This online course explores the role of psychological and emotional factors within the coaching process. During executive coaching programmes, coaches are often engaged in triangular relationships - not only with the individual client, but also with stakeholders from the sponsoring organisation. This course explores the coach's inter-personal and relationship management skills that enable effective coaching to take place.
Drawing upon psychological approaches that are informing executive coaching practice, students will explore coaching's role in enabling change, growth and development with clients. It also provides students with the opportunity to practice their coaching skills and be coached upon issues that are pertinent to them.
Course Dates
Course details
Tutors
Key Features
Aims of the course
- To explore the role of psychological and emotional dimensions within the coaching process.
- To provide students with an introduction to core coaching methodologies.
- To describe inter-personal skills that enable effective coaching to take place.
- To introduce different psychological approaches that are informing coaching.
- To enable students to practice coaching.
- To clarify the coach's responsibilities with clients.
Target audience
- Those considering becoming coaches.
- Those interested in learning more about coaching and psychology.
- Coaches in training.
- Working coaches.
Course content overview
- Core coaching methodologies.
- Performance and psychology.
- Different psychological approaches.
- Practical coaching exercises.
- Coaching responsibilities.
Learning outcomes
As a result of the course, within the constraints of the time available, students should be able to:
- understand core coaching methodologies
- take away raised awareness of psychological approaches that are informing coaching
- understand inter-personal skills that support and enable effective coaching
- develop practical skills in coaching
- understand the importance of creating a safe coaching environment
Welcome week: Week 0
Purpose:
- personal introductions
- introducing the course
- useful reading
- personal objectives
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week, the students should have:
- become familiar with navigating around the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and from VLE to links and back
- tested their ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sort out any problems with the help of the Technology Enhanced Learning team
- learned how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
- contributed to a discussion forum to introduce themselves to other students and discuss why they're interested in the course and what they hope to get out of their studies
Week 1: Core coaching methodologies
Purpose:
To provide students with a common understanding of coaching methodologies. To explore key inter-personal coaching skills.
Learning outcomes:
- An understanding of core coaching methodologies.
- Knowledge and self-assessment of core coaching inter-personal skills.
Week 2: Performance, psychology and the Inner Game
Purpose:
To explore the relationship between performance and psychology, using Gallwey’s Inner Game approach and its role within coaching.
Learning outcomes:
- An understanding of the Inner Game. Knowledge of the importance of working ‘beneath the surface’, with clients and with themselves as part of their continuing personal development.
- An appreciation of the relationship between performance and psychology.
Week 3: Coaching that works with belief systems
Purpose:
To explore rational and irrational belief systems.
Learning outcomes:
- Awareness of the significance of personal belief systems.
- Understanding of Ellis’ A, B, C model and its use within coaching.
Week 4: Emotionally intelligent coaching/Creating a safe environment
Purpose:
To explore the concept of emotional intelligence and its role within coaching. To explore the critical importance of creating and maintaining a safe environment.
Learning outcomes:
- An understanding of emotional intelligence: what it is and its application within coaching.
- An understanding of the need to create and maintain a safe environment for the client.
Week 5: Psychological influences of coaching
Purpose
Overview of different psychological approaches that are informing coaching – transactional analysis, cognitive behavioural, Gestalt, psychodynamic systemic.
Learning outcomes:
- Awareness of different psychological influences upon coaching.
Week 6 - what next?
- assessment of student learning
- assessment of student satisfaction
- encouragement of further study
This course is open to everyone, and you don’t need any previous knowledge or experience of the subject to attend.
Our short courses are designed especially for adult learners who want to advance their personal or professional development. They are taught by tutors who are expert in both their subjects and in teaching students of all ages and experiences.
Please note that all teaching is in English. You should have near-native command of the English language to get the maximum benefit from the course.
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours of self-study time, for example, reading materials, although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the VLE so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (using discussion boards etc).
Fees
The course fee includes access to the course on our VLE, personal feedback on your work from an expert tutor, a certificate of participation (if you complete work and take part in discussions), and access to the class resources for two years after your course finishes.
Concessions
For more information, please see our concessions information page.
Alison Fordham Bursary
University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education is proud to offer the Alison Fordham bursary, which is awarded to students who wish to study on one of our short online courses via our VLE, reducing the fee paid by 50%. The bursary is limited to a single award for each set of online courses.
Application criteria:
- applicants should set out their personal learning motivations since priority will be given to those who are returning to learning after an extended break, or have not previously engaged with fully online learning, or are seeking to use the online short course as a bridge towards undergraduate award-bearing study
- applicants who can demonstrate financial need
For more information, please see our bursaries information page.
A certificate of participation and a digital credential will be awarded to those who contribute constructively to weekly discussions, exercises and assignments for the duration of the course.
