Elaine Cox | Oxford Brookes University (original) (raw)
Papers by Elaine Cox
International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Aug 1, 2003
This paper examines the impact of context on the development of coaching and mentoring practice. ... more This paper examines the impact of context on the development of coaching and mentoring practice. Qualitative research was undertaken with mentors working in the voluntary sector in the United Kingdom and this is combined with the author's own reflections on coaching practice, in order to examine the role that contextual knowledge and understanding plays in the development of standards for coaching and mentoring practice. Theories of knowing, socially constructed learning and the action-oriented nature of knowledge are explored in order to explain the potential for accessing and developing coaching and mentoring 'know how' through practice, and to support the argument for a 'post-technocratic' model of professional development.
The Coaching Relationship
Two of the main reasons why coaches desire a good ending to their work are to provide customer sa... more Two of the main reasons why coaches desire a good ending to their work are to provide customer satisfaction and gain repeat business. Marketing research has shown that endings occur when customers 'dissociate themselves from the object of their dissatisfaction'(Hirschman, 1970: 29) resulting in a switching of brand, reduction in consumption or the refusal to buy. To coaches, as professionals offering a service, a happy ending to the relationship is therefore paramount in order to satisfy and retain clients. Hodgetts (2002: ...
International journal of evidence based coaching and mentoring, 2005
Mel Leedham’s paper, entitled ‘The Coaching Scorecard’, presents a mixed-methods study that helps... more Mel Leedham’s paper, entitled ‘The Coaching Scorecard’, presents a mixed-methods study that helps shed light on the issue of evaluation. The study includes a small case study carried out with purchasers of coaching within a large UK corporation and the results are then compared with a much larger number of questionnaire responses from coaching clients from a range of organisations. The advantages of a mixed-methods approach are evident in the study, providing a greater level of reliability than evidence from a case study alone. Peter Jackson’s paper provides a very nice example of the use of coding to interrogate interview data and attempts to provide an answer to how we might describe coaching. After explaining the deficiencies of current coaching definitions, Jackson presents a full account of the iterative coding and analysis process that he carried out during his research in order to arrive at a typology of coaching that could eventually be used to inform future research and eva...
International journal of evidence based coaching and mentoring, 2009
International journal of evidence based coaching and mentoring, 2005
This paper explores the use of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a way of developing the openness... more This paper explores the use of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a way of developing the openness needed for successful communication in e-mentoring relationships. Using a case study approach research was undertaken with students participating in an online mentoring module that forms part of a Masters degree at a British university. The module involves students in ‘meeting’ and working online, via e-mail, with a mentor whom they have never met face-to-face. From the research collected to date it is possible to conclude that there is evidence to suggest that the use of NVC, with its focus on feelings and needs, encourages trusting personal relationships characterised by openness. The NVC process appeared to obviate many of the communication issues, such as silence and the affects of a limited sensory environment, that have seen to be restrictive in the development of online relationships.
Project Management Journal
Coaching can play an important part in meeting the challenges of project management (Berg & Karls... more Coaching can play an important part in meeting the challenges of project management (Berg & Karlsen, 2007). However, there remains a lack of research into project managers’ perceptions of coaching and the opportunities for using it. This grounded theory study explores the awareness and application of coaching in project management contexts. Analyses of interviews with 14 project managers have indicated that the provision of coaching opportunities is patchy. Findings confirm that organizational culture is important, that where project managers are involved with coaching this can lead to them becoming advocates, and emphasize the need for organizational intervention to maximize the benefits of coaching in this context.
Management Learning
In this conceptual article, we argue the importance to the coaching profession of a critical unde... more In this conceptual article, we argue the importance to the coaching profession of a critical understanding of coaching as a social process in order to promote coaching as an enabler for change and facilitate its use in other cultures and challenging contexts. We start with a critical analysis of the origin of coaching, arguing that neoliberal values have been embedded in the discourse of coaching. We also discuss the impact of coaching as an instrumental and ideological device, sometimes used in organisations as a process of control, and suggest that understanding coaching as a social process has the potential to transform it into an enabler for change. We propose a framework for understanding how different philosophical positions affect the way coaches may respond to the challenges of intercultural or oppressive social contexts. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for coaching research and development.
Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 2016
This paper explores how the use of a specific mentoring model focusing on the evolution of the re... more This paper explores how the use of a specific mentoring model focusing on the evolution of the relationship between mentor and mentee, may influence the incidence of failure. The research employed a case study methodology to examine a regional public services mentoring scheme in the UK where a developmental relationship mentoring model had been developed and used to guide practice. Findings indicated toxicity and negative outcomes may be positively influenced by mentor motivation and emotional intelligence, and can be avoided when there is awareness of how relationships develop and evolve. For example the use of contracting in the early stages can limit the mismatched expectations that provoke disappointment, but equally other stages play key roles in reducing potential failure. The study has implications for the enhancement of mentor training and scheme coordination as well as contributing to the understanding of negative mentoring relationships.
a variety of professions and often from multidisciplinary backgrounds. They constantly bring new ... more a variety of professions and often from multidisciplinary backgrounds. They constantly bring new dimensions to the field via the adaptation of concepts, ideas and practical tools developed in their 'home' traditions. It is possible to meet coaches whose philosophies and practices of coaching would have very little in common, although their aims and purposes may be similar. In this book, we recognize that coaching is an applied field of practice that has intellectual roots in a range of disciplines: social psychology; learning theory; theories of human and organizational development; and existential and phenomenological philosophy, to name just a few. This diversity creates exciting opportunities for meaningful interaction and mutual
Human Resource Management International Digest, 2013
Biology can help us to step 'beyond duality'. People generally blame Descartes for the trouble he... more Biology can help us to step 'beyond duality'. People generally blame Descartes for the trouble he caused with duality by separating res cogitans, mental activity, from res extensa, physical matter. No doubt this worked for him, but it has left us with a mind-body split that persists to this day. Focusers may feel that by aligning mind with body we have resolved the split, yet by imagining that the body where we feel things is the source of knowing and wisdom, we risk creating new dualities of body and brain, and of feeling and thinking. Understanding the biology of the embodied brain can help to keep us whole. Gendlin poses the question "what is a person such that focusing is possible?" and answers it with philosophy. I want to address this question with science, not to supplant the philosophy but to add to it-despite Gendlin's tendency to dismiss science as redundant 'unit model' thinking. Neurobiology is an emerging science, and cross-referencing it with subjective experience can be both stimulating and illuminating. And it leads to a fascinating conclusion: Focusing may address the main 'design problem' with the human brain. Focusing happens in the brain! Well, most of it does. While we feel felt senses and felt shifts in our bodies, the noticing, attending, sensing what feels 'right', the coming of words and images, the interaction of thoughts and feelings and so forth-all these things happen in the brain. And what is interesting is how the brain works differently when body and feeling are included in the ambit of consciousness.
Goal-focused Coaching, 2012
This book offers a comprehensive, practical guide to goal-focused coaching. Addressing a signific... more This book offers a comprehensive, practical guide to goal-focused coaching. Addressing a significant gap in the literature, Ives and Cox contextualize goal-focused coaching within the broader coaching framework and explain the efficacy of this approach across a number of contexts and applications. The book draws on behavioral science, rather than humanistic psychology, to provide a well-researched, evidence-based guide that includes: A detailed examination of the theoretical underpinnings of this approach A discussion of the skills, ...
Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 2005
Attempts to emulate the serendipity and subsequent rapport that occurs between mentors and mentee... more Attempts to emulate the serendipity and subsequent rapport that occurs between mentors and mentees in informal mentoring relationships frequently challenges the organizers of many formal mentoring schemes. Using qualitative evidence from a community mentoring project, research is presented that suggests that, through careful mentor selection and appropriate training, the matching of mentors and mentees, except perhaps by geographical location and time availability, is unnecessary. Often, as is shown here, it is not until some ...
Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 2012
This paper explores organizational and peer dynamics that impact the potential for productive, tr... more This paper explores organizational and peer dynamics that impact the potential for productive, trusting peer relationships. An in-depth phenomenological study of five peer coaching dyads was undertaken to examine the establishment and maintenance of peer coaching. Joint interviews were used to promote co-construction of responses. Findings suggested that formation of trust is impacted by values-based attachment, confidentiality, and the capacity of peers to make themselves vulnerable. Individual bonds are important ...
Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 2007
Purpose–The aim of this study is to investigate personal theories of emotion that coaches have an... more Purpose–The aim of this study is to investigate personal theories of emotion that coaches have and how these theories are translated into strategies of working with clients' emotions. Design/methodology/approach–The approach to the study is phenomenological. A questionnaire method based on specifically designed stem sentences was used in order to engender spontaneous responses from the 39 participants. Analysis of data was conducted through coordinated interpretation of categories and themes by the three different ...
International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 2001
In order to determine the allocation of money for projects in continuing and vocational education... more In order to determine the allocation of money for projects in continuing and vocational education, government agencies in the UK are providing more and more opportunities to bid for targeted funding. This article provides an overview of recent changes in funding policy in higher education and examines how such changes have impacted on continuing education deparatments in higher education, pointing
International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 2014
Traditionally there has been a tension between evaluation research and so-called pure research wh... more Traditionally there has been a tension between evaluation research and so-called pure research which has resulted in evaluation research seldom being recognized by the UK Research Assessment Exercises. The newly configured Research Excellence Framework (REF) will use similar criteria to judge research, notwithstanding the introduction of ‘impact’ to the assessment criteria. However, there are increasing numbers of academics employed in Higher Education who focus on evaluation studies as part of their work. This work, whilst providing the institution with valuable funding, draws them away from pure research and unless they can find ways to establish their credibility in terms of research publications, their careers may be affected. Drawing on the researchers' own experience of evaluation research, together with focus group data, this article is concerned with ways in which evaluation can be developed to become research that will be recognized by the academic community for REF purposes. The article explores the similarities between research and evaluation in relation to purpose, knowledge production, politics, objectivity, generalizability and confidentiality, and presents a number of recommendations to help academics use evaluation findings as research.
Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2010
This comprehensive guide to coaching explores a full variety of coaching theories, approaches, an... more This comprehensive guide to coaching explores a full variety of coaching theories, approaches, and settings, and offers strategies for the reader to identify and develop a personal style of coaching. Written by leading international authors, each chapter makes explicit links between theory and practice and generic questions will facilitate further reflection on the topic. There are also suggestions for reading and short case studies. This is the first book to explore the differences between the theoretical perspectives of coaching ...
International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Aug 1, 2003
This paper examines the impact of context on the development of coaching and mentoring practice. ... more This paper examines the impact of context on the development of coaching and mentoring practice. Qualitative research was undertaken with mentors working in the voluntary sector in the United Kingdom and this is combined with the author's own reflections on coaching practice, in order to examine the role that contextual knowledge and understanding plays in the development of standards for coaching and mentoring practice. Theories of knowing, socially constructed learning and the action-oriented nature of knowledge are explored in order to explain the potential for accessing and developing coaching and mentoring 'know how' through practice, and to support the argument for a 'post-technocratic' model of professional development.
The Coaching Relationship
Two of the main reasons why coaches desire a good ending to their work are to provide customer sa... more Two of the main reasons why coaches desire a good ending to their work are to provide customer satisfaction and gain repeat business. Marketing research has shown that endings occur when customers 'dissociate themselves from the object of their dissatisfaction'(Hirschman, 1970: 29) resulting in a switching of brand, reduction in consumption or the refusal to buy. To coaches, as professionals offering a service, a happy ending to the relationship is therefore paramount in order to satisfy and retain clients. Hodgetts (2002: ...
International journal of evidence based coaching and mentoring, 2005
Mel Leedham’s paper, entitled ‘The Coaching Scorecard’, presents a mixed-methods study that helps... more Mel Leedham’s paper, entitled ‘The Coaching Scorecard’, presents a mixed-methods study that helps shed light on the issue of evaluation. The study includes a small case study carried out with purchasers of coaching within a large UK corporation and the results are then compared with a much larger number of questionnaire responses from coaching clients from a range of organisations. The advantages of a mixed-methods approach are evident in the study, providing a greater level of reliability than evidence from a case study alone. Peter Jackson’s paper provides a very nice example of the use of coding to interrogate interview data and attempts to provide an answer to how we might describe coaching. After explaining the deficiencies of current coaching definitions, Jackson presents a full account of the iterative coding and analysis process that he carried out during his research in order to arrive at a typology of coaching that could eventually be used to inform future research and eva...
International journal of evidence based coaching and mentoring, 2009
International journal of evidence based coaching and mentoring, 2005
This paper explores the use of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a way of developing the openness... more This paper explores the use of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a way of developing the openness needed for successful communication in e-mentoring relationships. Using a case study approach research was undertaken with students participating in an online mentoring module that forms part of a Masters degree at a British university. The module involves students in ‘meeting’ and working online, via e-mail, with a mentor whom they have never met face-to-face. From the research collected to date it is possible to conclude that there is evidence to suggest that the use of NVC, with its focus on feelings and needs, encourages trusting personal relationships characterised by openness. The NVC process appeared to obviate many of the communication issues, such as silence and the affects of a limited sensory environment, that have seen to be restrictive in the development of online relationships.
Project Management Journal
Coaching can play an important part in meeting the challenges of project management (Berg & Karls... more Coaching can play an important part in meeting the challenges of project management (Berg & Karlsen, 2007). However, there remains a lack of research into project managers’ perceptions of coaching and the opportunities for using it. This grounded theory study explores the awareness and application of coaching in project management contexts. Analyses of interviews with 14 project managers have indicated that the provision of coaching opportunities is patchy. Findings confirm that organizational culture is important, that where project managers are involved with coaching this can lead to them becoming advocates, and emphasize the need for organizational intervention to maximize the benefits of coaching in this context.
Management Learning
In this conceptual article, we argue the importance to the coaching profession of a critical unde... more In this conceptual article, we argue the importance to the coaching profession of a critical understanding of coaching as a social process in order to promote coaching as an enabler for change and facilitate its use in other cultures and challenging contexts. We start with a critical analysis of the origin of coaching, arguing that neoliberal values have been embedded in the discourse of coaching. We also discuss the impact of coaching as an instrumental and ideological device, sometimes used in organisations as a process of control, and suggest that understanding coaching as a social process has the potential to transform it into an enabler for change. We propose a framework for understanding how different philosophical positions affect the way coaches may respond to the challenges of intercultural or oppressive social contexts. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for coaching research and development.
Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 2016
This paper explores how the use of a specific mentoring model focusing on the evolution of the re... more This paper explores how the use of a specific mentoring model focusing on the evolution of the relationship between mentor and mentee, may influence the incidence of failure. The research employed a case study methodology to examine a regional public services mentoring scheme in the UK where a developmental relationship mentoring model had been developed and used to guide practice. Findings indicated toxicity and negative outcomes may be positively influenced by mentor motivation and emotional intelligence, and can be avoided when there is awareness of how relationships develop and evolve. For example the use of contracting in the early stages can limit the mismatched expectations that provoke disappointment, but equally other stages play key roles in reducing potential failure. The study has implications for the enhancement of mentor training and scheme coordination as well as contributing to the understanding of negative mentoring relationships.
a variety of professions and often from multidisciplinary backgrounds. They constantly bring new ... more a variety of professions and often from multidisciplinary backgrounds. They constantly bring new dimensions to the field via the adaptation of concepts, ideas and practical tools developed in their 'home' traditions. It is possible to meet coaches whose philosophies and practices of coaching would have very little in common, although their aims and purposes may be similar. In this book, we recognize that coaching is an applied field of practice that has intellectual roots in a range of disciplines: social psychology; learning theory; theories of human and organizational development; and existential and phenomenological philosophy, to name just a few. This diversity creates exciting opportunities for meaningful interaction and mutual
Human Resource Management International Digest, 2013
Biology can help us to step 'beyond duality'. People generally blame Descartes for the trouble he... more Biology can help us to step 'beyond duality'. People generally blame Descartes for the trouble he caused with duality by separating res cogitans, mental activity, from res extensa, physical matter. No doubt this worked for him, but it has left us with a mind-body split that persists to this day. Focusers may feel that by aligning mind with body we have resolved the split, yet by imagining that the body where we feel things is the source of knowing and wisdom, we risk creating new dualities of body and brain, and of feeling and thinking. Understanding the biology of the embodied brain can help to keep us whole. Gendlin poses the question "what is a person such that focusing is possible?" and answers it with philosophy. I want to address this question with science, not to supplant the philosophy but to add to it-despite Gendlin's tendency to dismiss science as redundant 'unit model' thinking. Neurobiology is an emerging science, and cross-referencing it with subjective experience can be both stimulating and illuminating. And it leads to a fascinating conclusion: Focusing may address the main 'design problem' with the human brain. Focusing happens in the brain! Well, most of it does. While we feel felt senses and felt shifts in our bodies, the noticing, attending, sensing what feels 'right', the coming of words and images, the interaction of thoughts and feelings and so forth-all these things happen in the brain. And what is interesting is how the brain works differently when body and feeling are included in the ambit of consciousness.
