Evidence Based Coaching Handbook

CHAPTER 4

Cognitive Coaching

JEFFREY E. AUERBACH

 

 

AS A COACH, I’m a thought partner. As a thought partner, I help my clients think with more depth, greater clarity, and less distortion—a cognitive process. Coaching is largely a cognitive method. Cognitive coaching tools, like the ones described in this chapter, are the foundations of many coaches’ toolboxes.

However, there is more to coaching than a set of methods—cognitive methods or any other. Coaching without the humanistic side of a caring, trustworthy coach won’t get off the ground. A coach who neglects the emotional side of the client completely will be shutting out a critical element. Students of emotional intelligence know that feelings are to be attended to as potential sources of useful information. Emotional self-awareness is a foundation for success in life (Stein & Book, 2000). Even the coach who uses largely cognitive approaches must incorporate emotional knowledge. As this chapter emphasizes, emotions are linked to cognition.

My own style of coaching is holistic, values-based, action coaching (Auerbach, 2001) emphasizing the whole person, moving toward their most important goals, congruent with their vital values. I use many tools from many fields—but for the purpose of this chapter I focus on cognitive coaching tools that stem from the emerging cognitive coaching theory. As my research of over one hundred organizations that utilize coaching shows, not only has coaching had an incredible increase in utilization ...