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Purpose Despite calls for studying interaction processes in coaching, little is known about the link between coachclient interactions and coaching success. In particular, interpersonal behavior in coaching remains unexplored, although it is considered highly relevant to social relationships and interaction outcomes. This study takes first steps to address this gap. Design/Methodology/Approach We examined the dynamics of coaches' and clients' interpersonal behavior based on the two basic dimensions affiliation and dominance. Furthermore, we investigated the link between emergent interpersonal behavior patterns and coaching outcomes. To this end, we videotaped and analyzed a total of 11,095 behavioral acts nested in 30 coach-client dyads. Findings Sequential analysis showed that reciprocal friendliness patterns were positively linked to working alliance. Coaches' dominant-friendly interaction behavior particularly activated clients, in terms of showing dominance during the coaching interaction process. Clients' dominance was linked to their overall goal attainment. ImplicationsOur results highlight the importance of interpersonal behavior for coaching success. Specifically, our findings suggest that dominance interaction patterns are context-and relation-specific, offering an explanation for contradicting empirical studies on interpersonal dominance. For coaches, our study implies that high awareness for interpersonal signals can help establish a positive atmosphere and activate clients' dominance. Originality/Value This empirical study uses behavior observation and interaction analysis to understand the interpersonal dynamics during coaching sessions. Our results increase our theoretical understanding of coaching effectiveness by shedding light on the micro-level behavioral dynamics that drive successful coaching processes.

The quality of coaching working alliances is crucial for coaching success. Determining the ingredients that contribute to a high-quality coaching working alliance is an important question for research. Interpersonal behavior is considered to be a vital factor for a successful coach–client working alliance. This study analyzes how a coach’s verbal and nonverbal interpersonal behavior affects a client’s behavior and perceptions of the working alliance. In a preliminary subsequent analysis, we further explored how a coach’s mood before coaching affects his or her in-session interpersonal behavior and the client’s ratings on working alliance. The interaction of 48 coach–client dyads was videotaped during the first coaching session and analyzed using the discussion coding system. As predicted, findings suggest positive relations between dominant-friendly interpersonal behavior of coaches and clients. A coach’s dominant-friendly behavior, in turn, was positively related to the client’s ratings of the working alliance after the first session and at the end of the 5-session coaching process. Moreover, a coach’s pleasant mood predicted the amount of his or her in-session dominant-friendly interpersonal behavior and was also positively related to the client’s working alliance ratings. We discuss how coaches’ awareness of their own affective states and interpersonal behaviors can help in establishing a successful working alliance.

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