Carr, 2013). Although it is agreed that team coaching is more task and performance-focused than group coaching, there is less agreement on the best practices for achieving these outcomes. ...
This case study focuses on a diverse group of eight unacquainted individuals from six countries: United Arab Emirates, Israel, Greece, Russia, Lithuania, and the United Kingdom. Three out of eight members were practicing coaches, and only one had some professional group and team coaching experience. From October 9 to December 3, the group had eleven video calls: one mandatory introductory meeting, three optional reflective sessions, and seven mandatory coaching sessions (due to burnout issues, I attended only five). The group met every Wednesday at 12 or 12.30 BST for an hour and a half, except for the reflective sessions on Mondays. Also, the group members participated in daily discussions on the group chat. During the introductory meeting and the first coaching session, the group discussed how they could become a team and questions associated with contracting, theory, and assignments. The remaining sessions were dedicated to well-being (our core topic) and associated themes, such as authenticity, savoring, strengths, and relationships. Six out of eight members coached the group for at least one time. The group did not share an overarching goal, except for becoming a team, as suggested in the module handbook. In this paper, I took two perspectives (i.e., the observer and the coachee) to discuss the sessions that I attended (i.e., the introductory meeting and five group coaching sessions). From an observer's point of view, I discussed our contracting-related ethical challenges against the best practices in multi-stakeholder contracting (see Section 2). The observer's perspective also allowed me to take a broad yet critical look at the major group/team coaching theories and studies (see Section 3). In Section 4, I took the coachee's perspectives to analyze the four coaching sessions facilitated by my colleagues. The sequence of sections corresponds with the phases of our group development, ranging from discussions around contracting and theory to the actual application of various approaches and interventions in a group coaching setting. For a more detailed breakdown of my reflections, please refer to Appendix A.
... Part of this process involves helping group members reflect on and make sense of their learning over time. There is some debate in the literature as to whether single-day or short-term interventions such as those studied by Barrett (2006), Kets de Vries (2005, and Ward (2008), should actually be considered group coaching. Although intervention styles such as these promote quick results or "change in a single session" (Ward, 2008, p. 73), others have defined group coaching as something that specifically happens over time. ...
... Group coaching has direct links to Schein's (1969) theory of process consultation. Barrett (2006) also stated that by increasing an executive's self-awareness through coaching, group coaching can take this awareness to the next level by fostering individual leader abilities to eff ectively understand their own feelings; ultimately leading to an enhanced capacity to receive, process, and act on the feelings of others in the group. ...
... ( 2006 ) found that executive coaching enhanced participants' self-efficacy and their beliefs in their ability to set personal goals, but they did not measure actual goal attainment. Barrett ( 2007 ) used a quasi-experimental, modified post-test only control group design, finding that group coaching reduced burnout but did not improve productivity. ...
... ( 2006 ) found that executive coaching enhanced participants' self-efficacy and their beliefs in their ability to set personal goals, but they did not measure actual goal attainment. Barrett ( 2007 ) used a quasi-experimental, modified post-test only control group design, finding that group coaching reduced burnout but did not improve productivity. ...
Introduction Seek First to Understand Sounds Simple: So Coaching Should be Easy to Evaluate? Reviewing the Efficacy of Coaching is Complex, and the Literature is Disjointed Outcome Studies Two Key Case Studies Within-subject Outcome Research Between-subject and Randomized Controlled Studies Longitudinal Studies: Is Coaching Effective Over Time? Gauging Efficacy Through Measuring Outcomes of Coaching Executive Coaching Efficacy Measures Workplace and Personal Coaching Measures Using Validated Measures to Assess Efficacy: Mental Health and Goal Attainment Is Return on Investment a Reliable Measure of Coaching Efficacy? Do We Yet Have an Evidence Base for the Efficacy of Coaching? Inclusivity in Establishing Efficacy Conclusion References
... In the first randomized controlled study of workplace coaching Deviney (1994) found no changes in supervisors' feedback skills following a multi-rater feedback intervention and coaching from their managers over nine weeks. Similarly, using a quasiexperimental design, Barrett (2007) found that while group executive coaching reduced burnout, it failed to improve productivity. Clearly, workplace coaching is no panacea. ...
