Coach, vän eller både och?
En kvalitativ studie om coachning inom arbetslivet
CoachingLeader-member Exchange theoryQualitative interviewsRelationshipCoachClientPositioningCommunication.
AbstractTitle: Coach, vän eller både och? ? en kvalitativ studie om coachning inom arbetslivetAuthors: Jonas Näslund & David ÖhrlingTutors: Ulla Moberg & Larsåke LarssonPurposeThe purpose of this thesis is to examine how coaching in working life serves, aiming to find what influences the interaction between coach and client. To seek to answer the purpose we raised a number of research questions which discussed, among other the coach's intentions and the parties' relationship.TheoriesThis thesis is based on a number of different theories, where the Leader-member Exchange Theory is considered the main theory. LMX is used when studying the relationship between a manager and an employee. Other theories used in this thesis are for example the Social exchange theory and one-on-one-coaching.MethodThe methods used in this thesis are semi-structured interviews, observations and recordings of coaching sessions. The interviews were conducted before and after three different coaching sessions. The participants were one coach and three clients, who all work at Tele Coaching, a company which offers manager and employee coaching. The recordings were transcribed and analyzed using a content analysis.ResultsThe result shows that there is a difficult balance between the coach?s role as an expert and as a colleague and friend. How well the coach manages to handle this balance is crucial for the outcome of the coaching session. A strong relationship between coach and client can affect the coach?s possibilities to communicate a message to the client. The coach may withhold feedback, which he or she normally wouldn?t, in fear of damaging the relationship. Another risk is that the client doesn?t see the coach as an authoritarian. To prevent these risks we suggest that an external coach should be used when possible.KeywordsCoaching, Leader-member Exchange theory, Qualitative interviews, Relationship, Coach, Client, Positioning, Communication.