Welcome to our Coaching & Behaviour Change Glossary
Welcome to our change glossary, a comprehensive resource designed for leaders and behaviour change practitioners seeking a deeper understanding of key concepts in the fields of coaching and behavioral science. This glossary aims to demystify terminology, providing clear definitions and explanations to enhance your knowledge. Explore the diverse array of terms and concepts to navigate the dynamic landscape of coaching and behaviour change with confidence and insight.
I will be updating this list regularly, feel free to pop back or even email if you see an omission!
Active Listening: The practice of fully focusing on and understanding the speaker's words, emotions, and intentions without interruption or judgment.
Accountability: Taking responsibility for one's actions, commitments, and goals, and being answerable to oneself and others for achieving desired outcomes.
Adoption Curve: A model that represents the acceptance of a new idea or change by individuals within an organisation over time, typically illustrated as a bell curve categorising adopters into groups such as innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. See our blog on behaviour change models, click here
ADKAR Model: Developed by Prosci, the ADKAR model focuses on five key elements: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement. It provides a structured approach for understanding and managing individual change.
Altruism - The belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.
Amygdala: An almond-shaped structure in the brain linked to the processing of emotions, particularly fear and pleasure.
Anchoring Effect: The tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered (the "anchor") when making decisions.
Asch Conformity Experiment: Demonstrates the influence of group pressure on individual behaviour.
Autonomy: The degree to which and individual or team member have the freedom and authority to make decisions independently.
Availability Heuristic: Overreliance on easily accessible information, often leading to biased judgments.
Backfire Effect: The phenomenon where presenting evidence contrary to a person's belief can strengthen, rather than weaken, their belief.
Albert Bandura: Developed social cognitive theory, emphasising observational learning and modeling.
Behavioral Economics: The study of psychological and economic factors influencing decision-making.
Belbin Team Role Model: A theory that identifies different roles individuals tend to assume within a team, such as coordinator, implementer, or team worker.
Bridges' Transition Model: developed by William Bridges, focuses on the psychological and emotional aspects of change. It consists of three stages: ending, neutral zone, and new beginning, emphasising that successful transitions require acknowledging and addressing the emotional impact of change on individuals and guiding them through the process of letting go, navigating uncertainty, and embracing a new beginning.
B.F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning: Theory emphasising consequences to modify behaviour.
Burke-Litwin Model: This model highlights 12 organisational factors, including external environment, leadership, strategy, and culture, to understand the dynamics of change within an organisation.
Business Transformation: involves making fundamental changes in how an organisation operates and functions.
Catharsis - The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
Central Nervous System (CNS): The part of the nervous system that includes the brain and spinal cord, responsible for processing and integrating information.
Change Agent: A person or group that facilitates the change process within an organsation by supporting, promoting, and making the change happen.
Change fatigue: a phrase used to describe the state of an individuals or group(s) that have undergone many rounds of change eg multiple company restructures and/or personal life changes.
Change Impact Assessment: The process of analysing the potential effects of a change on different areas of the organisation, including processes, systems, and employees.
Change Management: the management of change within a business or similar organisation. Often intertwined with a project management approach. Change management is often a tool centric approach to change in contrast to coaching where change is evoked, ie change comes from within.
Change Resistance: Opposition or pushback from individuals or groups within the organisation against change initiatives, often due to fear of the unknown or loss of status quo.
Change Strategy: A plan that outlines how change will be approached and managed within an organisation. It includes the methods and steps to achieve successful change.
Coaching chemistry call: a free preliminary conversation where a coach and client connect to assess compatibility, establish rapport, and determine if and how they can work together effectively.
Cognition: is the mental process of acquiring, processing, storing, and using information for thinking and understanding.
Cognitive bias: pattern of deviation from a rational judgement, individuals create our own subjective reality from our inputs. Our construction of reality may dictate our behaviour in the world. For short-hand reasons there are a list of more than 190 cognitive bias’s.
Cognitive Dissonance: Psychological discomfort arising from conflicting beliefs or attitudes.
Cognitive load: the mental effort and capacity required for processing information and completing a task, with high cognitive load indicating a more demanding mental burden on an individual.
Collaboration: The process of working together towards a common goal, emphassing open communication and shared responsibility.
Clarifying Questions: Thoughtful and probing questions that aim to gain clarity, deepen understanding, and encourage reflection in the coaching conversation.
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov): Associating a neutral stimulus with an involuntary response.
