AN INTRODUCTORY REALITY CHECK

Are character strengths simply useful, practical qualities that are “nice to have” in the practice of coaching? We argue that character strengths are not only essential to coaching but are both the ingredients of impactful coaching and are the expression of good coaching itself. While character strengths are not always conscious for the coach or the client, they are ever-present in them and their interactions. This is because character strengths “live” in relationships. They live in positivity, empowerment, and well-being. They live in adversity, rising from suffering and the struggle itself. Coaching is usually about all of those things – developing and deepening a coach-client relationship, empowering a client toward new understandings and aspirations, and supporting the client in overcoming vexing habits and handling life’s difficulties.

How might one take character strengths out of these coaching phenomena?


  • Is it possible to have a good coaching relationship without character strengths such as social intelligence, curiosity, fairness, and honesty?

  • How might positivity, empowerment, and well-being happen without character strengths such as hope, zest, gratitude, and teamwork?

  • Might struggles be faced, adversities overcome, and problems resolved without character strengths such as bravery, perseverance, love of learning, perspective, and self-regulation?


THE HARMONY OF COACHING AND CHARACTER STRENGTHS

Character strengths cannot be extricated from impactful, good coaching – from the experiences and processes themselves or from the individuals that are part of it. A systematic review of positive psychological coaching defined it as a collaborative relationship between client and coach that aims to identify, utilize, optimize, and develop strengths and resources to enhance positive traits, states, and behaviors (van Zyl et al., 2020). We contend that coaching without character strengths identification, exploration, and development is, from one lens, impossible, as this work is definitional to coaching; from another lens, if it were possible to coach without character strengths, this would be a disservice to the client. How can one practice coaching without helping a client better understand the best parts of themselves? For some clients, it would be like giving them a beautiful boat that is land-locked and inaccessible, while for other clients, it would be like stepping on a boat together yet never teaching them to sail it.

While probably no coach will argue against the importance of strengths in coaching, the term strengths is nonspecific and muddled. What kind of strength is being referred to? What are the client’s abilities/talents, interests/passions, skills/competencies, values, or character strengths? Each type of strength is distinct and can be assessed, explored, or intervened upon. However, the latter – strengths of character – provide the most seamless integration and arguably the most significant potential for the coaching relationship and outcomes (Niemiec, 2018). Character strengths create a language of common ground that clients can express in all areas of life, not just in one particular domain (Dossey et al., 2015).

The character strengths “language” or system we focus on in this paper is the VIA Classification of 24 character strengths and six overarching virtues (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) – and the accompanying measurement tool, the VIA Inventory of Strengths (i.e., VIA Survey) – as they have become mainstays in the fields of coaching, positive psychology, and related well-being sciences. The field of character strengths has enjoyed the rare trifecta of popularity and benefit; that is, there is consistent engagement and interest from general consumers, scientists, and practitioners. The VIA Survey is taken 10,000 times per day and over 30 million times (in total, as of late 2023), with an increasing pattern over the years; meanwhile, the science has unfolded 1,000 studies on the character strengths of the VIA Classification (VIA Institute, 2023); and the practice of character strengths continues to widen and deepen in expected domains (e.g., organizational; educational; consulting; training; coaching) and new contexts (e.g., environment/nature connection; peace psychology; spirituality) (Niemiec & Pearce, 2021).

The holistic nature of the classification represents a consensual nomenclature for practitioners working with clients, scientists examining positive traits, and the general public aiming to have more positive experiences at work, at home, and in relationships. The last couple of decades of research and expansive practices with character strengths have culminated in a multi-dimensional definition: Character strengths are positive personality traits that reflect core identity and produce positive outcomes for oneself and others (e.g., well-being, physical health, achievement, improved relationships); and contribute to the greater good (Niemiec, 2018).

This paper builds upon this by summarizing a finite number of valuable research findings and practices relevant to coaches. We then extend this knowledge and forge into new territories of character strengths understanding by inquiring about a large global sample that explores the perceptions of coaches, clients, and others about integrating character strengths in coaching.


IMPORTANT CHARACTER STRENGTHS FINDINGS IN SCIENCE AND PRACTICE

While it is beyond the scope of this paper to review all the scientific findings or all the best practices in character strengths relevant to coaching, there is a range of highlights especially aligned for coaching. For regularly updated summaries on the science of character strengths, see VIA Institute (2023), and for an updated review of the practice of character strengths, see Niemiec (2018), Niemiec & McGrath (2019), and Niemiec & Pearce (2021). Table 1 offers descriptions of 10 studies alongside core findings and how the study can be turned into a practical application for coaches interested in applying the science.

