The document discusses the role of trust and presence as essential competencies in executive coaching, highlighting a lack of empirical support for these concepts. It outlines research findings on how these competencies facilitate learning and behavior change within coaching relationships. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for further research to develop a theoretical framework that underpins these skills in practice.

1. Trust and Presence as Relational,
Executive Coaching Competencies:
Reviewing Literature to Inform Practice and Future Research!
Symposium 22: Coaching Executives, Coaching Competencies,
& Your Boss’s Feedback
Terrence Maltbia, Rajashi Ghosh & Victoria Marsick
Friday February 25, 2011: 1:30 – 3:00 PM

2. Outline
Foundations
– Problem, Purpose and Research Questions
– Method: Conceptual Framework
Findings
– Selective Integrative Literature Review: (1) Trust & (2) Presence
Insights & Connections to HRD
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3. Research Foundations
Problem, Purpose, RQs, Method & Conceptual Framework

4. Framing Problem…
Drivers… Problem Statement
Learning Demands on Leaders Lack of Agreement…
Coaching as Supported LFE Meaning & Role of Coaching
Accelerated in Pace & Depth Major Investment: 2 Billion + 2006
Rapid Organizational Change Gap
Learning & Competitive Advantage Lack of Clear Framework…
Innovative Work Climates Call for coach-specific research
Attract/Retain Talent Growing research interest (Grant 2008)
None focused on providing empirical
Top 5 Leadership Development
grounding of 2 central competencies
Practices (Grant 2008)
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5. Broader Context – Emergence of
Executive Coaching…
Executive Coaching over a billion $ Industry
– Harvard Business Review, 2004
70% to 88% of Companies report they utilize coaching
– Charted Institute of Personnel and Development, 2005; and the Australian
Institute of Management -- reported by Society of Human Resource
Management Executive Coaching Brief Reports
Dramatic increase in utilization of executive coaching in the
past five years as evidenced by (AMA Study 2008 |
Conference Board Industry Study 2010):
– 58% of Respondents Say Coaching Utilization has Increased in Their
Organizations in the Past Year
– 95% Say Coaching has Increased in Past Five Years
– 0% Say Coaching Utilization has Declined in Past Five Years
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6. Broader Context – Emergence of
Executive Coaching (cont.)…
Industry Growth Driving “Coaching Training Providers” and
Coaches Entering the Field
– ICF Website “Training Program Search Service” list over 200 providers of
ACTP, ACSTH, and/or CCE for “Executive Coaching” specialty area…
– ICF Website notes over 7,000 Credentialed Coaches @ 3-Levels since the
launch of the program over a decade ago
– University Based Programs: GSAEC 2008 Study (on-going database)
Baseline: 17 Institutions in Australia; 20 in Canada; 52 in the UK, Ireland
& Scotland; & 124 in the US
Four Categories: (1) Graduate Degree, (2) Graduate Certificate, (3) Non-
Degree Certificate & (4) Application of Coaching
In US: 45 Graduate Degree Programs; 12 Graduate Certificate Programs;
5-Non-Degree Graduate Certificate; & 65 Coach Application Programs
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7. Professional Associations
Association Coaching Competencies
International Since the early 1990s ICF has developed, refined, and promoted the use of 11 core coaching competencies: 1.
Coach Federation meeting ethical guidelines and profession standards 2. establishing the coaching agreement 3.establishing trust
(ICF) and intimacy with the client 4. coaching presence, 5. active listening, 6. powerful questioning 7. direct
communication 8. creating awareness (LFE) 9. designing actions 10. planning and goal setting 11. managing
progress and accountability.
Worldwide Since 1997 WABC has worked to define the emerging practice of business coaching and distinguish it from
Association of other forms of coaching—WABC promotes an elaborate competency structure where coaching skills is one of
Business Coaches the 3 major clusters—the skills include: working within established ethical guidelines and professional
(WABC) standards; agreeing on a clear and effective contract for the coaching relationship; establishing trust and
respect; establishing rapport; listening to understand; questioning effectively; communicating clearly;
facilitating depth of understanding (LFE); promoting action; focusing on goals; building resiliency; managing
termination of coaching; maintaining and improving professional skills.
