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This short article is the last in a series of six papers exploring positive psychology\ud coaching techniques. The previous papers have explored the concept of positive\ud coaching psychology and how it may be applied. The focus of this paper is a\ud technique that encourages the mind to pay more attention to good things and\ud develop a mind more observant of the positive in life.

This article builds on a descriptive paper on positive psychology coaching and several\ud previous techniques papers. This paper explores the application of gratitude, and its\ud associated benefits, as a part of positive psychology coaching practice.

Objectives: There is a need for a more comprehensive understanding of how coaching processes psychologically operate. This paper presents the findings from a study aimed to characterise the coaching process experience and to identify how specific experiences contribute to coaching outcomes. Design: A qualitative design was adopted. Data was analysed by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 2008). Method: Data was collected from 10 participants, this included coaches (N = 4), coachees (N = 5) and one commissioner, three times along the coaching process. A total of 30 interviews were undertaken. Findings: Coaching outcomes can be generated by three essential mechanisms: Projection of Future Self; Perspectivation of Present Self; and Confirmation of Past/Present Self. Each mechanism’s name represents a particular effect on coachee’s self and may evolve diverse coaching behaviours. Although they all can be actively managed to generate sustainability of outcomes, each mechanism tends to contribute differently to that sustainability. Conclusion: The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the different methodological and experiential ingredients of the coaching process and its implications. While most coaching research is focused on identifying coaching results based on a retrospective analysis, this is one of the first studies accompanying longitudinally the coaching process and capturing an integrative understanding of its dynamics. Moreover, the study provides evidence of how coaching can differently deliver sustainable outcomes and be used as a valuable developmental tool in organisations. The study contributes to our understanding of theory building and raises questions for further research on the uniqueness of coaching interventions.

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the developmental journey of coaching research. The paper suggests that coaching research, like other areas, has migrated through a number of phases. It started with case study papers (phase 1) which largely looked at individuals or individual organizations from the perspective of the coach (usually a consultant). The second and third phases (phase 2 and 3) were more qualitative in nature, and included surveys and more sophisticated approaches such as grounded theory. The next phase (phase 4) has been the growth in randomised control trails. These papers have offered stronger evidence about the efficacy of coaching as an intervention. More recently (phase 5) there have been a number of meta-analysis papers published.

In this techniques paper we explain how using random acts of kindness can be built into\ud consistent acts of kindness and empathy, helping clients build, hope, self regard as well as\ud long term physical health.

This chapter discusses the importance of interpersonal trust in the creation of a safe work environment. It highlights that trust is important in increasing employee engagement in safety, willingness to comply with management requests, and propensity to take the initiative. The chapter commences with a definition of trust, explaining how it develops at the interpersonal level. Trust is related to aspects of safety culture, such as open communication and organizational learning; and lack of trust can create a climate of blame and fear. While trust is comprised of beliefs relating to the trustee's ability, benevolence, and integrity, it is both evidence of, and violation of, integrity beliefs that have the biggest impact on trust. Finally, the chapter examines the influence of job-related and organizational factors on safety behavior. It also considers what occurs when trust breaks down and how this can be rectified to regain good safety practices.

This short techniques article is part of a series of papers and builds on the initial\ud outline paper which explored the potential of positive psychology approaches within\ud coaching (Passmore, J. & Oades, 2014). This paper focuses on the skill of positive\ud case conceptualisation, which allows coach and coachee to work collaboratively on\ud building a shared understanding of the positive issues under discussion.

This is the first in a series of papers to look at positive psychology coaching (PPC) as an approach suitable for use with coaching clients. This paper presents a brief overview of PPC for readers who are less familiar with the approach and highlights other sources for a fuller account of PPC. The paper sets the scene for a subsequent series of papers in this and future issues within the Coaching Psychology Techniques Section. Each of these subsequent techniques papers presents a short description of a technique grounded in PPC and which are suitable for use with coachees.