Gordon Spence

New Directions in Evidence-based Coaching: Investigations into the Impact of Mindfulness Training on Goal Attainment and Well-being Gordon Spence

Coaching seeks to optimise personal functioning and well-being by developing the best in people. Its widespread appeal has seen it grow rapidly over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, coaching practice has run well ahead of related theory and research, leaving the coaching industry without solid foundations and little support for the claims often made about its effectiveness. This book outlines a diverse body of work designed to further the development of evidence-based coaching. It commences by discussing important issues related to the professionalisation of the industry, before moving on to compare the impact of individual and peer-based coaching programmes. The second half of the book examines the role that awareness and attention play in self-regulation and tests the efficacy of a coaching framework that integrates mindfulness training and cognitive-behavioural, solution-focused coaching. The research presented in this book should interest both coaching practitioners and researchers, or any one else interested in using coaching methodologies to enhance personal and/or professional functioning.