What is transformational coaching?

Did you know that there are different forms of coaching; transformational coaching and transactional coaching? In this article, we will explain the difference between these forms of coaching, how to recognize them and which form you will learn in our courses and trainings.

The difference between transactional and transformational coaching

If you ask someone “Do you know a coach?” the answer is probably “Yes!”

The examples of coaches then mentioned are then generally a soccer coach, skating coach, nutrition coach, job coach and you name it. These are the most obvious examples. On average, this is the image people have of coaching. In our field, we call these examples “transactional” coaching. When we explore the word “transactional” more closely, we can see that there is a “transaction” in the word. That, then, is what happens in transactional coaching. The coach is an expert on the content and transfers this expertise to the coachee; a transaction of content takes place.

The way we train coaches is about transformational coaching. Before we go into this in more detail, we will first reflect on the premise of coaching and then explain transactional coaching in more detail to know the difference between the two streams well.

The premise of coaching

The essential premise of coaching is that it focuses on what the coachee (or team) wants to achieve or, in other words, the outcome that lies in the future and that this desired outcome is determined by the coachee himself. For example, coachees want to change their behavior or achieve an important goal. Thus, each coachee has his own need to find a coach with whom there is a match to start working together.

Some examples of why people want coaching include finding a new job that is more fulfilling, starting their own business or just increasing the turnover of their current business, changing their own behavior in certain situations, starting a new relationship or improving their current relationship, behaving more effectively as a manager or an employee, and so on. Still others want to get more out of life or more peace of mind, more meaning to life. In short, the goal for coaching is different for each coachee. But whatever this goal is, the coachee is always the starting point.

What is Transactional coaching

A good example of transactional coaching is a coach at work. In many organizations, new employees or employees who have been given a new internal job are coached in their new work. Thus, the supervisor has substantive knowledge of the job and is content to transfer this knowledge to the new employee, so that the induction period is effective and efficient and the new employee is well prepared for his job. Such a content supervisor is also called a mentor and is an example of transactional coaching. In this example, we call it a mentor coach.

One form of transactional coaching is beautifully depicted in the movie The Kings Speech (2010, Tom Hooper). In this film, the King of England receives coaching on his stuttering so that he can do his speeches perfectly.

Another example of transactional coaching is Sven Kramer’s participation in the 2010 Olympics (Vancouver) where he missed his gold medal in the 10km speed skating. Coach Gerard Kemkers ‘referred’ him to the indoor rink, when he should have gone to the outdoor rink. Confused Sven decided to go ‘inside’ and thus threw away the Olympic gold.

Characteristics transactional coaching

A characteristic in these two examples of transactional coaching is that the coach is an expert on the content. The coach in the film The Kings Speech is an expert on stuttering and Gerard Kemkers is an expert on ice skating. In addition, it is characteristic that in both cases a dependency relationship is established between the coach and the coachee. Sven “needs” Gerard as his coach and the King “needs” Lionel as his coach. Without a coach, the performance is unlikely to be achieved or less likely to be achieved.

These two examples could be called a transactional form of mentoring coaching. A form of coaching familiar to the general public.

What is Transformational coaching?

Then the other movement I talked about earlier, Transformational coaching. What does that entail?

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) uses the following definition of coaching:

“Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

Freely translated, this means “working with a coachee in a creative way that challenges the consciousness and inspires the coachee to develop his personal and professional potential.

What we add to this definition is:

“Coaching is the creation of a relationship between the coach and the coachee, based on safety and trust and in which extraordinary results are achieved.”

What do we mean by “extraordinary” results in coaching?

Not increasing sales from €10,000 to €1 million. Or going from nothing to something really big. No, by ‘extraordinary’ we mean a result that is beyond your ‘ordinary’. In other words, if it was ‘ordinary’ to do or have, one would not have sought a coach. So an extraordinary result is one that is not obvious to the coachee, otherwise it would already be there.

We call this “transformational” coaching. This means that the coachee undergoes a transformation in his own behavior. In other words; something in the behavior becomes (permanently) different. Transformational coaching is therefore not about the content, the subject, of coaching. Rather, it is about the behavior of the coachee. So as a coach you are not an expert, the coachee is the expert! As a coach you guide the coachee by listening and asking questions so that the coachee becomes aware of his behavior, gains insights and makes choices and takes action based on those insights. And, as a coach, you don’t need to know anything about any content, because you are coaching the person.

No dependency

When you are going to coach someone in a process, this coaching takes place on a predetermined and set goal by the coachee. This goal is leading for the coaching process and is only determined by the coachee. A coach can support this by asking questions to clarify the goal, but does not make suggestions of any kind. The aim is to achieve the goal at the end of the process and the coaching can stop. The coachee has experienced a development in thinking and behavior (transformation). Within this, he can now independently demonstrate the new behavior and thereby independently overcome the previous obstacles to his goal. Or put differently, the coachee has now become unconsciously competent.

Thus, unlike transactional coaching, the coachee no longer needs the coach; no dependency is created.

An example of transformational coaching

A manager of a team finds it difficult to delegate. He has the (limiting) belief that if he delegates (too much) to his team and he therefore does not cooperate that they will not call him “one of the guys,” that he does not belong and they will therefore accept him less. The goal in this coaching program is to learn to delegate.

After several conversations with the manager, he reflected on the situation, learned from it and chose new actions and thus new behaviors. As a result, his (limiting) belief changed to: “it is my job to delegate and therefore my team will become more effective.” This change of perspective allowed the manager to give himself space to delegate, without suffering from the belief that he would not be accepted otherwise.

Another example of transformational coaching

A coachee wants to experience more depth and connection in his relationship with his life partner. The values he finds important in his relationship are integrity, love, connection and passion. However, in his behavior he does not see these values reflected and he very much wants to learn that. After each conversation with you as a coach, you have made him actionable (accountable) to turn the insight he gained in your conversation into concrete actions. Over time, the coachee has learned to change his behavior and apply it in his relationship and experiences more depth and connection.

In both examples, the coach focused and provided guidance on the coachee’s behavior and not the content. After all, the coachee is an expert on his own life. In addition, no dependency relationship was created because the coachee has integrated the awareness and insights into his life and can move on without the coach. A learning environment has been created in which trust is present and in which insights cause the coachee to think, act and experience differently.

In transformational coaching there is no hierarchy, rather equality. There is more focus on cooperation and partnership, the coach is not an expert on the coachee’s topic/life. That is the coachee himself.

Different forms of coaching in brief

• Transactional coaching: the coach is the content expert and there is a certain degree of dependence between the coach and the coachee.
• Transformational coaching; the coachee is the expert of his life. The coach focuses on the coachee’s behavior and change in it to achieve the goal. There is equality and partnership rather than dependence in the relationship.

Learning to coach transformationally in the Co-Creation course

Lasting impact on a coachee’s behavior in a way that fully empowers them? In our Co-Creation coaching course, you will be trained to become a transformational coach or transformational coaching executive.

The course starts twice a year and is one of the few courses in the Netherlands ACTP ICF accredited. More information about Co-Creation, look here? Or send an email to info@iaai.nl for a non-binding appointment over a drink.