What is the value of peer coaching beyond the field of coaching?

This article is a reprint of a Coaching Research in Practice (August, 2018). All ReciproCoaches receive complimentary limited-time access to each new issue (10 per year). For unlimited access to more than 10 years of Coaching Research in Practice archives, purchase a membership or a subscription.

Most coaches, and especially ReciproCoaches, are very familiar with the benefits of peer coaching. In fact, with the ever-increasing complexity of contemporary workplaces, and thus the growing need for continuous learning, peer coaching is proving to be an effective form of workplace learning.

This issue of Coaching Research in Practice reviews a recent study of the implementation of a peer coaching program in a public employment service organization. It explains the process of peer coaching adopted, identifies increases in the frequency of certain activities in the workplace, as well as one very surprising decrease.

COACHING RESEARCH

In their recent study of “Empowering Public Employment Service Practitioners’ peer facilitation with peer coaching training,” Wolf, Schaefer, Ćurković, Vlahović, Rees and Tschank (2018) examined the effects of a “collaborative peer coaching learning experience on the involved individuals with regard to the participants’ identity development, as well as identifying their motivation and confidence to apply the new practice in their daily work context” (p. 98).

Peer coaching skills, methods and processes were identified as one of the ways of developing the four domains of identity (p. 96), namely:

relational development (learning through interaction with others);
technical skill development (learning new knowledge and skills);
practical development (learning on the job); and
emotional development (learning through reflection that enhances self-understanding and empathy).

In this study, peer coaching was defined as a special type of group coaching in which members of a group of equally ranked colleagues took turns to coach the group. The peer coaching process involved a ‘client’ who brought a work challenge to the table, a ‘peer coaching facilitator’ who facilitated the group process and asked the client questions and ‘advisors’, the other group members who shared their experiences and opinions in the peer coaching process. All members of the group were trained in the following peer coaching process (p. 97):

start, problem selection
problem and situation
vision, resource
collecting further resources
setting goals
solution and next steps
feedback

Group members also learned and applied the practical core skills of “active listening, emotional awareness, powerful questioning and growth mind-set awareness” (p. 97). Importantly, the program gave them an opportunity to apply their newly acquired learning.
Prior to and on completion of the training, 63 participants completed a self-assessment questionnaire. “The questions provided respondents with the opportunity to assess the frequency at which they get involved in activities related to these four categories [of identity development], as well as the perceived importance of these activities at two time points: prior to the involvement in the peer coaching training (pre-test) and at the end of the training (post-test)” (p. 100).

The study highlighted “an increase in the frequency of the participants getting involved in activities supporting professional identity transformation from the pre-test to the post-test” (p. 101). In particular, the item related to the activity “’I directly ask my colleagues for feedback to my work’ experienced the highest change overall” (p. 102), with the most significant increase from pre-test to post-test.
In addition, a medium-sized improvement was observed from pre-test to post-test in the following activities (pp. 102-103):

“I actively seek opportunities to improve my work practices.”
“I discuss with my colleagues possible solutions to work-related challenges.”
“I learn from thinking about past activities.”
“I adopt changes to work practices when need arises.”

Finally, a small increase was observed in the following activities (p. 103):

“I actively deal with my feelings in work situations.”
“I help colleagues in times of difficulties by asking them questions that support them in finding their own solution.”

Very surprisingly, there was one activity, as self-reported, that decreased in frequency between pre-test and post-test (p. 103):

“I actively listen to colleagues and clients.”

The questionnaire also explored which parts of the course participants thought were most relevant (p. 104). These included:

the knowledge of powerful questioning
the notion of helping others to reach a solution without offering one
staying constructive and positive
the concept of peer coaching
the structure and different steps it takes to lead others into finding solutions
the practical guidelines on how to implement this theoretical knowledge in practice
active listening
the concept of emotional awareness and growth mindset awareness
the understanding of how important collaboration with others could be

IN PRACTICE

Not only does this study provide an insight into one form of peer coaching that may be applied in the workplace, but it also provides some highly valuable data on the kind of activities that can be expected to increase (and perhaps decrease!) as a result of a peer coaching program. Such evidence is useful in selling peer coaching training programs.

Furthermore, aside from the obvious application of introducing a peer coaching program like this in a workplace, given the clear benefits of training and practice in peer coaching, it may be worth considering where else you might consider introducing a peer coaching program, such as in the equally challenging domain of parenting or in fact any area in which groups face similar challenges towards a common goal.

Finally, the findings of this study, which highlight the clear benefits of peer coaching, also suggest the value in monitoring the impact of any peer coaching you engage in. As professional coaches, the activities and behaviours are likely to be different to those described in this paper, which involved non-coaches with the specific focus of four domains of identity development. Nevertheless, it’s worth considering whether there are any particular activities or behaviours that increase or decrease in their frequency during the times when you are peer coaching.

Reference:

Wolf, C., Schaefer, T., Ćurković, K., Vlahović, T., Rees, A., & Tschank, J. (2018). Empowering Public Employment Service Practitioners’ peer facilitation with peer coaching training. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 16, (1), 95-109. doi: 10.24384/000471

Translating coaching research into coaching practice,

Kerryn Griffiths (PhD – The Process of Learning in Coaching)
Global ReciproCoach Coordinator

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