Features of a coach: perspectives from the coachee

Little critical, systematic, empirical research has been published on the effectiveness of coaching for either the individual or the organizations they work for despite the many articles written about coaching or how to coach (Joo, 2005; Leedham, 2005). "The literature on coaching has mushroomed over the past five years, reflecting the growth in coaching practice" (Passmore, 2010, p. 48). This emerging empirical literature offers an opportunity to begin to assess the many claims made for and about coaching. Much of the literature is based on coach perceptions or single cases of coachees (Passmore, 2010). This Coaching for Effectiveness survey was developed based on variables identified in a literature review and to test the extensive number of claims made by coaches. The survey was different from others previously conducted as it only gathered responses from a range of coaches. This study contributes to the literature and provides evidence for coaches, organizations paying for coaching and coachees seeking information on using coaching. Specifically, this paper focuses on what to look for in a coach as this was a gap identified in the literature as needing further attention