How can coaching change personality?

This article is a reprint of a?Coaching Research in Practice?(May, 2018). All ReciproCoaches receive complimentary limited-time access to each new issue (10 per year). For unlimited access to more than 10 years of Coaching Research in Practice archives, purchase a membership or a subscription.

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For a long time, personality was believed to be fixed, determined largely by genetics. However, more recent research challenges this view and argues that personality is changeable and significantly influenced by our environment. Given that personality influences life outcomes, if personality is changeable, then this in turn suggests that individuals’ lives may be improved through interventions that aim to increase positive personality characteristics and decrease the negative.

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This issue of Coaching Research in Practice highlights a recent study exploring the impact of a coaching intervention that was intentionally designed to facilitate personality change. It provides insight into the facets of personality, which personality characteristics may and may not change, and provides some relevant suggestions for coaching practice.

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COACHING RESEARCH:

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In their recent study of a 10-week coaching program designed to facilitate volitional personality change, Allan, Leeson, De Fruyt and Martin (2018) explain “that a person’s personality is best described along five major dimensions, i.e., neuroticism (or emotionality), conscientiousness, extraversion, openness and agreeableness” (p. 81). They elaborated:

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• People high in conscientiousness tend to be self-disciplined, organized and deliberate. Agreeable individuals are more sympathetic and co-operative towards others. Neuroticism is reflected in a tendency to experience higher levels of negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, sadness and anger. Individuals higher in openness will tend to be more open to new ideas and behaviours as well as demonstrating a preference for novelty and culture. Extraverted people are generally more sociable, energetic and assertive. (p.81)

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Furthermore, Allan et al. explain that in order for personality to be considered to have changed there must be “changes in thoughts and/or feelings and/or behaviours in response to certain situations” (p. 80) and that these changes “must occur in multiple situations where individual differences would be expected to occur and these changes must become enduring over time” (p. 81). Thus came about their study in which 54 participants, ranging in age from 18 to 64, completed a 10-week coaching program that involved 10 steps:

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1. Assessing their current personality and values, using the?NEO PI-R
2. Discovering their current self and personality functioning
3. Identifying their ideal self and exploring the discrepancies between that and their current self
4. Selecting a realistic number of facets to target for personality change
5. Assessing their attitude to change
6. Developing and implementing a coaching plan
7. At week 5, reassessing personality, using the?NEO PI-R, evaluating progress and planning remaining 5 weeks of program
8. Completing the coaching by applying step 6
9. At final coaching session, reassessing personality and progress and developing a maintenance plan
10. After three months, reassessing personality, using the?NEO PI-R

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It’s important to understand that the?NEO PI-R?“is a widely used and well researched measure of the five factor model of personality. It measures the five domains of personality as well as six more specific traits (facets) within each domain. For example, the domain of conscientiousness is further split into the six facets of competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline and deliberation” (p. 81). It is also important to note that the?NEO PI-R?was self-reported in this study.

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Through the above process, the following occurred:

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• Neuroticism decreased both by the 5-week mark and again at the 10-week mark, and this was maintained until the 3-month mark. This included changes in levels of anger, vulnerability, depression, impulsiveness, self-consciousness and anxiety.
• Conscientiousness increased between weeks 1 and 10, but was not maintained until the 3-month mark. This included changes in levels of competence, dutifulness, achievement striving and self-discipline.
• Extraversion increased between weeks 5 and 10 and 1 and 10, and this was maintained until the 3-month mark. This included changes in levels of warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness and positive emotions.
• Agreeableness or openness did not change.

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The findings of this study therefore suggest that coaching may positively impact personality characteristics such as neuroticism, conscientiousness and extraversion.

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IN PRACTICE:

Perhaps the most important point for practice from Allan et al.’s research is the evidence that personality characteristics can be positively impacted by coaching programs. In particular, characteristics that tend to result in negative life experience such as neuroticism can be decreased, while characteristics that tend to result in positive life experience such as conscientiousness and extraversion can be increased.

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This evidence is most useful to the coaching mindsets of both the coach and the client. If both know that personality change is a proven outcome of coaching, then this in turn will influence their expectations i.e. they will expect personality change. In turn, this will make personality change more likely. This evidence also underscores the understanding of coaching outcomes and their significance in the marketing and sale of coaching programs.

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Thus, you might consider including a discussion of potential change in personality characteristics as a part of your client intake processes and you may review your website and marketing material in the view of updating to include the possible outcome of personality change.

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Reference:

Allan, J., Leeson, P., De Fruyt, F., & Martin, S. (2018). Application of a 10 week coaching program designed to facilitate volitional personality change: Overall effects on personality and the impact of targeting. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 16(1), 80-94. doi:?10.24384/000470

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Translating coaching research into coaching practice,

Kerryn Griffiths (PhD –?The Process of Learning in Coaching) Global ReciproCoach Coordinator