Beyond Reflection: Becoming A Reflexive Practitioner In Coaching
On
One of the ideas we return to repeatedly when developing and supervising coaches is the importance of becoming a reflective practitioner.
Reflective practice in coaching helps a coach learn from each session by reviewing what they did, what they noticed and what they might change. Reflexive practice turns the focus onto the coach, asking how their own assumptions, emotions and habits shape the conversation, so they respond by choice rather than by habit.
The idea of the reflective practitioner is most closely associated with Donald Schön, the American philosopher and MIT professor whose 1983 book The Reflective Practitioner challenged conventional ideas about professional expertise. Schön was interested in what skilled professionals actually do when faced with the messy, uncertain situations of real life.
His argument was that good practice is not simply about learning a body of theory and then applying it. Experienced practitioners are continually noticing, interpreting, experimenting and learning as they work.
Reflective practice in coaching: before, during and after action
Schön distinguished particularly between reflection on action and reflection in action.
Reflection on action happens afterwards. We look back at a conversation, decision or intervention and consider what happened, what we noticed, what seemed to work and what we might do differently next time. It is probably the form of reflection most of us recognise immediately.
Reflection in action is different. It is the ability to notice what is happening while we are actually doing it and, crucially, to adjust.
A coach might suddenly become aware that they are asking too many questions, that the energy in the conversation has shifted, or that they have become overly invested in helping the person reach a particular conclusion. The skill is not simply noticing this afterwards. It is noticing it in the moment and being able to make another choice.
At TPC, we add a third dimension: reflection before action.
Before entering a coaching conversation, we can prepare ourselves by thinking about what we may be bringing into the room. What happened last time? What expectations or assumptions might already be forming? Where might I need to pay particular attention? How do I want to show up?
Taken together, these create a useful cycle of reflection before, during and after practice.
Reflective or reflexive?
There is, however, an important distinction between being reflective and being reflexive.
Reflection is primarily about learning from our experience. Reflexivity turns the lens more deliberately back onto ourselves.
It asks us to recognise that we are not simply neutral observers of what is happening. We are part of the system. Our assumptions, experiences, preferences and emotions influence what we notice, how we interpret it and how we respond.
For a coach, this might mean becoming curious about why a particular comment from a client has caught our attention while something else has passed almost unnoticed. We might recognise that we are forming a judgement about what the client ought to do, or notice that a familiar pattern in our own thinking has been activated.
The point is not to eliminate these responses. That would be impossible. The point is to become more aware of them.
Reflexivity in coaching
For coaches, reflexivity is important because the coach is never separate from the coaching process. The questions we ask, the things we notice, the hypotheses we form and even the silences we allow are all shaped by who we are and by how we are making sense of the conversation.
A reflexive coach is therefore able to ask not only, "What is happening for this person?" but also, "What is happening in me, and how might that be influencing what happens next?"
That capacity matters because it reduces the risk of coaching from habit, assumption or preference. It helps us notice when we are becoming too directive, when we are avoiding something difficult, when we are being drawn into the coachee's way of seeing the problem, or when our own experience is causing us to reach a conclusion too quickly.
But reflexivity is not only something we practise ourselves. It is also something we can help develop in the people we coach.
A coach can encourage reflexivity by helping a coachee step back from the content of a problem and become curious about the process through which they are interpreting it. Rather than only asking, "What do you think you should do?", we might explore what assumptions are shaping that conclusion, what they are paying attention to, what they may be overlooking, and whether the same patterns appear elsewhere in their thinking or behaviour.
This moves the conversation from solving a single issue towards developing greater awareness of oneself.
Awareness creates choice
This is where reflexivity becomes particularly powerful in coaching.
Its value is not simply that it helps us understand ourselves better. It creates a pause between what happens and how we respond to it.
For the coach, that pause allows us to notice the assumptions we are making, the interpretations we are forming and the impulses we may have to steer the conversation in a particular direction. Rather than acting automatically, we can choose how we want to respond.
