Search for a Unified Theory of Coaching

August 02, 2019 by John Andrew Williams

Life coaching is continuing to evolve, with more and more ideas being offered as a theoretical foundation for the field. Over the past decade of leading life coaching courses, I’ve seen certain patterns emerge in learning stages of becoming a coach, and I’ve seen consistent transformation in coach clients. I realize a need for all the coaches who train with Coach Training EDU, as well as for life coaches in general, to have the benefit of a coaching theory to guide the practice of coaching. 

During the 2019-2020 academic year, we’re going to search for a unified theory of coaching. Perhaps the current state of life coaching theory is best captured with Erica Gloss’s graduate paper “A Hint of This and a Pinch of That: Theories That Inform Coaching and Consulting” in Graduate Studies Journal of Organizational Dynamics published by the University of Pennsylvania. The purpose of the study is to provide both a history of past theories and theoretical frameworks from William James theories on human behavior to recent insights of positive psychology.

The goal by the end of this academic year is to increase our vast knowledge of available theory. I can’t wait to dive into some of these studies, and I’m excited to have the backing of my core team to help collect and synthesize the collective human knowledge in the growth field. 

And the ultimate goal is by the end of this academic year is to offer Coach Training EDU’s own theoretical framework, or to adopt a current framework, that acts as a unified theory of coaching. 

Here’s to the launch of a new initiative!