Pilot Study: Impact of Coaching in Leadership Development for Engineering Undergraduate Students

Abstract How much will students perceive themselves to grow in various leadership competencies after working with a coach? As a pilot study, the redacted Leadership Program offered coaching as an optional activity for students and recent graduates of the program, and 24 people accepted. These participants met with their coach approximately three times during the fall 2020 semester using videoconferencing software like Zoom or Teams. In the first meeting, the coaches asked the participants to complete a leadership wheel in which they rated their level of satisfaction in ten competencies: academics/work; communication; assertiveness/confidence; organization skills; work/school relationships; self-regulation; clarity/focus; building networks; conflict management; and resilience. The participants scored each competency on a scale of 1-10, based on how satisfied they were with their ability in that area. The coach and participant then talked over the scores and identified competencies to work on together. Subsequent meetings were organic in nature, as participant and coach together discussed current challenges or growth competencies, what the participant wanted to achieve, and how to achieve it. At the end of the fall semester the participant completed the same wheel again, allowing us to measure perceived progress. A group of similar students, who did not meet with a coach, also completed the same wheel twice, allowing a comparison of perceived progress made by coached and uncoached students. Data collected during this pilot study indicate that the coached participants perceived that they grew in every competency described, but uncoached students reported larger gains, on average. In addition, concerns about the assessment method and number of students assessed both times prevent concrete conclusions about the growth accomplished through the coaching program. Further research is needed to more completely evaluate the effectiveness of coaching on the leadership development of engineering students.