Coaching is widely used in the workplace to facilitate goal attainment and behavior change. Where coaching interventions are primarily used to enhance goal attainment, positive psychology interventions are primarily used as a means of enhancing well-being. However, despite the clear synergies between coaching and positive psychology there has been little work done on developing models that integrate these two separate but highly complementary change methodologies. This chapter outlines a range of coaching applications that are frequently used in the workplace and discusses differences between internal and external coaching and distinguishes executive from workplace coaching. Drawing on the concepts of languishing and flourishing, this chapter presents a dimensional model of goal striving and mental health/mental illness with two key dimensions: (1) mental healthillness and (2) intentional goal striving (high or low). A case study of the use of these positive psychology concepts in coaching is used to illustrate key points.
... Evers, Brouwers, and Tomic (2006) found that executive coaching enhanced participants' self-efficacy beliefs in personal goal setting, but they did not measure goal attainment itself. Barrett (2007) used a quasi-experimental, modified posttest-only control group design, finding that group coaching reduced burnout but did not improve productivity. ...
The past decade has seen the use of coaching in personal, health, workplace, and executive settings grow from being a novel and somewhat derided methodology to a mainstream activity in business organizations and health settings worldwide. This chapter takes stock of the current state of coaching research and practice, and then highlights how coaching could make important contributions to the future of positive psychology. In taking stock of the present state of play in coaching, it begins with definitions and delineations of coaching. It then reports on the professional status of coaching and the bodies that seek to accredit and organize coaches. Research into the efficacy of coaching is briefly discussed. The chapter presents an overview of a future coaching-related research and practice agenda. It concludes by outlining some potentially fruitful lines of inquiry for future work in this emerging and exciting sub-field of psychological research.
... The study found the coached group scored significantly higher than the control group on two variables: outcome expectancies to act in a balanced way and self-efficacy beliefs to set one's own goals. Barrett, P. T. (2007). ...
... Using such a design Evers, Brouwers, and Tomic (2006) found that executive coaching enhanced participants' selfefficacy beliefs in personal goal setting, but they did not measure goal attainment itself. Miller (1990) examined the impact of coaching on transfer of training skills, but the drawing of conclusions was Barrett (2007) used a quasiexperimental, modified post-test-only control group design, finding that group coaching reduced burnout but did not improve productivity. Gyllensten and Palmer (2005) found that, compared with a nocoaching control group, coaching was associated with lower levels of anxiety and stress, but not depression. ...
Coaching and coaching psychology offer a potential platform for an applied positive psychology and for facilitating individual, organisational and social change. Experts from around the world were invited to comment on the emerging discipline of coaching psychology and the commercial coaching industry. Several key themes emerged including the potential of coaching to contribute to health promotion, social change and organisational development. There was unequivocal consensus for the need for an evidence-based approach to coaching. A review of the psychological coaching outcome literature found there have been a total of 69 outcome studies between 1980 and July 2007: 23 case studies, 34 within-subject studies and 12 between-subject studies. Only eight randomised controlled studies have been conducted. This indicates that coaching psychology is still in the early stages of development, and can be understood as an emerging or protoscientific psychological discipline. A languishing-flourishing model of coaching is described. To flourish, coaching psychology needs to remain clearly differentiated from the frequently sensationalistic and pseudoscientific facets of the personal development industry while at the same time engaging in the development of the wider coaching industry.
... Evers, Brouwers and Tomic (2006) found that executive coaching enhanced participants' self-efficacy and their beliefs in their ability to set personal goals, but they did not measure actual goal attainment. Barrett (2007) used a quasi-experimental, modified 'post-test only' control group design. He concluded that group coaching reduced burnout but did not improve productivity. ...
