People often come to coaching because they want to feel more capable in a particular situation. They might want to handle a difficult conversation, make a decision, or take a step they have been avoiding. People often say they want more confidence, but the underlying psychological concept is called self-efficacy.
What self-efficacy means
Self-efficacy is a concept developed by psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1970’s, which has remained influential. Essentially, it refers to your belief in your ability to successfully achieve a goal or accomplish a task. It is a task specific belief, rather than a personality trait, that shapes how people approach challenges. People with high self-efficacy in a situation feel more capable and effective and are more likely to begin tasks, persist when things feel difficult, and adapt when circumstances change. They do not assume things will be easy. They simply believe they can produce a positive outcome.
How self-efficacy develops through experience
Self-efficacy can grow through what Bandura called mastery experiences. These are the moments when you attempt something in a specific domain and discover that you can do it successfully. The success does not need to be dramatic. What matters is that it provides evidence that you can influence the outcome. Mastery experiences are powerful because they directly update your expectations of your own capability and then you can increase the level of challenge. If you have done something once, you have evidence that you can do it again. This has a positive impact on motivation.
What research tells us about coaching and self-efficacy
Coaching has been shown to improve self-efficacy in several high quality studies1. For example, a meta-analysis of workplace coaching found that psychology informed coaching interventions led to significant improvements in self-efficacy2. Other research shows that coaching helps people reflect on their experiences in a way that strengthens their expectations of their own capability. Improvements in self-efficacy were also evident in my own research into the lasting impact of coaching applied in work and life contexts3.
How coaching helps you build capability
Coaching helps people examine their beliefs about their competence with curiosity rather than judgement. In coaching, mastery experiences often emerge when people take small, deliberate actions in the area where they want to feel more capable. For example, someone who doubts their ability to speak up in meetings might begin by contributing one short point. Someone who feels unsure about decision making might practise making one low risk choice and reflect on the outcome. These experiences accumulate and build. Over time, they shift the belief from “I do not think I can do this” to “I have evidence that I can”.
A question to help you reflect
If you want to start thinking about your own self-efficacy you could reflect on this question:
What is one small action you could take in the area where you want to feel more capable?
Get in touch
If you would like support building your self-efficacy in a specific area of your life or work, you are welcome to get in touch. As a Coaching Psychologist in Norfolk, I offer Life Coaching, Coaching for Professionals and Coaching for Parents that helps people feel more capable, steadier, and more able to influence the situations that matter to them.
Book a Free Discovery Call | Caroline Rigby Coaching
Research
For any readers interested in the research into the outcomes of coaching that informed this post, these are the links: