The warmness seed : long-term fruits of coaching

This study addresses three coach behaviours’ effects (warmness behaviour (WB); stimulating action (SA) and planning and structuring activities (PSA)) in two dimensions of coaching outcomes (coachee’s performance (CP) and the quality of the coach–coachee relationship (QCCR)). The paper argues that coaching is a helpful tool to achieve greater performances in the long run when considering coaches who present higher levels of maturity. Results reveal the positive impact of SA and PSA over CP and QCCR. The adoption of WB has a negative impact on CP and a positive impact on the QCCR. Evidence also supports the relevancy of coaching experience over coaching training. Such results pose a paradox worth exploring in subsequent studies, for it challenges the usefulness of coaches’ training. Contributions are related to introducing the concept of WB within the organisational context and addressing two different time horizons regarding the coach behaviour.