Table 1.10 character strengths studies relevant for coaching.
Topic Study with Citation Core Finding Relevance to Coaching
Signature strengths use Meta-analysis of randomized-controlled studies of a signature strength intervention encompassing several cultures (Schutte & Malouff, 2019) The intervention, “use one of your signature strengths in a new way each day,” was found across studies to increase happiness, flourishing, and strengths use, and to decrease depression. Coaches can encourage clients to not only assess, understand, and explore their top strengths but encourage clients to expand signature strengths through new and wider uses and personal applications.
All 24 character strengths matter Randomized intervention study to focus on a different strength each day for 24 days (Cherif et al., 2020). The group focused on why the strength was important, a motto for thinking about it, and behavioral strategies to boost it (all material from Niemiec & McGrath, 2019) had higher happiness scores on average, sustained at 1-month follow-up. Coaches can directly teach about any of the 24 character strengths and offer a myriad of practical tools for boosting any of them.
Target specific character strengths Randomized study to target the character strengths most connected with happiness compared to those strengths least connected (Proyer et al., 2013). The character strengths of zest, hope, gratitude, curiosity, and humor (these researchers studied the highly correlated happiness strength of humor, instead of the top 5 correlate of love) were found to most strongly boost happiness (although the low happiness strength correlates also elevated happiness more than controls). Coaches can directly target groups of character strengths to achieve a positive outcome (e.g., happiness). The dubbed “happiness strengths” of zest, hope, gratitude, curiosity, and love (or humor) are a good place to start.
Attend to the building up of strengths knowledge and skill Randomized study of a collaborative and multimethod assessment procedure (Klibert et al., 2023). Character strength knowledge and perceived skill with strengths can be boosted through coaching-like questions and exploration. Coaches can ask powerful questions about character strengths to make an impact, such as: Which strength is easiest for you to access? How do you define that strength? How do you express it in your life? How do you use it to help you navigate challenging circumstances? When you are able to express it, how do you feel about yourself?
Know the six functions of character strengths Offers a new theory of character strengths for thriving across adversities/struggles and creating opportunities/positives in life (Niemiec, 2020) Integrates six character strengths functions from the literature: the priming and buffering functions (directed to the future); mindfulness and reappraisal functions (directed to the present); and appreciation and resilience functions (directed to the past). Coaches can directly tap into or encourage clients to use character strengths for many natural purposes, e.g., use before an upcoming stressor (buffering function); use to reframe a current problem (reappraisal function); and use to bounce back from a conflict (resilience function).
Recognize and appreciate strengths in others Three studies examined the perceived character strengths of one’s relationship partner (Kashdan et al., 2017). Higher recognition and appreciation of one’s partner’s character strengths predicted greater relationship commitment, satisfaction, investment, intimacy, self-expansion, and support for goals. Findings were not explained by other personality traits or capitalization (i.e., sharing good news) Coaches can role-model and also encourage clients to label, describe, and appreciate the signature strengths of their partners, and extend this research to verbally appreciating character strengths in friends, co-workers, and neighbors.
Conscious strengths use An analysis of semi-structured interviews of coaching clients in using the VIA Survey in coaching (Simmons, 2023) Three core themes of coaching with character strengths emerged. It is crucial for: character strengths to become conscious; to develop the subjective self; and to consciously apply character strengths. Coaches can focus on elevating their clients’ mindful attention of character strengths and their mindful strengths use. This brings deeper understanding of oneself and the amorphous mind, and elicits deliberate use of character strengths in life.
Align character strengths with work tasks Workplace study examining if character strengths predict positive or negative behaviors relating to job performance (Mubashar & Harzer, 2023). Character strengths and signature strengths use positively predicted job performance ratings by oneself and by one’s supervisor. It also negatively predicted deviant work behavior. Coaches can encourage clients to apply each of their signature strengths in the workplace, such as during projects, team meetings, everyday tasks, and when leading.
Discover optimal strengths use and manage character strengths overuse and underuse A review and theory for overuse, underuse, and optimal-use of character strengths; discusses the emerging research in the contexts of problems and psychopathology, suggests practical interventions, and offers a suggested “language” for seeing patterns of overuse and underuse with each character strength (Niemiec, 2019). Explains all character strengths sit on a continuum of too much (overuse) and too little (underuse), and the center is a balanced strengths use or a golden mean, which in and of itself is a continuum of positive/healthy strengths expression; the golden mean of character strengths suggests one pursues using the right combination of strengths to the right degree in the right context. Coaches can help clients discover personal examples and patterns of character strengths overuse and underuse and then offer strategies for managing overuse (i.e., the tempering effect) and counteracting underuse (i.e., the towing effect) in the pursuit of balanced strengths use.
Prime yourself for client strengths. A controlled study comparing the initial processes (resource priming) of therapists doing cognitive-behavioral therapy versus a group doing strengths-oriented CBT (Fluckiger et al., 2009). Those therapists doing resource priming (talking for 5 minutes about a client’s strengths immediately before the session) had a stronger focus on client goals and competencies and had a direct positive impact on outcomes relating to self-esteem and mastery. Coaches can find ways to prime themselves to their client’s strengths – reflecting, journaling, or talking about the client’s strengths prior to a session. Coaches might extend this research to prime their own signature strengths before sessions.

There is a wide range of considerations, strategies, and insights regarding the practice of character strengths in coaching. We first highlight the qualities of a character strengths practitioner and then move into five core recommendations for integrating character strengths into coaching.

In their review of past and current research and practice, Niemiec and Pearce (2021) suggested that a character strengths practitioner (or any strengths-based practitioner) employ at least seven elements:


  • Embody: Coaches understand and express their own signature strengths (and other character strengths) in sessions.

  • Educate/Encourage: Coaches educate clients on character strengths awareness and use, misconceptions, and teach skills such as strengths-spotting.

  • Energize: Coaches themselves tap into and help clients understand their highest, natural energy resources to overcome habits and recharge in the present moment.

  • Empower: Coaches help clients shift from what’s wrong to what’s strong, thus boosting clients’ confidence and toolbox.

  • Manage adversity: Coaches help clients to use what’s strong to manage/overcome what’s wrong, thus further boosting confidence and inner resources.

