Running head: EXECUTIVE COACHING FAITH AND INTEGRATION PAPER 1
Executive coaching faith and integration paper
Janet Millard
Liberty University
Business 755
Respectfully submitted to Dr. Mark Davis
April 22, 2020
EXECUTIVE COACHING FAITH AND INTEGRATION PAPER 2
Abstract
Executive and organizational coaching is one of the principal leadership development
strategies utilized in the business sector over the last two decades. The International Coach
Federation defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought‐provoking and creative
process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential” (Ciporen,
2015). This definition is just one of many that exist in the literature that accentuates partnership
and thought-provoking as key elements. Executive coaching may be in its infancy, but coaching
can be traced back for thousands of years. One of the earliest examples of coaching is exhibited
in the Socratic method, named for the Greek philosopher Socrates, which utilizes questioning to
provoke thought and enabling a person to form a conclusion to their own problems (Socrates,
n.d.). There are also numerous examples of coaching in the Bible. This paper will explore the
key concepts of executive coaching and the integration of faith and a Christian worldview in the
coaching profession.
Keywords: executive coaching, ethics,
EXECUTIVE COACHING FAITH AND INTEGRATION PAPER 3
Executive and organizational coaching as an academic discipline
The business environment evolves quickly and requires that leaders remain competent
and able to lead their team in a direction that achieves the organization’s strategic goals.
Leadership is a talent that requires cultivation including ongoing education and development.
Leader development has historically been a function of the human resources development
department (HRD) through inhouse training and seminars. Executives in the C-suite, especially
those that are new to the role, require a distinct set of skills for which training may not be readily
accessible within the HRD department. Executive coaching has emerged to fill that niche of
development. Executive coaches have a variety of backgrounds such as business, human
resources, psychology, and social work. The background of the coach may be matched with the
needs of the executive to enhance the relationship and coaching experience.
Executive coaching involves a one-to-one relationship between a coach and a coachee,
but there is also an agency relationship between the coach and the coachee’s organization which
involves moral duties beyond usual professional ethics (Hannafey & Vitulano, 2012). This
agency relationship can lead to complications in the coach-coachee relationship. Although the
organization invests in an executive coach for the growth and development of the executive, the
coach must also ensure the executive is on the path to satisfy the organizations strategic goals
(Albizu, Rekalde, Landeta, & Fernandez-Ferrin, 2019). Ethical issues such as confidentiality,
conflicts of interest, professional standards, measurements of success and, financial issues may
arise as a result of this agency relation (Hannafey & Vitulano, 2012).
There is no regulatory or licensing board that set professional standards for executive
consultants. In 1995, the International Coach Federation (ICF) was formed with a mission “to
lead the global advancement of the coaching profession” (International Coach Federation, n.d.,
EXECUTIVE COACHING FAITH AND INTEGRATION PAPER 4
Section About). The ICF independently offers training programs, accredits independent training
programs, and offers three credentials: Associate Certified Coach, Professional Certified Coach
and, Master Certified Coach. Each credential requires a specified number of training hours and a
Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA) exam which covers the IFC’s definition of coaching, core
competencies and the ICF Code of Ethics (International Coach Federation, n.d.).
In addition to the ICF programs, there are Master of Arts degrees in Executive Coaching
offered by several universities in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. The
expansion of Executive Coaching as a degree tract lends credence to the profession. These
master’s degree programs require either a business or psychology bachelor’s degree as a
prerequisite. Executive Coaching courses such as Liberty University’s Business 755
Organizational and Executive Coaching course are relevant as an academic field of study in
business. During a career in business, it is highly probable that an executive will have contact
with a coach. This may be a personal interaction, an organizational benefit that is offered to
executives, or a program that the individual presents to the organization as a development
offering.
There are benefits to both the coachee and the organization as a result of executive
coaching.
EXECUTIVE COACHING FAITH AND INTEGRATION PAPER 6
Key concepts for students to understand
What are the primary reasons for instituting executive coaching?
There are several reasons that coaching may be requested for an executive including:
leadership development, transition, and remediation (Underhill et al., 2007). While leadership
development has historically been a function of HRD, in recent years many organizations have
transitioned to contracting with executive coaches to provide development activities for their
executives. Studies have found that executive coaching has a profound effect on the coachees
self-efficacy, improvement in attitude, leadership skills, behavior change, stress reduction and,
commitment to the organization (Bonneywell, 2017). Bonneywell (2017) states that coaching
appears to be effective because leaders must thing, analyze, and practice concepts which can
influence the leadership style.
Coaching during a transition to an executive position can provoke a multitude of feelings.
