The coaching approach is a one-to-one conversation focused on the enhancement of learning and development through increasing self-awareness and a sense of personal responsibility, where the coach facilitates the self-directed learning of the coachee through questioning, active listening and appropriate challenge in a supportive and encouraging climate.
Life coaching is defined as “a dynamic interaction that facilitates the learning, development, and performance of the person being coached” (Lennard, 2010, p. 1).
It is a way to promote balance and harmony (Martin, 2001) by supporting clients in living to their fullest potential.
While there is enormous variability in terms of counseling approaches, one crucial distinction between coaches and counselors is that the former is not focused on a problem or diagnosis.
Instead, coaching is aimed at enhancing existing capabilities (Griffiths & Campbell, 2008). It is a solution-focused approach in which clients are guided toward achieving outcomes.
In other words, a good coach understands that “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence” (Confucius).
While many coaches may adhere to a common objective, the way they get there is unique to the coach’s particular background, style, and philosophical model.
A match between coaching style and client needs is essential for client success, and this article will highlight some of the major types of coaching approaches. In doing so, individuals and organizations seeking a life or leadership coach will be better able to find the right person for the job.
What Are the Different Coaching Styles?
Like counselors, coaches are made up of a range of backgrounds, such as psychology, management, education, sports, and health (Martin, 2001). And of course, how coaches work with clients is related to this background, as well as to the coach’s personality, experiences, and history.
Coaching-related research identifies styles similar to those in classic parenting style literature. Namely, in her oft-cited studies, Baumrind (1991) identified several specific parenting styles, which include authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive.
The manner in which life coaches interact with clients is similar to the distinctions noted by Baumrind (1991). For example, coaches may vary in terms of the degree to which they control the sessions (e.g., authoritarian/autocratic) versus allowing the client to have input in terms of the coaching process (e.g., democratic/authoritative).
Coaches also may differ in terms of whether they take a more specific focus or consider multiple connected facets of the client’s experiences (e.g., holistic coaching). Additional approaches include laissez-faire, developmental, mindfulness, and intuitive coaching.
Coaching approach
Let’s talk about the different forms of coaching and their value:
1. Humanist coaching. Humanist coaching has everything to do with helping leaders reach their full potential. You’ve probably heard the term “self-actualization,” and that’s what this one is all about. It relies heavily on the relationship established between leaders and coaches and the idea that the depth and trust created between the coach and the leader ultimately creates success for the leader.
This one definitely takes on a more therapy-oriented perspective, where the leader being coached may already be in the midst of crisis and the coach is helping the leader find greater stability and confidence. While this is great for the leader, it doesn’t necessarily help them get more done for the organization.
2. Adult development coaching. Adult development coaching focuses on the different stages of adult development. This means that the coach is working to figure out where the leader is in their development and helps the leader to move toward a more mature understanding of authority and responsibility, as well as a greater tolerance for ambiguity.
This is, again, a more therapeutic coaching strategy and is centered on the issues that one experiences at each stage of adult development. When you think specifically about types of coaching in the workplace, this one also doesn’t scream, “I’m gettin’ more stuff done!”
3. Cognitive coaching. Cognitive coaching is centered around addressing the maladaptive thoughts that might be getting in the way of a leader’s success. This is yet another more therapeutic approach to coaching, where the coach challenges the way the leader might think about the actions of others in nonproductive ways and thereby hinders their own performance. This one definitely has its place at the right time for the right leader; but it doesn’t feel very holistic, does it?
4. Positive psychology model for coaching. The positive psychology model for coaching has seen a surge in popularity over the last few years. This approach is often seen as a strengths-based approach. The thought here is that the coach would help the leader expand existing strengths as a way to build positive emotions, creating greater happiness and, in the process, higher levels of performance.
While it sometimes can be used to achieve specific goals, it’s primarily designed to change perceptions and attitudes in a more positive direction.
5. Systemic coaching. Systemic coaching, as the name implies, takes into account a wide range of factors that impact performance. Its focus is on looking at patterns that may be causing drag on a leader’s performance and seeks to disrupt them. It also highlights the importance of making small changes that can add up to big results over time. This one is consistent with much of the writing you may have seen recently on taking small steps to form new, more positive habits.
6. Goal-oriented coaching. Goal-oriented coaching is probably the type of coaching in the workplace many of us are most familiar with. It’s about helping leaders regulate and direct their interpersonal and personal resources to better attain one or more goals. The primary method is to help the leader form well-crafted goals and develop an effective action plan.
There are multiple ways to coach, so let’s take a closer look at 10 popular styles.
Democratic Coaching Style
A democratic (i.e., participative) coaching style follows the same general principles of democracy itself, as it takes into account the interests, concerns, and choices of the people involved.