Clear, James - James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits, explains how small, incremental changes can lead to significant improvements in life. He emphasises the importance of understanding the habit loop, which consists of a cue, routine, and reward, to effectively build and change habits (in which he borrows from the field of cognitive behavioral therapy and personal scripts).
Cohesion - The extent to which members of a group stick together and feel united in their pursuit of common goals.
Compassion: the empathetic understanding and concern for the well-being of others, accompanied by a genuine desire to alleviate their suffering.
Communication Plan: A document that outlines how information related to the change will be communicated to stakeholders. It specifies what will be communicated, through what channels, by whom, and when.
Conformity - Adjusting one's behavior or beliefs to match those of others, often in response to real or imagined group pressure.
Confirmation Bias: The inclination to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs.
High-context Culture - An organisational culture where communication is largely implicit, relying heavily on context and non-verbal cues.
Low-context Culture - An organisational culture that relies on explicit communication and clear, direct messages.
Contracting: an approach used in coaching at the start and during coaching engagements/conversations and includes coaching outcomes, boundaries and process and agree expectations between the coach and coachee.
Culture: A system of shared assumptions, values and beliefs, which govern how people behave. Unconciously “culture guides and constrains the behaviours of members of a group [or team] through the shared norms or assumptions that are held in that group” (Schein 2010).
Cultural Artifacts - Visible symbols of an organisation's culture, including dress codes, office layout, rituals, language, and symbols.
Dark Side: In Hogan Assessments, the "dark side" refers to potential counterproductive behaviours and personality traits that may surface under stress or inadequate self-management, assessed through the Hogan Development Survey (HDS). See our page on Hogan assessments and coaching, click here
Dark side of the moon: Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon' is a groundbreaking and influential concept album, known for its progressive rock sound and thematic exploration of existential and societal issues.
Decision Fatigue: Reduced willpower and poor decision-making after a series of choices (see Baumeister Model).
Default Mode Network: The default mode network (DMN) in neuroscience refers to brain regions more active during rest and internal thought, such as daydreaming, memory retrieval, and self-reflection.
Disruptive Change: Changes that challenge and alter the traditional way of doing things within an organisation, industry, or market, often leading to innovative practices and breakthroughs.
Diversity and Inclusion - Policies and practices aimed at creating a diverse workplace and ensuring all employees feel included and valued.
Dual Process Theory (System 1 & 2): Differentiating between automatic and controlled thinking (see Daniel Kahneman work).
The Dunning-Kruger effect: a cognitive bias where individuals with low ability at a task tend to overestimate their competence due to a lack of metacognitive awareness (Think bathtub curve with x-axis time and y-axis confidence in skills/knowledge).
EMCC: The European Mentoring and Coaching Council, a global professional membership organisation with the aim of defining, creating and promoting best practice for everyone working in mentoring, coaching and supervision.
Emotional Intelligence (EI): The ability to recognise, understand, and manage one's own emotions, as well as effectively perceive and respond to the emotions of others.
Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others, crucial for fostering change. Can be split into emotional empathy and cognitive empathy.
Employee Engagement: The level of an employee's emotional investment and commitment to their organisation, which can significantly influence their response to change and their willingness to adopt new behaviors or practices.
Empowerment: Enabling individuals to recognise and harness their strengths, skills, and resources to take ownership of their development and achieve their desired outcomes.
Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development: Describes stages of personality development.
Eustress - Moderate or normal psychological stress interpreted as being beneficial for the experiencer.
Expectancy Theory: A theory that describes the cognitive process employees go through to make choices among different voluntary responses. It suggests that motivation is determined by a combination of the expectation of achieving a goal and the value of that goal to the individual.
Extrinsic Motivation: The motivation to engage in an activity as a means to an end, driven by external rewards such as money, recognition, or praise.
Feedback: The exchange of information within a team regarding performance, behaviours, or outcomes to facilitate improvement.
Feedback Loop: Continuous cycle of receiving and adjusting based on feedback for improvement.
Feedback Mechanisms: Systems or processes established to gather opinions, reactions, and suggestions from stakeholders regarding the change process, used to inform adjustments and improvements.
Flow (Czikszentmihalyi) You are so involved in what you are doing you aren’t thinking about yourself as separate from the immediate activity.
Freudian Slip: Unintentional error revealing subconscious thoughts or feelings.
Sigmund Freud: Founder of psychoanalysis, contributed to understanding the unconscious mind.
Gestalt Psychology: Emphasises the importance of holistic perception and experience.
