Introduction: Coaching and Positive Emotions—Exploring a Collection of Resources in the Health and Wellness Domain

Kenworthy, Amy L.; Passarelli, Angela; Oosten, Ellen Van

doi:10.5465/amle.2014.0091

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…This pragmatic understanding of the inextricable link between learning and action further identifies a key element differentiating coaching from the closely related and more established disciplines of psychotherapy and counseling (Cox et al, 2014a). Organizational coaching (and perhaps coaching in all its different modalities) aims not at healing an emotional disturbance or directly increasing the clients' sense of well-being (Grant, 2013;Kenworthy, Passarelli, & Van Oosten, 2014), but has as its focus enabling clients to develop their capability to act on their environment (Cocivera & Cronshaw, 2004;Bachkirova, 2011;Spence & Deci, 2013;Clutterbuck & Spence, 2017). In this regard, we could say that the purpose of organizational coaching is not so much concerned with well-being, but fundamentally, with well-acting.…”

Section: Pragmatism As a Theory Of Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Old Wine in New Bottles: Exploring Pragmatism as a Philosophical Framework for the Discipline of Coaching

Bachkirova

Borrington

2019

AMLE

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The practice and industry of organizational coaching are now well-established, but how it is understood theoretically continues to lag behind. Here, we analyze possible reasons for this state of affairs and argue that the development of coaching as an academic discipline will benefit from adopting philosophical pragmatism as an overarching theoretical framework. This move will enable coaching academics to utilize the contributions to knowledge that different paradigms generate. Positioning pragmatism as a theory of action, we argue that organizational coaching is by default a pragmatic enterprise and provide three examples of the considerable benefits to be gained by conceptualizing it this way: (1) Drawing from the pragmatists' ideas, particularly those of John Dewey, we demonstrate how the theoretical understanding of organizational coaching can be enhanced by considering its nature as a joint inquiry; (2) Pragmatism suggests development as an ultimate purpose for organizational coaching, which also helps to resolve fundamental conceptual debates; and (3) In light of the complexity and diversity involved in the way that organizational coaching is practiced, pragmatism offers coaches a useful framework for developing the flexibility required for navigating the multiplicity of influences on their practice.

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