SusanDavid, DavidClutterbuck, and DavidMegginson (Eds.). Beyond Goals: Effective Strategies for Coaching and Mentoring. Surrey, England: Gower Publishing, 2013, 378 pages, $89.96 hardcover.
本书批判性审视目标设定理论在教练与导师关系中的简单化应用，整合多种教练模型与理论，为实践者与学者提供反思目标有效性的视角。
As it unfolds, this edited volume by coaching gurus Susan David, David Clutterbuck, and David Megginson follows two parallel tracks: criticisms of goal-setting theory (GST) and defining the executive coaching relationship; these paths overlap when examining when goals are or are not appropriate in that context. The 17 chapters cover these two tracks in different proportions and with varying degrees of success. The resulting collection is a smorgasbord of GST background, applications, and criticisms; models of executive coaching practice; interviews with some key figures; plus an assortment of other limited offerings. As they acknowledge in the preface, although GST has a strong record of achievement, its apparently axiomatic use in coaching can be a problem. So, their intended outcomes for readers are (a) becoming aware of simplistic approaches toward goal setting; (b) having a more critical curiosity about the effectiveness of goals in both practice and/or research; and (c) working better with clients. Without an explicitly stated target audience, this volume seems to be primarily for practitioners and then specialist academics. Perhaps unavoidably in a collection like this, it is left to the reader to extract and synthesize the underlying strands into a more coherent synthesis. I'll try to do that here. Goal setting is considered one of the bulwarks of contemporary motivational theory and practice. By now, the basic principle is clear: when specific performance outcomes are set, and performers have high self-efficacy and are committed to the goals, motivated performance will be better than simply using do-your-best goals. As Locke and Latham (2002) concluded, this principal is supported by a vast body of research. In Chapter 1, the editors (plus Congleton) offer a history of goals from antiquity on. The review of contemporary doctrine was much more useful. Chapter 2 (Clutterback & David) considers two common acronyms: SMART goals (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound) and the GROW model (Goal-setting, Reality checking, Options, and What is to be done). They also raise the question of whether goals should be the first order of business in coaching process. In Chapter 3, David, Megginson, and Congleton serve up a literature review of goals and coaching. Unfortunately, this review includes a lot of popular business monographs with limited empirical basis. Chapter 4 by Grant is one of several chapters with criticisms of goal-setting theory. The headwater to these criticisms, here and in other chapters, is the Ordoñez, Schweitzer, Galinsky, and Brazerman (2009) article, which lists at least 10 different issues and problems with GST; including this article in this collection would have been helpful. Problems include focusing performance on the wrong goals; a short-term emphasis on narrow goals promotes myopic short-term behavior; the pursuit of results can induce unethical behavior; and rewarded goals can denude intrinsic motivation. This raises the provocative question about whether GST is actually effective. The bulk of the middle chapters extol several different approaches to coaching practices, typically based on the authors’ more basic theory of behavior and development; they invariably offer practice and implementation guidance. For example, Grant (Chapter 4), relying on a generic model of goal-directed, self-regulated behavior, notes that goals are the foundation for self-regulation. Thus, “the coach's role is to facilitate the coachee's movement through the self-regulatory cycle” (p. 59); the coach does this by intentionally creating positive change through coaching conversations. Chapter 5 (Spence & Deci) uses the latter's self-determination theory (SDT). By positing that people have an inherent tendency to grow and develop, they position coaching as ultimately about unleashing human potential. Their review of SDT and its application to coaching practice is good. I found several chapters to be particularly noteworthy. Chapter 7 by Greif is one. He provides an integrative theory of goal-driven behavior change. Observing how often people trying to change will relapse back to their old ways, the question is why. To avoid this, he proposes a two-step “Rubicon phase model”: first, creating “goal intentions,” but then also creating “implementation intentions” (plans for how to achieve the intended goals). He notes research in which translating goal intentions into implementation intentions adds significantly to achieving desired outcomes. In a coaching context, both goal intentions and goal implementations are necessary. Moving from goal to implementation intentions crosses the Rubicon toward successful change. Another noteworthy chapter is by Boyatzis and Howard (Chapter 10) in which they make a credible case for when goals may be counterproductive. The theoretical basis is both Boyatzis’ intentional change theory and the SDT of Deci and Ryan. Accordingly, goals can either help or hinder the process of change; for goals to work, they must sustain persistent performance by connecting with “positive emotional attractors.” In the context of the theory, intentional changes are particularly motivated by a person's contemplation of his or her ideal self that stimulates motivation, passion, and a belief in the possible, all of which enable greater resilience. I was pleasantly surprised by and interested in this theory. Other chapters were less satisfying. Chapters 8 and 9 were based on Chaos Theory; the reasoning challenges traditional management and coaching thinking that assumes change to be a simplistic execution of linear plans because systems are too complex for humans to adequately predict or control. Chapter 6 grounds certain coaching practices in neurological mechanisms. I found their conclusions about goals to be rather limited and obvious, and some coaching implications could be drawn without relying upon a neurological framework. Chapters 11, 12, and 13 were interviews with certain prominent figures in the field (Robert Keegan, John Whitmore, and Kathy Kram). Other than an occasional point of interest, I didn't find these chapters useful. Chapter 14 was more primer on using goals than critique. In Chapter 15, the only one devoted to mentoring, organizations may expect mentors to establish goals with the protégé, then track and assist in goal attainment as part of a formal mentoring program. Alternatives are explored, like a comentoring relationship. The final two chapters move to review and summary. Clutterbuck (Chapter 16) provides something of a consolidated review of the prior chapters. For him, the preceding chapters show that the simplistic, automatic use of goals in coaching relationships can be counterproductive. He provides a series of bulleted questions for analysis and points for guidance. In the final chapter, the editors engage in reflections on what they've learned. David's reflections about the limits of goals are particularly useful. She has three cautions: Goals can imply, falsely, that outcomes are achievable by predictable linear actions; goals can narrow attention and act as barriers to successful change; and easily established goals may not be the real goals that need to be pursued. I have several nits to pick. First, the context of these pieces is primarily executive coaching. This was never stated explicitly. Perhaps that is the tacit meaning of coaching now, but I can remember the relatively recent past when coaching referred to an aspect of a supervisor's ongoing on-the-job training and development process with subordinate employees. In that frame, much of what is covered is only marginally applicable. Second, the straw man of their argument is the presumption that coaching is driven by a goals-first practice; given the diversity of coaching models provided, though, such a presumption can be questioned. Third, developmental relationships may focus on a variety of outcomes, such as task learning, performance enhancement, career development, behavioral change, whole person development, and transformational change (from Chapter 16). The use of goals would likely be contingent on the kind of focus in use; this could have been more profitably explored. Fourth, mentoring is really only addressed in one chapter. Fifth, practitioners will not find any ready or consistent guidance but rather a collection of approaches, each with their own somewhat distinctive recommendations. This may not be all bad but practitioner beware. What this book does well is draw your attention to the limitations of GST in the context of developing others as well as direct attention to different kinds of goals and when they might best be used. Executive coaching specialists may appreciate the review of several compelling models of coaching. The more academically inclined can appreciate the much larger framing of goals and may be surprised, perhaps informed by literature questioning GST. Everyday practitioners will probably be disappointed that more consistent guidelines are scattered and variable.