Conference roundup: European Mentoring and Coaching research conference, Sheffield Hallam university, 3-4 july, 2012
Are we obsessed with performance when it comes to researching coaching? This was one of the questions explored at the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC)’s second Research conference on 3-4 July.
Delegates from all over the world gathered at Sheffield Hallam University to hear some of the latest research. They met at a pre-conference event to discuss what should be on the coaching research agenda. “Should we be focused on performance or should we pay more attention to learning and development?” asked David Megginson, co-founder of the EMCC.
One conclusion was that money makes the coaching research world go round. “Practitioners are interested in money because that’s their living, and academics recognise its importance in choosing the agenda. Its power is something we don’t often recognise and talk about,” said Megginson.
Other issues highlighted included whether it is appropriate to do research among our own clients; whether we should focus on the present or the future, and whether we should focus on ROI or relationship.
“We often research our own practices – is that appropriate? How does it play out on impartiality? Also important was the range of stakeholders,” said Megginson.
David Clutterbuck led a discussion on “What do we know?”, “What do we think we know?” and “What do we not know?”
Delegate responses to: “What do we know?” included: “Not much”, “There are outcome effects but they’re small”, “There are positive links to behaviour” and “Coaching and mentoring is associated with learning.”
In answer to: “What do we think we know?”, they said: “It works!”, “The relationship is key” and “Those who need it don’t get it.”
Finally to: “What do we not know?”, they concluded: “What makes the difference?”, “The multiplicity of context issues”, “The definition/distinction between coaching and mentoring”, “Transferability of sport to business”, “Whether research makes any difference to practitioners”, “What makes the difference to the person being coached”, “What is our motivation to find out?” and “Are we trying to justify our existence?”
Clutterbuck added: “There’s not much on what doesn’t work.”
Coaching at Work, Volume7, Issue 5