Article

Project Management Journal

Vol. 50(3) 306–321
The Impact of Executive Coaching on ª 2019 Project Management Institute, Inc.
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Project Managers’ Personal Competencies DOI: 10.1177/8756972819832191
journals.sagepub.com/home/pmx

Luis Ballesteros-Sánchez1, Isabel Ortiz-Marcos1,

and Rocı́o Rodrı́guez-Rivero1

Abstract
Personal competencies have been shown to be increasingly reliable predictors of successful project managers. This research
studies whether executive coaching is effective in strengthening personal competencies in the project management field. An
experiment with 30 project managers and 30 observers has been conducted to determine, by means of a quantitative and
qualitative approach, the impact of coaching on different competencies based on the Project Manager Competency Development
Framework – Third Edition (Project Management Institute, 2017a). The conclusions reveal interesting insights, such as the finding
that executive coaching has the greatest impact on behaviors related to leading, managing, and finding strategies for coping with
challenging situations.

Keywords
executive coaching, personal competencies, project management, project manager

Introduction Some of the main competency frameworks are the Project

Management Professional (PMP)® certification from the Proj-
The project manager is increasingly a key agent in the devel-
ect Management Institute (PMI, 2017b), the International Proj-
opment of the business, growth, and capabilities of organiza-
ect Management Association certification (IPMA, 2015), the
tions, particularly in a changing, complex, and challenging
competency framework of the Association for Project Manage-
environment (Project Management Institute [PMI], 2017a,
ment (APM, 2008), and the professional standards that have
2017b). Challenges that project managers must address
been defined by the Australian Institute of Project Management
include leadership style issues, stress, uncertainty, motiva-
(AIPM, 2008). These competency standards provide guidance
tion, learning, teamwork, and the development of a team cul-
to individuals and organizations for the definition, assessment,
ture (Berg & Karlsen, 2013). The project manager’s role is
and development of project manager competencies. Their use
evolving and should be strengthened with a broad range of
has been extended internationally.
knowledge and skills that are complementary to the tradi-
Until now, competency frameworks have developed and
tional functions of project administration in order to acquire
mapped both technical and personal competencies for project
other competencies that modern project management
managers. However, the focus has been mainly on the assess-
requires. This includes management and leadership compe-
ment and development of knowledge and performance for the
tencies that contribute to the strategic needs of the organiza-
use of tools and techniques in project management rather than
tion (Ahsan & Ho, 2013).
on personal competencies (Takey & Carvalho, 2015). Never-
Competencies can be defined as clusters of knowledge, apti-
theless, the number of research studies and publications con-
tudes, attitudes, and behaviors that are needed to accomplish a
cerning personal competencies has grown recently (Brière,
piece of work (Boyatzis, 1982). Similarly, Parry (1996) defines
competencies as a set of related knowledge, skills, and personal
characteristics that have an influence on individual and group 1
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Department of Organization Engineering,
work in an organization, are related to job performance, and Business Administration and Statistics, Madrid, Spain
can be improved by training and professional development.
The importance that is attributed to the strategic role of a Corresponding Author:
Luis Ballesteros-Sánchez, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Department of
project manager in organizations has led in recent decades to Organization Engineering, Business Administration and Statistics. C/ José
the growing development of frameworks of international com- Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
petencies and professional standards for project management. Email: [email protected]
Ballesteros-Sánchez et al. 307