  • Connect: Coaches help clients use strengths to discover and build meaningful interactions and connections within oneself, others, and the world.

  • Cultivate seeds: Coaches help clients grow “seeds” of capacity and potential for the client’s aspirations, problem-solving, and emerging character strengths mindset – their new “default” in seeing their life.

These elements offer multiple levels for coaches to attend to with character strengths. There is a focus on the practitioners themselves and how they operate by turning to their own character strengths (e.g., embodying strengths), a focus on the client (e.g., educating on strengths), on the coach and client together (e.g., energizing with strengths), and on the interaction or process (e.g., connecting with strengths). As a helpful heuristic, Niemiec (2023) summed these components as the E=mc2 model, in which Einstein’s “E” of energy also represents the bulk of the character strengths model (the mutual synergistic energy of both the practitioner and the client). This energy can contribute to the essential quality of coaching presence, the capacity for being with rather than doing to and is conveyed through verbal and nonverbal communication, including the coach’s energetic field (Jordan, 2013). The being skills or relational qualities of coaching are fundamental to the craft and include several character strengths or concepts related directly to them: affirmation, authenticity, calm, courage, empathy, mindfulness, playfulness, warmth, and zest (Moore et al., 2015). Just as character strengths can be developed, primed, and selected in specific situations, so too can the being skills with practice, use, and experience. Furthermore, Casioppo (2019) theorizes that character strengths are a catalyst for cultivating joy and that the more one uses strengths optimally, the more likely they are to feel joy, thus creating a virtuous circle.

The preceding framework defining “character strengths practitioners” offers a foundation to delve into the following five recommendations for coaches.


  1. Clarify the type of strength. Character strengths, talents/abilities/intelligences, skills/competencies, interests/passions, resources/supports are all different types of strength. Thus, a crucial first step for coaches is to consider the strength being focused on. This offers a focal point for the coach and client and an opportunity to educate the client on the many kinds of strengths within them. This is a concept to return to during coaching sessions repeatedly. This helps to refine and enhance coaching and moves away from vague and generic concepts of “strengths” and “strength-based.” Said another way, the coach poses these questions to themselves: When I ask my client about their strengths, what type of strength am I referring to? What “strength” am I attempting to help my client reflect upon or build up?

  2. Empower with a validated character strengths measurement tool. Coaches invite clients to take the VIA Survey early on in coaching. Coaching emphasizes what is working well and what is best for the client. Therefore, coaches can aim to bring a scientific, peer-reviewed instrument – the VIA Survey – into the coaching experience. Some coaches invite clients to take the VIA Survey before the first session (linking to it on their website or sharing it in an intake form or meeting), while others offer it as homework after the initial session. Note that the VIA Survey is mentioned here as it is a unique instrument in that it is peer-reviewed, open-source, and tied to hundreds of scientific studies; this is not the case for the majority of strengths instruments in the field.

  3. Bring character strengths into every goal, aspiration, and problem discussion. Character strengths are central to building well-being and handling adversity (Niemiec, 2023). Therefore, any well-being or problem-management goal can have character strengths as the ends (the goal itself, “I want to build my bravery”) or the means (the actionable process steps to get there, “I will use my prudence to write out two action steps each morning to reach my bravery goal”).

  4. Coaches use their own character strengths in sessions. Coaches are encouraged to deliberately use their character strengths before, during, and after every coaching session. This is referred to as the coach having their own “practice.” Not only does this support the coach in “practicing what they preach” and “walking the talk,” but it can facilitate an improved coaching relationship. Coaches routinely report feeling more energized and happier in the coaching experience when character strengths are in their consciousness and being readily deployed. The perspective of time orientation – considering character strengths used before, during, and after coaching – provides a framework. As mentioned earlier, spending time considering character strengths before a meeting or session can improve outcomes (not to mention the personal well-being boost related to such strengths work). Coaches can also turn to their character strengths during client sessions to ensure they consistently bring forth their best qualities. After sessions, coaches are encouraged to manage their automatic tendency to self-criticize and engage in mental perfectionism, wishing things to be better or perfect by asking themselves: What went well in the session? What character strengths were successfully used and how? This supports the coach in shifting their mindset toward teaching clients to recall the good and take the approach themselves. That is good character strengths practice.

  5. Use character strengths interventions in sessions. What are the science-based interventions for character strengths that you are familiar with and can adapt to your clients and setting? Coaches are encouraged to consider breaking from routines to learn and deploy new interventions. For comprehensive examples in the science of character strengths, see the two practitioner manuals on the topic (i.e., Niemiec, 2018, 2023).

The five recommendations and the E=mc2 principles offer a thorough foundation by which coaches can operate at their best and grow their skills over time.


NEW STUDY ON THE INTEGRATION OF CHARACTER STRENGTHS AND COACHING (METHODS)

Integrating character strengths into coaching involves attending to the coach, the client, and the process. Character strengths are central to each.
Despite the explosive popularity of coaching, character strengths, and the natural connection therein, the empirical research on their integration is minimal. There is far more that we do not know. We aimed to gather new insights by directly inquiring credentialed coaches, clients, and potential clients about their experiences (or projected experiences) with character strengths in coaching. The intention was to foster new understanding and directions for practice in the fields of character strengths, positive psychology, coaching, and other helping professions. The questions that guided our research included the following:


  • From the coach’s perspective, what character strengths are most helpful (if any) to express in the coaching relationship?

