Day 5: 7th October, 2022: Congress Keynotes
Welcome. Listed below are the keynote titles and speakers. For further information about the speakers, please visit Keynote Speaker Biographies Page.
The Provisional Timetable for Day 5 is also provided below. A version of the timetable, that includes joining links, will be provided to delegates registered for Day 5. Please note this timetable may be subject to change and the congress organisers reserve the right to make adjustments at anytime.
The Anthony Grant Lecture: Coaching in a post-Covid world: Challenges for Coaches, Leaders and Organisations. Dr Travis Kemp (Australia).
Even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisations were challenged, stretched and under stress. The technology driven connection economy has accelerated the rapid and widespread disintermediation of long-established industries. In parallel, an emerging generation of young people are questioning the place of work in their lives now threatened by perpetual environmental, political, and social disequilibrium. The Covid-19 pandemic brought with it a confronting and unpredictable array of new challenges though. Whilst some were predictable and foreseeable others, such as the emerging global mental health pandemic, may well present us with a multigenerational social legacy to be endured. Psychologists find themselves elevated to the forefront of leadership by demand from organisations and their leaders. They are being called upon to collaboratively design new strategies for the radically different social and commercial environment of the future. Bridging the gap between performance and mental health, EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) and sustainability, organisational and commercial operations and career and personal wellbeing; the Coaching Psychologist is now called upon to contribute their unique professional expertise within an increasingly complex, volatile, ambiguous, and unpredictable world. This discussion will explore what has changed and how we as Coaching Psychologists and Leaders are changing in response to these new challenges both now and for the future.
The goal-striving reasons framework and its relation to well-being in coaching. Dr Christian Ehrlich (UK).
The reasons why people strive for their goals is an important predictor of their subjective well-being. This keynote will present latest research findings about the goal-striving reasons framework – a relatively new concept that captures four important reasons for goal pursuit. These are 1) pleasure (how much do we strive for our goals because we really enjoy the pursuit of the goal), 2) altruism (how much do we strive for our goal because it helps others), 3) self-esteem (how much do we strive for our goals because if we would fail in it our self-esteem would really suffer) and 4) necessity (how much do we strive for our goal because we have to). The goal-striving reasons framework is based on empirical data from several studies that show the predictive power of the framework for people’s affective and cognitive subjective well-being as well as for work-related outcomes such as work-engagement and burnout. The theoretical framework has also been translated into a Positive Psychology Intervention – called the Happiness through Goal Setting Training. This talk will present the key elements of the training as well as some preliminary findings about the evaluation of the training. Additionally, some first insights into variations of the training for specific target groups are presented.
Selected references
Ehrlich, C. (2020). Development of the Short Form of the Goal-Striving Reasons Questionnaire. Journal of Well-Being Assessment, 4(2), 75-94. doi:10.1007/s41543-020-00027-z
Ehrlich, C. (2022). Evaluation of the Happiness Through Goal-Setting Training. Psychological Reports, 00332941211071007. doi:10.1177/00332941211071007
Ehrlich, C., & Milston, S. (2022). Happiness through goal setting : a practical guide to reflect on and change the reasons why you pursue your most important goals in life (1 ed.). Routledge.
Worklife balance and coaching – a diversity lens. Prof Almuth McDowall (UK).
In my keynote I summarise current practical issues about worklife balance including the prevalence of hybrid working, the great resignation as well as the great rush back to ‘regular jobs’ and increased focus on equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDIB). In this context, I will summarise recent state of the art research on worklife balance and boundary management as well as EDIB. I will conclude with implications for coaching.
Authenticity , self disclosure , diving deep: evidence based practices in transformational coaching. Dr Pat Williams (USA).
A lively, interactive discussion as Dr. Patrick Williams guides a presentation and discussion on the power of emotional awareness and courageous vulnerability in coaching, what he metaphorically calls “Getting Naked with Your Clothes On”. Getting Naked (with your clothes on) demonstrates and provides clear ways to incorporate appropriate self-disclosure in coaching. Leading to truly authentic conversations, participants will learn how to “go deep” or under the surface, assisting the client in sharing ‘naked truths’ about wants, blocks, challenges. This approach helps them say what they have not said and think what they have not thought, thus increasing self-awareness by sharing with the coach what they may not be comfortable sharing with others.
All of this supports greater self-confidence, trust and emotional agility, leading to optimal living for the client, and the coach! Coaches will also discern how much they should self-disclose and when is it helpful. A look at current research will be shared about this process of courageous vulnerability and the power of transparency and honesty—at the right time and with the right person.