Proulx, Flores, & Laporte, 2015; Chipulu, Neoh, Ojiako, & 2014). Executive coaching provides a means of strengthening
Williams, 2013; Clarke, 2010a; Liikamaa, 2015; Meng & management and strategic capabilities and is also a key inter-
Boyd, 2017; Müller & Turner, 2010a; Skulmoski & Hartman, vention for the development of organizations (Joo, Sushko, &
2010; Takey & Carvalho, 2015). McLean, 2012). Nevertheless, empirical research that assesses
Kerzner and Saladis (2011) undertook a study to learn why the effects of coaching lags far behind the practice of coaching
projects fail. They discovered that for many years the reasons (Bono, Purvanova, Towler, & Peterson, 2009; Dippenaar &
were quantitative issues (planning, estimating, scheduling, or Schaap, 2017; Grant, Curtayne, & Burton, 2009). The effec-
controlling), but in the modern period (from 1993 until the pres- tiveness of executive coaching needs to be clearly and scienti-
ent), the importance of behavioral issues in order to achieve fically demonstrated, providing experimental designs that
project success is emphasized. Ethical shortcomings, lack of include quantitative measures and comparable control groups
employee engagement, low productivity, and weak relationships (De Meuse, Dai, & Lee, 2009; Page & de Haan, 2014).
are considered to be the most critical issues. In keeping with this, The goal of this research is to determine how project man-
other authors affirm that, when important projects fail, the inves- agement coaching works with regard to its effectiveness in
tigation focuses on technical reasons, although the problem is strengthening the personal competencies of project managers.
often rooted in management failure (Sauser, Reilly, & Shenhar, An experiment with 30 active project managers has been con-
2009). These analyses highlight the importance of the personal ducted. The study included a group of 30 observers directly
competencies linked to behavioral issues. working with 15 project managers who participated in a coach-
Context changes, such as an increase in project complexity, ing intervention, and a control group of 15 project managers who
multicultural issues, and the growth of work by virtual teams, did not receive any intervention. The results of a qualitative and
have led to a new era in which project managers’ personal quantitative approach have been analyzed to determine the
competencies are increasingly crucial to the achievement of impact of coaching on different competencies. The conclusions
project success (Azim, Gale, Lawlor-Wright, Kirkham, Khan, reveal interesting insights, such as the fact that the greatest
& Alam, 2010; Chipulu et al., 2013). The demand for soft skills impact of executive coaching was on project managers’ personal
is even more pronounced in project management than in other competencies related to leading and managing, as well as a high
business environments; as relationships must be developed positive impact of coaching on finding strategies for coping with
more quickly and frequently, there are interpersonal interac- stress and difficult situations, such as conflicts and crises.
tions across organizational and professional cultures in a proj- The next section provides an overview of relevant literature
ect environment (Druskat & Druskat, 2006). concerning project management personal competencies, which
Personal competencies within the project management field is followed by a review of executive coaching as a way to
have been defined as those behaviors, attitudes, and core per- strengthen these competencies. The fourth section describes
sonality characteristics that contribute to a person’s ability to the research methodology. The fifth section provides the
manage projects (PMI, 2017a). Personal competencies have results, describing personal competencies that have been
been shown to be increasingly reliable predictors of successful improved by the quantitative and qualitative approach. In the
project managers (Ahadzie, Proverbs, & Olomolaiye, 2008; sixth section, we discuss the scientific implications of the
Boyatzis, 2008; Chipulu et al., 2013; Cheng, Dainty, & Moore, research. The seventh section discusses the study’s main lim-
2005; Druskat & Druskat, 2006; Stevenson & Starkweather, itations. The final section of the article provides a summary of
2010). While demands for successful project leaders continue main insights gained from the research.
to increase, it is important to better understand the key personal
competencies of these professionals and how to strengthen
them effectively (Azim et al., 2010; Ballesteros-Sánchez, Project Management Personal Competencies
Ortiz-Marcos, Rodrı́guez-Rivero, & Juan-Ruiz, 2017; Creasy Personal competencies connote the ability of a project manager
& Anantatmula, 2013; Dippenaar & Schaap, 2017; Obradovic, to work effectively in a team and to build a cooperative effort
Jovanovic, Petrovic, Mihic, & Mitrovic, 2013; Petter & Ran- within it (El-Sabaa, 2001). These skills primarily concern
dolph, 2009; Skulmoski & Hartman, 2010). working with people, remaining sensitive to the needs and
The main methodologies identified for the development of motivations of others in the team, and the ability to commu-
competencies in project management are training (internal, nicate (El-Sabaa, 2001).
external, group, individual, computerized, or on-the-job train- A literature review of soft skills leads to the first theorists
ing), mentoring, and coaching (PMI, 2017a). For the develop- and authors on motivation (Blake & Mouton, 1968; McGregor,
ment of personal competencies, executive coaching is gaining 1967), who emphasized that an effective manager requires a set
popularity. Executive coaching involves a series of one-on-one of personal competencies that are based on the consideration of
interventions between a professional coach and an executive human interactions, building trust, and showing empathy for
(i.e., team leader to top management) with the purpose of other people (e.g., in problem solving). Effective managers
enhancing the latter’s behavioral change through self- must develop their own personal point of view of human activ-
awareness and learning, and ultimately contributing to individ- ity (El-Sabaa, 2001; Katz, 1955) so that they will: (1) recognize
ual and organizational success (Bozer, Sarros, & Santora, the feelings and sentiments that they bring to a situation,
308 Project Management Journal 50(3)

Table 1. Frameworks of Project Managers’ Personal Competencies: Literature Review

Performance
Reference Personal Competencies Project Field Criteria

PMBOK® Guide Leadership, team building, motivation, communication, influencing, Generic Not defined
(PMI, 2017b) decision making, political and cultural awareness, negotiating, trust
building, conflict management, and coaching
PMCD framework (PMI, 2017a) Communicating, leading, managing, cognitive ability, effectiveness, and Generic 90 items
professionalism
Individual Competence Baseline Self-reflection and self-management, personal integrity and reliability, Generic 49 items
4.0 personal communication, relationships and engagement, leadership,
(IPMA, 2015) teamwork, conflict and crisis, resourcefulness, negotiation, and results
orientation
APM competence framework Communication, teamwork, leadership, conflict management, Generic 60 items
(APM, 2008) negotiating, human resource management, behavioral characteristics,
learning and development, and professionalism and ethics
Thornberry and Weintraub Oral communication, leadership, intellectual skills, stress management High technology Not defined
(1983) skills, and management skills
El-Sabaa (2001) Mobilizing, communicating, coping with situations, delegating authority, Generic 7 items
political sensitivity, high self-esteem, and enthusiasm
Dainty, Cheng, and Moore Team building, leadership, decision making, mutuality and Construction 43 items
(2005) approachability, honesty and integrity, communication, learning and
understanding, self-efficacy, and external relations
Patanakul and Milosevic (2008) Problem solving ability, conflict management, organization and discipline, Multiple-project Not defined
responsibility, proactivity and ambition, maturity, and self-control and management
flexibility
Muzio and Fisher (2009) Behavioral, motivational, and emotional intelligence Engineering 81 items
Creasy and Anantatmula (2013) Communication apprehension, innovativeness, self-monitoring, conflict Generic Not defined
management, change initiation, and Myers-Briggs (MBTI)—personality
type.
Zhang, Zuo, and Zillante (2013) Service orientation, empathy, organizational awareness, inspirational Construction 59 items
leadership, teamwork and collaboration, conflict management,
influence, and change catalyst
Mesly (2015) Control, transparency, trust, fairness, cooperativeness and commitment International with 83 items
physical distance
Brière et al. (2015) Adaptability, span of abilities, management skills, communication, International Not defined
personal qualities, interpersonal skills, leadership, ethics, networking development
and local knowledge, capacity building, and change management

