Exploring the Relationship Between Gender and Executive Coach Selection and Evaluation

Abstract

The practice of executive coaching has become an increasingly popular tool for many business professionals and many of today’s most successful and most powerful companies support, strategically plan for, and even fund these practices (de Haan, 2012). However, there is little research on the subject of executive coaching, and this has led to action based purely on the hunches and best guesses of coaches and not on empirical data or proven best practices. Furthermore, the existing coaching literature has not addressed how this practice may be shaped or influenced by the gender of either party (coach or client) involved in the coaching relationship. This study examines that relationship, with a specific focus on how coach and client gender affect a client’s perception and selection of said coach. Results suggest that while client perceptions of a coach may not differ by coach or client gender, overall selection of a coach does.