In this review, we draw on our past scholarship in this area (Grant & Cavanagh, 2007; Grant & Cavanagh, in press; Passmore & Gibbes, 2007) to provide an extensive overview of the state of play in relation to coaching research and practice. We review the professional status of coaching and the various bodies that seek to accredit and organise coaches and the coaching industry. We highlight the development of coaching psychology as an up-and-coming psychological sub-discipline, including a review of the research into the efficacy of coaching, and presentation of ideas for a future research agenda. The links between I/O psychology, positive psychology and Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) are discussed in relation to organizational coaching, and we present a model that can guide organizational coaching practice by integrating workplace engagement and well-being. In conclusion, we outline some potential lines of inquiry for future work in this emerging and exciting sub-field of psychological research and practice. Published (author's copy) Peer Reviewed
Today’s organisations most often call upon teams, rather than individuals, to solve their most complex problems. In an effort to improve team processes and performance, organisations invest both time and money into team development interventions, including team coaching. Despite frequent mentions of team coaching in academic literature and its popularity in practice, we know very little about the efficacy of team coaching and reviews on this topic are scant. Accordingly, we conducted a systematic review of the team coaching literature in organisations, providing an overview of the state of the science of team coaching. Our review highlights the general effectiveness of team coaching across studies, identifying mediating mechanisms that explain its effectiveness, outcomes impacted by team coaching and boundary conditions to its efficacy. We end with implications for practitioners and academics and a number of avenues for future research in this timely domain.
Recent estimates suggest that although a majority of funds in organizational training budgets tend to be allocated to leadership training (Ho, 2016; O'Leonard, 2014), only a small minority of organizations believe their leadership training programs are highly effective (Schwartz, Bersin, & Pelster, 2014), calling into question the effectiveness of current leadership development initiatives. To help address this issue, this meta-analysis estimates the extent to which leadership training is effective and identifies the conditions under which these programs are most effective. In doing so, we estimate the effectiveness of leadership training across four criteria (reactions, learning, transfer, and results; Kirkpatrick, 1959) using only employee data and we examine 15 moderators of training design and delivery to determine which elements are associated with the most effective leadership training interventions. Data from 335 independent samples suggest that leadership training is substantially more effective than previously thought, leading to improvements in reactions (δ = .63), learning (δ = .73), transfer (δ = .82), and results (δ = .72), the strength of these effects differs based on various design, delivery, and implementation characteristics. Moderator analyses support the use of needs analysis, feedback, multiple delivery methods (especially practice), spaced training sessions, a location that is on-site, and face-to-face delivery that is not self-administered. Results also suggest that the content of training, attendance policy, and duration influence the effectiveness of the training program. Practical implications for training development and theoretical implications for leadership and training literatures are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
Purpose
Leadership coaching has become an increasingly common method to maximize competency development and behaviors for organizational leaders as well as to improve retention and career mobility. Few empirical studies have tested its capacity to generate such outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a coaching program within a healthcare organization, showing significant impact to the leaders’ behaviors and retention, measured through non-self-report data.
Design/methodology/approach
In the present study, the behaviors associated with leadership competencies were evaluated using a quasi-experimental design to determine if significant gains have been achieved following a coaching intervention when compared to prior competency ratings. Retention and career movement of participating leaders were tracked to compare rates against a control group.
Findings
In the present study, leadership coaching was evaluated. Results indicate that individuals who participated in the program, in comparison with those that did not, showed significantly improved leadership competencies and significantly higher retention rates one year post-program. Implications for leadership development programs are discussed.
Research limitations/implications
One possible limitation of this study is the program structure in the experimental condition received both individual and group coaching so the competency improvement cannot be parsed out to one type of coaching vs another. The authors suggest that this limitation is an opportunity for future research to explore differing effects by coaching type.
Originality/value
This study provides the healthcare organization with unique quantitative data regarding the positive implications of a leadership program that has not been reported previously. The findings will provide further justification to support leadership coaching programs.
As has been stated many times by its chief proponents, positive psychology is focused on the application of psychological science to the optimization of human experience (Seligman, 20 ll ). It is therefore no surprise that advances in positive psychological science tend to be closely followed by efforts to develop and validate new positive psychological interventions (PPis). PPis arc intentional acti vi ties that aim to increase well-being through the cultivation of positive feelings, cognitions, and behaviors. Examples of popular PPis include methods used for idcntif), ing and developing strengths (sec Chapter 4), exercises for cultivating gratitude (sec Chapter 1), and visualizations of one's best possible self (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005; Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006 ). Encouragingly, a recent meta- analytic study of 51 PPI-related studies has reported that many of these practical applications arc capable of both significantly enhancing well-being and reducing psychopathology (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009).