International ICC has identified 9 key competencies coaches need to demonstrate as part of the certification process
Coaching including: 1. general (i.e., ethics, distinctions between process and content, and client choice) 2. knowledge
Community (i.e., background/ history of coaching, distinctions between coaching and other helping practices such as
(ICC) counseling and therapy, and criteria for testing process and outcomes) 3. relationship 4. listening 5. self-
management 6. enquiry and questioning 7. feedback (LFE) 8. goals, values and behaviors 9. design actions and
task.
GSAEC GSAEC (In Press) is working to clarify the following coaching skills as part of a broader, more comprehensive
set of 20 academic standards targeted for university based coaching programs: 1. establishing trust, 2.
coaching presence, 3. questioning, 4. listening, 5. framing/reframing, & 6. contributing.
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8. Grounding Coaching Practice in Theory
& Research…
ICF Core Coaching Competencies… Theoretical and/or Empirical Basis…
Meeting Ethical Guidelines and
Professional Standards
Establishing the Coaching
Agreement]
Conversational Competencies (2010)
Establishing Trust & Intimacy w/ the
Client Questioning
Coaching Presence Listening
Powerful Questioning Relational Competencies (2011)
Active Listening Trust
Creating Awareness Presence
Direct Communication
Designing Actions
Planning & Goal Setting
Managing Progress & Accountability
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9. Problem & Purpose Statements
The problem this paper addresses grows out of the lack
of a clearly documented theory and research to support
the use of 2 commonly-espoused, core coaching
competencies of trust and presence.
Our aim is to understand what evidence exists that support
claims of the centrality of trust and presence as relational
coaching competencies used by practitioners to help
clients learn from, and through their experience, in order to
achieve desired results.
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10. Research Questions…
In what ways are the concepts of trust, presence, and
learning from experience defined in selected literature?
In what ways does the available literature:
– (a) inform the practice of executive coaching (with an emphasis on
developing the core competencies of trust and presence) and
– (b) suggest implications for further competency research in the area
of executive coaching and organizational coaching?
Method: Selective Integrated Literature (Torraco 2005 & see our paper - #256)
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11. Conceptual Framework
Goal, Reality, Obstacles/Options, Will/Way Forward (GROW)
(Topic/Focus: of Coaching Conversation)
Coaching Competencies:
• Listening
Concrete
• Questioning Experience
• Trust
• Presence Active Reflective
• Others?
Experimentation Observation
Theoretical Basis:
• Kolb (e.g., 1984, 2005a, 2005b)
• Roberts & Jarrett (2006) Abstract
• Whitmore (e.g., 2002, 1996) Conceptualization
• Gallwey (1971, 1980, 2001)
Goal Progress, Attainment, Outcomes
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12. Emergent Findings
Summary of Key Discoveries…

13. Executive Coaching Competencies:
Trust & Presence
Structure of Findings…
Describe the various ways trust and presence have
been defined
List the major components of each through the lens of
learning from, and through, experience
Make connections between these concepts including
sample research
Outline insights gains from this inquiry
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14. Executive Coaching Competencies:
Trust and Presence
Key Word (combinations)…
“Definitions” Social and/or Emotional
– “Trust” and “Presence” Intelligence
Combined with… – Self-awareness
– History, Literature Review, – Self- management/regulation
Research, Studies, Meta-analysis – Social-awareness
– Relationship management
Presencing
Coaching Presence Relationship Building
Executive Coaching
Organizational Coaching
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15. Sample Data Displays: Trust (Meaning
of…)
Author(s) Definition/Description
Deutsch (1958, “An individual may be said to have trust in the occurrence of an event if he expects its
1960) occurrence and his expectation leads to behavior which he perceives to have greater
negative motivational consequences if the expectation is not confirmed than positive
motivational consequences if it is confirmed” (1958, p. 266).
Rotter (1967) Interpersonal trust: “an expectancy held by an individual or a group that the word,
promise, verbal or written statement of another individual or group can be relied upon”
(p. 651).
Schlensker, Helm, “a reliance upon information received from another person about uncertain
& Tedschi (1972) environmental states and their accompanying outcomes in a risky situation” (p. 419).
