Certain approaches and models have tended to dominate the practice and teaching of executive coaching. These approaches and models, which have largely been developed in response to curricula and scholarly research, seem to assume that the practice of coaching, as a way of helping executives perform better, is a prominently linear set of events set in the pattern of questions and responses. More recently, however, it has been recognized that creativity, and the use of art, in coaching practice is increasing (see Jen Gash's 2017 book Coaching Creativity – Transforming Your Practice and Anna Sheather's 2019 book, Coaching beyond Words – Using Art to Deepen and Enrich Our Conversations).

While the ability to ask questions remains a core skill, along with listening and the use of silence, there are many other ways for coaches to elicit responses from their coachees. Qualified coaches have a variety of means at their disposal to explore the challenges and issues faced by their coachees. This is important to remember, since the purpose of executive coaching is to induce some meaningful action on the part of the coachee, not just to contain the perceived coaching process in an action-free bubble.

In this chapter, I explore some alternative ways in which coaches can engage with their coachees – ways that are different from conventional textbook methods. These creative approaches are partly based on my own leadership development research between 2008 and 2013, and the subsequent close examination of the ways in which adults learn through practical work ‘in the field’ with both leadership and coaching students in and outside of the university setting (see the ideas that were outlined by Steve Kempster, Arthur Turner and Gareth Edwards in A Field Guide to Leadership Development, 2017). In addition, I take a tentative glimpse at other leadership development techniques that help to shed light on the more creative and emergent interventions in coaching practice.

Here are a few guidelines for those who want to use greater creativity in their executive–coaching interactions:

1. ● Introduce the concept of creative coaching to the contracting process so that the client is not over-surprised by your suggestions.

2. ● Listen carefully to what your client says when you are building rapport at the start of your relationship. Pay attention to clues that reveal their ideas and interests.

I have previously written about silence in two different publications (Turner, 2019, 2020). This chapter deals with the practice of coaching and mentoring drawing on my experience of teaching art at university level and as a practitioner spanning the past 14 years. Many coaching practitioners find the topic of the use of silence as one of the most challenging skill-sets to become accomplished in, as it is often very different to the origins of their previous substantive roles of managers and leaders within organizations.

My previous two articles (one peer-reviewed journal article and the other a chapter in a coaching textbook) increased my understanding of this obvious but poorly understood part of the coaching discourse. As I suggested earlier, silence was a topic poorly covered, despite its importance, than the skills of questioning and listening (see, for example, Stanier, 2016; Hill, 2004; Whitmore, 2010). Starr (2016) only briefly focused on silence and highlighted ways in which utilizing silence well would give rise to more space for thinking (both for the coach and their client), providing greater liminal space for in-session reflection and calm oases of time (that is the (often) isolated segments of silence in a busy working day). These controlled silences, in themselves, facilitate time for contemplation and reflection. A further search of relevant literature has unearthed some more thoughts about silence. Neenan (2009) deals with the perceived awkwardness of silence, as experienced by individuals in managerial or organizational settings, used in the service of a more direct, ‘question and answer’ dyad. Rupert and Buschner (1989) had identified silence (along with praise and pre-instruction) as a skill more commonly found in coaching as opposed to teaching. In addition, the Emerald Insight and PsycArticles databases for English language peer-reviewed articles showed 16 results which linked coaching with the use of silence and in none of those (apart from a short article by Rankin (2008) and a brief mention as a sub-topic within communication skills for coaches (Gilley et al., 2010)) was the topic of silence the main part of the authors’ focus or direction of thought.

Many of the creative techniques covered in more detail in this section of the book depend to a lesser or greater degree on the ability of the coach to utilize silence (often in combination with active listening (Kubota et al., 2004)) during the coaching session itself.

This chapter is the first in the third part of this book which highlights in more detail key interventions in this creative field of executive coaching. This is based on many real-time workshops, coaching experiences and theoretical ideas as well as other related academic research undertaken with colleagues from 2008 to the present time. Only recently (January 2023) I worked with a client and walked along a river path and over two bridges in a South Wales City. He noticed the flow of the river and compared it to his own journey at work. The next day he reflected on the spring while going back to his office and challenges he faced differently. I am particularly grateful to my colleagues in both England and Cymru/Wales who have provided support, encouragement and ideas. Gareth Edwards, Harriet Shortt, Neil Sutherland, Catherine Latham, Ian McGregor-Brown and Pam Heneberry have played their part in my learning and appreciation of creative techniques.