Goal Setting: collaboratively establishing clear, specific, and measurable objectives that guide the coaching process and serve as a roadmap for achieving desired outcomes.
Goal-Setting Theory: A theory that suggests specific and challenging goals, along with appropriate feedback, contribute to higher and better task performance.
Grit : is a psychological trait characterised by passion and perseverance toward long-term goals, even in the face of setbacks and challenges. It involves a combination of resilience, determination, and sustained effort over time, contributing significantly to achieving success and reaching one's potential (See Duckworth, Angela).
Group Dynamics: The patterns of interactions and relationships among team members, influencing overall team performance.
Groupthink: A psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Coined by Stu Janis when investigating the Challenger US space shuttle disaster.
Growth Mindset: Believing that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, learning, and practice, fostering resilience, and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth (See Dweck, Carol 2006 in our book section, click here).
Habit Formation: Process of establishing routines through repetition and reinforcement. A habit is a behavior that is performed regularly and, through consistent repetition, becomes an automatic part of one's routine. In the context of behavioural change, developing positive habits requires starting small, being consistent, and recognising triggers that prompt the desired behavior. Over time, with persistence and positive reinforcement, these habits become ingrained, leading to lasting change (see Clear, James).
Halo Effect: The tendency for a person's positive or negative traits to influence how they are perceived in other areas.
Herd Mentality: scientifically known as "collective behaviour," refers to the tendency of individuals to conform to the actions and opinions of a larger group, often leading to a loss of independent thought and decision-making. An example of herd mentality is observed in financial markets, where investors may follow the crowd in buying or selling assets based on prevailing sentiments rather than individual analysis, contributing to market bubbles or crashes
Heuristic - A simple, efficient rule used to make decisions, form judgments, or solve problems. A mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently.
Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow): A pyramid of human needs, from basic to self-actualisation.
High-Value Creating Team : “…a highly effective team meets and communicates in a way that raises morale and alignment, engages with the team's key stakeholder groups in a way that co-creates value and provides constant learning and development for all its members and the collective team” Peter Hawkins 2011
Hogan Leadership Assessments: HPI (strengths, day to day) , HDS (under stress/derailers) , MVPI (values and drivers) Hogan Assessments is a suite of psychometric assessments designed to evaluate personality, leadership potential, and work-related behaviours. These assessments are used in various contexts, such as employee selection, leadership development, and talent management, to provide insights into an individual's strengths, potential challenges, and overall cultural fit within an organisation. See our page on Hogan assessments and coaching to learn more, click here
Inclusivity: Fostering an environment where all team members feel valued, respected, and included regardless of their differences.
Incremental Change: Small, gradual adjustments or improvements made over time to processes, practices, or systems within an organisation.
In-group vs out-group: In social psychology, the terms "in-group" and "out-group" refer to the groups to which an individual belongs (in-group) and those to which they do not belong (out-group), influencing perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours based on social categorisation.
Intentional Change Theory: (Boyatzis) is a framework for achieving sustainable personal growth by aligning one's actions with a vision of their ideal self through a structured five-stage process.
Intrinsic Motivation: Internal drive stemming from personal satisfaction or enjoyment.
International Coach Federation: Founded in 1995, The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is is the largest global organisation for coaches and coaching. ICF is dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high standards, providing independent certification and building a worldwide network of trained coaching professionals (see also EMCC and AC).
Inter-group Conflict - Conflict that occurs between groups or teams in an organisation, often arising from competition for resources, differences in values, or perceived threats.
Ivan Pavlov's Dog Experiment: Illustrates classical conditioning with salivary response.
James-Lange Theory of Emotion: Emotions arise from physiological responses.
Joint Accountability: The shared responsibility of team members for both successes and failures, encouraging a collective sense of ownership.
Juxtaposition: Placing contrasting elements side by side to highlight differences and provoke change.
Kahneman, Daniel: Nobel laureate, known for his work in behavioral economics and dual-process theory. Great books as referenced in our change reading list, click here to learn more
Key Influencers: Individuals or factors that significantly impact behaviour and decision-making.
Kitty Genovese Syndrome: Bystander effect - people less likely to help in a group.
Kotter's 8-Step Change Model: Developed by John Kotter, this model outlines eight sequential steps for implementing change, including creating a sense of urgency, building a guiding coalition, and anchoring changes in corporate culture.
Knowledge Sharing: The process of exchanging information, skills, and expertise among team members to enhance overall team competence.