(2) have an attitude toward their own experiences that will (Salovey & Mayer, 1990, p. 189). The study and importance of
enable them to reevaluate and learn from them, (3) develop the emotional intelligence have been given consideration in the
ability to understand what others are trying to communicate by project management literature (Adams & Anantatmula, 2010;
their actions and words (explicitly or implicitly), and (4) Clarke, 2010a, 2010b; Creasy & Anantatmula, 2013; Druskat
develop the ability to successfully communicate their ideas and & Druskat, 2006; Geoghegan & Dulewicz, 2008; Othman,
attitudes to others. Personal competencies include the set of Abdullah, & Ahmad, 2009; Müller & Turner, 2007, 2010a,
social and emotional competencies that underlie a person’s 2010b; Obradovic et al., 2013; Shao, 2018).
characteristics leading to effective or superior performance Commonly, an effort has been made to break down and
(Boyatzis, 1982, 2008). In addition, personal competencies are group personal competencies into the subset of dimensions
revealed in face-to-face behaviors that people exhibit in their that underlie them. This effort has been carried out by the
effort to achieve something useful (Honey, 1988). In the field main professional project management associations and by
of project management, personal competencies also have been research that is oriented to the study of project management
related to negotiation, change management, and stakeholder competencies.
management (Frame, 2002; Gustavsson & Hallin, 2014). A review of the relevant literature of project managers’
Personal competencies have been directly linked and posi- personal competencies is provided in Table 1 to explain the
tively associated with emotional intelligence (Boyatzis, 2009). dimensions of these kinds of competencies as an aid in select-
Emotional intelligence (EI) is the “ability to monitor onés own ing an appropriate systematic framework for this research and
and otheŕs feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them to better identify the main impacts of executive coaching by a
and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions” quantitative and qualitative approach.
Ballesteros-Sánchez et al. 309

The criteria that were used to select an appropriate per- working in specific project environments and focusing on the
sonal competency framework for the research objectives action (Berg & Karlsen, 2013).
were: (1) the framework needs to be applied to different proj- Coaching is a professional relationship between a coach and
ect fields (generic); (2) it should be an extended and accepted a coachee in which the coach, by the use of powerful questions
international standard that provides descriptions of specific and active listening, addresses issues and challenges and helps
performance criteria; and (3) it must cover a sufficient num- the coachee to develop and change mental, behavioral, emo-
ber of items to be both comprehensive and relatively easy to tional, and learning patterns. This empowers the coachee to
apply for the personal measurement of project managers’ achieve important personal and professional goals. Coaching
competencies. requires time in the current period but is an investment for the
According to these criteria, the Project Manager Compe- future that promises less stress, more self-confidence, and bet-
tency Development (PMCD) framework (PMI, 2007, 2017a) ter interpersonal relations, with fewer conflicts and, therefore,
was selected as the main baseline to use to assess the impact greater efficiency (Berg & Karlsen, 2013).
of executive coaching on personal competencies. Nevertheless, The overall effectiveness of executive coaching has been
all frameworks that were presented previously will help in the reported in a meta-analysis (Theeboom, Beersma, & van Via-
gathering of qualitative information in semi-structured inter- nen, 2014), which found that executive coaching has a moder-
views after the coaching interventions. ate and positive impact on individual performance and skills,
The PMCD framework (PMI, 2007, 2017a) uses an ade- wellness, self-improvement, work attitude, and goal-oriented
quate number of performance criteria (90 items) that are valid self-regulation.
for assessing a wide range of personal competencies that a Coaching is presented by some authors as an effective inter-
competent project manager should use when working in any vention in organizations (Grant et al., 2009; Hall, Otazo, &
project context. With a hierarchical structure, this framework Hollenbeck, 1999; Jones, Woods, & Guillaume, 2014; Olivero,
enables the comparison of six different competency units: com- Bane, & Kopelman, 1997; Page & de Haan, 2014; Smither,
municating, leading, managing, cognitive ability, effective- London, Flautt, Vargas, & Kucine, 2003). Several researchers
ness, and professionalism. Also, many of the performance note the need for empirical knowledge about executive coach-
criteria of the personal competencies that are included in this ing and its application to organizational excellence, exploring
framework cover similar factors to those within emotional what really does work and what does not, beyond conjectures
intelligence. These include self-control, achievement orienta- or assumptions based on individual experiences (Berg & Karl-
tion, positive attitude, organizational awareness, mentoring, sen, 2007, 2013; Bono et al., 2009; De Meuse et al., 2009;
influence, conflict management, and teamwork (Boyatzis & Dippenaar & Schaap, 2017; Grant et al., 2009; Page & de Haan,
Goleman, 1996). 2014). This will be the only way to better understand the ben-
On the other hand, the authors perceive some weaknesses in efits of coaching and its utility as a tool for the improvement of
this framework that concern how certain performance criteria management practices.
descriptions are presented. These can lead to misunderstand- Unfortunately, less research has been developed to under-
ings or mixing of different concepts. Furthermore, although stand fully how coaching can be applied or its effectiveness in
some specific competencies, such as conflict management and the project management field. The difficulty of making good
negotiating skills, are identified within the PMCD framework, predictions of the benefits of the use of coaching for project
they could be addressed more effectively. management in organizations and projects has been empha-
With the combination of a quantitative and qualitative sized (Berg & Karlsen, 2013, 2016). Moreover, the general
approach, this research takes advantage of PMCD strengths reduction of training budgets has brought an increasing need
and complements the analysis by gathering information from to consider what key components lead to an effective coaching
semi-structured interviews after the coaching interventions. relationship and their impact on the projects’ results.
Considering this research gap, we propose to contrast the
following research hypotheses:
Executive Coaching to Strengthen Personal
Competencies H1. Executive coaching is an effective means of improving
the personal competencies of project managers.
The increasing popularity and availability of coaching are
improving project management practices, as coaching offers H2. Executive coaching has differential impacts on the per-
a real option to meet the development needs in a multitude of sonal competencies of project managers.
organizations. Coaching is increasingly used and includes prac-
tices in management consulting for the team, interpersonal
skills, and leadership improvements (Rezania & Lingham, Methodology
2009). It is a tool that improves long-term solutions by chang-
ing habits, attitudes, and work practices, taking care of the
Research Design and Sample
human aspects through an integrative and holistic approach. The research was conducted by means of a quasi-experimental
In addition, as a leadership tool, it has the added value of pretest-post-test study. The participants in the study were
310 Project Management Journal 50(3)

