Please join all of us in the doctoral community in congratulating Dr. Francis for completing the program and for his excellent dissertation. Titled – Leadership and Executive Coaching Approaches: How Coaches use Theory in Their Actual Practice, Scott’s dissertation research investigated how Canadian executive coaches implement theoretical coaching approaches in their coaching practice. The leadership coaching “industry” has mushroomed in recent years and there is a dearth of good research on how coaches frame and rationalize their work with clients; particularly in the context of theoretical perspectives related to changing leadership behaviors in dynamic environments. Scott discovered that the eight coaches he studied framed the core competencies of the International Coaching Federation in widely divergent ways, that they engage more in facilitating than instruction, self-modulate their styles to accommodate clients, manage action planning with their clients, and use a wide variety of assessment instruments. A major recommendation arising out of this research is that coaches be better trained in theoretical approaches to facilitating behavioral change. We will miss Scott’s enthusiasm, open-heartedness, and tremendous capacity for engagement!
