Abstract
Executive coaching has become a viable tool to support leaders to positively contribute to the success of an organisation. Although the concept of coaching is still relatively new within leadership practices, it is beginning to be regarded as an integral organisational intervention. The rise in the relevance of coaching globally has increased empirical studies that have highlighted the importance of the relationship between coach and client. The quality of a coaching relationship is the paramount factor in achieving effective coaching outcomes as the coach-client relationship is now viewed at the centre of the coaching practice. This researcher adopted a qualitative, flexible and interrelated process. It was exploratory in nature, and aimed at identifying the characteristic determinants of an effective coach-client match from the behaviours and patterns observed and deduced from the clients' responses. The findings suggested that success in a coach-client match is an outcome of the coach’s ability to establish a coaching relationship through good use of the critical elements as experienced and perceived by the clients. As such, the study sought to confirm that a good match and relationship between the client and coach can enhance self-awareness, learning, and eventually change behaviour. While it is important to note that the client influences the coach (widely regarded as an intuitive relational process) future research should seek to come up with a holistic (although perhaps neither prescriptive nor generic) set of guidelines to use for an effective match between the views of client and coach during the introductory meeting.
M.Phil. (Leadership Coaching)