Coaching Process
EXP 15 (8 Coaching Sessions) EXP 15

4 Months 4 Months 8

OBS 30 OBS 30
PMI (90 Items) PMI (90 Items)

?
8 Months 8

CONT 15 CONT 15

?
8 Months 8

EXP: Project Managers (Experimental Group) OBS: Observers (Experimental Group) CONT: Project Managers (Control Group)

Figure 1. Research design.

selected from a professional network on the basis of inde- Table 2. Sample Features: Organizational Sectors Participating in the
pendence, representativeness, and heterogeneous principles Experiment
that gave them the opportunity to voluntarily participate in Sample
the project.
The participants were divided into an experimental group Project Managers (Experimental
and a control group based on their commitment and availability and Control Groups)
to participate until the end of the study, and controlling vari- Organizational Sector N %
ables such as age, sex, education, experience, organizational
sector, number of projects, and people led. Transport 5 16.7%
Defense 4 13.3%
The experimental group consisted of active project manag-
International development 4 13.3%
ers (n ¼ 15) and the observers (n ¼ 30) working with them (two Education 4 13.3%
for each one), as supervisors and/or project team members, Energy 4 13.3%
from 11 different Spanish organizations. The project managers Construction 3 10.0%
were told to recruit the observers from their own organization Fashion 2 6.7%
and to select persons who worked relatively close to them, and Agribusiness 1 3.3%
Banking 1 3.3%
whose performance was familiar to them in order to perceive
Consulting services 1 3.3%
changes easily. In some cases, an observer was a supervisor of Health 1 3.3%
the participants. In all cases, at least one observer was a mem- Total 30 100%
ber of the project team. The two-member observers provided
their feedback individually and anonymously. To mitigate con-
cerns about the use of the surveys and assessments bias, the management experience, and leads five projects with approxi-
nature of the research was explained to the observers, guaran- mately 13 people. In addition, they hold an engineering degree
teeing the anonymity and confidentiality of the results at an and work in the engineering project field. Table 2 shows the
individual level. specific organizational sectors where the project managers in
The control group was composed of other project managers the research worked.
(n ¼ 15) independent from the previous managers and without Participants in the experimental group were engaged in
direct contact or information from the experimental group. The coaching and were administered project management personal
control group did not receive any coaching intervention and competency surveys based on the PMCD framework (PMI,
participated voluntarily as well (Figure 1).The average partici- 2007, 2017a) prior to the initiation of the coaching program.
pant in the experiment is 37 years old, has nine years of The project managers assessed themselves (self-perceptions),
Ballesteros-Sánchez et al. 311

and the observers assessed the project managers’ performance Empowering and closure (Phase 4): activities oriented to the
using the same survey in a 360 feedback approach. empowerment of the project manager so that they have more
The control group participants, who were not involved in self-leadership and are able to continue their own improvement
the coaching process, were given the same surveys as the autonomously. Likewise, this phase includes the closure and
experimental group participants. Similarity, in the level of final assessment of the process.
personal competencies in both groups, was checked by com- The whole process consists of eight individual coaching
paring survey results prior to the initiation of the coaching sessions (of 90 minutes each) with the 15 project managers
program. over a period of four months, which means a total of 120
coaching sessions. All the processes were headed by an ICF-
certified professional coach in 2016 and 2017.
The Executive Coaching Intervention The project management coaching process defined (CODE
process) consisted of the four clearly defined phases (Figure 2)
An executive coaching intervention to be used in a project
as well as a set of principles, tools, and methods. The principles
management context was needed so that a valid and standar-
are based on (1) using executive coaching as a tool for the
dized methodology could be used with all participants in the
improvement of competencies, (2) understanding project man-
experiment. For that purpose, the intervention was designed
agement as a unique and challenging profession, (3) acknowl-
with two levels of approach.
edging the importance of the role responsible for guiding a
First, for each individual coaching session, the GROW
project management coaching process (i.e., the project coach)
(Goals, Reality, Options, Will) model (Landsberg, 2015) was
to have the necessary competencies, and (4) considering the
applied. Although other models, such as the ACHIEVE (Assess
coaching process as a project to effectively manage it. The
current situation, Creative brainstorming, Hone goals, Initiate
tools and methods are those from project management knowl-
options generation, Evaluate options, Valid action program
edge areas useful for managing the coaching process, such as
design, Encourage momentum) model (Dembkowski &
planning and scope management, quality management, stake-
Eldridge, 2006) and the OUTCOMES (Objectives, Understand
holder management, and risk management.
the reasons, Take stock of the present situation, Clarify the gap,
Options generation, Motivate to action, Enthusiasm and
encouragement, Support) model (Mackintosh, 2003), were
considered, the GROW model was selected because of its rela- Measures
tive simplicity and international recognition and use in the Measures of six personal competency constructs (competency
coaching field. During coaching sessions, various tools were units) were used based on the PMCD framework performance
used for the improvement of the personal competencies. These criteria (PMI, 2007, 2017a). Thus, these six personal compe-
included SMART (Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, tency units are defined by a total of 90 performance criteria
Time phased) objectives definition, performance criteria iden- (items) as follows:
tification, project managers’ mission and vision statements,
and 360 feedback or change of beliefs.  Communicating (12 items): Effectively exchanges accu-
Next, a second-level approach was needed for the manage- rate, appropriate, and relevant information with stake-
ment of the entire coaching process. For that purpose, a sys- holders using suitable methods. Sample item: Actively
tematic project management coaching process was designed listens.
and followed by the authors based on expert opinion, literature  Leading (15 items): Guides, inspires, and motivates
review, and previous coaching experiences. This served as a team members and other project stakeholders to manage
means to guarantee replicability, provide guidance to all stake- and overcome issues to effectively achieve project
holders, allow coordination, and facilitate the use of a common objectives. Sample item: Expresses positive expecta-
vocabulary based on coaching and project management princi- tions of team.
ples. This process is based on the following phases:  Managing (12 items): Effectively administers the proj-
Contextualization (Phase 1): oriented to the adequate begin- ect through the appropriate deployment and use of
ning of the process, including its approval, the establishment of human, financial, material, intellectual, and intangible
agreement and bases, obtaining information, setting working resources. Sample item: Ensures expectations and
principles, and generating trust with all the stakeholders. responsibilities are clear to team members and they
Objective setting (Phase 2): focused on the definition and understand their importance to the project.
adequate planning of process objectives and aligning them to  Cognitive ability (17 items): Applies an appropriate depth
the interests of the project manager and the organization. of perception, discernment, and judgment to effectively
Development (Phase 3): focused on competency develop- direct a project in a changing and evolving environment.
ment, where attitudes, thinking, emotions, and behavior pat- Sample item: Understands project stakeholders’ needs,
terns are changed in a stable manner to achieve the objectives interests, and influence for project success.
established in the previous phase. During the development  Effectiveness (16 items): Produces desired results by
phase, actions are carried out to achieve the objectives. using appropriate resources, tools and techniques in all
312 Project Management Journal 50(3)

