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Coaching approaches

Strengths-based coaching

Strengths-based coaching starts from what a person already does well and looks for ways to use it more often and more deliberately. It is associated with Donald Clifton's work on strengths in development, and it is linked to positive psychology through Christopher Peterson, Martin Seligman and Alex Linley. The peer-reviewed research is on strength-based interventions in general, not on coaching as a separate form.

What it is

A strengths-based conversation asks what you do well, when it shows up, and what happens when you use it too much. The coach treats strengths as the main resource for change and works on how to bring them to the problem in front of you. Problems are not ignored, but they are approached through what is already working.

The approach is used in work and personal development. Strengths are often identified through a short assessment or a conversation, and then used on purpose in a small, repeatable way. The aim is use in practice rather than knowledge of a list of strengths.

Where it comes from

The approach draws on Donald Clifton's work on strengths-based development. Hodges and Clifton described strengths-based development in practice in a 2004 chapter in Positive Psychology in Practice (Hodges & Clifton, 2004).

Research on strengths sits within positive psychology. Seligman and colleagues addressed the empirical validation of positive psychology interventions in 2005 (Seligman et al., 2005), and a later meta-analysis looked at signature character strengths interventions (Schutte & Malouff, 2018).

The principles underneath

Strengths are existing resources

A strength is something you already do well and that gives you energy when used. It is not treated as a gap to fill.

Use matters more than knowing

A strength helps when it is used on purpose and in a way that fits the situation, not only when it is named.

Overuse is a risk

A strength used too much, or in the wrong place, can become a problem. The coach looks at the balance.

Build from what already happens

The next step grows from something that already happens, rather than from a list of deficits.

How a session runs

  1. Start with a recent moment at work or in life when you felt at your best.
  2. Name the strengths that were in use in that moment, in your own words, and check whether they fit you.
  3. Look at where those strengths show up in a problem you face now, and where they might be overused or missing.
  4. Choose one way to use a strength differently this week.
  5. In the next session, review what you did, what it felt like and what it changed.

When it tends to fit

  • You want to build on something you already do well before you work on a weakness.
  • You keep focusing on what is missing in a role or relationship and want a different starting point.
  • You are not sure which of your strengths you are actually using, and you want to test that in practice.

What the research shows

Evidence: Some peer-reviewed studies

The peer-reviewed research is on strength-based interventions in general, not on coaching as a separate form. A 2018 meta-analysis examined the impact of signature character strengths interventions (Schutte & Malouff, 2018). A 2012 study is titled 'Strength-Based Positive Interventions: Further Evidence for Their Potential in Enhancing Well-Being and Alleviating Depression' (Gander et al., 2012). A 2005 review addressed the empirical validation of positive psychology interventions (Seligman et al., 2005). A 2004 chapter sets out strengths-based development in practice (Hodges & Clifton, 2004). This page reads these sources from their titles and does not report their full findings.

Where the evidence is thin: None of these sources isolates coaching, and their titles speak to potential and impact rather than to a proven benefit for the coaching form. The full findings of each study were not read for this page.

Sources

  1. Hodges, T. D., & Clifton, D. O. (2004). Strengths-based development in practice. In Positive Psychology in Practice.
  2. Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions. American Psychologist.
  3. Gander, F., Proyer, R. T., Ruch, W., & Wyss, T. (2012). Strength-Based Positive Interventions: Further Evidence for Their Potential in Enhancing Well-Being and Alleviating Depression. Journal of Happiness Studies.
  4. Schutte, N. S., & Malouff, J. M. (2018). The Impact of Signature Character Strengths Interventions: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Happiness Studies.

Where it stops

A strengths conversation can feel dismissive when you are in real pain. Trauma, depression or a relationship in danger need a qualified professional first.

The research here tests strength-based interventions in general. It does not isolate the coaching relationship, so it cannot show what coaching adds.

Strengths can be overused. If the approach is used to avoid a skill you need, or a weakness that matters for your safety or your work, say so and deal with it directly.

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