The study examined how coach supportiveness, challenge, client engagement, and aspirational clarity predict goal progress. It highlights “actionable planning” (cocreating concrete action steps) as a key mediator. Results showed that while clients value actionable planning and aspirational clarity, coaches focus primarily on perceived client engagement when judging progress.
Research Question
What factors in the coaching relationship predict progress toward goals, and does “practical planning” (the creation of a concrete action plan) explain the relationship between these factors and coaching success?
Connection to the Coaching Field
The study addresses the core of coaching practice: goal attainment. It examines how the coach’s skills, such as support and challenge, and the process outcomes, such as future clarity and an action plan, translate into real-world results.
Importance and Innovation
Innovation: This is the first study to examine “practical planning” as a mediating factor between characteristics of the coaching relationship and goal attainment.
Importance: The study highlights the gap between coaches’ and clients’ perceptions. While coaches tend to attribute success to client engagement, clients place greater importance on the ability to translate insights into a concrete action plan.
Research Method
The study used a quantitative design based on surveys and questionnaires. It included 182 university students in the United States who participated in a leadership coaching process with 30 ICF-certified professional coaches. Data were collected from client reports and coach evaluations at the end of the process.
Main Findings
- Client reports: Aspirational clarity was the strongest predictor of progress, followed by coach support and client engagement.
- Mediation: Practical planning, meaning the creation of an action plan, fully or partially mediated the relationship between all predictor variables and goal progress in the clients’ view.
- Coach reports: Coaches tended to assess client progress mainly according to the level of engagement the client showed during the sessions.
- Recommendation for coaches: Coaches should be careful not to rely too heavily on their own sense of client engagement and should focus more on helping clients build clear action plans.
Uniform Citation: Brown, R. P., & Reitmeier, R. O. (2026). The role of actionable planning in facilitating goal progress through professional coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal, 78(1), 49–65.