Empowerment

Development
Progress Level

Objectives

Contextualization

Begining End
Time

Figure 2. CODE process phases.

project management activities. Sample item: Employs approach helps to provide the opportunity to gather information
appropriate problem-solving techniques. on a subjective basis and to describe reality from different and
 Professionalism (18 items): Conforms to ethical beha- complementary perspectives. Individual interviews were con-
vior governed by responsibility, respect, fairness, and ducted with all project managers and followed a list of themes
honesty in the practice of project management. Sample and questions to cover. The interviews were conducted by the
item: Maintains and respects confidentiality of sensitive main author during 60 to 90 minutes with each project man-
information. ager, based on a common guide and following an open-ended
schedule of 13 questions subdivided into sections on the effec-
To measure the competencies, each item was defined by an tiveness of the coaching process, success factors, and impact on
extended Likert scale (from 1 to 7), which was used by all the personal competencies. The semi-structured approach gave an
participants in the research to assess the frequency of each opportunity to propose new topics and/or to change the order of
behavior in the workplace. questions depending on the flow of the conversation. All inter-
Means and standard deviations for the performance criteria views were recorded and transcribed in order to prevent the loss
and competency units were calculated in order to assess the of information, with the respondent’s permission.
results and compare the impacts of coaching at different levels. Finally, after the data had been gathered and results
An overall mean of personal competencies was also calculated obtained, conclusions were drawn from a systemic view of the
with the same purpose. overall impact on performance at four different levels: project
manager, project team, stakeholders, and organizational.
Data Analysis
Data were collected at the individual level of analysis, which Results
focused on the improvement of personal competencies before
and after the coaching, over the eight-month period. Means and Personal Competency Improvements
standard deviations of all the dependent variables were calcu- The main results of competency improvements, which were
lated before and after the experiment. Mean comparisons using indicated by the quantitative approach, appear in Table 3. A
a student’s t-test for hypothesis contrasts were used so that the visual representation of this results using spider charts is pre-
significance of competency improvements due to coaching sented in Figures 3 through 5.
could be determined. Project managers from the experimental and control groups
To enrich the assessment of the impact of the coaching had similar competency levels before the experiment with
interventions, personal interviews following a semi-structural higher values for the professionalism and communicating com-
approach were conducted with each project manager from the petencies and lower values for managing and leading. This
experimental group after the intervention. This qualitative allows for the comparison of the results after the independent
 Table 3. Personal Competency Means Before and After Coaching

Type

Experimental Group

Project Managers Observers Control Group

(Self-assessments) (n ¼ 15) (n ¼ 30) (Self-assessments) (n ¼ 15)

t-test t-test
Before After t-test (Means)1 Before After (Means)1 Before After (Means)1

Competency Unit Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Dif (%) Sig. Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Dif (%) Sig. Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Dif (%) Sig.

Overall Mean (Personal 5.16 .66 5.51 .66 6.78%*** .000 5.54 .83 5.80 .67 4.69%** .043 5.13 .55 5.13 .64 0.00% .995
Competencies)
Communicating 5.36 .73 5.53 .66 3.17%*** .005 5.43 .88 5.73 .75 5.52%** .018 5.37 .49 5.33 .53 -0.74% .562
Leading 4.89 .75 5.32 .77 8.79%*** .000 5.33 1.18 5.68 .86 6.57% .109 4.78 1.10 4.75 1.12 -0.63% .802
Managing 4.78 .91 5.47 .78 14.44%*** .002 5.39 1.01 5.69 .78 5.57%* .078 4.79 .76 4.88 .78 1.88% .182
Cognitive Ability 4.93 .93 5.30 .85 7.51%** .011 5.46 .88 5.77 .70 5.68%* .055 5.03 .83 5.13 .79 1.99% .122
Effectiveness 5.00 .94 5.29 .88 5.80%*** .010 5.39 .79 5.56 .67 3.15%** .048 4.90 .75 4.82 .89 -1.63% .578
Professionalism 6.01 .52 6.15 .49 2.33% .241 6.23 .67 6.37 .64 2.25%** .046 5.93 .33 5.88 .46 -0.84% .676
Note. 1 Student’s t-test hypothesis test for paired samples.
*p < .1.
**p < .05.
***p < .01.

