I and fellow Henley qualified coach Kate Wallace of First Foot Forward recently carried out some research into c.80 coaching clients to understand what they see as the value of coaching to them*.

We have recorded a short video discussing our findings – please check it out below and we hope it is of interest to you.

Our research showed that the principal benefit derived from coaching is to help clients unlock their thinking, with 55% of respondents citing this.

Clients say that coaching also helps them to:

– understand their mindset and behaviours to facilitate change (50%)
– gain new insights (45%)
– achieve clarity in a way that surprised them or they had not expected (37.5%)

We also asked what brings them to coaching in the first place, and their main drivers are to:

– increase their confidence (42.5%)
– navigate challenging issues (42.5%)
– develop their career / transition to a new role (37.5%) 
– learn new ways to respond (32.5%)

These research findings chime with my own experience of working with clients.

My clients typically come to coaching because they feel restless, stuck or lost, wanting to transition to something new, sometimes without knowing what that “something new” is.

Facilitating clarity of thinking as a pre-cursor to change is a key part of the Narrative Coaching process and our research findings reflect this emphasis on the value of coaching around helping clients with their thinking, mindset and perspectives.

My clients leave our sessions much clearer on which of their narratives, the stories they tell themselves, will propel them forwards and which they need to discard because they are holding them back and no longer serve them.

Kate’s views are similar:

“These findings mirror my own experience as a coach.”

“I have noticed that my clients often come to coaching feeling overwhelmed and weighed down by today’s challenging times. They may be stuck, working intensely but not getting to where they want to be.”

“They leave our sessions thinking differently and with renewed confidence. They have a better understanding of themselves and what they need to do to succeed.”

(*The research, undertaken online via SurveyMonkey in April 2023, addressed c.80 coaching clients and people whose role includes commissioning coaching for colleagues)