  • What character strengths are most important to successfully deploy typical coaching processes?

  • From the perspective of actual clients, what character strengths of the coach were most helpful?

  • From the perspective of any potential future client, what character strengths are most important for a coach to express?

  • What difference, if any, is there in perceived character strengths used in coaching toward aspirations and goals versus coaching directed at problems?

The study is described, followed by findings, interpretations, and future directions for integrating character strengths and coaching.

To catalyze this, a study was conducted over an 8-day period in September 2023, using a convenience sample of individuals taking the VIA Inventory of Strengths (i.e. the VIA Survey) on the www.viacharacter.org website. After completing the VIA Inventory, each user was provided consent statements to learn about the study, benefits, potential risks (none specifically noted), the voluntary nature of the research, and that they could discontinue at any time. Those who chose to continue were then given the 23 optional research questions. These are provided below.

For 14 of the 23 research questions, the participant was invited to select one character strength (or none of the above) that best pertained to them for the question. The character strengths, along with short definitions, were provided in a drop-down menu. Some items allowed the participant to select a second character strength (provided in a separate drop-down menu). The definitions were vital because it is estimated that a large number of participants were taking the VIA Survey for the first time, and thereby, their knowledge of character strengths was likely to be minimal (note that strengths knowledge and experience were not assessed). While the 24 strengths are user-friendly nomenclature, the short definitions bring each participant to an equal place regarding what the term is referring to. For those 14 items, the following list of character strengths of the VIA Classification with corresponding definitions was provided:


  1. Creativity: being original; seeing/doing things in new ways

  2. Curiosity: exploring, seeking novelty, open to experiences

  3. Judgment: critical thinking, rational-minded, thinking things through

  4. Love of learning: mastering new skills & topics, building knowledge

  5. Perspective: providing wise counsel; taking a big-picture view

  6. Bravery: facing fears, threats, or challenges; speaking up for what’s right

  7. Perseverance: persisting; finishing what is started; overcoming obstacles

  8. Honesty: telling the truth, being authentic, being sincere

  9. Zest: being energetic, enthusiastic; doing things wholeheartedly

  10. Love: being genuine, showing warmth, valuing close relationships

  11. Kindness: being generous; caring; compassionate; nice and friendly

  12. Social intelligence: being aware of feelings & motives of self/others; acting accordingly

  13. Teamwork: being loyal, contributing to group efforts

  14. Fairness: acting justly; not letting feelings bias decisions

  15. Leadership: organizing a group to get things done; positively guiding others

  16. Forgiveness: being merciful, accepting others’ shortcomings, letting go of hurts

  17. Humility: being modest, placing attention on others, not bragging

  18. Prudence: being careful about choices, cautious, not taking undue risks

  19. Self-regulation: being self-controlled; disciplined; manages impulses & emotions

  20. Appreciation of beauty/excellence: experiencing awe, wonder, admiration, elevation

  21. Gratitude: being thankful for the good in life, sharing thanks, feeling blessed

  22. Hope: being optimistic; positive; future-minded; expecting the best

  23. Humor: being playful, seeing the lighter side, bringing smiles to others

  24. Spirituality: searching for meaning, feeling purpose in life, connecting with the sacred

  25. None of the above

The research questions constructed for this study were focused on gathering insights into the experiences of coaches, clients, and potential future clients. The questions used were the following:


  • 1: Have you ever experienced professional coaching (health/wellness coaching, life/personal development coaching, executive/business coaching, parent or relationship coaching)? (Note: This question is NOT asking about coaching in sports or fitness). [Options: Never; Yes, I’ve met with a coach 1-3 times; Yes, I’ve met with a coach (or coaches) 4-10 times; Yes, I’ve met with a coach (or coaches) more than 10 times].

  • 2 – 3: As a client/coachee experiencing coaching, what character strengths did you perceive your coach (or coaches) used that were most helpful to you? Please select up to 2 strengths.

  • 4 – 5: If you were to experience coaching in the future to help you achieve a goal or personal aspiration, what character strengths of the coach would you most want the coach to express to help you reach the aspiration? (generally speaking, as this might vary by the aspiration/goal). Please select up to 2 strengths.

  • 6 – 7: If you were to experience coaching in the future to help with a problem, what character strengths of the coach would you most want the coach to express to help you manage/overcome the problem? (generally speaking, as this might vary by the problem). Please select up to 2 strengths.

  • 8 – 14: Imagine you are meeting one-on-one with a coach to work on your goals and personal aspirations; how important are the following to you? [Options: 7-point scale with choices Very unimportant; Moderately unimportant; Slightly unimportant; Neutral; Slightly important; Moderately important; Very important].

    • The coach calls out and spots your character strengths that you may not be seeing.
    • The coach helps you use your character strengths as pathways to reach the aspiration/goal.
    • The coach remains positive and optimistic throughout the full experience.
    • The coach provides accountability on the goals you are working on.
    • The coach facilitates new or fresh ways of looking at challenges.
    • The coach is a non-judgmental, empathic listener.
    • The coach helps you explore your character strengths to deepen your self-knowledge/self-understanding.

  • 15: Are you a professional coach (credentialed in health/wellness coaching, life/personal development coaching, executive/business coaching, parent or relationship coaching, or equivalent)? [Options: No; Yes, for less than 2 years; Yes, for 2 to 10 years; Yes, for more than 10 years].

