The Effectiveness of Life Coaching
on Overall Life Satisfaction

An Excerpt from Master’s Thesis:
Pepperdine University, The George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management

By Darcy A. Luoma

Summary of Thesis

The purpose of this research project was to determine the effect of coaching on overall life satisfaction by implementing a life coaching action research project with former United States Senate interns and then determining whether overall life satisfaction improved over three months of weekly life coaching.

The results showed that those who received coaching increased their life satisfaction and improved their personal growth. Those in the control group, who did not receive any coaching, did not improve their life satisfaction or their personal growth initiative over that time.

The key conclusions that emerged from this study included:

1. Life coaching makes a significant difference in one’s overall life satisfaction.
2. Coaching appears to be an effective approach to goal attainment and personal development.
3. The coaching experience helped clients be more effective by teaching them how to set concrete, measurable goals made up of specific and manageable steps instead of being overwhelmed by large tasks that seemed too daunting or overwhelming to undertake.
4. Using a collaborative effort to help the client identify and take action on creating change in his life seems to be effective based on the research results.
5. Asking challenging questions to encourage the client to look at new ways to seek different solutions to problems seems to be a key element of effective coaching.
   
   

Over the past decade, a new trend has emerged in the area of personal and professional development called life coaching. Indeed, life or personal coaching is gaining mainstream recognition as a growing field to help people reach their goals and improve life satisfaction.  Much of the research that has been done on coaching is on the impact and return on investment of executive coaching. However, there has been limited research done on life coaching and its impact on life satisfaction. In this age of an increased focus on “self-help,” it is ever more important to look at the results of one tool known as coaching.

Overview of Coaching

An increasing number of people are using life coaches to identify what they want personally or professionally and to get support in achieving a life they really want and love. Just like professional athletes have coaches throughout their careers, many people are realizing the benefit of having a coach to reach their greatest potential. Life coaching mirrors principles in athletic coaching such as “performing at our best, setting and reaching goals, being a team player, visioning, challenging beliefs that limit performance, coping with pressure and stress, and maintaining focus” (Rogers, 2004, p. 16).
There are several large companies that provide life coaching. In addition, there are thousands of individuals who offer coaching in areas ranging from parental coaching to attention deficit disorder (ADD) coaching to executive coaching. A Google search of “life coaching” brings up more than eight million hits. A search of “life coach” brings up more than 18 million hits. As recently as five years ago, these numbers were only a small fraction of this. There are more than 50 coaching certification programs and coach training services throughout the world.           
The tremendous growth in the coaching industry in recent years can be attributed to many factors (International Coach Federation, 2005). More people today are self-employed, are changing jobs more rapidly, and are starting small businesses than in the past. As such, there are challenges presented that coaching effectively addresses. Some examples include dealing with rapid changes in the work environment; meeting increasing demands in a competitive, global marketplace; and developing skills to match the changing duties that managers are facing.

What is Life Satisfaction?

One’s sense of satisfaction in life is influenced by many factors such as health, financial well-being, and personal relationships. For example, feeling good about the neighborhood one lives in can contribute to feeling good about life in general. If such life events as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, unemployment, and getting laid off can affect one’s level of life satisfaction, the next question to explore is to what degree someone’s disposition will prepare them for these events and minimize the overall impact on well-being. For some events, there is a quick return to baseline satisfaction, while others have a lasting effect. To what degree does the anticipation of a pleasant or unpleasant event affect an individual’s life satisfaction? Can counseling or coaching help someone through a difficult situation to return more quickly to their “normal” satisfaction level? Are “happier” people less affected by adverse life events?
Happy people tend to possess such characteristics as optimism, high self-esteem, and extroversion (Lucas, Diener, & Suh, 1996). If that is true, are there ways to systematically improve these traits in individuals to improve their life satisfaction?
The primary objective in choosing this topic is to find out whether providing structured, individual life coaching increases life satisfaction. Based on my previous experience of informal mentoring of United States Senate office interns, the hypothesis is that life coaching will indeed improve a client’s ability to reach his or her goals and be successful, thus having greater life satisfaction. This is likely because when someone seeks out help and is actively engaged in identifying goals and working with someone to achieve them, the chances increase that he will be successful. 