In this article, the author will focus on finding out, how does coaching influence strengthening leader’s impact and leader’s ability to manage changes. Longitutional study was conducted in the Estonian biggest telecommunication company. The goal was to investigate how leadership group coaching influences the performance of the team leaders. In 2009, 11 teams took part in the study (97 participants) and in 2010, 9 teams took part (57 participants). There were 8 months between the studies. The leaders, their managers and team members all participated in both studies.
Based on existing literature, the author developed a theoretical model “Components of influencing leaders change management ability” consisting from three components: leader, relationship orientation and task orientation in team. Each of these components can be divided into two. In addition, trust in the teams was investigated.
The study showed that in 2010 the results were higher than in 2009. According to the study results group coaching had the strongest impact to the task orientation in teams. Group coaching influenced the common perception of the leaders’ trustworthiness the most.
Although executive coaching has been shown to be effective, few research initiatives have attempted to understand the importance of the emergent relationship between a coach and coachee. This article explores the factors that influence coaching outcomes from both the coach and coachee's perspective and presents the results of the mediating effect that working alliance and information sharing have on coachee goal attainment and coachee insight outcomes. The authors explored these factors in both an academic coachee sample as well as an executive field sample. Results showed that coachee motivation was significantly positively related with coachee goal attainment and coachee insight in an academic sample but not in a field sample. Moreover, working alliance and information sharing partially mediated the relationship between a coach's psychological mindedness and coachee insight in an academic, but not field, sample. Another notable result was that the difficulty of the coaching goal did not impact how successful the coaching engagement was in terms of goal attainment. Implications of these findings for both research and practice are discussed.
This field experimental study investigates the positive effect of coaching as an independent variable on dependent variables such as self-efficacy, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and moderating effects of emotional intelligence on these domains. In a quasi-experimental design, 43 public officials are assigned to an experiment group, while 42 public officials are assigned to a control group. Experimental group takes coaching by author, which consists of 21 hours built-in POWER WELL-BEING Coaching training program, which is based on solution-focused approach, and one on one coaching once a week for 8 weeks. Control group does not take coaching. For control group, there was no difference between the two before & after measurements for each variables. However, there was statistically significant difference between the two before & after measurements for experimental group. In addition, there was no difference between experimental group and control group in the before measurements of dependent variables. This result shows that coaching causes increase in the level of self-efficacy, organizational commitment, job satisfaction. In addition, it was verified that coaching could moderate participant's emotional intelligence to positively influence self-efficacy and organizational commitment.
This study provides the basis of the practical application of executive coaching, life coaching, business coaching, career coaching and human resource development.
Keywords: Coaching, Self-efficacy, Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction,
Emotional Intelligence, Quasi-Experimental Field Study
Understanding CoachingSkills, Performance and developmental CoachingExecutive and Workplace CoachingThe Professional Status of Coaching: Accreditations and Industry OrganizationsCoaching Professionalization Parallels development in Other FieldsCoaching Psychology as an Emerging Psychological SubdisciplineCoaching ResearchOutcome StudiesRandomized Controlled StudiesLongitudinal StudiesMeasuring Outcomes of CoachingCompetencies of Effective Coaches and CoacheesResearch DirectionsA Positive Future?A Well-Being and Engagement Framework for Organizational CoachingCoaching and Coaching Psychology: A Shared Path Forward?References
Does executive coaching really work? Does it help improve leadership effectiveness and productivity? This action research study answers these questions by tracking the progress of 281 executives participating in a six-month coaching and 360 feedback process. The results suggest that the combination of multi-rater feedback and individual coaching do increase leadership effectiveness up to 60 per cent -- according to direct report and peer post-survey feedback. Implications of the results for future executive development programs are discussed, and specific recommendations are provided.
