Coaching as a Double-edged Sword: The Roles of Goal Orientation and Subjective Task Complexity

We examined the relationships among coaching style, subjective task complexity, goal orientation and performance using an experiment in which trainees in China (Hong Kong) were coached to use two software programs in study 1. Directive coaching led to better performance than problem-solving coaching. Those who received problem-solving coaching and had the goal of proving their competence were the most likely to perceive the task as highly complex. The greater the perceived task complexity, the lower the performance. In study 2, a follow-up survey found that employees whose supervisors used a problem-solving coaching style reported higher job satisfaction and positive affect than those whose supervisors used a directive style.