  • 16 – 17: What do you perceive to be the most important character strengths (overall/in general) for you to use while coaching a client? Please select up to 2 strengths.

  • 18 – 23: What is the character strength that is most important for YOU to use in order to…

    • Manage a coaching session with a client/coachee.
    • Develop/deepen your coaching relationship with a client/coachee.
    • Help clients/coachees to be more mindful.
    • Support a client/coachee with increasing their well-being.
    • Facilitate a client’s/coachee’s goal setting.
    • Help clients/coachees solve/overcome/manage a problem.

Following these research questions, each participant had the option to answer demographic questions. Participants then received their free results on the VIA Survey, which included the standard, personalized rank order of their character strengths from 1 to 24, along with definitions for each strength.


RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A total of 27,420 individuals engaged in at least part of the study during the eight-day period. The demographics of the participants are offered in Table 2 and reveal a wide range of respondents. There were higher frequencies for females (62%) over males (36%); younger adults, e.g., ages 18-24 (44%) and ages 25-34 (20%); bachelor’s degree or higher (48%); single/never married (59%) or married/domestic partnership (33%); and full-time employed (43%) or full-time students (32%). The highest responding countries were the United States (62%), Australia (8%), Canada (5%), United Kingdom (4%), Philippines (4%), Singapore (2%), and India (2%). Table 2 also displays the remaining countries rounded to 1% of the sample.

Table 2.Demographics.
Demographic Specifics Percentages (Rounded)
Gender Female
Male
Non-binary
Prefer not to say		 62
36
1
1
Age 18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75+		 44
20
16
12
6
2
<1
Education <High school
High school degree
Some college
Certificate or technical
Associate’s
Bachelor’s
Some graduate school
Completed a graduate degree		 3
18
21
5
6
25
6
17
Marital status Single, never married
Married, domestic partnership
Separated
Divorced
Widowed		 59
33
1
5
1
Employment Active military
Disabled
Employed full time
Employed part time
Full time student
Homemaker
Other
Retired
Unemployed		 2
1
43
12
32
1
3
1
6
Country United States
Australia
Canada
United Kingdom
Philippines
Singapore
India
Mexico
Hong Kong
New Zealand
Indonesia
Ireland
Netherlands
Finland
Malaysia
All other countries		 61
8
5
4
4
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5

Nearly 26,000 people answered the first question inquiring about their experience of coaching (participants are able to skip any item and answer as many items as they wish). About 71% reported no previous experience of coaching. The remainder (N = 7,436) reported previously meeting with a coach at the following frequencies: 1-3 times (13%), 4-10 times (7%), and more than 10 times (8%). The perception of clients was that the most helpful character strengths (when up to 2 could be selected) used by their coach were perspective, honesty, curiosity, social intelligence, and creativity. These were followed by kindness, judgment, love of learning, leadership, and perseverance (see Table 3 for details). These results veer toward a strong preference for wisdom-based strengths, with all 5 wisdom strengths comprising the top 8 strengths (note: wisdom is one of the 6 overarching virtue categories of the VIA Classification that the 24 character strengths nest under, see Peterson & Seligman, 2004). This points to clients valuing, most of all, the coach’s big-picture thinking, empathy, capacity to provide guidance, and synthesis of complex topics. The strong emphasis on honesty likely reflects an appreciation of honest feedback, truth-telling, coach integrity, and serving as a “reflective” mirror. The character strengths least selected as helpful by clients about their coach were (starting with the lowest) prudence, appreciation of beauty, humility, forgiveness, and gratitude, each ranging from 1-3%.

Table 3.Character strengths of coaches that were perceived as most helpful by previous clients. Based on a maximum of two character strengths that could be selected.
Character Strengths All Clients/Coachees
(%)		 1-3 Sessions 4-10 Sessions More than 10 Sessions
Perspective 32 28 35 33
Honesty 18 17 17 18
Curiosity 14 14 14 13
Social intelligence 13 12 14 13
Creativity 12 14 11 12
Kindness 12 13 13 12
Judgment 12 12 11 13
Love of learning 10 10 9 9
Leadership 10 11 10 8
Perseverance 7 9 8 9
None (of the 24) 2 3 2 2

The focal point for the questions then shifted from past coaching perceptions to future coaching perceptions. Whether the query was a coach helping a client with an aspiration or with a problem, the top 9 character strengths selected were identical, only shuffling in popularity. For example, there was a noticeable preference for leadership and creativity to help with aspirations and a preference for judgment, also viewed as critical thinking, for helping manage problems. As shown in Table 4, perspective continued to be the top character strength selected for both a future coach helping with aspirations or with problems, with a slightly higher preference for the strength of perspective for problems. Perspective can be considered from a range of angles in these contexts – this strength offers the opportunity to reframe problems, to place oneself in the “shoes” of another, to offer wise counsel, to integrate ideas, concerns, and insights of the client, and to provide a big picture view. Honesty and perseverance were also in the top 5 for aspirations and problems, indicating a desire for both forthright and truthful communication, as well as the coach displaying an active, hardworking approach unfettered by obstacles and challenges. Creativity and leadership were additional top five character strengths for pursuing an aspiration, which may reflect a desire for coaches to organize and share visions and brainstorm and share unique pathways for clients to reach their aspirations and goals. Among the top five qualities to help with problems, judgment and bravery were among this group. The critical thinking and rational-minded elements of judgment are a fit for coaches to brainstorm and strategize multiple alternatives to typical problem management; for other coaches, this strength can offer precise and nuanced questions for client exploration. The strength of bravery aligns with an approach that would help a coach face the discomfort and emotional challenges that problems present and serve as a brave companion along the journey of handling life’s suffering.

