Evaluation research has struggled to keep up with the popularity of coaching, as measures of its effectiveness are challenging to standardize, particularly when coaching executives. Similar to interpersonally based interventions in other fields such as counseling and psychotherapy, coaching takes the form of a fluid, humanistic process, whereas coaching-evaluation standards strive to be consistent with a standardized, scientifically based method. This study describes our experience in facing these programevaluation challenges while conducting a randomized, quasi-experimental investigation to explore effects of a developmental coaching intervention provided to senior leaders from different organizations within 1 large integrated health-care system. In the context of these challenges, we propose a conceptually new framework to the field of coaching research based on the assimilation model, an empirically grounded theory that originates within psychotherapy research and describes how people overcome issues they find problematic or challenging, whether in clinical or in broader development and growth contexts. We discuss how this framework-with its associated tool: the Assimilation of Problematic Experiences Scale (APES)-offers working solutions to the common and vexing problems faced by research into executive-coaching outcomes, and how it can specifically inform evaluation-planning strategy within studies of coaching effectiveness.

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A top management team (TMT) is an integral component of an organization as it serves the role of a primary leader. The dynamics between TMTs and their subordinate organizational units are similar to those between individual leaders and their subordinates in that both (TMTs and individual leaders) exert a level of influence over their subordinate entities. This study sought to investigate a TMT's influence as a leader within the organization, by applying the two-factor leadership theory to the relationship between TMTs and subordinate units. All but three examined workplace climate measures were significantly related to TMT behaviors. Organizational culture exhibited the strongest relationships, with all significant correlations ranging between 0.17 and 0.27. Our findings suggest that the composition of hospital TMTs can have implications for units providing direct care to patients. These findings may be of particular interest to administrators who are involved in building effective TMTs.