313
314 Project Management Journal 50(3)

Experimental Group: Project Managers

Communicating
7 Pre-Test
Post-Test
6
5.53
5
5.36
Professionalism 4 Leading
6.15 6.01
3 5.32
4.89

5 4.78
5.29 5.47

Effectiveness Managing
4.93

5.3

n=15
Cognitive Ability

Figure 3. Project managers’ pre-test and post-test personal competencies assessments.

variable manipulation, which is the application or not of project The professionalism unit showed the smallest differences
management coaching. among the project managers of the experimental group
Before the experiment, the observers generally assessed the (2.3%), but it must be taken into account that this competency
experimental group as scoring higher than the experimental started with very high initial values (above six out of seven).
group assessed themselves, although after a t-test comparison, In the control group, no changes in personal competencies
it was determined that these differences were not statistically were statistically significant using the t-test hypothesis test for
significant. paired samples (Sig. < 0.1). In general, the differences
After the experiment, a significant improvement in the (although small and not significant) that were found in control
overall personal competencies mean of the experimental group assessments could be explained by the completion of the
group was perceived, which was measured both through the survey at different times and the possibility of intervention by
self-assessments of the project managers (improvement of unanticipated variables (emotional state of the individual, proj-
6.78%) and through the assessments of the observers ect phase, period of the year, workload, etc.).
(improvement of 4.69%); there was no significant change By focusing on the improvement of specific items (perfor-
by the control group. mance criteria) belonging to each competency unit, it was pos-
The largest self-assessed improvements for the performance sible to identify those behaviors with higher levels of
criteria were in the managing unit, with an average increase of improvement based on both the experimental groups’ self-
14.44%, followed by the leading unit, with an improvement of assessments (project managers) and the observers’ group
8.79%. Observers indicated that there was a major improve- assessments.
ment in leading, with 6.57%, followed by cognitive ability, Table 4 shows the summary of the major findings for the
with 5.68%. performance criteria improvements. The results show a very
Next, effectiveness and communication units showed signif- high impact based on the self-assessments related to ensuring
icant self-assessed improvements of 5.80% and 3.17%, respec- that expectations and responsibilities are clear to team mem-
tively. For these competencies, observers also perceived bers, consolidating opportunities, and including experts in
significant showed improvements in effectiveness, with meetings and discussions. High impacts were also detected for
3.15%, and in communication, with 5.52 %. behaviors related to expressing positive expectations of the
Ballesteros-Sánchez et al. 315

Experimental Group: Observers

Communicating
7 Pre-Test
Post-Test
6 5.73

5 5.43

Professionalism 4 Leading
6.37
6.23 5.68
3 5.33

5.56 5.39 5.39

5.69
Effectiveness Managing

5.46

5.77

n=30
Cognitive Ability

Figure 4. Observers’ pre-test and post-test personal competencies assessments.

team, disseminating information effectively, and promoting underlined a high positive impact of coaching on their ability
team learning. to find strategies for coping with stress and difficult situations,
On the other hand, lower impacts were perceived based on such as conflicts and crises.
both the assessments of the project managers and the observers On the other hand, the project managers stated that the
regarding some performance criteria within the professional- coaching was not so effective in improving their professional-
ism competency unit, such as maintaining the confidentiality of ism, ethics, and commitment to the organization. This could be
sensitive information, understanding and actively supporting a topic of interest for further research.
the project’s and organization’s mission and goals, working Finally, in regard to the use of the project management
within a recognized set of ethical standards, and adhering to coaching process (CODE process) for this research, almost all
all legal requirements. Additionally, no change was perceived participants (13 of 15) agreed that this structured approach was
for observing discrepancies, trends, and interrelationships in useful in understanding the scope of the intervention and
project data and making timely decisions based on facts while helped in achieving the objectives gradually and more effec-
managing ambiguity, which belong to the cognitive ability and tively. The participants also specially emphasized the impor-
effectiveness competency units, respectively. tance of the coach having appropriate skills and being able to
During the semi-structured interviews after the coaching generate an environment of trust, respect, honesty, and mutual
processes, several project managers underlined the effective- commitment. In addition, the use of questions to raise aware-
ness of coaching for improving their approach to organizing ness and the feedback that the coach offered during the sessions
work, managing time, decision making, assertiveness, flexibil- seem to have been greatly valued.
ity and facing changes, creativity, and creating a good working
and team climate. They also indicated that the coaching caused
them to feel better, managing their emotional states. The coach- Discussion
ing also added to a sense of satisfaction and well-being, not H1 was supported. Based on both the quantitative and the
only in their professional fields but also in their personal lives. qualitative approaches, executive coaching has been demon-
A general agreement was found among the project managers strated to be effective for the strengthening of project manag-
(12 of 15), who participated in the experiment and who ers’ personal competencies. Coaching is presented as an
316 Project Management Journal 50(3)

Control Group: Project Managers

Communicating
7 Pre-Test
Post-Test
6
5.33
5 5.37

Professionalism 4 Leading
5.88 5.93
3 4.75
4.78

4.9 4.82 4.79 4.88

Effectiveness Managing
5.03

5.13

n=15
Cognitive Ability

Figure 5. Control group’s pre-test and post-test personal competencies assessments.