Much of what is written in this chapter is partially based on my practical experience of using outdoor walking as a form of coaching. In addition, this chapter looks at the theory and practice of coaching, taking into account the use of walking. Although the recent pandemic and post-pandemic world (2020–2023) has made walking and coaching much more challenging (although I have used the technology of ‘Face-time’ to successfully walk and coach), it has not paled my enthusiasm for coaching in the outdoors by way of walking. I will also explore the theory surrounding the concepts of walking in adult learning and the traditional role it has played in human development.

In particular, this chapter looks at the contribution, both directly and indirectly, walking has made to the design of executive coaching and development

of individual leadership and personal skills based on concepts underlining coaching theory.

Walking stimulates focus and alertness in natural environments as participants move through the path of psychogeography (Bassett, 2004, Self, 2007, Bridger, 2010).

One aspect of creativity in executive coaching is the way in which creative ideas develop, often through trial and error, into a wide range of viable coach–client interactions, which forms the core of this book. Initially I observed this aspect while learning through my doctoral research using the lens of phenomenology (for more details, see Chapter 3), which has since been supplemented through my teaching experience of ILM Levels 5 and 7 between 2015 and 2023. In addition, as I still have ongoing clients for both mentoring and coaching, I have been gaining practical experience with clients who benefit from a flexible and experiential engagement ‘in action’.

As has already been discussed in the preface, I have been influenced strongly by many authors, writers and researchers from a broad range of schools and disciplines. The specificity of my coaching practices, the use of meditating objects of one form or another, has been inspired by four writers and philosophers, and I want to dedicate this chapter to the exploration of the use of mediating objects (sometimes also called mediating artefacts) to set the groundwork for the rest of this book – that is, coaching practices rooted in creativity. The use of objects used for mediating also provides individuals with ‘cognitive hooks’ that help to recall and remember, as opposed to the often-bland blancmange of a more conventional conversation (Nyikos, 1985). Indeed, there are also elements here of Sprevak's work on extending cognition (Sprevak, 2010). The four elements of this theory stand for the ways in which humans extend, embed, embody and enact elements of their environment in the ‘service’ of their cognition.

There have been numerous attempts to understand elements of creativity in humans’ behaviour; however, the following four writers and philosophers have been instrumental in shaping my understanding of the role of creativity in coaching practice:

1. The Dutch philosopher Johannes Huizinger, writing in the early nineteenth century, highlighted the use of play in human activities, not just in children as a form of learning, but as a latent capacity in adults (Martin, 2016). This latency could be tapped during coaching sessions using creativity.

The ideas in this book have been developed over the past 13 years after my original qualification as a Level 7 coach and mentor (through the ILM Level 7 Coaching and Mentoring Diploma) through a mixture of teaching, developing practice and regular practice with new clients. At the time of my original engagement with coaching development (mainly working with executive leaders) I became curious about the ways in which coaching and mentoring could be developed beyond the usual models and theoretical approaches. This approach has been described in that past decade through the work of David Clutterbuck (and others) as moving towards maturity as a coach. However, it was only when I undertook further studies, this time at doctoral level (a part-time Doctorate of Business Administration, 2008–2014) that I began to consider three other things: firstly the strong link between coaching and mentoring and leadership, secondly the ways in which adults learn and thirdly the ways in which creativity emerges as an important factor on the impact and success of coaching on an individual.

During this journey of learning and awareness, there have been many high points with topics having more traction than others, and this book is not intended as being an end point in any way. Nor are the chapter headings supposed to describe every facet of my evolving thoughts about how a coach or mentor can provide the best possible support for an individual's development. This remains an intuitive journey which has largely been informed by aspects of the ideas held within the framework of phenomenology. Indeed, continuing on this journey has involved thinking about facilitative practice, the anxieties and uncertainties of practice in the moment, creating news ways of thinking about the shape of coaching session, the rational for a coaching programme, links between theory and practice and ultimately my own practice.