With democratic coaching, the client takes an active role in determining coaching goals and the methods used to achieve them. While client input is an essential element of democratic coaching, coaches have the last word when it comes to decision-making (Amanchukwu, Stanley, & Nwachukwu, 2015).
This coaching style encourages the following client skills and qualities:
- Motivation
- Collaborative competency
- Self-efficacy
- Creativity
- Commitment to objectives
- Inspiration
- Productivity
- Empowerment
Autocratic Coaching Style
An autocratic (i.e., authoritarian) coaching style is very different from a democratic approach, as autocratic coaches take a firmer or even dictatorial leadership role, and the sessions commonly lack client input.
In this case, there is a definite division between the client and coach, with autocratic coaches taking it upon themselves to make decisions. Sometimes described as a more extreme version of a transactional leadership style (see description below; Amanchukwu et al., 2015), an autocratic coach will often dictate all coaching methods and processes.
Although this coaching style may be negatively construed, there are situations (e.g., those involving high stress or urgency) in which a more collaborative approach is not optimal. Autocratic coaching also may become necessary when only the coach has sufficient expertise to make key decisions (Amanchukwu et al., 2015).
This coaching style encourages the following outcomes and client qualities:
- Productivity
- Efficiency
- Trust in the coach
- Stress reduction
- Realistic goal attainment
- Reduced ambiguity
Laissez-Faire Coaching Style
This mostly hands-off approach is grounded in the idea that clients possess the self-efficacy to achieve their own goals and priorities with minimal leadership (Harper, 2012).
Using the example of a coach hired as an external consultant, a laissez-faire coach holds the client responsible as the ‘primary process owner’ (Harper, 2012).
This coaching style is so hands-off that it is often regarded as an ineffective ‘zero leadership’ approach (Yang, 2015). However, research also has suggested that a laissez-faire approach is only as negative as the particular context in which it occurs.
Laissez-faire coaching during all situations may be regarded as a general lack of taking responsibility, as coaching does require some level of guidance and leadership. Instead, a flexible, open-minded coaching approach can recognize the fluidity of behavior as related to context and adapt the coaching style as needed (Yang, 2015).
Additionally, positive laissez-faire coaching outcomes also are far more likely when the coach provides regular performance monitoring and feedback (Amanchukwu et al., 2015). This coaching style encourages the following client skills and qualities:
- Self-empowerment
- Self-efficacy
- Self-confidence
- Self-management
- Decision-making ability
- Freedom
- Autonomy
Holistic Coaching Style
A holistic coaching style takes into account the whole person.
Recognizing the connectedness of multiple domains, this approach is concerned with all aspects of a client’s life.
Holistic coaching has been used in a variety of contexts, such as for the promotion of positive development among South African youth (Whitley, Gould, Wright, & Hayden, 2017).
In this qualitative study, coaches described the importance of taking a holistic perspective with students. Or, in the words of one coach, “You can never be a coach if you don’t develop a player holistically. You can’t just do it on the field. You need to be a father to him, be a mother to him; you need to be an educator to him, be a teacher to him—all those things” (Whitley et al., 2017, p. 9).
Whether discussing sports or life coaching, the concept is the same: to impact a client’s life, the coach must recognize and address the whole client during the coaching process. This coaching style encourages the following client benefits and qualities:
- Feeling understood
- Trust in the coach–client relationship
- Uncovering of deeply held feelings and drives
- Identification of solutions
- Enhanced wellbeing/functioning across the whole person (e.g., mind, body, feelings, and spirit)
- Enhanced wellbeing/functioning across multiple domains (e.g., family, work, home, health, etc.)
6 Other Coaching Styles
Various additional coaching styles are described in the research literature; here are six of the most common.
1. Mindfulness coaching
Mindfulness coaching draws from mindfulness philosophy by promoting a type of awareness in which a person pays attention to their feelings and thoughts in the moment, without judgment. It is an open-minded and accepting way of responding to thoughts (Kabat-Zinn, 2005).
Coaches following this approach work toward creating a calmer way for clients to respond to stress and anxious cognitions. A mindfulness-focused coach may be especially useful for anxious clients, given the significant relationship between mindfulness activities and reduced anxiety (Blanck, Perleth, & Heidenreich et al., 2018).
This coaching style encourages the following client qualities:
- Acceptance
- Peace of mind
- Reduced anxiety
- Clarity
- Harmony
- Awareness
2. Developmental coaching
This coaching style involves a type of helping relationship in which the coach identifies a client’s learning opportunities and supports their growth (Lennard, 2010). A developmental coach acts as a client’s thought partner as they work toward promoting capabilities and attaining goals.
