An exploration of the role of coach training in developing self-awareness: a mixed methods study

It is proposed that it is critical that coaches are highly self-aware to be effective at facilitating the development of self-awareness in their clients. Accordingly, self-awareness is included in the competency frameworks of the coaching professional bodies, yet there is a lack of evidence supporting how coaches develop self-awareness. This is problematic as it brings into question the design and development of coach training programmes, which is likely to hinder the professionalization of coaching. Therefore, we set out to provide evidence as to whether coach training develops self-awareness, and if so, what aspects of the training facilitate this development. A mixed-methods design was utilized with two separate studies. Firstly, a pre-post-test quantitative study to test whether coach education increases participant self-awareness. Followed by a qualitative study to provide an in-depth understanding of how the coach training supported the participants in developing self-awareness. The research found that coach training partially develops self-awareness and that key enablers to this development include experiential learning supported by reflection in a psychologically safe environment. The contribution of this research and paper is to contribute to the theory of coach development by illuminating how coach training can develop self-awareness. In addition, it is our hope that our findings will contribute to practice by informing the future design of coach training programmes and providing a means to evaluate coach development as a result of coach training.