Executive coaching has been the development trend sweeping the UK and US for the last 20 years, but now new research shows that the impact of coaching on performance is even greater than training or 360 degree feedback.

These are the key findings of a study presented this week at the British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology Annual Conference in Brighton.

Rebecca J. Jones of Aston Business School in Birmingham examined 24 different studies of work place coaching. When compared to other types of more popular workplace development tools: coaching had a greater impact on performance.

Work based or executive coaching adapts many principles of sports coaching and work psychology to help individuals improve their performance at work. Findings reveal that coaching can produce positive effects on outcomes including positive attitudes such as motivation, improved work behaviours such as time management and bottom-line performance. 

Rebecca Jones said: “These findings are really important for people and organisations as coaching has previously lacked the evidence to back up what people who have had coaching tell us – it really works! Perhaps most interestingly though is the fact that when we compare our findings to other studies that examined more common methods such as training and 360 degree feedback, coaching actually has a greater impact on performance”.