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16. Sample Data Displays: Trust
(Components…)
Author(s) Components/Elements
Deutsch Process of Mutual Trust - complementary social trust; I trusts II to behave in a certain way
(1958, 1960) and is willing to do what II trusts him to do; the same is true for II. Each perceives that the
other person is aware of his intent and his trust (p. 267);
Conditions Affecting Trust - (1) as the individual's confidence that his trust will be fulfilled is
increased, the probability of his engaging in trusting behavior will be increased; (2) as the
ratio of anticipated positive to anticipated negative motivational consequences increases, the
probability of his engaging in trusting behavior will be increased; (3) open-communication,
(4) power dynamics and (5) influence of third parties (pp. 268-277).
Rotter Generalized expectancy: individuals differ in belief that statements of other people can be
(1967) relied upon based directly or indirectly on behavior and statements of significant others (p.
653); Measure’s focus variables: (1) Interpersonal Trust Scale, (2) Trust Self-Rating, and (3)
Trustworthiness; Measure’s control variables: (1) Dependency, (2) Humor, (3) Gullibility, (4)
Popularity, (5) Friendship, and (6) Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (pp. 661-664).
Schlensker, Conditions Affecting Trust - (1) expressed confidence in another’s intentions, (2) sincerity of
Helm, & another’s words and actions, (3) reliance upon the communication behavior of another person
Tedschi in order to achieve a desired but uncertain objective in a risky situation, (4) reception of
(1972) relevant interpersonal information providing cues of the probability of the occurrence of an
expected, future event, and (5) credibility of a communicator (pp. 419-421).
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17. Sample Data Displays: Presence
(Meaning of…)
Field Definitions
Helping professions Presence is the quality of a therapist connecting with his/her patient (Rogers, 1979;
(e.g., nursing, Rogers, 1980).
therapy, medicine) Presence in relation to the patient and the clinical process is the experiential heart
and soul of my effort as a therapist, the essential élan vital of my contribution to
patients' growth toward greater psychological well-being; bringing one’s complete
self to the client with little or if possible no self-centered purpose in mind (Craig,
1986).
Presence is a name for the quality of being in a situation or a relationship in which
one intends at a deep level to participate as fully as she is able. Presence is expressed
through mobilization of one’s sensitivity- both inner and outer- and bringing into
action one’s capacity for response (Bugental, 1987).
Presence is experienced as an enveloping comfort that emerges from the nurses’ gifts
of authentic being and time (Gilje, 1993).
Therapeutic presence involves bringing one’s whole self into the encounter with the
client, being completely in the moment on a multiplicity of levels, physically,
emotionally, cognitively, and spiritually (Geller & Greenberg, 2002).
Presence is an affective quality with somatosensory components, felt by clients,
which changes their state from suffering toward a sense of well-being. (Curry, 2003).
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18. Sample Data Displays: Presence
(Components…)
Field Components/Elements/Processes
Helping Two Facets of Presence - (1) accessibility: designates the extent to which one intends that
professions what happens to a situation will matter, which calls for a reduction of our usual defenses
(e.g., against being influenced by others and a measure of commitment and (2) expressiveness:
nursing, opening oneself to another’s influence is significantly investing in that relationship; has to do
therapy, with the extent to which one intends to let oneself to be truly known by the other(s) in a
medicine) situation, which involves disclosing without disguise some of one’s subjective experiencing,
and willingness to put forth some effort (Bugental, 1987, p. 27)….
Three Domains of Therapeutic Presence - (1) preparation for presence occurs prior to or at
the beginning of a session (getting in the space to attend to the client); (2) process (i.e.,
namely receptivity, inwardly attending, and extending contact – with self and related
boundaries); (3) in-session experience of presence itself: including the therapists’ experience
of being immersed in the moment with the client; the experience of an expansion of
awareness and sensation, being tuned into nuances that exist with the client, within the self
and within the relationship; and the therapists’ sense of being grounded in their selves while
entering the client’s experiential world while maintaining the intention to respond in a way
that is with and for the client’s healing process (Geller & Greenberg, 2002, p. 78-80).
General Characteristics of the Experience of Presence - those which are: (1) felt; (2) viewed
as a pre-conditioned need or suffering; (3) promoters; (4) blockers; (5) co-created; (6)
interpreted as meaningful by the experiment; and (7) descriptions of lasting change or
transformations of heart, mind, or body (Curry, 2003, p. 199).