Researchers have made an estimate of 30%-50% of newly transitioned executives fail within the
first 18 months costing the organization eight to twenty-five times the transitioning leaders
annual salary (McGill & Clarke, 2019). Three area of concern were identified during transitional
coaching:
1. “Period of significant change, challenge and emotional turmoil,
2. Value of coaching, and
3. Success factions for coaching and transitions” (McGill & Clarke, 2019, p. 7).
Corporate culture and leadership support
Organizational culture and leadership support are vital to the success of executive
coaching. A supportive environment allows and encourages the executive to participate in the
coaching which can lead to a more positive outcome. A negative environment may cause the
EXECUTIVE COACHING FAITH AND INTEGRATION PAPER 7
executive to perceive the coaching as a punishment and will not be as productive as in the
supportive environment (Underhill et al., 2007)
The link between coaching and leadership development and, talent management
Coaching used as a leadership development tool requires the organization have a
leadership development plan that is part of the overall strategy (Underhill et al., 2007).
Talent management is the strategy that helps the corporation to identify who would
benefit from coaching and when (Underhill et al., 2007).
Coaches toolbox
The coaching toolbox may include evaluative tools such as the 360-degree evaluation,
emotional intelligence, and Meyers-Briggs test for example. Other tools that evaluate the
emotional intelligence and diversity intelligence have also been utilized to better understand the
executive (Wittmer & Hopkiins, 2018).
Internal vs. external coach
An organization may utilize an internal coach or choose to contract with an external
coach. There are several points of discussion that an organization will evaluate prior to choosing.
The cost of an external coach may be more than that of an internal coach but, contracting with an
external coach can offer a wider selection and a better match for the executive. While an internal
coach may feel that they already understand the executive, an external coach may have a more
limited focus and not have a larger understanding of the executive’s mindset (Ciporen, 2015).
Faith Integration
The Bible provides many examples of coaching. God was the master of asking leading
questions to provoke the desired results. When Isaiah was contemplating God’s call to prophesy,
EXECUTIVE COACHING FAITH AND INTEGRATION PAPER 8
he heard God say, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” and Isaiah said, “Here I am.
Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8, NIV)
Jesus Christ also used coaching as evidenced in John 21:1-14 (NIV). After his Jesus was
had ascended, he appeared to his disciples on several occasions. In John 21:1-14, Jesus was on
shore while several of his disciples were on the sea fishing. They had not caught any fish all
night long. When Jesus appeared on the shore and called to them, “Friends, have you caught any
fish?” They replied that they had not. Jesus then instructed them to cast their net off the left side
of the boat. They caught 153 fish. At this time, they realized who Jesus was and they joyfully
went to shore where Jesus had a fire with fish cooking and bread for their breakfast. Jesus used
coaching that allowed the disciples to realize who he was.
Summary
Coaching has been used since the creation of the earth and continues today. Using open-
ended questions that cause one to think and reflect, assist the coachee to come to their own
conclusions. The coaching may be for transitioning to a new position, leadership development or
for remedial reasons. The coaching must always be in line with the strategic goals of the coachee
and the organization.
References
Ciporen, R. (2015). The Emerging Field of Executive and Organizational Coaching: An
Overview. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2015(148).
https://doi.org/doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1002/ace.20147
EXECUTIVE COACHING FAITH AND INTEGRATION PAPER 9
Klopper, S., & Van Coller-Peter, S. (2018). Business coaching processes that facilitate the
sucesful implementation of business improvement projects. International Journal of
Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring , 16 (2), 20–31. https://doi.org/10.24384/000563
Socrates. (n.d.). Britannica. Retrieved April 5, 2020, from
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Socrates
Underhill, B. O., McAnally, K., & Koriath, J. J. (2007). Executive Coaching for Results: The
Definitive Guide to Developing Organizational Leaders (1st ed.).
https://www.amazon.com/Executive-Coaching-Results-Definitive-Organizational-
ebook/dp/B005P2A89Q/ref=sr_1_5?
crid=PB8KT9O367T3&keywords=executive+coaching&qid=1584907906&s=digital-
text&sprefix=executive+%2Caps%2C164&sr=1-5
Wittmer, J. L., & Hopkins, M. M. (2018). Exploring the Relationship Between Diversity
Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, and Executive Coaching to Enhance Leader
Development Practices. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 20(3), 285–298.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422318778004
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References
Albizu, E., Rekalde, I., Landeta, J., & Fernandez-Ferrin, P. (2019, January 25). Analysis of
executive coaching effectiveness: a study from the coachee perspective. Cuadernos de
Gestion, 19(2), 33-52. http://dx.doi.org/10.5295/cdg.170876ea
Bonneywell, S. (2017, June). How a coaching intervention supports the development of female
leaders in a global organization. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and
Mentoring, Special Issue No. 11(Special Issue No. 11), 57-69. Retrieved from
http://ijebcm.brookes.ac.uk
Ciperon, R. (2015). The emerging field of executive and organizational coaching: an overview.
New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 5-15.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ace20147
Hannafey, F. T., & Vitulano, L. A. (2012, August 12). Ethics and executive coaching: An agency
theory approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 115, 599-603.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1442-z
International Coach Federation. (n.d.). https://coachfederation.org/
McGill, P., & Clarke, P. (2019). From "blind elation" to "oh my goodness, what have I gotten
into"...Exploring the experience of executive coaching during leadership transitions into
C-suite roles. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 17(1),
3-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.24384/atmb-dw81