Of course, this means that there is no end to the creative ways in which the executive coach can apply these themes and ideas in the service of their client. In particular, the recent pandemic has been a catalyst in thinking about how this pairing of two individuals can achieve so much in the development of the client in terms of that person's career, life and ways of thinking and behaving.

During the early part of the 2010s I was involved in extensive research into the development of leadership in managers. I undertook much of this work with my colleagues Pam Heneberry and Sally Crompton (from the Professional Development Centre Limited), both ILM Level 7 qualified coaches, and we all took a very creative way of designing a series of development programmes (for both leadership development and coaching prowess) during which we collected data from the interactions and reflections of individuals who were undertaking the course. Coaching of delegates was a crucial part of the co-learning, which presented us with the initial challenges of creativity in coaching. This chapter will outline many of the key elements of adult learning we discovered or confirmed during this past decade of research and the factors that affect an individual's development. Several key themes emerged in the course of this work, which are crucial to successful executive coaching in British managerial (in this case private companies) settings. These themes included the care and feeling of emotions, the acknowledgement, protection and facilitation of adequate spaces for development and learning, the use of mediating objects (see Chapter 2) and regular and meaningful reflections.

One set of themes, we found, were often clustered around the internal lives of people: the ways in which humans can identify and highlight the assumptions we can all make about emotions, individuality and, also (and this has strong links to Action Learning), how to produce strong bridges to action. The bridges between these developmental themes seemed to lay in the person's emotional reaction to provide and discover artefacts, their own individual interpretations of the meanings of these objects and the underlying assumptions about, perhaps, naturally occurring artefacts and their significance, importance or legitimacy. In a similar way, coaching practice also needs improved approaches to an individual's development, while outlining both a contribution to and a development of coaching theory and practice. In attempting to provide more relevant coaching interventions, a theoretical understanding of the ways in which humans engage with each other is more important than a strict adherence to coaching models.

We have already learnt that adequate development in human beings (certainly in a Western context) cannot take place remotely from their work context or, for that matter, from their own lives outside the work setting (Weick, 1976; Cousin, 2006; McKergow, 2009; European Coaching and Mentoring Council 2020).

Practical Manifestations of the Theories of Mediating Objects

Creativity is a basic human urge (Kempster et al. 2017). From the revelations of what British listeners to Jo Whiley's Radio 2 programme get up to in the evening to the ideas of creative collaboration (Clements, 2004) there is an urge for many, if not most, humans to create. This creativity lies sometimes outside of work as the constraints of earning a living force an individual to express themselves more authentically at home or outside the work setting.

Recent articles in the coaching literature provide a framework for both the neurophysiology and the practicalities of creative interventions in coaching (Seto and Geithner, 2018) as well as some of the inherent human behavioural tendencies towards playfulness and the use of humour (Wheeler, 2020).

The theories that have helped me to understand how to engage in the learning beyond explicit coaching models and approaches can be applied to, and help to explain, progression in the coaching ‘space’, in principle at least. Many of the intellectual theories supportive of these ideas are deeply contested (see Jane Bennet's Vibrant Matter and Graham Harman's Object Orientated Ontology). However, even these competing theories can lead the executive coach towards creative and flexible interventions with their clients. Further understanding of this aspect of human creativity can be gleaned from sculptures; Antony Gorman in his recently collaborated book with Martin Gayford, Shaping the World (Gorman and Gayford, 2020) articulates the view, through conversations with his art critic friend, that sculpture (aka human-formed objects) has formed part of human thinking since prehistory. This is where prehistoric human species learnt to represent the world they lived in through the creation of things (often, but not always, useful artefacts or tools). Ideas of working with internal thoughts through the representation of these things is something that is ‘solid’ and external. Thus, the coach and their clients can be seen to be instinctively able to use objects to mediate their worlds and views of their own circumstances using creative interventions and ideas.

Much of my own work in this field started with a chance meeting with my erstwhile colleague Dr Jodie Allinson and her work about the emergence of knowledge.

