Abstract
Peak moments include peak experience (Maslow, 1964), peak performance (Privette, 1983) and flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Research of the literature revealed that peak moments are an under-researched phenomenon in coaching. This paper addresses the imbalance, and reports on a heuristic study (Moustakas, 1990) undertaken with ten experienced coaches in the UK. Analysis revealed five core conditions which increase the likelihood of the occurrence of a peak moment in coaching. The implications of these findings relate to the joy and engagement of coaching as a vitalising, aesthetic experience, adding richness through the connectedness and collaborative engagement between coach and coachee.
Keywords
peak experience, peak performance, flow, intuition, transcendence
Article history
Accepted for publication: 19 May 2022
Published online: 01 June 2022
Citation
Weijers, K. (2022) ‘Peak moments: the experience of coaches’, International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, (S16), pp.159-172. DOI: 10.24384/8xqy-pv21 (Accessed: 10 June 2022).
© the Author(s) – Published by Oxford Brookes University
