Purpose There is limited empirical literature on the effectiveness of leadership coaching in healthcare settings. The purpose of this paper is to explore the efficacy of leadership coaching for individuals implementing strategic change in the Australian public health system. Design/methodology/approach Using a within-subjects (pre-post) design, participants ( n=31) undertook six one-hour coaching sessions. Coaching was conducted by professional leadership coaches. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Findings Participation was associated with significant improvements in goal attainment, solution-focused thinking, leadership self-efficacy, perspective-taking capacity, self-insight and resilience, and ambiguity tolerance. There were significant reductions in stress and anxiety. The benefits of coaching transferred from the workplace to the home. Many participants reported being able to use insights gained in coaching in their personal lives, and reported better work/life balance, less stress and better quality relationships at home. Originality/value Few studies have provided evaluation of leadership coaching in healthcare setting. Leadership coaching in the public health system may be an important methodology for facilitating goal attainment and fostering resilience in this vital social sector, benefiting workers in the health services, their families and ultimately their patients and the broader community.

Positive psychology has produced useful research findings that can offer insights into the psychological factors that promote flourishing in peoples' personal life and in workplace settings. However, there has been little work explicitly linking positive psychology constructs to the physical built workplace environment. This paper explores the notion of a positive psychology of workplace buildings and introduces the concept of the Positive Built Workplace Environment (PBWE). We explore the links between the physical attributes of well-designed sustainable contemporary workspaces, performance and well-being and the humanistic values central to the positive organisational enterprise. Given the rise in the use of activity-based flexible offices and coworking spaces this is an area where positive psychology can make important contributions. Using a qualitative case study approach we explore the lived experience of people who work in physical and psychological environments that stimulate and support innovative, agile and collaborative workplace cultures. Five key categories emerged from the interview data: The impact of the physical environment on performance, engagement and gratitude; the role of values-based leadership in extending the utility of activity-based working; expressions of purpose, pride and well-being; issues in making a transition to a new way of working; and how physical spatial change can be a facilitator of corporate cultural change. We present three models that may be of use in exploring the PBWE from a positive psychology perspective: 1) the Positive Built Environment Scale which uses Self-determination Theory as a means of measuring the psychological aspects of the PBWE; 2) an adaptation of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a psychological framework with which to evaluate the physical aspects of the PBWE; and 3) a theoretical model of the relationships between the constructs in this paper. As the nature and pace of work evolves, we hope that our paper helps further develop our understanding of how to develop positive workplace environments that support organisational and individual development in a sustainable, humanistic fashion.

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