Educational coaching in the challenging time: How to facilitate student learning and developing using online coaching during the pandemic. Dr Qing Wang (China).
The challenging time of the pandemic and the transition from in-person to online teaching/coaching have provided a number of challenges and opportunities. Coaching psychology has been applied in the domain of education for different population with different purposes. In this presentation, I propose that educational coaching, as an interdisciplinary field of educational psychology and coaching psychology, could enhance students’ learning and academic performance as well as well-being and personal growth in formal educational setting using established and evidence-based coaching models. Current research themes, empirical studies and reflective thoughts are discussed.
Attitudes to Seeking Coaching: The Influence of Perceived Stigma. Dr Mike Murphy (Eire).
Introduction: The research literature indicates that coaching psychology interventions are beneficial to wellbeing, and assist clients in overcoming obstacles in their paths. However, in order for our discipline to be able to have a large as possible an impact it is necessary for potential clients to be open to availing of coaching. Heretofore, there has been no published research on predictors of attitudes to seeking coaching (ASC). Evidence from the fields of psychotherapy and counselling show that both self-stigma (SS) and public stigma (PS) can be important factors. The current research addressed the relationship between stigma and ASC.
Method: An online, cross-sectional survey was employed. Data were gathered from 56 self-identified workers, and 120 self-identified third-level students. SS, PS and ASC were assessed.
Results: Data for both occupational groups were analysed separately, with age and sex controlled. In the workers’ sample, both SS and PS were significant predictors of ASC, with SS being the stronger. In the student sample, SS was a strong predictor, but PS was not a significant predictor; PS did however have an indirect relationship with ASC, which was mediated by SS.
Conclusion: The patterns identified are in some ways counter-intuitive, but echo results from research in counselling & psychotherapy. Stigma – and in particular SS – appears to be a potential barrier to people availing of coaching psychology. Addressing stigma is an important task for us in reaching people who can benefit from our services.
Two thousand years of Smarter Thinking: Applying Stoic Principles to Coaching in the 21st Century. Dr Martin J Turner (UK).
Rational emotive behaviour coaching (REBC) embodies some of the principles espoused by Epictetus, an Ancient Greek Stoic philosopher and teacher who live almost 2000 years ago. Ancient Stoicism was an inspiration for second wave cognitive behaviour therapies (CBTs), but was particularly important for Albert Ellis in developing his rational emotive behavioural approach to psychotherapy. In this talk, Dr. Turner elaborates on the influence of Ancient Stoicism on emotion management science and practice, including REBC theory and practice. He also shares the research he has done regarding the study and application of REBT in performance settings, such as business and sport. Attention is paid to the development and usage of the Smarter Thinking App, a digital REBC solution. Overall, links between new and old are made, with an emphasis on retaining and building upon pragmatic and evidence-based ways of working.
Technology Enabled Coaching: Using Technology to Deliver Coaching. Dr Rachael Skews (UK).
In this keynote, Dr Rachael Skews will discuss the role of technology in enabling coaching in a range of different contexts; including how technology augments the experience of a coach, and how coaching can be scaled across larger populations. This keynote will draw on Rachael’s experience of working at different levels and with different populations. Rachael will also present some of the emerging research related to technology enabled coaching.
Positive psychology coaching revisited: Where it works and how it flops. Prof Ilona Boniwell (France) & Dr Lucy Ryan (UK).
Over the past twenty years a highly successful partnership was formed between coaching and positive psychology. Both disciplines are natural allies in sharing an explicit concern with the enhancement of optimal functioning, challenging traditional assumptions about human nature and arguing for a strength rather than deficiency-based approach to performance improvement. Both claim that attention should be redirected from looking for signs of pathology to finding what is right with the client and working on enhancing it. Frequently seen as a theoretical panacea on which a convincing explanation for coaching effectiveness can be based upon, positive psychology has offered many theories and empirical studies considered useful by coaching professionals. Multiple positive psychology solutions, such as strength and well-being assessment, have become integrated into coaching toolkits. Over the past few years, the notion of a “positive intervention” has also risen to prominence, as it was discovered that certain intentional actions can be effective in increasing and sustaining happiness and other positive states, as well as in reducing depression and anxiety. However, despite the evidence for their effectiveness, these interventions are not widely accepted in organisational settings, often seen as too “fluffy”, removed from the realities of day-to-day business, lacking “stickability” and falling behind other tools based on gamification. Based on our extensive experience of positive psychology practice, this keynote focuses on introducing positive psychology concepts and solutions to a professional audience, and the experience of the two speakers of getting it right – and wrong!