effective way to help project managers promote changes that where people feel increasingly empowered to deploy their own
result in a better professional performance. potential.
The effects of coaching seem to be recognized both by the These results support previous findings in the literature
project managers themselves and by the people who interact review about the positive impact of executive coaching on
with them in the organization (observers). Nevertheless, greater work behaviors and attitudes (Grant et al., 2009; Hall et al.,
improvements have been found in the project managers’ self- 1999; Jones et al., 2014; Olivero et al., 1997; Page & de Haan,
assessments than in the observers’ assessments. This could be 2014; Smither et al., 2003), in this case, for project manage-
explained by two fundamental reasons. First, it is understood ment functions. To fully understand the potential benefits of
that observers may take longer to perceive the changes expe- executive coaching, it is important to go a step further, and
rienced by experimental subjects because they require time to record evidence of specific improvements in different
consistently detect different behaviors and change their percep- competencies.
tion of the other person (in this case, they had only four months H2 was supported. The coaching intervention has had dif-
after the end of the process). Likewise, subjects who have lived ferent impacts on certain competencies than others. Particularly
the process may have a tendency to feel that the process has surprising are the self-assessed improvements in the managing
served to improve their skills and may have greater self-esteem, unit, although improvements have also been seen in other per-
overestimating the results obtained. Notwithstanding, the con- formance criteria for other very notable units of competency,
trast in the evaluations (self-assessments and observers’ assess- such as leading and cognitive ability. Executive coaching has a
ments), it is possible to guarantee that the changes experienced direct impact not only on leadership and emotional competen-
have been remarkable and significant, which gives the results a cies, but also on management. This includes day-to-day atti-
high robustness. tudes toward managing project resources effectively. Coaching
Although it is known that coaching can be a leadership style has been frequently related to the improvement of leadership
that requires time (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002), its competencies (Perkins, 2009; Rezania & Lingham, 2009;
benefits under the right circumstances can be very remarkable. Thach, 2002). This may be because it is considered to be a
By generating appropriate project environments, the project leadership style itself (Goleman et al., 2002). However, this
would benefit from the flexibility and dynamism of systems research shows that the effectiveness of coaching improves
 Table 4. Higher- and Lower-Impact Performance Criteria Improvements After Coaching

Experimental Group

Project Managers Observers

(Self-assessments) (n ¼ 15) (n ¼ 30)

Before After t-test (Means)1 Before After t-test (Means)1

Performance criteria improvements
(Executive Coaching impact) Competency Unit Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Dif (%) Sig. Mean Std. Dev. Mean Std. Dev. Dif (%) Sig.

Higher impacts Ensures expectations and responsibilities are clear Managing 4.47 1.3 5.6 0.91 25.28%*** 0.006 5.38 1.32 5.67 0.94 5.39%* 0.06
to team members and they understand their
importance to the project.
Consolidates opportunities and passes them to the Cognitive ability 4.07 1.94 4.8 1.74 17.94%*** 0.003 5.3 1.22 5.72 1.04 7.92%* 0.066
organization.
Includes experts in meetings and discussions to Effectiveness 4.2 2.08 4.8 1.74 14.29%** 0.033 4.45 1.48 4.92 1.16 10.56%* 0.052
influence and obtain stakeholder support.
Expresses positive expectations of the team. Leading 4.67 1.35 5.27 1.03 12.85%** 0.023 5.35 1.35 5.76 0.99 7.66%* 0.085
Disseminates information effectively. Communicating 4.73 1.33 5.33 1.05 12.68%** 0.007 5.23 1.32 5.54 1.09 5.93%* 0.072
Promotes team learning and advocates for Leading 4.8 1.57 5.13 1.41 6.88%* 0.055 5.3 1.47 5.8 0.98 9.43%** 0.047
professional and personal development.
Lower impacts Observes discrepancies, trends, and Cognitive ability 5.60 1.06 5.73 .96 2.32% .334 5.73 .65 5.76 .71 0.52% .739
interrelationships in project data.
Maintains and respects confidentiality of sensitive Professionalism 6.47 .92 6.53 .64 0.93% .582 6.50 .80 6.50 .80 0.00% 1.00
information.
Understands and actively supports the project’s and Professionalism 6.20 1.01 6.20 .94 0.00% 1.00 6.32 .72 6.46 .68 2.22% .111
organization’s mission and goals.
Works within a recognized set of ethical standards. Professionalism 6.47 .64 6.47 .64 0.00% 1.00 6.69 .56 6.69 .56 0.00% 1.00
Respects the intellectual property of others. Professionalism 6.53 .92 6.47 .92 –0.92% .334 6.60 .71 6.60 .71 0.00% 1.00
Adheres to all legal requirements. Professionalism 6.47 .64 6.40 .63 –1.08% .334 6.49 .68 6.56 .68 1.08% .336
Makes timely decisions based on facts while Effectiveness 5.07 1.33 4.93 1.22 –2.76% .653 5.33 1.50 5.54 1.01 3.94% .526
managing ambiguity.

Note. 1 Student’s t-test hypothesis test for paired samples.

*p < .1.
**p < .05.
***p < .01.

317
318 Project Management Journal 50(3)

