In this captivating episode of Coaching Uncaged, Animas Centre Director Robert Stephenson is joined by organisational development consultant, coach, author, prolific researcher and Director of Ashridge Centre for Coaching, Hult International Business School Erik de Haan as they explore Erik’s work around coaching research and what it tells us about the profession.

Erik details the background and personal journey that led him to coaching and consulting, and shares what sits behind his passion for coaching research, offering various examples from his books, including the upcoming What Works in Executive Coaching, to illustrate the importance of academic research in gaining a better understanding of what makes coaching successful.

As part of this exploration around coaching research, Erik and Robert dive into the relational aspects of coaching, and how the quality of the relationship between coach and coachee might affect the outcomes of a session. They speak on the biases that we all possess as coaches, and the importance of keeping an open mind as a coach that really wants what’s best for their client. 

Erik and Robert also share their thoughts around organisational leadership, the role of the leader, why good leadership is so needed right now, and how we might create better leaders so that we are better able to tackle the various crises that we collectively face as human beings.

Finally, Erik discusses the importance of being able to freely associate as a coach, for both coach and client, and not being too attached to our own hypotheses, shares some information around Rogerian counselling, as well as revealing what’s next in terms of his upcoming research projects. 

You can find out more about Erik and his work here: http://www.erikdehaan.com/

We hope that you enjoy this episode!