To develop organizational leaders we need to understand how requisite skills are acquired over the course of people's careers. In this article, a cross-sectional design was used to assess differences in leadership skills across six grade levels of officers in the U.S. Army. Increased levels of knowledge, problem-solving skills, systems skills, and social skills were found at higher grade levels. Certain skills and experiences, however, were found to be particularly important at certain phases of leaders' careers. These findings are used to propose an organization-based model of skill development. Implications of this model for leader development programs are discussed.
Research into the role that emotions play in organizational settings has only recently been revived, following publication in 1983 of Hochschild's The Managed Heart. Since then, and especially over the last five years, the tempo of research in this field has stepped up, with various initiatives such as conferences and email discussion lists playing significant roles. This Special Issue is another initiative in this genre. The six papers in the Special Issue were selected from forty submissions, and cover a wide range of contemporary research issues. The papers deal with the relationship of mood to job characteristics and to job satisfaction, manifestation of anger in dyadic relationships, perceptions and effects of emotional labor, emotional intelligence in selection interviews, and the effects of displays of sadness and anger by leaders. In this introduction, we broadly introduce the topic of emotions in workplace settings, summarize the six papers, and present some directions for future research.
This study examined the relationship between organizational justice and stress and whether work-family conflict was a mediator of the relationship. Distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational injustice were cast as stressors to explore their relationships with the stress levels of 174 faculty members employed at 23 U.S. universities. The results revealed that procedural and interpersonal justice had the strongest relationships with stress, and that these effects were mediated by work-family conflict. The presence of justice seemed to allow participants to better manage the interface of their work and family lives, which was associated with lower stress levels. These results were observed even when controlling for job satisfaction and the presence of organizational work-family policies.
After briefly reviewing the existing literature on team coaching, we propose a new model with three distinguishing features. The model (1) focuses on the functions that coaching serves for a team, rather than on either specific leader behaviors or leadership styles, (2) identifies the specific times in the task performance process when coaching interventions are most likely to have their intended effects, and (3) explicates the conditions under which team-focused coaching is and is not likely to facilitate performance.
We highlight linguistic-related challenges in multicultural teams that increase the likelihood of emotional conflict, and also highlight the difficulty of "finding words" in emotional situations because of the nonlinear, fragmented, image-driven qualities of these circumstances. As a result, we question whether team members embroiled in emotional conflict ought to be advised to talk (discuss their feelings with the goal of repairing frayed relationships), whether this meaning of talk is shared by people from culturally different backgrounds, and what conflict management alternatives may exist when talk is not possible or desirable.
Contemporary leadership theory and practice describes authenticity in relation to self-awareness of one's fundamental values and purpose, and attributes the motivational effects of leadership to the consistency of leader's values and behaviors and the concordance of their values with those of followers. Drawing from hermeneutic philosophy, I offer a different perspective on authenticity in leadership that is based on the framework of the narrative self. This framework suggests that authenticity is not achieved by self-awareness of one's inner values or purpose, but instead is emergent from the narrative process in which others play a constitutive role in the self. Implications of this framework for research and for the practice of ethical leadership are discussed. bWho am I, so inconstant, that notwithstanding you count on me?Q (Ricoeur, 1992: 168).
The use of executive coaching as a developmental intervention for managers has increased dramatically during the past decade. Consequently, there has been a burgeoning practitioner literature on the topic of executive coaching. Empirical research on executive coaching, however, has lagged far behind, and theoretical work on the processes underlying effective coaching has been limited. In this review, we investigate the construct of executive coaching and examine how coaches’ professional training, client characteristics, and types of coaching impact the effectiveness of this intervention. The article concludes with an agenda for future research on this emerging form of management development.
Burnout is a psychological response to work stress that is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced feelings of personal accomplishment. In this paper, we review the burnout literature from 1993 to present, identifying important trends that have characterized the literature. We focus our attention on theoretical models that explain the process of burnout, the measurement of burnout, means of reducing burnout, and directions for the future of burnout research.