As for the lowest five character strength percentages, appreciation of beauty, humility, and gratitude were among the bottom desired strengths for both, with prudence and teamwork in the bottom five for aspirations and humor and spirituality among the bottom five for problems.

Table 4.Character strengths desired in future coaches for help with aspirations and problems.
Character Strengths for Aspirations Ranking Percentages
(based on 2 selections)		 Character Strengths for Problems Ranking Percentages
(based on 2 selections)
Perspective 1 19 Perspective 1 22
Creativity 2 16 Judgment 2 18
Leadership 3 15 Honesty 3 15
Perseverance 4 14 Bravery 4 14
Honesty 5 14 Perseverance 5 14
Bravery 6 13 Creativity 6 11
Self-regulation 7 12 Self-regulation 7 11
Judgment 8 12 Social intelligence 8 10
Social intelligence 9 11 Leadership 9 9
Love of learning 10 9 Kindness 10 8
None (of the 24) - 3 None (of the 24) - 4

We then invited participants to continue considering that they were to meet with a coach in the future for a personal aspiration they wanted to work toward. We posed 7 questions, 3 of which asked about character strengths (i.e., strengths-spotting, strengths as pathways to goals, and strengths to deepen self-knowledge/self-understanding) and 4 questions that are central to coaching that does not call out character strengths (i.e., the coach providing accountability, remaining positive/optimistic, offering fresh ways to look at challenges, and being a non-judgmental, empathic listener), presented in mixed order. Part of our focus was to understand, by implicit comparison, how important character strengths might be in the coaching process and, in comparison, with established coaching tenets. We found that while the percentages were not drastically different from one another, the highest percentages of those saying “very important” or “moderately important” were two of the character strengths items, i.e., coaching to use character strengths as pathways to reach an aspiration/goal (69%) and coaching to explore character strengths to deepen self-knowledge/self-understanding (67%). These were followed by the coach providing accountability on goals (64%), being a non-judgmental, empathic listener (64%), spotting character strengths (63%), offering new/fresh ways to look at challenges (63%), and remaining positive and optimistic (59%). These findings highlight the perceived importance of character strengths in core coaching processes – that character strengths are pivotal pathways to help clients achieve their dreams and improve self-understanding.

We then turned to credentialed, professional coaches. There were 1,274 participants who responded “yes” to the item: Are you a professional coach (credentialed in health/wellness coaching, life/personal development coaching, executive/business coaching, parent or relationship coaching, or equivalent)? 21,504 responded with “no.” Of those responding “yes,” 40% had been credentialed for less than 2 years, 38% had been credentialed for 2 to 10 years, and 22% had been credentialed for more than 10 years. We asked the coaches to share the top 2 character strengths important for coaching clients. The most important strengths, according to coaches, were perspective, curiosity, honesty, social intelligence, and kindness (see Table 5 for details). The least likely strengths to be called out by coaches about themselves were appreciation of beauty, gratitude, forgiveness, prudence, and spirituality (ranging in 1-3% for each). Interestingly, the top 10 character strengths self-identified by coaches were identical to the top 10 character strengths identified by clients who had previously experienced coaching, with the lone exceptions of perseverance and leadership perceived by clients and bravery and love noted by coaches. This suggests a close alignment between what is most helpful and appreciated from the perspective of the coach and the client and points to what character strengths are most fundamental to coaching.

Table 5.Top character strengths coaches perceived as most important for coaching clients (N=1,274). Based on a maximum of two character strengths that could be selected.
Character Strengths All Credentialed Coaches (%) Under 2 years (%) 2-10 years
(%)		 Over 10 years
(%)
Perspective 24 25 24 25
Curiosity 23 26 22 21
Honesty 18 16 20 19
Social Intelligence 16 14 18 14
Kindness 15 19 13 13
Love of learning 11 11 10 14
Creativity 11 12 10 11
Love 11 11 10 13
Bravery 8 7 8 8
Judgment 8 7 9 6
Perseverance 7 7 6 8
None (of the 24) 1 1 <1 3

For the last set of questions, we asked coaches to become more specific, inviting their reflections on the character strengths that are most important for them to use to engage in specific coaching processes. Coaches were limited to 1 character strength per question. We offer these findings in Table 6. One of the most important factors of successful coaching is developing a strong coaching relationship. Honesty was the clear strength identified as most important for deepening and developing the coaching relationship, pointing to the coach’s expression of authenticity and direct and truthful communication. The top five included the humanity-oriented strengths of kindness, love, and social intelligence. The care, warmth, and empathy that these strengths convey in action are paramount for relational connecting. The exploratory, questioning strength of curiosity was also in the top five of the most selected strengths important for relationship building in coaching.

