Walls and bridges

Editorial, January 2020

The political drama unfolding in the UK over recent months has led us to reflect on global co-operation. Whilst the UK seems to be on the brink of distancing itself from fellow EU countries we would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the richness and the value of our international coaching community.

The benefit of international collaboration in research is well documented (for example, Barjak & Robinson, 2008; Freshwater, Sherwood & Drury, 2006). This kind of diversity within research teams ensures that we question assumptions and consider different perspectives, and it leads to more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of others and of ourselves; it gives us access to expertise and resources beyond our own back yards, and allow us to develop the richest professional relationships.

Within our field, international work and cross-cultural collaboration are particularly valuable, as they can help to ensure that the evidence base we offer to our practitioners is fit for purpose. Coaches frequently work for international organisations, and with coachees from all across the globe. An evidence base that reflects only a narrow, partisan slice of the world will not equip the profession with the necessary breadth of understanding, and so we rely on a good range of international research and collaboration to keep our profession relevant and valid.

A commitment to international collaboration is at the heart of our journal and is a value we hold dear. We have a vibrant international editorial board, and partner with professional associations in the UK and the US. But perhaps more significant than the make up of the editorial team is the make up of our authors, and in this edition, we are delighted to be publishing articles from authors based in seven different countries, spread across five continents.

From the USA we hear from Schultz, Stuckey and Lawson with an empirical study examining group health coaching with underserved populations, and from Sepulveda, Birnbaum, Finley & Frye examining the impact of coaching college students who have expressed an intention to leave. Müller, Kotte & Möller from Germany offer an analysis of supervision of workplace coaches, and Zuñiga-Collazos, Castillo-Palacio, Montaña-Narváez & Castillo-Arévalo from Colombia focus on the influence of managerial coaching on organisational performance. Terblanche from South Africa discusses the development of coaching models and different approaches to coaching are put under the spotlight first by Grant and Gerrard from Australia, comparing solution-focused and problem-focused coaching, and then by Harvey, Pearson, Mantler and Gotwals from Canada, discussing participants’ experiences of participating in co-active coaching. Finally, Myers and Bachkirova, from the UK, offer an empirical study which compare how coaching sessions are perceived by the coach, coachee and observer.

The international flavour of academic scholarship is one of its great strengths, and it is heartening to see it reflected in this one issue of our journal. In many ways, it is ahead of many other professions and could be leading the way where other industries could follow. It is vital that we keep hold of this advantage and make sure that we keep the borders open, despite any political challenges we face.