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (PhD): Pioneered the study of grief with her model of the five stages of grief. Used worldwide as five stages of change. See our blog on behaviour change models, click here
Leadership Styles: Different approaches to leading a team, such as transformational, democratic, or laissez-faire leadership. Essentially a way for individuals and organisations to make sense of the complexity of leadership.
Lewin's Change Management Model: Kurt Lewin's model is often represented as a three-step process: unfreezing (preparing for change), changing (implementing the change), and refreezing (making the change permanent). It emphasises the need to overcome resistance to change.
Locus of Control: Belief in one's ability to control life events and influence outcomes.
Limiting Beliefs: Deeply ingrained beliefs or assumptions that hinder personal growth and success. Coaches help individuals identify and challenge these beliefs to create new possibilities.
Little Albert Experiment (Watson): Demonstrates classical conditioning of fear.
Maslow, Abraham: Developed the hierarchy of needs, a cornerstone of humanistic psychology.
McKinsey 7-S Model: This model, developed by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, considers seven interconnected factors (strategy, structure, systems, style, staff, skills, and shared values) that must be aligned for successful organisational change.
Mental Set - A tendency to approach situations in a certain way because that method worked in the past.
Meta-Cognition - Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.
Metaphor: “a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable” Marriam Webster dictionary.
Metaphor Coaching: metaphors may arise within a coaching conversation, working with clients metaphors can give unique insights into their perceptions and, since especially internationally language can be tricky, it can be particularly useful when coaching cross-culturally.
Milgram Experiment: Investigates obedience to authority figures in a social context.
Mirror Neurons: specialised cells in the brain that fire both when an individual performs an action and when they observe someone else performing the same action, creating a neural mirroring effect (observed in studies observing monkeys in particular). This phenomenon is thought to play a role in understanding and imitating others, fostering empathy, and contributing to social learning and communication.
Mindfulness: Cultivating awareness of the present moment to enhance decision-making, reduce stress and increase presence.
Mission Statement: A concise statement that defines the team's purpose, values, and goals, providing a unifying direction.
Modeling - The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.
Motivational Interviewing: A client-centered approach that explores and resolves ambivalence by eliciting and strengthening intrinsic motivation for positive change.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): A non-invasive imaging technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to create detailed images of the brain's structure.
Nature vs. Nurture Debate: Examines the influence of genetics and environment on behavior. Current neuroscience understanding suggests both nature (epigenetics) and nurture (childhood experiences and neuroplasticity) influence behaviour.
Neuron: The basic functional unit of the nervous system, responsible for transmitting information through electrical and chemical signals.
Neuroplasticity: the brain's capacity to adapt and reorganise itself through the formation of new neural connections. See our blog series on neuroscience to learn more, click here
Neurotransmitter: Chemical messengers that transmit signals between neurons, influencing various physiological and psychological processes. eg Endorphins, Serotonin, Oxytocin and Dopamine.
Norms: Established and accepted patterns of behaviour within a team (or society), influencing the team's culture.
Norm Formation - The process by which group members develop shared values, beliefs, and behaviors that dictate the appropriate way to act within the group.
Nudge: Gentle encouragement or subtle changes to influence behaviour positively.
Obergs theory of culture shock: Anthropologist Kalervo Oberg (1901-1973) theorised the idea of cultural shock in 1954. Cultural shock is a feeling of uncertainty or anxiety that affects people that are immersed in a culture that is different or new. It occurs in four stages: excitement, irritation, adjustment, and adaption.
Open Communication: Creating an environment where team members feel comfortable expressing their thoughts, ideas, and concerns.
Organisational Climate - The atmosphere or environment within an organisation, shaped by members' perceptions of their work environment.
Organsational Culture: The shared values, beliefs, and norms within an organisation that can influence how change is perceived and implemented.
Operant Conditioning: Learning through rewards and punishments to reinforce or deter behaviours.
Organisational Identity - The self-conceived and expressed image of the organisation, reflecting how it views itself and its purpose.
Pavlov, Ivan: Renowned for classical conditioning, studying learning through association.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): The network of nerves and ganglia outside the central nervous system, connecting it to the rest of the body.
Personal development: the lifelong process of self-improvement, goal-setting, and learning aimed at enhancing various aspects of an individual's life, fostering self-awareness, and realising one's full potential.
Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development: Describes cognitive growth in children.
Positive Psychology: a field of psychology that focuses on fostering well-being, resilience, and flourishing by emphasising positive emotions, strengths, and personal growth.
Power Distance - The extent to which less powerful members of an organisation accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. Coined by Hofstede in the 1980’s referring originally to national/country based traits.