The same is true for the coachee. When someone becomes more aware of the patterns shaping their thinking, including the assumptions they make, the things they habitually pay attention to and the conclusions they tend to reach, those patterns become visible rather than automatic.
Greater awareness gives us greater choice.
The aim is not necessarily to change every pattern we discover. It is to make those patterns available for examination so that we can decide whether they are still useful and whether another response might be possible.
From reflexivity to metacognition
There is a close connection here with another important idea in coaching: metacognition, or our capacity to think about our own thinking.
When we help someone notice not only what they are thinking but how they are thinking, including the assumptions they repeatedly make, the patterns they fall into and the conclusions they jump towards, we create another level of awareness.
We believe this is one of the deeper purposes of coaching. It is not simply to help people think through a problem, but to help them become more aware of the processes through which they think about it.
With that awareness comes the possibility of thinking, and acting, differently.
About the author
Dr Andrew McDowell is a psychologist, coach and leadership professional with more than 25 years' dedicated to purpose driven leadership. As Chair of TPC's global Leadership Practice, he helps leaders cultivate the mindset and skills necessary to inspire high performing teams and deliver sustainable, large scale organisational growth. He is also a Director Chief of Wyse International, where he supports emerging global leaders in creating meaningful, community focused imapct.
Develop your reflective practice
Supervision is where reflective and reflexive practice become a habit rather than an occasional exercise. TPC Coaching Academy's Group Supervision programme gives practising coaches a regular space to learn from a trained supervisor and peers, test new responses in live client work, and return to each session with greater confidence in how they show up.
Frequently asked questions
What is reflective practice in coaching? Reflective practice in coaching is the habit of reviewing your own coaching before, during and after each session in order to learn from it. It draws on Donald Schön's work on the reflective practitioner and helps a coach notice patterns, adjust in the moment, and make more deliberate choices in future conversations.
What is a reflective practitioner? A reflective practitioner is a professional who learns from experience by examining their own work as it happens and after it ends. Donald Schön introduced the term in his 1983 book The Reflective Practitioner, arguing professional skill grows through noticing, interpreting and adjusting in real situations, rather than through applying theory alone.
What is the difference between reflective and reflexive practice? Reflective practice focuses on learning from experience, while reflexive practice turns attention back onto the practitioner. A reflexive coach asks how their own assumptions, preferences and emotions shape what they notice and how they respond. Reflection looks at the work, and reflexivity looks at the person doing the work.
What is reflection in action in coaching? Reflection in action is the ability to notice what is happening during a coaching conversation and adjust in the moment. Examples include a coach noticing they are asking too many questions, sensing a shift in the energy of the conversation, or catching themselves steering the client towards a conclusion. The skill lies in making a different choice while the session is still live.
What is reflection before action? Reflection before action is the preparation a coach does before a session to notice what they bring into the room. TPC Coaching Academy adds it to Schön's reflection in action and reflection on action. It involves reviewing the last session, naming any expectations or assumptions already forming, and deciding how the coach wants to show up.
Why does reflexivity matter in coaching? Reflexivity matters in coaching because the coach is always part of the conversation and never a neutral observer. Awareness of their own patterns helps a coach avoid coaching from habit or assumption, notice when they become too directive, and resist reaching conclusions too early. It also gives the coach a pause between what happens and how they respond.
What is metacognition in coaching? Metacognition in coaching is the capacity to think about your own thinking. A coach supports it by helping a client notice how they reach conclusions, which assumptions repeat, and which patterns shape their choices. This awareness gives the client the option to think and act differently.
How does coaching supervision support reflexive practice? Coaching supervision gives a coach a structured space to examine their own part in their client work with a trained supervisor. A supervisor helps the coach see patterns, assumptions and blind spots which are hard to spot from inside a session. Frameworks such as the seven-eyed model of supervision guide this by looking at the client, the coach and the relationship between them.