This book, The Theory and Practice of Creative Coaching, seeks to discuss and review new and exciting ways of coaching individuals in organizations and communities. Although this book predominantly focuses on the field of executive coaching and executive coaches, it covers the wider field of practical coaching in all its spheres. Coaching is interlinked with many other organizational study topics (e.g. leadership, team working, motivation and modernization of the workplace). Much of the theoretical and practical writing about coaching could be dominated by the use of coaching models and their application to goal-orientated coaching and similar solution-focused approaches. Less work has been undertaken to explore the human basis for this work. Taking its inspiration from a wide range of sources, such as philosophy and the practical joys of nature, this 11-chapter book will seek to address some theoretical and practical gaps in the ways in which practice unfolds. This is not a coaching manual as such but more of a personal description of a journey of learning both from an academic point of view and a deeply personal view of coaching, leadership and learning. It is also a guide and stimulus to thinking about individual approaches to coaching practice. By outlining and stimulating thinking about the ‘nitty-gritty’ of this very human activity, this book aims to influence practice by offering a plethora of new or adapted ideas. These new ideas, approaches and ways of thinking can then be used by the reader to develop flexibility in their approaches in a way that is conducive to unleashing the potential of other human beings. In addition, this publication will challenge some commonly held views in the coaching world and encourage experimentation, debate and alternative approaches to the art of executive coaching, and coaching in general, as practised in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Much of study and thinking that fuelled this approach has been undertaken against the backdrop of exploiting theory in the context of ongoing practice (the author is a UK-qualified executive coach at Level 7 and a senior lecturer in a UK university). A creative approach to coaching has been undertaken while working with individuals in a broad range of organizations, both large and small, in the four nations of the United Kingdom as well as with a wider audience in large multinational companies across Europe.

This book refers to executive coaching as a practice that has grown and developed in Europe and has distinct cultural differences and approaches to the coaching that is prevalent in America and Canada. Frameworks and models, in this European mode of executive coaching, are helpful in understanding the essential processes within a contracted executive coaching relationship. Good examples of frameworks and models include those espoused by David Clutterbuck's lifelong research into coaching and mentoring effectiveness (see The Mentoring Life Cycle – Best Practice, by David Clutterbuck and Gill Lane, 2004) whereby a coaching session or coaching relationship can be outlined with the reference to key parts of that time spent together. Such frameworks include many of the common factors (constituent parts) in coaching such as building rapport, contracting, agreeing on action and the ways forward. The ethical guidelines, published in June 2021, which is a code regularly updated by the European Council for Coaching and Mentoring and the Association for Coaching, are also helpful in this respect as they outline, in great detail, the behaviours and approaches deemed to be compatible with a coach following professional standards. Yet these guidelines and frameworks reveal little about what exactly happens within a coaching relationship. The episodes, insights, puzzlements, curiosities and moments of revelations that colour many executive–coaching interactions often emerge from an apparent muddle of ideas and reflections. The skill of the coach, therefore, lies in precipitating an understanding (an awakening, perhaps) on the part of the client/coachee – creating a ‘space’ for deeper thought and a more significant reflection on behaviour (Passmore et al., 2017). Creative techniques and a multiplicity of art-based approaches allow the coach to change tactics and apply methods (both spontaneously and intuitively) to both challenge and support the client's journey of discovery and development. This also has resonance in the field of leadership development and how ‘facilitators of learning’ can help by using a variety of approaches and ideas (Turner, 2019b).

During the past decade of research and discovery, when I had been working in the field of executive coaching and developing development programmes for aspiring coaches and mentors, four main ways emerged in which coaches could begin to introduce alternative approaches.

The next five chapters, in second and third sections, are detailed accounts of techniques that outline some of my favourite alternative approaches to coaching. Section 2 highlights two very important and often-neglected topics in coaching: the use of silence and the role of playfulness and the use of humour in sessions with clients. Section 3 focuses on the more detailed treatments of specific techniques, that of walking, using finger puppets and the use of music, all presented briefly in Section 1. Inevitably, these techniques are presented as separate entities to focus on each one but the principles and permeating ideas, in each technique, often overlap. This overlapping and interweaving call for the practising coach to use these interventions not as a discreet consistent approach but in a way consistent with both flexibility and sharp attention (intuitive responses to what the client is offering) to that client at that particular moment. The use of metaphors in an ambient backdrop creates the potential for a narrative that is rich, diverse and transformational (Seto and Geithner, 2018). A lot more is waiting to be discovered in how these alternative approaches interface with more standard techniques as more and more practitioners adopt creative and unusual ways of engaging their clients in meaningful dialogue. The link between the models and more creative approaches can be summed up by exemplifying a modern jazz musician. These musicians spend a lot of time practising their scales in order to play their instrument in a way that is expressive and so that the player remains true to themselves with their musical integrity intact. In many ways, this also has links to the world of improvisation and stand-up comedy. The following chapters will shed light on how a variety of coaching activities can be called into action to augment the coach and their client(s) (Read, 2013).

