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How does listening shape the coaching dialogue?

This article is a reprint of a Coaching Research in Practice  (Nov 2016).

 

Listening is well recognised as a core component of the coaching process. Much has been written about its importance, as well as about specific skills for the practice of effective listening. However, to date there has been little research into listening within coaching sessions.

 

This issue of Coaching Research in Practice reflects on a recent study of listening within the coaching dialogue. It highlights numerous themes that arise when analysing the listening of coaches, some of which are effective and others which are better to avoid.

 

COACHING RESEARCH:

 

In his study of the nature and role of listening in coaching dialogue, Peter Hill (2016) examined audio recorded coaching sessions and subsequently interviewed the respective coaches and clients on their experiences of the sessions. Through the analysis of the transcripts of session recordings and interviews, Hill identified seven “main themes” (pp. 35-37) in listening:

 

  1. Rapport building: Supported trust through social exchanges, humour, client focus (requesting/providing topic, acknowledging client strengths/capability, reviewing prior actions), client recognition of the value of the session and preparation (contracting, coach preparation).
  2. Acknowledging the client’s story: Attended to the client’s story through non-verbal acknowledgement, brief verbal acknowledgement, silence, mirroring and checking non-verbal cues.
  3. Interpretive listening: Shaped conversation through checking perception (clarifying through exploring values, emotions, feelings, assumptions, ‘facts’ and challenging assumptions/beliefs, as well as paraphrasing/summarising/reframing and adding examples) and drawing on knowledge of client, signs (coach offering alternative perspectives, client seeing alternative perspectives, client acting on insight, coach testing client’s application of insight), metaphors and calls to action (client develops an option, coach offers an option, client adopts coach’s option, coach tests client’s resolve to act).
  4. Interruptions: Seen as interpretive coaching interventions to clarify, refocus and support. Client also interrupted for the same reasons and both coach and client may ignore or respond to interruptions.
  5. Misunderstood: On the part of both coach and client and followed by coach or client confirming the other’s understanding. Often misunderstanding was not noticed and then triggered reflection for client.
  6. Non-coaching interventions: Though rare, non-coaching interventions included advice (where asked for by client or offered by coach) and directives (learning question, closed question or a directive intervention).
  7. Distractions: Again rare, but more prevalent for less experienced coaches, included focus on process, collusion, need to understand client story, analysing/diagnosing, coach self-interest and playing another role.

 

The findings of this study also highlighted seven “integrative themes” (pp. 37-38), which influenced the above main themes and interventions:

 

  1. Empathic stance: An empathic orientation (as opposed to therapeutic empathy) grounded in appreciation of the client.
  2. Self-awareness and shifting perspective: Interventions leading to a change in perspective or greater self-awareness.
  3. Dance and play: Being in the moment with the client and adopting a playful approach for creative and insightful conversation.
  4. Feeling heard and understood: The experience of the client when the coach highlighted important words and teased them out.
  5. Active listening: Non-judgemental support, leading to D. (above) and encouraging open talk involving interventions from 1, 2, 3 and sometimes 4 (above), as well as from G. (below).
  6. Authentic listening: Coach not holding back from interrupting to explore client’s values, feelings and assumptions.
  7. Intuition: Unconscious knowing.

 

 

IN PRACTICE:

The above findings give much insight into the nature and role of listening and, if used purposefully, they may serve to enrich your coaching practice.

 

One simple suggestion for actively applying this research to your practice is to download the paper from here, print pages 35-37 and use the table as a checklist for reflection after some sessions. Notice what you did or didn’t do and choose one thing to focus on doing more or less (as in the case of distractions!) in your next session, or perhaps in all your sessions over the next week or so.

 

 

Finally, you may want to reflect on and perhaps re-evaluate the tendency of coaches to shy away from interrupting clients. Indeed, this article suggests that interrupting is an important part of the listening process. Tell us what you think about this here, and reflect on the practice of interrupting and clarify its usefulness in your listening practice.

 

Reference:

Hill, P. (2016). Insights into the nature and role of listening in the creation of a co-constructive coaching dialogue: A phenomenological study.International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Special Issue #10(June), 22-44. Retrieved November 4, 2016, from http://ijebcm.brookes.ac.uk/documents/special10-paper-03.pdf

 

Translating coaching research into coaching practice,

Kerryn Griffiths (PhD – The Process of Learning in Coaching)
Global ReciproCoach Coordinator

 

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