Prejudice - Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
Prochaska's Stages of Change: Model outlining stages individuals go through in behaviour change. Learn more in our behaviour change models blog, click here
Projection - A defense mechanism in which unwanted feelings are displaced onto another person, where they then appear as a threat from the external world.
Psychological safety (Team): a shared belief held by members of a team that is safe for interpersonal risk taking (Edmondson, 1999). This differs from the concept of trust (a willingness to be vulnerable to the actions of others). Essentially trust is giving the other person the benefit of the doubt whereas psychological safety is the extent that an individual believes others will give them the benefit of the doubt. Psychological safety has found to be a significant pre-cursor to high performing teams including learning, employee engagement, increased innovation and information sharing. (This was my area of research in my Masters dissertation).
Quasi-Experimental Design: Research design lacking random assignment. (am I scratching around for Q’s? - yes)
Questioning Assumptions: Challenging underlying beliefs to facilitate perspective shifts.
Reciprocal Determinism - The theory set forth by Albert Bandura that a person's behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment.
Reflex - An automatic and involuntary response to a stimulus.
Reinforcement: Using rewards or consequences to strengthen or weaken behaviours.
Reinforcement Theory: A theory that suggests behavior is motivated by its consequences. Positive reinforcement involves the addition of a reward following a desired behavior, and negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unpleasant outcome.
Reflection: The practice of introspection and thoughtful examination of experiences, thoughts, and emotions to gain insight, enhance self-awareness, and facilitate learning and growth.
Resilience: The ability to bounce back from setbacks, adapt to change, and maintain a positive mindset and productive behaviour in the face of challenges.
Risk Management: The process of identifying, assessing, and controlling risks that could impact the successful implementation of change.
Rogers, Carl: Key figure in humanistic psychology, known for client-centered therapy.
Satir Change Model: Virginia Satir's model identifies five stages of change: late status quo, resistance, chaos, integration, and new status quo. It emphasises the importance of addressing emotional and interpersonal aspects of change.
Schema - A cognitive framework or concept that helps organise and interpret information.
Self-Actualisation - The realisation or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, considered as a drive or need present in everyone.
Self-Determination Theory (SDT): (Deci & Ryan) is a psychological theory that explores human motivation through the lens of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, emphasising autonomy, competence, and relatedness as fundamental to fostering motivation and personal growth. It suggests that fulfilling these basic psychological needs is key to achieving self-motivation and well-being.
Self-efficacy: a personal judgement of how well one can execute courses of action required to deal with prospective situations (Bandura, 1977)
Self-handicapping: where people avoid effort in the hope of keeping potential failure from hurting self-esteem (Jones and Berglas)
Self-reflection is the process of thoughtfully considering one's experiences, actions, and thoughts to gain insights and enhance learning. It involves evaluating and understanding personal behaviors and outcomes to foster personal growth and critical thinking. Reflection can lead to deeper learning, personal growth, and the development of critical thinking skills by enabling individuals to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement, as well as to make connections between theoretical knowledge and practical experiences.
Self-serving bias: occurs when individuals attribute their success to personal or internal factors BUT attribute their failures to factors beyond their control
Socialisation - The process by which individuals internalise the values, beliefs, and norms of a given society and learn to function as members of that society.
Social Loafing - The phenomenon of a person exerting less effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group than when working alone.
B.F. Skinner: Pioneering behaviorist known for operant conditioning and reinforcement theories.
Social Identity Theory - The theory that people identify with groups in such a way that their identity is tied to these groups.
Social psychology: focuses on understanding how individuals are influenced by the presence and actions of others, as well as how group dynamics shape behaviour. The study of collective behaviour explores phenomena such as crowd behaviour, mass movements, and group decision-making processes. Researchers in social psychology investigate the factors that contribute to the emergence of collective behaviour, including social norms, group identity, and the influence of authority figures within a given social context.
Socratic questioning: a method of inquiry that encourages critical thinking and self-reflection by asking probing and insightful questions.
Somatisation - The conversion of psychological distress into physical symptoms.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals: Goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This framework helps individuals set clear and actionable objectives.
Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo): Demonstrates the power of social roles.
Stereotype - A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.
Strengths-based Coaching: Focusing on individuals' strengths, talents, and positive attributes to leverage their existing capabilities and maximise their potential. This falls into the area of positive psychology and is one of the areas we draw on in our coaching depending on clients needs.
