Coaching Within the Veteran and Military-Connected Communities: A Rise in the Use and Advocacy of Coaching Inside and Outside of the Ranks

Submitted by Destinee Prete, PhD, Certified Veteran Developmental Coach (CVDC), chair of the SIOP Military and Veterans Inclusion Ad Hoc Committee, as part of a regular series of articles SIOP runs each November in recognition of Veterans’ Day in the United States.

The use of coaching methodologies and frameworks is becoming more commonplace across the workforce and is impacting employees and leaders at all levels, especially as more emphasis is being made on DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) practices. The aim of coaching is to aid the achievement of individual goals for improvement, to positively contribute to organizational-level goals and objectives (Jones et al., 2016). Coaching is a highly bespoke form of learning and development. One of the benefits of coaching is the function of bringing together existing knowledge to create new learning and inform decision making (Jones et al., 2018). Coaching practices like reflective practice and engaging with supervision helps facilitate learning in terms of goal attainment, adaptive capacity, work satisfaction through connection, altruism, and management of work–life balance (Irving, 2021).

An uptick in discussions of coaching and coaches reaching the veteran and military communities has been noticeable across various initiatives, programs, and social media platforms. Where previously only the word and concept of mentorship may have belonged, there is now an openness and dialogue that includes coaching and coaching methodologies. From career coaching, educational coaching, life coaching, civilian workforce transition coaching, and developmental coaching, more coaching options are becoming readily available for the veteran and military spouses’ communities alike. Many nonprofits and organizations are using coaches to reach military-connected community members. In some cases, there are even government-funded programs that are bringing in coaches to supplement learning objectives and outcomes for these demographics.

Even while in uniform, more service members are being exposed to coaching. For example, Catherine Buria Wright, a member of SIOP’s Military & Veterans Inclusion Committee, and Coast Guard Officer, has participated in the Coast Guard’s Diversity and Inclusion and Awareness Education and Awareness Program (DIEAP). Consistent with the Commandant’s Guiding Principles and the recently signed 2019–2023 USCG Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, the Office of Diversity, and Inclusion of the Coast Guard is implementing the DIEAP. This program develops change agents who will provide D&I (Diversity & Inclusion) training, coaching, and support to unit leaders and most critically, coach commanding officers and officers in charge through difficult workplace climate concerns. DIEAP change agents will also be equipped with knowledge and skills to build common ground for meaningful dialogue about civility, equity, diversity, inclusion, and cross-cultural relationship building (Office of Diversity and Inclusion (CG-127)). More exposure of the application of coaching to military service members who are making the transition to the workforce allows for potentially greater soft skills and translatable competence that can benefit the workplaces that they enter.

The field of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology often includes various forms of coaching and associated frameworks. As institutions focus on expanding their concentrations and topic areas, and as organizations consider the importance of DEIA, consideration can be given to coaching. DEIA organizational strategies to reach, select, recruit, retain, develop, and upskill employees might consider including specialized coaches, creating coaching toolkits, and scheduling coaching discussion workshops with subject-matter experts (SMEs). Understanding the use cases of coaching inside and outside of the ranks of the military-connected communities can provide some valuable insight for organizational leaders, their strategies, and I-O psychology practitioners alike.

References

Irving, J. (2021). How have workplace coaches experienced coaching during the Covid-19 pandemic? International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring, (S15), 37-54.

Jones, Woods, S. A., & Guillaume, Y. R. F. (2016). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), 249–277.

Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., & Zhou, Y. (2018). Boundary conditions of workplace coaching outcomes. [Workplace coaching outcomes] Journal of Managerial Psychology, 33(7), 475-496.

Office of Diversity and Inclusion (CG-127). 2022. Diversity and inclusion training. https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Human-Resources-CG-1/Civilian-Human-Resources-Diversity-and-Leadership-Directorate-CG-12/Diversity-and-Inclusion/Diversity-and-Inclusion-Trainers/.