The Ashridge Centre for Executive Coaching (ACC) is an internationally recognised innovator and provider of standards for the profession of coaching.
The aim of the Ashridge Centre for Coaching has been to build bridges between science and practice, and to promote rigorous, academically sound, and ethical foundations for the executive coaching field. Research from the ACC informs our Masters in Executive Coaching, Postgraduate Diploma in Organisational Supervision, and our executive coaching and team coaching practice.
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The Hult Ashridge Centre for Coaching was founded in 2005 forming an intellectual base for the Ashridge coaching programmes and programmes of study around coaching impact and into ‘critical moments’ in real coaching conversations.
We believe that executive coaching has a key role to play in helping leaders navigate an increasingly uncertain and fast-changing business, political, economic and social environment. It is the only leadership development initiative that is tailored to the specific circumstances of the moment – something that leaders need more and more.
Over the past twenty years, ongoing research has provided us with rich insights into the effectiveness of coaching and the fabric of real coaching conversations; research has also given us a first indication of which ‘sub-outcomes’ (outcomes per moment, or per session, or between sessions - as opposed to overall outcomes of a full coaching assignment) can be achieved through coaching.
Examples of standards that have been proposed are the Ashridge Code of Conduct for Coaches, the Ashridge Code of Conduct for Supervisors, and the Coaching Behaviours Questionnaire, a popular online psychometric tool. The ACC has also played a key role on the EU’s Leonardo Project to create a European System of Comparability and Validation of Supervisory Competencies.
Academic research from the ACC typically runs to a minimum of 10 publications every year since 2005, including the largest-scale study of effectiveness in the field (published in the Consulting Psychology Journal in 2016) and two Randomized Controlled Studies in realistic settings. The ACC has also produced a number of practitioner books, including the influential and bestselling books - Coaching with Colleagues (2004), Relational Coaching (2007), Supervision in Action (2011), Behind Closed Doors (2016), and many others.
Our research focus is on consulting and coaching, as it takes place in real settings with real clients. It encompasses outcome research studies (i.e. quantitive research into the effectiveness of generalized interventions), as well as qualitative and narrative research.
Here, you can access some of the articles, papers and books that the Ashridge Centre for Coaching faculty have contributed to.
We regularly host virtual and in-person events on new and emerging theories of executive coaching and supervision. We also run information sessions with recent graduates to highlight our coaching programmes.
Speak At Our Events
If you are an Ashridge coaching graduate, or an experienced coach with a story to share, please get in touch. Email caroline.monfort@ashridge.hult.edu.
Contact Us
Request a call back from our admissions officer, Caroline Monfort. Or you can contact her directly on +44 (0)1442 902204