Sustainability Plan: A strategy to ensure that the changes made through a project or initiative are maintained over time, addressing how to embed new practices and behaviors in the organisation's ongoing operations.
Synergy: The idea that the collective effort of a team or group produces a result greater than the sum of individual efforts.
Systems Thinking: Considering the interconnectedness and interdependencies of various elements within a system to understand the broader context and impact on individual and organisational dynamics.
Team Building: Activities and processes designed to enhance the effectiveness and cohesion of a team. Often though of to be ‘away days’ involving physical problem solving techniques (research does not find these types of approaches to team development as successful)
Team Coaching: “Team coaching helps teams work together, with others and within their wider environment, to create lasting change by developing safe and trusting relationships, better ways of working and new thinking, so that they maximise their collective potential, purpose and performance goals.” Widdowson and Barbour (2021). Team coaches work in and between the dynamics of the team at an individuals and group and systemics level. To learn more click here to be transported to our team coaching page
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): Projective psychological test to reveal unconscious thoughts.
Thinker: verb used to describe a coachee that better suggests action or activity.
Trait - A characteristic way of thinking, feeling, or behaving.
Transformational Coaching: a coaching approach that aims to facilitate deep and lasting change by supporting individuals in transforming their beliefs, values, behaviours, and self-perception.
Transformative learning: is “the process by which we transform problematic frames of reference (mindsets, habits of mind, meaning perspectives) – sets of assumption and expectation – to make them more inclusive, discriminating, open, reflective, and emotionally able to change. Such frames are better because they are more likely to generate beliefs and opinions that will prove more true or justified to guide action.” (Mezirow, 2006:92).
Transformational Change: Significant, radical changes that fundamentally alter the culture, core values, and operations of an organisation, often in response to major shifts in the external environment.
Transtheoretical Model: Framework for understanding and facilitating behaviour change.
Tripartite meeting in an executive coaching engagement is a collaborative discussion that involves three key participants: the executive being coached (coachee), the executive coach, and the coachee's manager or another relevant stakeholder from the organisation (sponsor). This type of meeting is crucial for aligning expectations, establishing clear goals, and ensuring that the coaching process supports both the individual's growth and the organisation's objectives.
Unconscious - The part of the mind that is inaccessible to the conscious mind but that affects behavior and emotions.
Unconscious Bias: Implicit attitudes or stereotypes that influence decision-making unknowingly.
Unconditional positive regard: a concept created by famous therapist Carl Rogers (1961). The acceptance and support of an individual without judgment or conditions, fostering a safe and non-judgmental environment for personal growth and self-acceptance. A foundational aspect of great coaching and high quality interpersonal interactions.
Unconditioned Response (UCR): Involuntary response to an unconditioned stimulus.
Values Clarification: The process of identifying and defining one's core values to align actions, goals, and decisions with personal principles and priorities.
Vicarious Reinforcement (Bandura): Learning by observing others' rewards and punishments.
Visioning: Guiding individuals in envisioning their desired future and creating a compelling vision that motivates and inspires action towards achieving their goals.
Virtual Teams: Groups of individuals working together across geographical locations, relying on digital communication tools.
Working alliance: is a partnership between a client and a coach marked by trust, collaboration, and agreement on goals, essential for the success.
Workplace Stress: The response to work demands and changes that surpass an employee's ability to cope. It can stem from organisational changes, increased job demands, or lack of resources, leading to decreased performance and job satisfaction. Effective change management aims to reduce this stress through clear communication, support, and employee involvement.
Well-being: two dominant concepts- subjective well-being SWB (life satisfaction and the prevalence of positive emotions combined- Ed Diener) and Eudaimonic well-being (an orientation towards authenticity, growth, excellence and meaning) , see our blog posts on wellbeing- click here
Willpower: Mental strength and self-control to resist impulses and make positive choices.
Workload Distribution: The equitable assignment of tasks and responsibilities among team members.
X-factor: In a more general sense, the "X-factor" can refer to an indefinable but significant characteristic or attribute that makes something or someone stand out.
Yerkes-Dodson Law: Optimal arousal levels for performance vary with task difficulty.
Yielding to Social Norms: Conforming to accepted behaviours within a specific social context.
Z - Zero-Sum Game: A situation in which one participant's gain or loss is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of other participants.
Zone of proximal development: or ZPD is based upon what the learner can do with help and without help. The concept originates from Soviet psychologist and social constructivist Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934).
I hope you have enjoyed reading this coaching and change glossary. I will be updating this list from time to time. Feel free to pop back or even email if you would like to suggest an addition!