Table 6.Character strength percentages and ranks across important coaching processes, limited to top 5 percentages for each coaching process.
PERS HON CUR CR LO KI SI J LoL PSV BR
% R % R % R % R % R % R % R % R % R % R % R
Manage a Coaching Session 13 1 9 3 13 2 7 4 - - - - 7 4 - - - - - - - -
Develop/Deepen Coaching Relationship - - 15 1 8 4 - - 12 3 12 2 8 5 - - - - - - - -
Help Client Become More Mindful 15 1 7 4 7 3 - - - - - - 10 2 6 5 - - - - - -
Support the Increase in Well-being 9 1 6 5 - - - - 8 3 9 1 - - - - 6 4 - - - -
Facilitate Goal-Setting 12 1 - - 7 4 8 3 - - - - - - 7 5 - - 11 2 - -
Overcome/ Manage Problems 11 1 - - - - 10 2 - - - - - - 10 2 - - 10 4 8 5

% = Percentage; R = Rank; PERS = Perspective; HON = Honesty; CUR = Curiosity; CR = Creativity; LO = Love; KI = Kindness; SI = Social intelligence; J = Judgment; LoL = Love of learning; PSV = Perseverance; BR = Bravery. A similar rank means the exact same percentage as the hundredth.

When asked about managing a coaching session, coaches reported perspective, curiosity, honesty, creativity, and social intelligence as important. The management of a coaching session requires a wide range of skills (not defined in this question) such as attending to the client, the timing of the session, keeping the focus, and so on. Using the strengths of social intelligence and perspective to empathize, guide, support, and frame the session, along with curious questioning, honest reflections, and creative interventions, may offer helpful tips for successful session management.

In helping clients be more mindful, the clear strengths identified were perspective and social intelligence. Coaches might tap into these two strengths as meta-strengths to understand the client’s attentiveness levels and mindfulness capacities. Mind- or thinking-oriented strengths of judgment, honesty, and curiosity were additional strengths to support a coach. Interestingly, curiosity is one of the two strengths that are core to the operational definition of mindfulness (see Bishop et al., 2004). Thus, the coach’s identification of curiosity points to the importance of utilizing a central attitude of mindfulness and then fostering it in the client.

In order to help clients increase their well-being, perspective, kindness, and love were the highest identified strengths, followed by love of learning and honesty. This indicates that to truly support well-being, a possible strong starting point is for the coach to ensure one is being other-oriented in focus. This may also point to how the coach can serve as a “loving mirror” for the client, helping them see their most authentic self in a kind and thoughtful way. In addition, it speaks to the intention of the coach to act as a supportive guide rather than an expert director, which is crucial in facilitative coaching. The component of the coach as a learner is indicated here, perhaps reflecting the learning and studying of new well-being tools to offer to clients.

The final two items looked at two very different target areas in coaching – the facilitating of client goal-setting and the support in overcoming/managing a problem. For both, perseverance entered the top five selections, with perspective, creativity, and judgment also appearing in the top five. This indicates that regardless of the client’s target (a goal or a problem), the coach’s capacity to generate ideas and pathways, think through situations, stay focused on the bigger picture of the goal or problem, and overcome obstacles are elements of a strong approach. These strengths likely infuse the coaching experience with freshness, energy, and productive and engaging dialogue. Further, specific to supporting goal-setting, coaches also identified curiosity, which is a strength that can be readily used as a default approach by asking clients powerful questions and facilitating exploration and self-reflective inquiry. The additional strength highly rated for helping clients overcome a problem was bravery, which indicates the importance of facing discomfort and challenging situations; when the client struggles to find the courage to face, examine, or work with a problem, the coach can role model this strength in the coaching experience.


CONCLUSION

We found further support that character strengths are integral to coaching, by the perception of coaches, the perception of clients, and the perception of potential future clients in a large, international sample. From the perspective of credentialed coaches themselves, regardless of years of coaching experience, it was perspective, curiosity, honesty, and social intelligence that were most important overall and across coaching processes. These four character strengths provide foundations of empathy, authenticity, exploration, and big-picture thinking. They involve energies of wisdom, courage, and humanity. In many ways, the strong and balanced enactment of these four character strengths is coaching itself.

When the lens is widened to looking at the character strengths patterns across clients, potential clients, and coaches, the strengths of perspective, honesty, creativity, social intelligence, perseverance, and judgment emerged as most important for coaches to express in general or for specific purposes such as goal-setting and problem-management. Coaches might consider these as initial character strengths to give attention to within oneself and in interactions with clients. Expressing these strengths in authentic ways is a strategy to not only serve and energize clients but also embody them in coaching.

Additional character strengths that coaches also strongly endorsed in coaching overall and in coaching processes were love, bravery, kindness, and love of learning. These strengths provide another light to illuminate the path of the coaching relationship. They may provide keys to unlocking the doors of becoming a masterful coach in the skills of managing the coaching session, helping the client to be more mindful, supporting wellbeing, facilitating goal-setting, and overcoming problems. Furthermore, these findings provide another means by which coaches can improve or deepen their skills by focusing on using a specific character strength associated with that coaching skill, adding a new way to experience well-established coaching principles.

