How to show empathy as a coach: The effects of coaches’ imagine-self versus imagine-other empathy on the client’s self-change and coaching outcome

Cognitive empathy, expressed as either imagine-self (imagining oneself in the other’s situation) or imagine-other (imagining the other person in his/her situation) empathy, is essential for self-change and satisfaction in coaching. In two studies, we investigated the difference between coaches’ imagine-self versus imagine-other empathy. In a survey study (N1 = 242), we found that the more important coaches perceived the client’s self-change, the more valuable they not only rated empathy in general but also imagine-other (but not imagine-self) empathy in particular. In an experimental study (N2 = 57), we manipulated the coaches’ imagine-self versus imagine-other empathy and examined the effect on the clients’ self-change and coaching satisfaction. The results revealed a positive effect of imagine-other (but not imagine-self) empathy on these coaching outcome factors. Thus, one main practical implication is the relevance of showing imagine-other instead of imagine-self empathy as a coach. However, future research should investigate other personnel development approaches like mentoring or training with regard to imagine-self versus imagine-other empathy.