Professional Career Coaching

About a year ago (December 2023), Daniel Goleman wrote an interesting article stating that there is evidence that coaching does work.

He was referring to an article by Richard Boyatzis, who published a study of the competencies needed by the coach to be effective when working with clients. The IQ of the coach did not affect their success with clients, but studies found that emotional intelligence is an essential quality for the professional to possess. It didn’t matter what discipline the professional was from, Doctors, Nurses and Psychologists were all involved in the study. A health professional with emotional intelligence was a strong predictor of positive changes in the client, and some of these changes were:

• Drive to succeed, goal setting, planning, and ongoing evaluation.
• Empathy, a caring relationship.
• Organizational Knowledge, understanding of the decision-making process of the client’s workplace.
• Influence, guiding the client to do better, and dealing with them by telling them the truth.
• Self-awareness of the counselor, being aware of their own emotions.
• Regulating their own emotions during counseling sessions.
• Changing strategy, if needed
• Being positive in supporting change for the better

These competencies are all part of the emotional intelligence model developed by Daniel Goleman and Professor Boyatzis. While more studies are needed, this forms the basis required to elevate Life and Career Coaching as evidence-based health care, for those who feel stuck in their life plan.

Frances McCowan