Arthur undertook the initial research between 2009 and 2014 looking at how managers, at a pivotal part of their career, learnt about leadership. Arthur's thesis, entitled ‘How Middle Managers Learn about Leadership’, originally looked at managers in transit from the purer forms of administration and management to work in which there are more responsibilities and a real expectation of an understanding of the different (and complex) elements of leadership and more responsive management. Moreover, as part of this Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA), Arthur came across an emergent theme of creativity (alternative ways of engaging in learning and development) which persistently came into view and Arthur began to notice these alternative ways of learning for adults which he started to use in his own practice as an executive coach. These creative techniques have included the use of walking, the additions and deployment of mediating objects and the use of narrative and a focus on metaphors. During the research period, Arthur took a basically Social constructionist approach to the collecting of data and utilized the philosophy of phenomenology to observe what emerged from his observations of 75 participants (in various ‘middle-management’ positions) undertaking an Institute of Leadership and Management Level 5 Leadership course. In order to do that Arthur (and his very supportive colleagues) utilized a number of creative techniques of data collection and developed several unusual approaches of facilitation and working one-to-one throughout the initial 18 months of inquiry between 2010 and 2012.

These research techniques were deployed with three consecutive cohorts working in the Brecon Beacons in South Wales/De Cymru.

• 1. The philosophical idea of phenomenological bracketing (and accompanying challenging activities) whilst observing participants as they experience the realisation that what they are learning is not necessarily clear, obvious or linear in nature

• 2. A silent reflective space provided by being in an area of natural beauty

• 3. Walking as a means of supporting adult learning

• 4. The use of a freely available reflective video booth

• 5. The use of space, place and pace as ‘marker’ for design of interventions (for more detailed explanation of this, see Critical Leadership Heneberry, Turner and Pardey, 2019)

Between 2014 and the current time Arthur has been broadening his conceptual ideas around creativity in coaching practice and adult learning.

This chapter looks at techniques and ideas of creative coaching in more detail. The reader will have more ideas on how to become a successful musical coach.

Use of music with coaching clients or as part of the development of alternative coaching approaches, along with other topics in this book, such as walking coaching and mediating objects, is a little explored topic. In this chapter I explore a number of interrelated subjects that have been encountered such as music theory, jazz improvisation, duets and the use of musical interludes in both the training of coaching and the use of music within a coaching session. I will look at exercises that have worked in both coaching development programmes and recently with music-related approaches. I will also make links between theories of how the brain works and its connections with human emotions and the ways in which music can help to enhance engagement, build rapport, promote deeper thought and add to the growing field of creative coaching interventions.

This chapter provokes thinking, rethinking and reflection on the use of music in understanding the coaching process, linking to the co-emotional aspects of working with the challenges of personal development as well as giving some practical examples of types of music that could induce different client interactions

Previous chapters have focused on walking, use of silence and the use of historical and contemporary finger puppets (Turner, 2016: Turner, 2017: Turner, 2019a). These papers reflect my overall interest in creative techniques of learning within coaching relationships summed up in my 2019 article published by the Institute of Leadership and Management (Turner, 2019b). All these topics can be considered as sitting outside of the coaching mainstream with the articles examining, in detail, the complex creative theories and models emanating from neuroscience and psychology (Seto and Geithner, 2018). In addition, this chapter does reflect an interest in psychological and creative aspects of the coaching process (Cavanagh and Lane, 2012). In particular this chapter ponders on the early aspects of the coaching ‘life cycle’ (Clutterbuck and Lane, 2004) such as building rapport and linking to the emotions involved in the stimulation and curiosity of the client's mind and their own executive behaviours.