Provocative coaching
Kukkonen, Tanja; Lilleberg, Heidi (2016)
Kukkonen, Tanja
Lilleberg, Heidi
Oulun ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201604013735
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201604013735
Tiivistelmä
This thesis takes part in a project called HURMOS which is conducted by Oulu University and Oulu University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with nine local companies. The project aims to examine the use of humour in business environments and discover ways of utilizing it more efficiently. The topic of provocative coaching originated from commissioner’s suggestion and was chosen due to authors’ interest in human resource management and topic’s relation to humour.
The objective of this paper is to give an insight to a relatively new and yet fairly unknown coaching method that exploits i.a. humour and theories such as reverse psychology. Provocative coaching is a coaching method originating from a psychotherapy orientation called provocative therapy, which was developed in late 1960’s and has gained more awareness during the past few decades. The method consists of three key elements which are humour, warmth and challenging the client. Although it is still quite unknown approach among coaches in Finland, there is growing interest towards the topic. Since available information about provocative coaching is still quite limited, this thesis serves as a brief guide introducing the basics of this method.
The study is based on a systematic literature review and a few interviews. The aim of the research was to find out what is already known about provocative coaching, how it differs from traditional coaching styles, how humour appears in it and how does the use of humour affect coaching clients. For the theory base and background research of this thesis, references from a few authors specialized in provocative coaching were applied thorough the paper. In addition a couple of interviews were conducted to support the theories and to give different observations about the topic. All the interviewees are coaching entrepreneurs engaged in the HURMOS project.
The main findings of this study indicate that provocative coaching is still rather remote topic for Finnish coaches and range of information available is very narrow. However there seems to be interest towards the topic, yet further and more scientific research is needed in order to support the authors’ conclusions discovered in this thesis. Provocative coaching differs notably from traditional coaching methods, and for professionals who are interested in provocative coaching it is important to notice that it can only be used as a supplementary tool and cannot be expected to benefit every client. Additionally humour that is an important part of this method, has several beneficial effects to coaching when it is used appropriately.
The objective of this paper is to give an insight to a relatively new and yet fairly unknown coaching method that exploits i.a. humour and theories such as reverse psychology. Provocative coaching is a coaching method originating from a psychotherapy orientation called provocative therapy, which was developed in late 1960’s and has gained more awareness during the past few decades. The method consists of three key elements which are humour, warmth and challenging the client. Although it is still quite unknown approach among coaches in Finland, there is growing interest towards the topic. Since available information about provocative coaching is still quite limited, this thesis serves as a brief guide introducing the basics of this method.
The study is based on a systematic literature review and a few interviews. The aim of the research was to find out what is already known about provocative coaching, how it differs from traditional coaching styles, how humour appears in it and how does the use of humour affect coaching clients. For the theory base and background research of this thesis, references from a few authors specialized in provocative coaching were applied thorough the paper. In addition a couple of interviews were conducted to support the theories and to give different observations about the topic. All the interviewees are coaching entrepreneurs engaged in the HURMOS project.
The main findings of this study indicate that provocative coaching is still rather remote topic for Finnish coaches and range of information available is very narrow. However there seems to be interest towards the topic, yet further and more scientific research is needed in order to support the authors’ conclusions discovered in this thesis. Provocative coaching differs notably from traditional coaching methods, and for professionals who are interested in provocative coaching it is important to notice that it can only be used as a supplementary tool and cannot be expected to benefit every client. Additionally humour that is an important part of this method, has several beneficial effects to coaching when it is used appropriately.