Coaching For Personal Change: Using Positive Psychology And Behaviour Change Models

The role of coaching in guiding growth and development

To guide our growth and development, coaching is very important. The theory of coaching is highly critiqued in light of the practices and principles of Positive Psychology and how they aid to effective coaching. There are several different types of coaching models that help in understanding the coaching intervention from a systems perspective (Garvey et al., 2017). With the same, it also helps in understanding the need for “structure: in the interaction in between the client and the coach. In this paper I am going to present a reflective essay on discussing one a personal change that I want to make and propose a coaching plan in relation to the change that I want to achieve. The change that I would like to make is becoming healthier. I shall be analysing my personal experience of change by taking into account the different theories and models of behaviour change in coaching. I shall also be evaluating the relevance of different theories and techniques of coaching in order to achieve the change that I want to achieve.  Lastly, in this paper I shall identify and plan an effective structure for a coaching session in order to achieve my goal. It is to note that the main aim of my paper is to develop a coaching plan by making use of the tools and methodologies that are covered in the unit material.

The personal change that I would like to make: Today’s life is fast paced, where personal care is an issue, neglected by most of the people. Being a part of such a century, I feel taking care of personal health is vital in terms of leading a quality and healthy lifestyle. However, hard work pressure makes it difficult for me to lead a healthier lifestyle. Hard working schedules leaves no time for physical exercises, through which I can be healthier. Keeping in mind the increased obesity, I have developed the goal of being healthier.

Coaching plan: The following is a coaching plan, which would help me to become healthier:  

Table 1: SMART criteria for the targeted goal

The role of goals and clarity of direction while planning change: Setting goals are very important while planning any change. It serves the four primary functions- facilitating the planning of change, providing direction and guidance, motivating and inspiring individuals and helping the individuals in evaluating and controlling his or her performance (Greco & Kraimer, 2018). Goals and clarity of direction while planning change promote the planning for determining how the goals would be achieved (Martin & Elliot, 2016). We human beings set goals for satisfying a particular need and therefore goals could be motivational and also encourage us in increasing our performance. I personally feel that goals are something that takes us forward in our life and they are like the oxygen to our dreams. They are the first steps to our journey that we take and are also the last one. It is hence very important that we realise the importance and significance of the goal setting and apply it in our life for attaining our goals (Senko & Tropiano, 2016). Furthermore, it is also to note that goals and clarity of direction while planning change gives us focus (Grant & Stober, 2006). Life without a goal or target is literally pointless. It is just a waste of effort and energy. One can have every potential in the world but having no target, no aim, no goal and no focus, those talents and abilities are useless. Also, the sense of direction in our mind helps us to focus on our goal and target. They allow us in measuring our progress.

The importance of goal setting and clarity of direction while planning change

My personal experience of change in light of theories and models of behaviour change in coaching: I used to be a mediocre student in my school days and because of getting very low marks in my academic subjects, there were several class mates of mine who used to bully me in school. At times, I used to neglect their pranks but one day I realised seeing my elder brother that the competition after passing out from school is very severe. My brother was a very talented student and he passed out his grade 12 with 98% of marks but still, he had to try hard to get admitted in the most reputable high school. This opened my eyes for life time. I set a goal of improving my academic result in every examination. I was nervous because I was never this studious. I then applied the goal setting theory in my practice of coaching. It was introduced by Locke’s pioneering research on motivation and the goal setting in the late 1960. It comprise of the concept of establishing SMART goal (specific, measurable and time targeted). It had featured as the main component of theory personal development literatures as well as the business language. As per Welsh and Ordonez (2014), 90% of the field studies and laboratory involving the challenges and the specific goals resulted to the higher performance than did easy or no goals. In order to elicit specific form of behaviour from others, it is very important that we have very clear cut view of what is been expected from us. I realised that setting goal is very important as it is helped me in focusing my attention towards the activities that are goal relevant as well as diverging my mind from the activities that are goal-irrelevant. It is also stated by Jones, Woods and Guillaume (2016) that the higher our goals are, the more effort we would induce to achieve them.

Hence, I applied positive psychology theory to my goal. As per Katsikis, Kostogiannis and Dryden (2016) the theory of positive psychology lays emphasize on our strengths instead of our deficits or weaknesses, while focusing on the ways for optimising the well-beings instead of just removing the pathology. It has helped me in promoting the balanced empowerment of my strengths in order to give me more objective view of myself. In this way, it helped me in changing my negative behaviour. It is a very important model due to the fact that there are certain strengths in all of us that are not good either by excess or by default like positivity (Connor & Pokora, 2007). Being too positive could make us believe that we are invulnerable and it could ultimately lead us to take many risks in our life. Also, it is to note that being extremely negative could destroy the happiness of our lives. The Positive psychology theory and research has been applied across many domains, from education to coaching. Furthermore, according to Doyle et al. (2016), this model consist of five elements (PERMA) which helps in creating the foundation of a good and flourishing life and they include- a) positive emotions b) engagement c) relationships d) meaning and e) accomplishments.

