It is finally done and available for your reading pleasure. After three years and 170+ interviews, I have completed my Ph.D. dissertation titled “Grounded Theory of the Roots and Emergence of Coaching.”

The 693 page document (this includes appendices and references) is available at The Foundation of Coaching’s Research Repository.  For those who prefer an executive summary, the abstract follows my signature.

As one of the pioneers of the coaching field myself, I know the insides of great coaching and mentoring, and how it has evolved over the years. I understand from some colleagues that I am now a recognized expert on the history of the professional coaching field. Imagine that!

My intention with this work was to ensure that people were recognized and valued for their contribution to the coaching field.  I hope I have been able to do this - and if there are inaccuracies, please let me know and I will correct them in the book.

What I have done with the dissertation is to weave history, current, and future of coaching into a picture within the context of socioeconomic factors. Stay tuned for the book version to be published in Spring 2009. If you want a more personal rendition of the history, I am available to speak, consult and advise on topics ranging from history to legacy, from story to strategy, and from coaching to mentoring.

In the meantime, I will be continuing my role as Director of History and Archives for the Coaching Commons and chief pot stirrer for the Hall of Fame and Virtual Museum of Coaching.  As for business, I am coaching and consulting with individuals interested in “living an active legacy” from a foundation of strengths, authenticity and well-being.

Vikki G. Brock, Ph.D., EMBA, MCC
Leadership & Mentor Coach
Director, History & Archives Division

Dissertation Abstract:

Coaching is an emerging and evolving field, complex and dynamic, integrating the substance of many fields and the innovative thinking of great pioneers. Over the course of the study, the inquiry shifted from documenting the roots of coaching for the purpose of reducing confusion of what constitutes coaching to: identifying the influences each of the relevant root disciplines have on coaching; documenting the impact the backgrounds of influencers had on the discipline and its practices; looking at what coaching can learn from the evolution of root disciplines that may be relevant to the evolution of coaching; and what supporting factors contributed to the emergence of coaching as a distinct discipline in the late 20th century.  Factors explored include: the distinction between practice/tools and theories/models, the multidisciplinary influences on coaching’ root disciplines, the evolutionary nature of socioeconomic influences, the impact of connections between influencers, the concept of postmodernism as a backdrop to coaching’s emergence, and what the future holds for coaching.

Five points summarize my observations about the emergence of coaching: 1) coaching sprang from several independent sources at the same time and spread through relationships; 2) coaching has a broad intellectual framework that draws on the synergy, cross-fertilization, and practices of many disciplines; 3) modern patterns and practices of coaching are dynamic and contextual; 4) coaching came into existence to fill an unmet need in an interactive, fluid world of rapid change and complexity; and 5) coaching came into being in an open integral social network from a perspective of diversity and inclusion.

The grounded theory I offer contains several provocative propositions: a) coaching is an open, fluid social movement that spreads virally through human relationships and interactions, and will become woven into the fabric of life as the process and style of communication in which people interact with each other; b) modern patterns and practices of coaching are dynamic and contextual, awareness- and choice-focused, and delivered across a continuum of attributes customized to the person being coached, the coach, the context, and the specific situation; and c) coaching is a social phenomenon and multidisciplinary field that, to be sustainable, must continue rapid innovation encompassing diversity and inclusion while maintaining an integral balance within a loose open social network. 

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