other personal competencies, such as managing, cognitive abil- combine the structure or rigidity of models with the flexibility
ity, or communication. This implies a need to better understand that is required when working with people, especially in con-
the impact of coaching on performance and how it works, in texts of change and learning skills.
line with Theeboom et al. (2014). Another issue to consider is the use of coaching skills by
However, no significant difference was found in regard to project managers with their team members. Since this facili-
the overall professionalism unit mean. This may be explained tates the empowerment of the individual while attending to the
by the fact that the participants in the experiment had already specific needs of the project, it can be very useful in order to
achieved high performance in this competency area. Therefore, enhance certain styles of project leadership. By generating
this research gives no evidence to support the fact that coaching appropriate project environments, the project can benefit from
could strengthen overall professionalism competencies. These the flexibility and dynamism of systems in which people feel
include ethical behaviors governed by responsibility, respect, increasingly empowered to exercise their potential.
fairness, and honesty in the practice of project management.
Thus, we consider it necessary to conduct further research to
explore this topic further. Limitations
For specific performance criteria, major differences were The research carried out is not exempt from limitations that
found. Some specific observable behaviors improved up to have emerged throughout. In the first place, it is necessary for
25%, and others did not suffer any impact. The higher the generalization of the results to take into account the limita-
impacts of the coaching intervention were related to ensur- tions associated with the characteristics of the sample. This
ing that expectations and responsibilities are clear, consoli- study was based on the contributions of 15 experimental sub-
dating opportunities, and including experts to obtain jects, 30 observers, and 15 control subjects. Although the infor-
stakeholder support. mation extracted from each experimental subject has been
The project managers participating in the experiment also extensive, a larger sample size would guarantee greater validity
underlined a high positive impact of coaching on their ability to and reliability of the results obtained. Also, a more hetero-
cope with stress and difficult situations. This is in line with geneous sample, for example, covering project managers
previous literature review (Berg & Karlsen, 2013; Grant from different regions or nationalities, could allow for the
et al., 2009). detection of additional aspects of interest. Some bias could
On the other hand, lower impacts of coaching from the have arisen during personal competencies assessments from
performance criteria perspective were more related to profes- expectations of improvements in the experimental group
sionalism with regard to maintaining confidentiality, support- (both project managers and observers). Also, changes in
ing the project’s and organization’s missions, and working self-assessments by control group members could have been
within a set of ethical standards and legal requirements. Lower affected by their knowledge that others were receiving
impacts on the professionalism unit should be considered care- coaching, but they were not.
fully, since the initial values for this unit justify a lower margin On the other hand, it must be taken into account that only
of improvement from the experimental intervention. Neverthe- one coach participated in the exercise of the project man-
less, lesser changes were also perceived for observing project agement coaching processes. Although the consistency and
data and making timely decisions while managing ambiguity, homogeneity of the coaching intervention was warranted,
which were not so high in the beginning. Since this study we might wonder if some results could be conditioned by
reveals various significant effects of executive coaching on the coaching style itself or the personal characteristics and
several project managers’ personal competencies, it implies the skills of the coach.
need for further review and analysis to determine the project
and organizational contexts in which coaching could be more
useful and, therefore, recommended. Conclusions
In addition, further research should provide a better under- The need to assess different methods for the improvement of
standing of the main success factors of a coaching intervention the personal competencies of project managers has led to the
in the project management field and how to guarantee its excel- development of this research. In this case, executive coaching
lence. The first insights from the CODE process design and its is evaluated in terms of effectiveness in improving the relevant
result reveal that it is useful to define and employ certain personal competencies of project managers.
phases and common principles during an executive coaching The results have shown the significant impact and effective-
intervention, while paying special attention to ensure that the ness of coaching processes on five of the six relevant personal
coach has the appropriate skills. Therefore, efforts to improve competencies proposed by the Project Management Institute.
coaching results in the project management environment There was a higher impact on the PMI competency units for
should focus on defining best practices, new models, coaching managing, leading, and cognitive ability. This was followed by
competencies, and standards, as Dippenaar and Schaap (2017) significant improvements in communication and effectiveness.
argue. In this case, the challenge in the application of defined Overall, the professionalism competency unit did not show
standards and models arises from the need to adequately remarkable changes after the coaching intervention, which may
Ballesteros-Sánchez et al. 319

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development framework – Third edition. Newtown Square, PA: Author Biographies
Author. Luis Ballesteros-Sánchez is an industrial engineer and PhD
Project Management Institute. (2017b). A guide to the project man- from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and holds a mas-
agement body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide) – Sixth edition. ter’s degree in the psychology of human behavior. He is also
Newtown Square, PA: Author. Assistant Professor of Engineering Projects at this university.
Rezania, D., & Lingham, T. (2009). Coaching IT project teams: A Ballesteros-Sánchez is an executive coach and a member of the
design toolkit. International Journal of Managing Projects in Busi- Project Management and Quality Research Group. His research
ness, 2(4), 577–590. fields of interest are the development of project management
Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagina- personal competencies, such as leadership and communication
tion, Cognition and Personality, 9(3), 185–211. that are applied to project success. He can be contacted at
Sauser, B. J., Reilly, R. R., & Shenhar, A. J. (2009). Why projects fail? [email protected]
How contingency theory can provide new insights—A compara-
tive analysis of NASA’s Mars climate orbiter loss. International Isabel Ortiz-Marcos is a mechanical engineer who holds a
Journal of Project Management, 27, 665–679. PhD in industrial engineering from the Universidad Politéc-
Shao, J. (2018). The moderating effect of program context on the nica de Madrid, where she is also Associate Professor of
relationship between program managers’ leadership competences Engineering Projects and Project Management. Ortiz-
and program success. International Journal of Project Manage- Marcos is a certified Project Manager Professional (PMP)®
ment, 36(1), 108–120. by the Project Management Institute and an IPMA Level D.
Skulmoski, G. J., & Hartman, F. T. (2010). Information systems proj- She is a member of the Project Management and Quality
ect manager soft competencies: A project-phase investigation. Research Group, and a member of the Organization, Quality
Project Management Journal, 41(1), 61–80. and Environment Cooperation Group at the Universidad
Smither, J. W., London, M., Flautt, R., Vargas, Y., & Kucine, I. Politécnica de Madrid. Her current research fields of interest
(2003). Can working with an executive coach improve multisource are competencies and professional skills applied to project
feedback ratings over time? A quasi-experimental field study. Per- management in multicultural contexts and international
sonnel Psychology, 56(1), 23–44. development projects and quality management. She can be
Stevenson, D. H., & Starkweather, J. A. (2010). PM critical compe- contacted at [email protected]
tency index: IT execs prefer soft skills. International Journal of
Project Management, 28(7), 663–671. Rocı́o Rodrı́guez-Rivero is an electrical engineer experienced
Takey, S. M., & de Carvalho, M. M. (2015). Competency mapping in in international engineering projects from the Universidad
project management: An action research study in an engineering Politécnica de Madrid, where she is Assistant Professor of
company. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), Engineering Projects and a member of the Project Management
784–796. and Quality Research Group. Her research fields of interest are
Thach, E. C. (2002). The impact of executive coaching and 360 risk management in multicultural contexts and international
feedback on leadership effectiveness. Leadership & Organization development projects. She can be contacted at rocio.rodri
Development Journal, 23(4), 205–214. [email protected]