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19. Executive Coaching Competencies:
Trust and Presence
Foundational & Complementary
Trust Chronological Review Presence
(Over 50 Years:1958 - 2010)
Major fields…
• Communication, Leadership, Negotiation, Psychology, Major fields…
Sociology, Anthropology, Organizational Behavior etc. • Helping Professions, Organizational
• Trust requiring interdependence :connection between Development
expectations and behavior in the coaching relationship. • Two types: (1) Physical Presence,
(Deutsch 1958, 1960; Rotter, 1967). (2) Psychological Presence (Co-existence)
• Implications of accompanying environmental states • Presence being foundational in
(Schlensker, Helm, & Tedschi, 1972). interpersonal interaction (Bugental, 1987;
• Researchers in the 1980s pushed the boundaries of trust Gilje, 1993; Geller & Greenburg, 2002; Curry,
to include an environmental perspective (Johnson-George 2003)
& Swap, 1982 ; Lewis & Weigert, 1985). • Presence requiring letting go of old identities
•Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, researchers framed and the need to control (Senge, et al. 2004)
trust to include cognitive and emotional components
(Baron & Morin, 2009 ; Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman,1995, 2007; Viljanen, 2005;)
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20. Insights
Literature on Trust & Presence
– Provided additional insight for coaches to sustain, or when necessary restore,
trust throughout the coaching engagement
– Attending to the conditions that affect trust while learning from and through
experience in pursuit of goal attainment (I.e., reviewing “What happened?: O/D;
exploring reactions to what happened?: R/D; abstracting the key themes &
lessons learned: I/D; & determining potential next steps: D/D – form of social
awareness & relationship management)
– Catalogue various options for coaches to access and express the critical
relational competency of presence (i.e., strive to understand client’s context;
support meaning making; encourage to take, informed action – form of self
awareness & self regulation)
Dynamic Interplay: Trust & Presence
– Inside-out: (i.e., an awareness of dispositions, beliefs, emotions, and choices
influence one’s responses to others and situations)
– Outside-in: (i.e., the dispositions, beliefs, emotions, and choices of others and
situations have an impact on our experience).
Context for Deep Learning and Change!
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21. Insights
Key enablers…
– Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Stages
– Jackson’s (1991) Science of Human Performance
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22. Integration—ORID: Leverage
Conversational Tool (Trust & Presence)
What’s happening?
How am I
feeling/reacting?
Context
CE RO
Conduct Content
AE AC
What do I What does it
do/respond? mean?
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23. Implications for HRD Practice
Theoretical and empirical support (definitions, components, connections) for
the inclusion of trust and presence as core competencies in coach
preparation programs & ongoing professional development
Document important connections between the trust and presence literature
combined with “experiential learning theory” (i.e., trust and coaching presence
skills) as enablers for establishing a personal bond and the designed alliance
needed to effectively combine the challenge with support for client’s to realize
insight through guided dialogue and reflection with a trusted thought partner when
the stakes are high, to achieve their intended outcomes
Cataloguing trust and presence in both descriptive and operational terms can
service as a resource for:
– (1) coach-training providers to develop learning modules designed to
enhanced these target competencies;
– (2) researchers to use as indicators for future investigations; and
– (3) practicing executive coaches to deepen their understanding of the
conditions that constitute productive coach-client working relationships.
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24. Implications for Research
Devise a more complete picture of the role of trust in the executive
coaching working relationship by including Rotter’s Measure of
Interpersonal Trust combined with Johnson’s (et al., 1982) Specific Trust
Measurement, in a battery of assessments in research projects examining
the coach-client relationship in organizations;
Continue to search for existing scales intended to measure presence to
complement the assessments listed in the first point and better capture the
“co-creating the relationship” component of the executive coaching process;
Explore the interplay between the antecedents and related consequences
of trust on optimal and excessive forms in coaching engagements and
potential outcomes; and
When assessing coaching effectiveness, research needs to attend to
social-organizational factors within which coaching is embedded (barriers,
supports, culture, etc.), especially with respect to assessment of progress
toward strategic goals.
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