Evaluation of different theories and techniques of coaching for personal change

With the same, I had also used the theory of change model that was emerged from the field of theory, program and program evaluation. As per Parsloe and Leedham (2016), the theory of change is a model or tool that links- what we do, what we are targeting for the results, why and how we are planning to do it and what we expect to achieve. It is something that structures our thinking and helps in providing us with a platform for understanding and measuring the outcomes for improvement and learning. It is to note that according to Reynolds, Palmer and Green (2018), a strong theory of change is Meaningful, Plausible, Achievable and Testable (MPAT). The main components of the theory of change include a) need statement, b) target population c) core program components d) outcomes d) hypothesis. Gregory and Levy (2013) in this context have also stated that the theory of change is very important for the evaluation of the success for many different reasons. While developing a theory of change on the basis of a good theory, we could be better assured that the programmes that we are delivering are provided right and have right activities for the planned or desired result.  

The relevance of theories and techniques of coaching to the change that I would like to achieve: I feel that adherence to a particular pattern is important for providing the coaching in an efficient and effective manner. The best goal setting technique in the practise of coaching is that of the SMART goal setting technique. The term SMART stands for (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based). I have used this technique to bring in a very clear structure into the goals of coaching. Every goal comes with a well clear and verifiable elements rather than a vague resolutions (Passmore, Peterson & Freire, 2013). As I have already mentioned that I have set a goal of being healthier. In order to achieve it, I have decided to first control my body weight. This goal of mine is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time constant. Furthermore, I have achieved a very powerful growth by means of combining the strengths of my intuition and building in accountability of life coaching (Lee, 2013). I have also researched back the solutions of positive psychology. By raising my own awareness of my unconscious habits and learning to see or perceive my life from a more objective perspective, I chose how to wish to live my life. There are several exercises like that of the self-compassion letter that has allowed my in learning to silence my own inner critics as well as motivate myself without constraint criticism. Moreover, the theory of change has helped me in planning, making participation and planning the evaluation process that is used in the coaching practice. It shows how I expect the results to be over the short, medium and the long term as an outcome of my work. Moreover, through this, I have defined my goal of becoming healthier and then work out the steps needed to actually accomplish it, in an iterative, democratic manner.

Proposed coaching plan for becoming healthier

Hence, from the above discussion it is to conclude that maintaining a healthy body is not that easy and is also not that difficult if we have a proper coaching plan to attain that. Coaching is very important in terms of attaining a particular goal. Also, coaching is the best attribute which accumulate a person’s success. Undertaking goal setting theory, in terms of being healthier, is a planned and reasoned behaviour, in terms of losing weight. Here, I can bring the behavioural theories into the discussion. Along with this, cognitive learning theory finds an important place in the assignment, as it is related with the personal development. Application of SMART goal theory, theory of change and positive psychology has helped me to expose appropriate approach towards the goal of becoming healthy. Action plan of losing weight by reducing the calorie intake would be my prime action towards fulfilling the goal of attaining a healthy lifestyle. Time bound activities, towards weight loss would be effective for me in terms of achieving positive outcomes.

References:

Connor, M., & Pokora, J. (2007). How can I use the framework in coaching? In Coaching and mentoring at work: Developing effective practice (pp. 103–118). Maidenhead, England: Open University Press.

Doyle, J. P., Filo, K., Lock, D., Funk, D. C., & McDonald, H. (2016). Exploring PERMA in spectator sport: Applying positive psychology to examine the individual-level benefits of sport consumption. Sport Management Review, 19(5), 506-519.

Garvey, B., Garvey, R., Stokes, P., & Megginson, D. (2017). Coaching and mentoring: Theory and practice. Sage.

Grant, A. M., & Stober, D. R. (2006). Introduction. In D. R. Stober & A. M. Grant (Eds.), Evidence based coaching handbook: Putting best practices to work for your clients (pp. 1–14). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Greco, L., & Kraimer, M. (2018, July). Goal-Setting In The Career Management Process: An Identity Theory Perspective. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2018, No. 1, p. 15563). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.

Gregory, J. B., & Levy, P. E. (2013). Humanistic/person-centered approaches. In J. Passmore, D. Peterson, & T. Freire (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of the psychology of coaching and mentoring (pp. 285-297). Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons.

Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., & Guillaume, Y. R. (2016). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta?analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), 249-277.

Katsikis, D., Kostogiannis, C., & Dryden, W. (2016). A rational-emotive behavior approach in life coaching. Journal of Evidence-Based Psychotherapies, 16(1), 3.

Lee, R. J. (2013). The role of contracting in coaching: Balancing individual client and organizational issues. In J. Passmore, D. Peterson, & T. Freire (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of the psychology of coaching and mentoring. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons

Martin, A. J., & Elliot, A. J. (2016). The role of personal best (PB) goal setting in students’ academic achievement gains. Learning and Individual Differences, 45, 222-227.

Parsloe, E., & Leedham, M. (2016). Coaching and Mentoring: Practical techniques for developing learning and performance. Kogan Page Publishers.

Passmore, J., Peterson, D., & Freire, T. (2013). Passmore, J., Peterson, D., & Freire, T. (2013). Introduction: The psychology of coaching and mentoring. InThe Wiley-Blackwell handbook of the psychology of coaching and mentoring (pp. 1-12). Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons. 

Reynolds, R., Palmer, S., & Green, S. (2018). Positive psychology coaching for health and wellbeing. In Positive Psychology Coaching in Practice (pp. 143-162).

Senko, C., & Tropiano, K. L. (2016). Comparing three models of achievement goals: Goal orientations, goal standards, and goal complexes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(8), 1178.

Welsh, D. T., & Ordóñez, L. D. (2014). The dark side of consecutive high performance goals: Linking goal setting, depletion, and unethical behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 123(2), 79-89.

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