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The first category, conceptual understanding, is particularly important. Although most coaches recognise that they are in the change business, many cannot articulate how they understand change takes place, and why so often it doesn’t. Having a theory of change is indispensable to psychologically oriented coaching.

Probably the best known and most scientifically validated change model is the Prochaska stages of change model set out in a number of research articles and books cowritten with Norcross, DiClemente and Velicer, dating back as far as 1979. This emerging body of work has influenced such diverse activities as health promotion campaigns, addiction treatment, psychotherapy practice, leadership programmes and mainstream education. It proposes that change is a process that unfolds over time and involves a progression through a number of stages, namely: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, main- tenance and termination. These are supported by a number of change pro- cesses such as awareness raising, reevaluation of self, and experimentation with new behaviours. Other key change factors such as decisional balance, the cost- benefit analysis of change, and self-efficacy are also prominent in this theory. Given the impact of this work it is important to examine it in more detail.

Prochaska’s stages of change

Pre-contemplation is characterised by the following:

* _{The clients concerned are not intending to change or take action in}

the near future (the next 6 months).

* _{They may be uninformed or underinformed about the consequences}

and effects of their behaviour.

* _{They may have tried to change previously but were unsuccessful (and}

maybe demoralised).

* _{They may be in denial or defensive.}

According to Prochaska, people in the pre-contemplation stage ‘under- estimate the benefits of changing and overestimate the costs’.

Contemplation is where individuals intend to change within the next 6 months and where the following typically apply:

* _{They are more aware of the advantages of changing but are also}

acutely conscious of the disadvantages.

* _{The perceived costs of change can increase at this stage.} * _{This can produce a profound ambivalence.}

This cost/benefit analysis of change, so intrinsic to the process, is what leads to the critical factor of decisional balance – where the scales tip in favour of one course of action (or inaction).

The preparation stage is reached when a person intends to take action in the next month and is beginning to scan the environment for the informa- tion, practical assistance and emotional support required to succeed. It might be the time when as a coach you are first approached by a prospective client. The action stage is when the person has genuinely engaged with the ‘programme’ and is taking actions identified to address targeted behaviours. It is characterised by the following:

* _{The individual has made specific, overt modifications.} * _{Improvement is observable and measurable.}

* _{The benefits of change are beginning to appear.}

Maintenance is the stage where people are aware of the dangers of relap- sing into old behaviours yet are simultaneously becoming more confident that they can hold onto their hard-won gains. This is a critical yet often underestimated stage of the change process.

One of the most common reasons for relapse is that people invariably think that their change effort will require a few weeks or months at the most and ease up on both their resolve and conscious actions too early. Using clients’ own reports, Prochaska suggests that the maintenance phase may require anything from 6 months to 5 years.

The sixth and final stage is defined as termination. This applies more obviously when people are giving up a habit or an unhealthy pattern of coping and have reached the point when they experience a rock solid belief that they will not return to it. This level of self-efficacy is relatively low according to Prochaska’s studies and, as he points out, ‘for many people the best that can be accomplished is a life-time of maintenance’. This figure has to be seen in the context of studies on clinical populations where clients were changing high habit-strength behaviours such as problem drinking and chronic addiction to smoking.

Change processes

In addition to these six stages of change Prochaska and his research colleagues identified nine processes of change that need to be matched to the relevant stage: 98 PSYCHOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS OF EXECUTIVE COACHING

* _{Increased awareness – recognition of the issue(s). This particularly}

applies at the precontemplation and contemplation stages.

* _{Emotional awareness – experiencing and expressing feelings about}

the issue(s). Again, especially relevant at the first two stages.

* _{Consideration of the impact of behaviour on others. Again, stages}

one and two.

* _{Reevaluation of self in relation to feelings about the issue[s]. ‘Am I}

the person I thought I was?’ ‘What sort of person do I want to be?’ This process of change can propel the individual from contemplation to preparation.

* A belief that one can change and a commitment to act. This may be

the driving force to move from preparation to action.

* Experimentation with new behaviours and responses – learning new

and more productive ways to achieve goals. This change process together with the remaining three all fit both the action and main- tenance stages.

* _{Incentives and rewards for changes, particularly self-reinforced ones.} * _{Avoidance of triggers in the environment for old behaviour.} * _{Development of support networks including the coach, friends,}

family and colleagues

Implications for the coach

Prochaska’s work offers some invaluable learning points about coaching for behavioural change. It provides illuminating insights into how change takes place and why so often it doesn’t. These are some of the points which I believe are especially relevant to coaches:

* The model reinforces the importance of identifying the stage your

clients are at in their change process. This may seem obvious but I would suggest that coaches often mistakenly treat their clients as if they are in the preparation or action stage when they are actually in the precontemplation or contemplation stages. This places the coach and the client on different pages of the book. What invariably fol- lows is confusion and disappointment as the clients fail to live up to the coach’s expectations.

* _{This body of research yet again emphasises the importance of raising}

awareness as a crucial aspect of the change process. It also underpins another central principle of coaching – that a person must choose to commit to learning and change. The power of that decision should not be underestimated.

* The reevaluation of self in the light of new data about oneself

need for the coach to be psychologically skilled and able to work with people in vulnerable states.

* _{This research provides a reminder of just how important a role the}

environment plays in the change process either reinforcing or undermining success. This underlines the need for the coach to take a systems perspective in personal change work.

* _{Prochaska’s studies confirm that change requires longer than people}

often think. It can therefore be important to discuss realistic time- frames for change with clients. It also suggests that we need to pay fuller attention to the maintenance stage of change. In organisa- tional life, where things move on quickly and agendas change, maintenance is often neglected. This may account for why so many change initiatives fall away.

* Finally, this work lends support to the view that ultimately coaching

is about promoting self-change and that this may indeed be your most significant contribution as a coach.

Given the scope of this change theory it isn’t possible to cover all its major propositions here. I therefore recommend that you explore the source material in depth. Having a strong appreciation of a credible theory of change is an indispensable part of any coach’s toolkit.