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Coaching approaches

Mindfulness-based coaching

Mindfulness-based coaching brings mindfulness practice, such as meditation and attention training, into goal-focused coaching. It aims to help you notice what is happening and choose how to respond, rather than acting on autopilot. Mindfulness-based therapies have a large research base. One randomised trial of mindfulness training for coaching reported increases in mindfulness and in goal attainment, though its design was small.

What it is

Mindfulness-based coaching uses mindfulness practice inside coaching. The forms of practice vary; Spence and Cavanagh (2019) compared three of them, meditation, attention training and a creativity-based approach, against a control group. The shared aim is to notice thoughts, feelings and body sensations as they happen, so that goals are pursued with more choice.

The approach draws on mindfulness-based therapies, which were developed for stress and for relapse prevention in depression, and adapts their practices to goals and work. Coaching texts by Passmore and Marianetti (2007) and Chaskalson (2011) describe how this has been done.

Where it comes from

Jon Kabat-Zinn adapted meditation for clinical use, and Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale developed a programme for preventing depression relapse. Those therapies are the source of many of the practices used in coaching.

Michael Chaskalson wrote The Mindful Workplace (2011), and Jonathan Passmore and Oberdan Marianetti wrote on the role of mindfulness in coaching (2007). Those coaching texts are the main route by which the practice reached coaches.

The principles underneath

Notice before you react

Attention that notices a thought or feeling as it arises creates a small gap before the next action.

Attention can be trained

Attention can be practised and strengthened, which is the assumption behind the attention-training form compared in the Spence and Cavanagh trial.

Curiosity over judgement

Experiences, including unwelcome ones, are approached with curiosity rather than immediate judgement.

How a session runs

  1. Begin by saying what goal or pressure you want to work on, and what you hope mindfulness might change.
  2. Try a short practice in the session, such as a breathing or body-awareness exercise, and notice what comes up.
  3. Reflect on what you noticed without deciding yet whether it is good or bad.
  4. Link what you noticed to the goal, and look at which response you want to choose the next time the pattern shows up.
  5. Agree a short daily practice and a specific moment in your week to use it, then review it at the next session.

When it tends to fit

  • You keep reacting on autopilot in a situation that matters, and you want to notice the moment before you react.
  • You feel pulled in several directions and find it hard to tell what you actually want.
  • You already meditate or do breathing practice and want to use it in pursuing a goal, not only to feel calmer.

What the research shows

Evidence: Randomized trials or meta-analyses

For the parent therapy, meta-analyses of mindfulness-based therapy exist: a comprehensive meta-analysis (Khoury et al., 2013) and a systematic review and meta-analysis of mindfulness-based interventions for psychiatric disorders (Goldberg et al., 2018). This page does not restate their effect sizes. For the coaching form, a randomised controlled trial with 72 participants compared three forms of mindfulness training with a control group over six weeks. All three forms increased self-reported mindfulness, and all produced pre-to-post increases in goal attainment, although goal progress was not a feature of any of the programmes (Spence and Cavanagh, 2019).

Where the evidence is thin: Coaching-specific trials are few and small. The goal-attainment finding came from programmes in which goal progress was not part of the training, so the trial does not show how the practice moves goals forward. The therapy meta-analyses concern clinical populations, not coaching clients.

Sources

  1. Khoury, B., Lecomte, T., Fortin, G., Masse, M., et al. (2013). Mindfulness-based therapy: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review.
  2. Goldberg, S. B., Tucker, R. P., Greene, P. A., Davidson, R. J., et al. (2018). Mindfulness-based interventions for psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review.
  3. Spence, G. B., & Cavanagh, M. J. (2019). The impact of three forms of mindfulness training on mindfulness, wellbeing and goal attainment: Findings from a randomised controlled trial and implications for coaching. International Coaching Psychology Review.
  4. Passmore, J., & Marianetti, O. (2007). The role of mindfulness in coaching. In The Coaching Psychologist.
  5. Chaskalson, M. (2011). The Mindful Workplace. Wiley.

Where it stops

Mindfulness practice can bring difficult material to the surface. If you have a trauma history, active depression, or a condition that practice has made worse, a qualified clinician should be involved before you add formal practice.

Mindfulness is one part of coaching, not a replacement for a clinician when a problem is clinical. If the practice seems to be making things worse, stop and seek advice from a qualified professional.

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