Goal-focused Coaching, 2012
This book offers a comprehensive, practical guide to goal-focused coaching. Addressing a signific... more This book offers a comprehensive, practical guide to goal-focused coaching. Addressing a significant gap in the literature, Ives and Cox contextualize goal-focused coaching within the broader coaching framework and explain the efficacy of this approach across a number of contexts and applications. The book draws on behavioral science, rather than humanistic psychology, to provide a well-researched, evidence-based guide that includes: A detailed examination of the theoretical underpinnings of this approach A discussion of the skills, ...
Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 2005
Attempts to emulate the serendipity and subsequent rapport that occurs between mentors and mentee... more Attempts to emulate the serendipity and subsequent rapport that occurs between mentors and mentees in informal mentoring relationships frequently challenges the organizers of many formal mentoring schemes. Using qualitative evidence from a community mentoring project, research is presented that suggests that, through careful mentor selection and appropriate training, the matching of mentors and mentees, except perhaps by geographical location and time availability, is unnecessary. Often, as is shown here, it is not until some ...
Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 2012
This paper explores organizational and peer dynamics that impact the potential for productive, tr... more This paper explores organizational and peer dynamics that impact the potential for productive, trusting peer relationships. An in-depth phenomenological study of five peer coaching dyads was undertaken to examine the establishment and maintenance of peer coaching. Joint interviews were used to promote co-construction of responses. Findings suggested that formation of trust is impacted by values-based attachment, confidentiality, and the capacity of peers to make themselves vulnerable. Individual bonds are important ...
Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 2007
Purpose–The aim of this study is to investigate personal theories of emotion that coaches have an... more Purpose–The aim of this study is to investigate personal theories of emotion that coaches have and how these theories are translated into strategies of working with clients' emotions. Design/methodology/approach–The approach to the study is phenomenological. A questionnaire method based on specifically designed stem sentences was used in order to engender spontaneous responses from the 39 participants. Analysis of data was conducted through coordinated interpretation of categories and themes by the three different ...
International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 2001
In order to determine the allocation of money for projects in continuing and vocational education... more In order to determine the allocation of money for projects in continuing and vocational education, government agencies in the UK are providing more and more opportunities to bid for targeted funding. This article provides an overview of recent changes in funding policy in higher education and examines how such changes have impacted on continuing education deparatments in higher education, pointing
International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 2014
Traditionally there has been a tension between evaluation research and so-called pure research wh... more Traditionally there has been a tension between evaluation research and so-called pure research which has resulted in evaluation research seldom being recognized by the UK Research Assessment Exercises. The newly configured Research Excellence Framework (REF) will use similar criteria to judge research, notwithstanding the introduction of ‘impact’ to the assessment criteria. However, there are increasing numbers of academics employed in Higher Education who focus on evaluation studies as part of their work. This work, whilst providing the institution with valuable funding, draws them away from pure research and unless they can find ways to establish their credibility in terms of research publications, their careers may be affected. Drawing on the researchers' own experience of evaluation research, together with focus group data, this article is concerned with ways in which evaluation can be developed to become research that will be recognized by the academic community for REF purposes. The article explores the similarities between research and evaluation in relation to purpose, knowledge production, politics, objectivity, generalizability and confidentiality, and presents a number of recommendations to help academics use evaluation findings as research.
Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2010
This comprehensive guide to coaching explores a full variety of coaching theories, approaches, an... more This comprehensive guide to coaching explores a full variety of coaching theories, approaches, and settings, and offers strategies for the reader to identify and develop a personal style of coaching. Written by leading international authors, each chapter makes explicit links between theory and practice and generic questions will facilitate further reflection on the topic. There are also suggestions for reading and short case studies. This is the first book to explore the differences between the theoretical perspectives of coaching ...