Study Setting and Population

This research project focuses on personal or life coaching. Coaching is quickly becoming one of the leading tools that successful people use to reach their goals and increase personal satisfaction. “Coaching is a personalized development process that engages every client in a unique way” (Anderson & Anderson, 2005, p. 41).
This action research project was conducted with former United States Senate interns in Madison, Wisconsin. An initial survey was distributed to determine baseline data from a control group and a study group. The study group was coached weekly for a period of three months using methods and best practices from current research.
Five years earlier I started in my role as the director of a United States senator’s office. Each semester, 10 college students receive extensive training through an internship program in the senator’s office. The process to apply for a Senate internship is competitive. The interviewing and hiring process to find about 30 interns per year to volunteer in the office includes a formal application with six essay questions, a resume, a cover letter, and two interviews. The top students are selected for the semester-long unpaid internship. Before their first day in the office, all interns receive six to eight hours of training from Senate staff that is specific to the internship. The interns are responsible for working with constituents to resolve a variety of complicated and sensitive issues involving federal agencies, such as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Department of Education. They communicate with constituents regarding their cases and correspond with the appropriate government agencies. They need to tactfully handle delicate situations, research issues for follow‑up, and draft constituent letters.
Most semesters, the interns attend a training I provide on effective resumes, cover letters, and interview skills. This is usually a full evening of lively discussion and questions because the interns are eager to know more and soak up the information that is provided. After receiving key insights and help in this way, a large number of them maintain contact after they have graduated and I often serve as a mentor to them (in some ways—like a coach). They ask for help with their professional lives, their career moves, their goals, and in some cases about personal issues, too. Although this mentoring is likely helpful to them, they may receive greater benefit from life coaching than mentoring.
The specific areas of coaching focus are generally around (a) career coaching—how to find a job that is right, resume and cover letters, and interview coaching; (b) political maneuvers at work regarding a work assignment that is controversial or sticky; (c) communication skills and strategic planning and thinking; and (d) how to get more respect, responsibility, or money in their jobs.
The formal training that the interns receive in their undergraduate degree programs does not seem to prepare them for the challenges and difficulties of how to actually find a job and then how to deal with the political considerations of a job once they have it. Their education focuses mainly on subject content, not the skills or processes necessary to thrive outside of an educational setting. 
The study population and setting were selected based on my role in mentoring interns over the past five years in the senator’s office. The interns generally crave advice, direction, and career guidance and thus seem to be an ideal pool to draw from for this study. The results learned in this study should be relevant to other similar populations who are professional, college-educated people who are not necessarily in executive-level or management positions. Much of the research done to date on coaching centers around executive coaching, whereas this study looks at a more general population.

Significance of Study

Originally, executive coaching was instituted in order to save a derailing manager; today, it focuses on performance enhancement for executives, managers, and upcoming leaders in organizations (Lockwood, 2005, p. 1). Much of the research that has been done on coaching is on the impact and return on investment of executive coaching. However, there has been limited research done on life coaching and its impact on life satisfaction. In this age of an increased focus on “self-help,” it is ever more important to look at the results of one tool known as coaching.
In addition, extending coaching beyond executive coaching and into coaching for entry-level professionals and/or interns could greatly benefit companies. Companies pay tremendous amounts of money to train high level employees. There could be a greater return on investment if they started the coaching process earlier in their employees’ careers so they could develop personal and professional skills that benefit their own growth as well as the company.
Research shows that organizational coaching is an effective way of improving personal effectiveness, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking skills, and that organizations would benefit greatly from instituting coaching programs at all levels (Hurd, 2002). The International Coach Federation (2005) reports that clients who receive coaching report increased self-awareness, are better able to set goals, have a more balanced life, and report lower stress levels.
In addition to return on investment, tangible business results of coaching include improved productivity, better quality work product, and greater organizational strength. The positive intangible business outcomes include better relationships with direct reports, better relationships with supervisors, improved teamwork, better relationships with peers, and greater job satisfaction (Manchester, 2004).
The potential benefit from this study is added research to the pool of knowledge on the effect of coaching outside of the business environment, and thus the implications could further expand the field of coaching.

Conclusion: So what did the results find?

The purpose of this research project was to determine the effect of coaching on overall life satisfaction by implementing a life coaching action research project with former Senate interns. The results showed that life coaching does indeed make a significant difference in one’s overall life satisfaction. Those who received coaching increased their life satisfaction and improved their personal growth. Those in the control group, who did not receive any coaching, did not improve their life satisfaction or their personal growth initiative over that time.
These results suggest that there are vast possibilities for political offices to improve their effectiveness by implementing a coaching program for employees and/or interns. This could be further extrapolated to any organization or small business.  Clients reported numerous benefits from the coaching process that would have a positive impact on the political office, such as having an increased understanding of how to be more effective in their interactions, gaining insights into personal changes they need to make to be more effective, learning the impact of their actions on others, opening up new ways to look at different solutions to problems, understanding how to work more effectively to accomplish goals, and exploring new ways to increase their effectiveness. If employees improved their skills in these areas, the overall effectiveness of organizations and businesses would improve greatly.

Bibliography

Anderson, M., & Anderson, D. (2005). Coaching that counts: Harnessing the power of leadership coaching to deliver strategic value. Jordan Hill, Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

Donovan, N., Halpern, D., & Sargeant, R. (2002, December). Life satisfaction: The state of knowledge and its implications for government. Paper by Strategy Unit. London: Defra Publications.

Hurd, J. L. (October, 2002). Learning for life: A Phenomenological investigation into the effect of organizational coaching on individual lives. (Doctoral dissertation, Union Institute & University Graduate College, Doctor of Philosophy in Adult and Organizational Development, 2002).

International Coach Federation. (2005). Retrieved November 2005, from www.coachfederation.org.

Lockwood, N. R. (2005). Executive coaching series part I. Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).  Retrieved February 2005, from www.shrm.org.

Lucas, R. E., Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1996). Discriminant validity of well-being measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 616-628.

Manchester Consulting, (2004, July). Executive coaching yields return on investment of almost six times its cost. Jacksonville, FL: Manchester.

Rogers, K. L. (2004, September). An action research study of life coaches: The benefits of a specialized life coaching business plan template designed specifically for the life coaching industry. (Doctoral dissertation, Union Institute and University, Doctor of Philosophy with a concentration in psychology, 2004).