The power of pragmatism: how project managers benefit from coaching practice through developing soft skills and self-confidence

Abstract

My instinct as practitioner, a project manager and a coach, originated the idea of using coaching practice to develop project managers’ soft skills: an empirical, pragmatic suggestion where soft skills needs and ideal development methods lack clear definition. The academic aim was to understand the benefits of coaching to the coach, using project manager participants and an action research methodology. Interpretivist data analysis was originally planned, but the findings eventually emerged using pragmatism and abduction: focusing upon perceived personal growth of the project managers acting as coaches, learned and applied soft skills and aspirations to be more supportive or collaborative with colleagues.