1. Professional identity and coaching
Validating a global survey
David Gray, University of Greenwich Mark Saunders, University of Surrey
Barry Curnow, University of Greenwich Cath Farrant, University of Greenwich

2. Structure of the session
Presentation – what is professional identity?
Presentation – results of the professional identity survey
Group discussions: does coaching have a professional identity?
Plenary session

3. What is identity?
Identity is about who we are, who we are not and the features that differentiate us as individuals.
Identities are multiple and socially constructed
Identity offers a person, guidelines for decision-making – certain routes seem reasonable while others are less so

4. Forging identity
To have a sense of who we are, we have to have a notion of how we got here and where we are going. This can be both robust and fragile – fragile because the biography that the individual holds in the mind (‘I am a business coach’; ‘I am a life coach’; ‘I am a change agent’; ‘I am a healer’) is just one ‘story’ among the many reflexive stories that could be told about the unfolding self.

5. Identity – complex and fluid
In routinized situations self-identity is relatively unchanging and stable. However, in conditions of late modernity identities are relatively open, improvised and scripted rather than given or closed (Alvesson and Willmott, 2002), are fluid and complex (Parker, 2007) and must be constructed and secured (Alvesson, 2000).

6. Variation in self-categorization as a function of depersonalization
Personal identity salient
Social/organizational identity salient
COACHING?
De-personalization
Self = self defined in terms of personal identity SELF = self defined in terms of social/organizational identity
The amount of mutual influence is indicated by the thickness of the arrows

7. The Study: research questions
Is coaching a distinct occupation, or a task, performed within a portfolio of HR or other roles?
To what extent do coaches identify with coaching as a profession? What variables (such as experience as a coach, membership of one or more coaching associations, coaching accreditation, being an internal or external coach) determine this identification?
How is a new professional identity (or multiple identities) created and maintained amongst coaches?
The Study: research questions

8. The Study: research design
Literature search
Survey N = 911
Interviews N = 30
Analysis
Validation
Focus groups
INSTRUMENT DESIGN
DATA COLLECTION
DATA ANALYSIS
DATA VALIDATION

9. The Study: survey responses
Coaching Associations
AoC
421
EMCC
192
ICF (UK)
111
ICF (Global)
100
IoC 25
Guildford coaches 21
Yorkshire coaches 5
CIPD 3
Researchers’ contacts 41
TOTAL
917
Responses by country (selected)
Australia 17
France 10
Germany 13
Ireland 38
Italy 2
Netherlands 20
Turkey 18 UK
471
USA 56

10. Findings

11. Findings 65% consider that there is a moderate to complete overlap between the coaching profession and their sense of self There is a significant difference in the number of days spent working as a coach each week and the nature of the work as a coach (F (3, 770)=27.014, p<.000) - External coaches spend the most time Those who identify more strongly with coaching as a profession/occupation are more likely to have a coaching qualification (t=3.81, df=761, p<.000). - Other variables such as age, gender, and whether the coach worked as an internal or external coach, were not significant. There is a significant but weak correlation between number of years working as a coach and identification with coaching.

12. Findings JOURNEY/HINGE POINTS IDENTITY Consultant Trainer Coach
Corporate world
Findings
Trauma
Being coached
Consultant
Trainer
Coach
Previous identities
Spiritual journey
JOURNEY/HINGE POINTS
IDENTITY

13. Questions for discussion
What do you call yourself?
What brought you to coaching?
What elements of your personal or professional past do you bring into your coaching?
To what extent is coaching part of your own personal journey?