The character strengths not among these patterns in the tables of this paper are certainly not unimportant. All 24 character strengths matter, and each of them matters for the coaching experience (Niemiec, 2018). This study highlights the most popular selections, not the only character strengths to attend to. To offer a few examples, a coach’s use of the strength of humor can be a central catalyst for offering clients levity at the right time. The coach’s prudence to be timely, conscientious, organized, and personally goal-oriented cannot be understated. Likewise, the coach who embodies the character strength of love (a strength that did not come up as frequently as we thought it might) provides warmth, genuineness, and a caring commitment to listening, all of which can deepen relationships and foster healing for clients. Other coaches will highlight the importance of conveying the meaning-based energy of spirituality, appreciation of beauty or the relational approach of teamwork and fairness as the coach and client form a strong “team” in working together to serve the client. Indeed, the temperance character strengths of forgiveness and humility – capacities of letting go and staying grounded – are arguably significant in coaching relationships. Approaching these examples from another lens, the coach must ensure they express their authentic self – which we would frame as bringing forth their signature strengths in the coaching experience. While signature strengths were not the focus of this study, they offer coaches another pathway – in addition to targeting the character strengths highlighted in this paper – for engaging clients and optimizing the coaching session.

We intend the results of this study to provide coaches with new insights and areas of exploration for character strengths that can be unleashed in coaching to improve the lives of clients.


LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

We used a convenience sample of individuals arriving at a website over a short period of time. Future studies might offer a range of extensions to our study, including deploying a longitudinal study of coaches and clients over time, utilizing a representative sample of coaches and clients from a particular country, culture, or background, conducting intervention studies of coaching applying character strengths in coaching, and/or examining coaching professionals and clients in particular contexts such as organizational, educational, and medical/health.

Our study was limited to the self-perceptions of coaches and clients. This preliminary work to investigate the connections between character strengths and coaches might offer an initial basis for observational studies of actual coaching sessions that are coded for the character strengths expressed, particularly at standard time points (beginning and end of sessions) and also at particularly poignant moments (e.g., emotions being expressed), nonverbal exchanges, during interventions, and other impactful moments. These would deepen the understanding of character strengths in and throughout the encounter.

In addition, we suggest a range of questions for further investigation and implementation in the integration of character strengths in coaching:


  • Does the deliberate use of character strengths found to be most important in coaches (e.g., perspective, honesty, social intelligence) elicit unique coaching outcomes? What differential impact might be observed in targeting these versus the least selected strengths?

  • Is it better for a coach to focus on nurturing and deploying their signature strengths or the strengths rated as most important in this study?

  • What is the effect of character strengths-oriented resource priming before a coaching session? Priming of the coach’s signature strengths versus the coach priming of the client’s strengths? Does the method of priming matter – reflection, journaling, discussion?

  • Is a coach’s increased awareness and use of a specific character strength associated with increased confidence and competence with a related coaching skill?

  • What might be the effects of a character strengths coaching checklist that denotes character strengths themes for the coach to self-monitor that are discussed in this study? As coaching post-interventions are rarely studied, such a checklist could be examined following coaching encounters and effects studied in future coaching sessions at particular time points.

  • How might the character strengths discussed in this article support a coach’s strengths, awareness, knowledge, and use during coaching sessions?

  • What are the optimal ways to integrate the character strengths perceived as most important – and the interventions discussed in this article – into coach training programs, particularly around foundations and skill-building?


Data Availability and Disclosure Statement

The data from this paper can be made available upon reasonable request.

The authors wish to disclose that the first author is employed by the VIA Institute, and the second author is a faculty member at the VIA Institute. The VIA Institute is a nonprofit organization that focuses on advancing the science and practice of character strengths.


Authors

 

Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D. is a leading scientist, educator, and practitioner with the title of Chief Science & Education Officer at the VIA Institute on Character, a nonprofit organization in Cincinnati, Ohio that leads the global advancement of the science of character strengths. Ryan has been at the center of this work, positively impacting millions of people. Ryan is a four-time, award-winning psychologist and author of 14 books, including the bestselling The Power of Character Strengths and the two most popular practitioner books in positive psychology – Character Strengths Interventions and Mindfulness and Character Strengths. He has penned over 100 academic papers and collaborates with 25+ research groups per year, spanning hundreds of thousands of participants. He’s honored to have created an impactful, evidenced-based program, Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (MBSP), used by practitioners across an estimated 50+ countries. His research/practice areas intersect character strengths with mindfulness, positive interventions, peace psychology, gentleness, strengths overuse/underuse, nature/environment connection, spirituality, interbeing, life meaning, intellectual/developmental disability, and positive health. He has given over 1,000 presentations on positive psychology topics. Ryan lives in Cincinnati with his wife and three young, zestful children. His highest strengths are hope, love, honesty, fairness, spirituality, social intelligence, and appreciation of beauty.

ORCID: 0000-0002-3311-611X

 

Danielle Casioppo is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, a certified yoga teacher, and a meditation instructor. She brings over 10 years of experience creating and delivering transformational programs that enrich the well-being of participants. Danielle earned a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in Applied Psychology while working full-time. Subsequently, she completed foundational coursework in Positive Psychology with the University of Pennsylvania and through the New York Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology program. Danielle is one of 15 international charter-certified Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (MBSP) instructors and faculty members with the VIA Institute on Character. She’s also a certified instructor of Mental Health First Aid, which she teaches along with MBSP and other positive psychology-based programs, as well as yoga and meditation, at Yale University, where she is the Education Specialist and Coordinator with Being Well at Yale. Danielle is also a well-received speaker, conducting presentations on various topics related to well-being in the community. In 2020, she contributed to the Journal of Positive Psychology’s special issue on joy with her article, The Cultivation of Joy: Practices from the Buddhist tradition, positive psychology, and yogic philosophy (2019). She has been featured in various articles on joy, gratitude, yoga, and well-being in USA Today, India Currents, and in numerous local publications.

ORCID: 0009-0002-5197-1459