This holistic approach addresses longstanding issues, varies based on developmental stage, and is useful for those who have reached a growth plateau (Bachkirova, 2011).
This coaching style encourages the following outcomes and client qualities:
- Long-term development
- Greater learning opportunities
- Broad human capabilities
- Self-actualization
- Enhanced growth
3. Intuitive coaching
This approach takes a relatively spiritual tack by supporting clients in developing and trusting their inner perspectives.
Reimers-Hild (2012, p. 13) describes the achievement of personal fulfillment as the process of “using intuition to truly clarify musts and make them essential. Musts need to become critical for survival, success, wellbeing, and sense of purpose.”
Along these lines, intuitive coaches will help a client to identify the essential ingredients needed for fulfillment and success by listening to their inner voice (Reimers-Hild, 2012). This coaching style encourages the following client qualities:
- Self-efficacy
- Self-trust
- Uncovering deeply held drives
- Creativity
- Clarity
- Introspection
- Discovery of true passions
4. Transactional coaching
With transactional coaching, the coach is interested in an exchange-focused relationship. This task-driven and time-limited style is aimed at promoting performance and avoiding stumbling blocks (Lennard, 2010).
Subcategories of transactional coaching include contingent reward coaching (i.e., the provision of rewards based on performance), active management by exception (i.e., attending to client challenges and mistakes), and passive management by exception (i.e., only intervening once problems become more advanced; Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, & van Engen, 2003).
Clearly, the difference between active versus passive transactional coaching lies in timing, since the former approach involves constant performance monitoring and proactive intervention (Nawaz & Khan, 2016). A transactional coaching style encourages the following outcomes and client qualities:
- Performance enhancement
- Problem-solving skills
- Competency building
- Short-term changes
- Goal clarity
5. Transformational coaching
This one-on-one approach involves building a trusting coach–client alliance in which both parties agree on coaching goals and processes.
Rather than establishing hierarchical control, the transformational coach acts collaboratively with the client while offering authentic support and candid feedback (Eagly et al., 2003; Lennard, 2010).
Transformational coaching is made up of the following dimensions: inspirational motivation, idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration (Furtner, Baldegger, & Rauthmann, 2013). This coaching style encourages the following client skills and qualities:
- Cognitive development
- Collaborative skills
- Intrinsic motivation
- Self-discover
- Purpose
- Accountability
- Ability to problem solve
6. Bureaucratic coaching
This style of coaching is rigid, adhering to specific rules and following a clear model outlining decision-making hierarchies. As such, it is most applicable to highly regulated situations or environments where it is essential to follow safety and other procedural regulations (Amanchukwu et al., 2015).
Bureaucratic coaching is less applicable to individual coaching than to coaching within public sector organizations or military settings.
This coaching style encourages the following outcomes:
- Consistency
- Efficiency
- Safety
- Accountability
- Reduced potential for favoritism
- Lack of job or task ambiguity
- Adherence to best practice standards
The above categories outline some of the most popular types of coaching. There are, of course, other methods, such as performance coaching, which is aimed at enhancing particular capabilities as a function of the development of skills (Bachkirova, 2011).
Some coaches may also take on more of a controlling style, which is often what is visualized when considering ‘old school’ athletic coaches. Controlling coaches apply pressure based on coercion or by eliciting the client’s sense of guilt as a way of modifying behavior and attitudes (Bartholomew, Ntoumanis, & Thøgersen-Ntoumani, 2010).
Not surprisingly, this approach has negative implications for clients that increase the likelihood of burnout (Barcza-Renner, Eklund, Morin, & Habeeb, 2016). There are, however, far more effective coaching styles (as noted above) that are linked to many positive client outcomes.
How to Implement a Coaching Approach
There are three simple steps that managers can take to immediately begin implementing a coaching approach with their teams. Putting these steps into practice can help managers realize benefits that they may not have previously considered possible.
- Ask more questions. The key to coaching is questioning. Making a conscious effort to ask team members more questions about themselves, the work they’re doing, and the problems they’re facing has the power to unlock answers and solutions to challenges that managers wouldn’t have thought of themselves. Questions can challenge team members to think in new and innovative ways and help them to break out of repetitive cycles to embrace learning and problem-solving with passion.
- Listen to the answers. It sounds simple, but sincerely listening takes a huge amount of effort and practice to get right. Everyone has a whirring dialogue in their head that often preempts answers from those they have questioned or, instead of listening to answers, is already thinking about a next question or statement. Quieting this internal chatter through focused listening allows managers to be more present for their teams. Diane Schilling’s article “10 Steps to Effective Listening” is a great place to start learning how to develop effective listening skills.