Cross-national studies of job stress have not kept pace with other streams of research in the international milieu. To begin to address this lack of development, we examined the relationships among role stressors, general self-efficacy (GSE), and burnout across nine regions (i.e., U.S., Germany, France, Brazil, Israel, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Fiji). Findings indicated GSE had a universally negative association with burnout across all regions. Further, self-efficacy mediated the relationship between role conflict and/or role ambiguity and burnout across eight of the nine cultures. Conclusions center around how low self-efficacy may help to explain why occupational role stressors have a positive association with burnout cross-nationally. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
A personal coach to help your most promising executives reach their potential--sounds good, doesn't it? But, according to Steven Berglas, executive coaches can make a bad situation worse. Because of their backgrounds and biases, they ignore psychological problems they don't understand. Companies need to consider psychotherapeutic intervention when the symptoms plaguing an executive are stubborn or severe. Executives with issues that require more than coaching come in many shapes and sizes. Consider Rob Bernstein, an executive vice president of sales at an automotive parts distributor. According to the CEO, Bernstein had just the right touch with clients but caused personnel problems inside the company. The last straw came when Bernstein publicly humiliated a mail clerk who had interrupted a meeting to ask someone to sign for a package. At that point, the CEO assigned Tom Davis to coach Bernstein. Davis, a former corporate lawyer, worked with Bernstein for four years. But Davis only exacerbated the problem by teaching Bernstein techniques for "handling" employees--methods that were condescending at best. While Bernstein appeared to be improving, he was in fact getting worse. Bernstein's real problems went undetected, and when his boss left the company, he was picked as the successor. Soon enough, Bernstein was again in trouble, suspected of embezzlement. This time, the CEO didn't call Davis; instead, he turned to the author, a trained psychotherapist, for help. Berglas soon realized that Bernstein had a serious narcissistic personality disorder and executive coaching could not help him. As that tale and others in the article teach us, executives to be coached should at the very least first receive a psychological evaluation. And company leaders should beware that executive coaches given free rein can end up wreaking personnel havoc.
Highly intelligent, confident, and successful, alpha males represent about 70% of all senior executives. Natural leaders, they willingly take on levels of responsibility most rational people would find overwhelming. But many of their quintessential strengths can also make alphas difficult to work with. Their self-confidence can appear domineering. Their high expectations can make them excessively critical. Their unemotional style can keep them from inspiring their teams. That's why alphas need coaching to broaden their interpersonal tool kits while preserving their strengths. Drawing from their experience coaching more than 1,000 senior executives, the authors outline an approach tailored specifically for the alpha. Coaches get the alpha's attention by inundating him with data from 360-degree feedback presented in ways he will find compelling--both hard-boiled metrics and vivid verbatim comments from colleagues about his strengths and weaknesses. A 360-degree assessment is a wake-up call for most alphas, providing undeniable proof that their behavior doesn't work nearly as well as they think it does. That paves the way for a genuine commitment to change. In order to change, the alpha must venture into unfamiliar--and often uncomfortable--psychological territory. He must admit vulnerability, accept accountability not just for his own work for others', connect with his underlying emotions, learn to motivate through a balance of criticism and validation, and become aware of unproductive behavior patterns. The goal of executive coaching is not simply to treat the alpha as an individual problem but to improve the entire team dynamic. Initial success creates an incentive to persevere, and the virtuous cycle reverberates throughout the entire organization.
Two studies explored the nature and psychological implications of individual differences in emotional complexity, defined as having emotional experiences that are broad in range and well differentiated. Emotional complexity was predicted to be associated with private self-consciousness, openness to experience, empathic tendencies, cognitive complexity, ability to differentiate among named emotions, range of emotions experienced daily, and interpersonal adaptability. The Range and Differentiation of Emotional Experience Scale (RDEES) was developed to test these hypotheses. In Study 1 (N=1,129) students completed questionnaire packets containing the RDEES and various outcome measures. Study 2 (N=95) included the RDEES and non-self-report measures such as peer reports, complexity of representations of the emotion domain, and level of ego development measured by a sentence completion test. Results supported all of the hypotheses, providing extensive evidence for the RDEES's construct validity. Findings were discussed in terms of the role of emotional complexity in ego maturity and interpersonal adaptability.