Metacognition in action: how coaching fosters self-awareness and growth

Titolo Rivista STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI
Autori/Curatori Giammarco Marras, Matteo Opizzi, Michela Loi, Roberta Pinna
Anno di pubblicazione 2026 Fascicolo 2026/1
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 27 P. 69-95 Dimensione file 238 KB
DOI 10.3280/SO2026-001003
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What if personal transformation, rather than performance metrics, were the true engine of workplace success? This paper explores how workplace coaching fosters deep metacognitive change in employees — transformations that precede and enable professional growth. Drawing on a qualitative study of employees who underwent WPC within an Italian organization, the analysis relies on seven narrative interviews enriched through metaphor elicitation to capture participants' sense-making processes. These metaphors offer a unique window into how individuals make sense of change, regulate emotion, and reconstruct identity. The findings challenge the dominant focus on quantifiable outcomes by revealing coaching as a powerful catalyst for self-awareness, resilience, and relational intelligence. The paper argues that coaching effectiveness should be understood not only in terms of what employees achieve, but also in terms of how they make sense of their changes. Implications for theory and human resource practice are discussed, particularly the need to reframe coaching as a strategic, developmental investment in human potential.

E se fosse la trasformazione personale, piuttosto che gli indicatori di performance, il vero motore del successo organizzativo? Questo articolo esplora come il coaching sul luogo di lavoro favorisca profondi cambiamenti metacognitivi nei dipendenti, trasformazioni che precedono e rendono possibile la crescita professionale. Basandosi su uno studio qualitativo condotto con dipendenti che hanno partecipato a un percorso di Workplace Coaching (WPC) all'interno di un'organizzazione italiana, l'analisi si fonda su sette interviste narrative, arricchite mediante la tecnica della metaphor elicitation (elicitazione di metafore), al fine di cogliere i processi di costruzione di significato dei partecipanti. Tali metafore offrono una prospettiva privilegiata su come gli individui interpretano il cambiamento, regolano le proprie emozioni e ricostruiscono la propria identità. I risultati mettono in discussione l'enfasi predominante sugli esiti quantificabili, mostrando il coaching come un potente catalizzatore di consapevolezza di sé, resilienza e intelligenza relazionale. L'articolo sostiene che l'efficacia del coaching dovrebbe essere compresa non solo in termini di ciò che i dipendenti raggiungono, ma anche in relazione a come attribuiscono significato ai cambiamenti vissuti. Vengono infine discusse le implicazioni teoriche e per la pratica della gestione delle risorse umane, evidenziando la necessità di ripensare il coaching come un investimento strategico e di sviluppo del potenziale umano.

Parole chiave:coaching sul luogo di lavoro; metacognizione; elicitazione di metafore; consapevolezza di sé; costruzione di significato; crescita personale.

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Giammarco Marras, Matteo Opizzi, Michela Loi, Roberta Pinna, Metacognition in action: how coaching fosters self-awareness and growth in "STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI " 1/2026, pp 69-95, DOI: 10.3280/SO2026-001003