- Be open to learning from team members. When managers increase how much they’re questioning and listening to members of their team, they’ll also naturally increase the amount of information that becomes available to learn from. Sometimes, managers will assume they know the right answers to the questions they ask team members. But in many cases, team members will have new and creative approaches to problem-solving that can be utilized to bring about positive changes for the team, processes, or organization. When managers understand that they can learn as much from their team as their team can learn from them, greater organizational efficiencies, a more responsive team, and an information-sharing culture result
Questionnaires for Assessing Your Style
Fortunately, whether working with individual clients or in a management setting, there are several psychometrically validated assessment tools available to help coaches learn more about their own particular coaching styles.
Here are seven examples:
Empowering Leadership Questionnaire
This measure includes 38 items within the following five factors: coaching, informing, leading by example, showing concern/interacting with the team, and participative decision making (Arnold, Arad, Rhoades, & Drasgow, 2000).
The Empowering Leadership Questionnaire is used to measure leader-empowering behavior (e.g., by showing concern for workgroup members’ success, by encouraging workgroup members to solve problems together, by treating workgroup members as equals, etc.).
The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths
This questionnaire measures 24 character strengths (e.g., bravery, kindness, teamwork, modesty, appreciation, hope, humor, etc.) and six core virtues (i.e., wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, transcendence; Ruch, Proyer, Harzer, & Park, 2010).
It applies to coaches hoping to assess and improve their strength of character when working with clients.
Leader Effectiveness and Adaptability Description
This 12-item multiple-choice questionnaire (Hersey & Blanchard, 1988) measures leadership style (e.g., traditional versus situational). Based on situational leadership theory, respondents must choose from four alternatives that most closely approximate how they would respond in a specific situation (Johansen, 1990).
Leader Empowering Behavior Questionnaire
This 17-item questionnaire measures empowering leader behavior such as delegation of authority, accountability, and self-directed decision making.
It has been proposed as a useful way to provide feedback in terms of empowerment-focused leadership behaviors among coaching managers (Konczak, Stelly, & Trusty, 2000).
Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire
This comprehensive leadership instrument (Avolio & Bass, 2004) includes 9 items measuring leadership outcomes and 36 items measuring leadership styles. Leadership style items are focused on transactional leadership, transformational leadership, and passive avoidant leadership. Leadership outcomes are focused on effort, productivity, and satisfaction.
Penn State Leadership Competency Inventory
This 32-item scale (Yoon, Song, Donahue, & Woodley, 2010) assesses the following dimensions of leadership: conceptual thinking, strategic orientation, information seeking, and service orientation. Using a multiple-choice format, respondents indicate their perceived degree of importance and development need for each of the 32 items.
The Revised Self-Leadership Questionnaire
This 35-item instrument measures self-leadership skills, cognitions, and behaviors that are consistent with self-leadership theory (Houghton & Neck, 2002).
Scale dimensions include behavior-focused strategies (with five sub-scales: self-reward, self-punishment, self-cueing, self-observation, and self-goal setting); natural reward strategies (with one sub-scale: focusing thoughts on natural rewards); and constructive thought pattern strategies (with three sub-scales: visualizing successful performance, self-talk, and evaluating beliefs and assumptions).
There is also an abbreviated nine-item version (Houghton, Dawley, & DiLiello, 2012).
A Take-Home Message
Hiring a life coach may have numerous benefits, particularly for helping individuals to thrive in the fast-paced society that is so evident today. As noted, there are various types of coaching styles (e.g., democratic, holistic, intuitive, transformational, etc.). However, it is essential to note that “effective coaching is a mixture of pedagogy and principles of sciences” (Reeve, 2007, p. 1).
Therefore, good coaches do not strictly follow one style, but rather can adjust their approaches based on changes in the client, context, and other key factors. Coaching is an iterative process; it must always adapt to the constant ebb and flow of life.
Coaches are fortunate to have various assessment tools at their disposal. These instruments measure a variety of coaching and leadership qualities and are useful for ensuring that a coach is performing most effectively for their client.
Those interested in seeking out a coach are encouraged to research the differing coaching styles outlined here to find the best match for their unique needs. And, generally speaking, several qualities should be evident in all coaches; such as excellent listening skills, confidence, optimism, open-mindedness, etc. (see Williams & Davis, 2002 for a more extensive description of optimal coaching qualities).
Considering the many benefits of coaching as outlined here, there is good reason for individuals to consider using a life coach when dealing with a challenge or hoping for a greater sense of meaning in life. Some applications of coaching even have been associated with significant health-related improvements (Wolever et al., 2010).
Overall, by employing the services of these specialized mentors, individuals may better navigate the challenges of life in a way that enhances happiness, life satisfaction, and a sense of purpose.
