News 

31 Oct 2009

Executive Central and Monash University Win ARC Linkage Grant

Executive Central Group is very proud to announce that the Company has been awarded an Australian Research Council linkage grant with researchers at Monash University and The University of New South Wales to conduct research into the efficacy of Executive Coaching.  This is an exciting 3-year project to identify how and when executive coaching can be effective and the circumstances that indicate when it may not an appropriate leadership development intervention.

PROJECT SCOPE

The following quote from Monash University outlines the project scope.

“The project is concerned with understanding when and why an executive coaching intervention is effective as reflected in a change in coachees’ behaviours and greater organisational effectiveness. Unlike many of the previous studies in the area that have relied on self-report assessment of coaching effectiveness, this research will draw on multiple raters, as we will collect survey data from both coachees, their supervisors, and their direct reports. Finally, our research has a number of significant implications for practitioners. This research program will provide guidelines for those implementing executive coaching programs. In particular, we aim to identify what type of coachees are most likely to benefit from coaching and under which conditions coaching will translate into greater individual performance, enhanced well-being, and organisational performance. Further, the findings will provide a stronger theoretical and empirical basis for the executive coaching field.”

The project covers an area of research that has not been studied anywhere in the world and will provide the coaching industry and your company with a scientifically validated process that will help to maximise the outcomes of executive coaching interventions.  You will also receive regular reports on the progress of the project and the research findings.

This project is a significant step for Executive Central as it will provide a thorough and independent assessment of the effectiveness of our own executive coaching processes and enable us to enhance them in any way necessary to ensure they are absolutely cutting edge.  The findings of the project will provide a much needed, practical benchmark for an industry that to date has been based far too heavily on theory and opinion.  And finally, it will provide our clients with information that will help them make decisions on who may be their most appropriate coaching candidates, the optimum duration of coaching relationships, and confidence that they are employing coaches who use the best, cutting edge processes in their coaching assignments.

YOUR ASSISTANCE IS REQUESTED

 In order to use this project to deliver your organisation the optimal coaching service, we ask that you assist in the following ways:

• When a coaching assignment is carried out by Executive Central in your organisation, as part of the needs analysis process a set of questionnaires will be available to the coachee, their supervisor and a number (minimum of 3) of their direct reports.  These questionnaires will probe a range of behavioural, organisational and performance issues.
• These questionnaires would then be forwarded (anonymously) to the research team for coding and analysis.  They would be completed before, during and immediately after the coaching intervention.  Follow-up questionnaires would also be requested from the coachees, their supervisors and direct reports six and twelve months after the completion of each assignment.
• Copies of the questionnaire results would also be forwarded to the coachee and the coach for use during the coaching process.
• Each coachee would also be asked to complete a questionnaire covering various aspects of the coach’s performance, approach and attitudes.  This information will help assess the coaching processes being used and will be fed-back to Executive Central to help us improve our coaching practices.  

We trust that this process will be a simple one and believe that your organisation will benefit greatly from being part of such an exciting, cutting-edge research project.

If you would like further information please contact Executive Central Group Managing Director, Rob Balmer on (07) 3878 2437 or 0425 247 156 or email at rob@executivecentral.com.au