Discover Your Coaching Niche

In the first part of this article we have asked whether coaching is universally applicable, or whether it should be adapted to different cultures.

We distinguished the coaching process from the coaching approach and the coaching relationship.  We then examined the underlying assumptions of the coaching approach and coaching relationship.

In this part of the article we will see what cultural research tells us about the coaching assumptions we have uncovered.

What does the research tell us?

Geert Hofstede is an influential Dutch researcher and writer on the differences that exist between national cultures.  Hofstede demonstrated that there are national and regional cultural groupings that affect the behaviour of individuals and that are persistent across time.

His initial research focused on four dimensions, and these are:

Power-distance (Low vs. High)
The degree to which subordinates expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.

Individualism vs. Collectivism
The extent to which people are expected to stand up for themselves, or alternatively act predominantly as a member of a group or organisation.

Masculinity vs. Femininity
Masculine cultures value competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions, whereas feminine cultures place more value on relationships and quality of life.

Uncertainty avoidance
Reflects the extent to which a society attempts to cope with anxiety by minimising uncertainty.  Cultures that scored high in uncertainty avoidance prefer rules e.g. about religion and food and structured circumstances, and employees tend to remain longer with their present employer

OK, so we can demonstrate that there are differences between cultures – so how might this affect our coaching?

US/UK Cultural Characteristics
We’ve already said that coaching is a product of the US that has successfully transferred to the UK (and Canada and Australia).  So what do we know about the culture of the US and the UK?

According to Hofstede the cultural characteristics of the US & UK are:

• Low power-distance: individuals predominantly relate to others as equals.
• High Individual: individuals are very self-reliant, little influenced by extended family & social groupings.
• High Masculine: they value competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions.
• High tolerance of uncertainty: individuals reject rules and their imposition.

I’m going to argue that these largely unconscious preferences do in fact influence how we coach, and need to be considered when we coach individuals from other cultures.

For the implications for how we should consider adapting our coaching, please see the next part of this article.

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