A Brief History of Ontological Coaching and Generative Leadership

In the inspiring book by Tim Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis, published in 1974, the concept of coaching was catapulted beyond the realms of sports, resonating with a broader audience. This groundbreaking perspective paved the way for coaching's exponential growth, particularly noticeable in the 1990s. Superstar coaches like Tony Robbins and Marshall Goldsmith emerged, illuminating the path for countless individuals seeking transformation and success.

The essence of coaching echoes through time, from Plato’s dialogues with Socrates and the Oracle of Delphi’s timeless mantra, “Know thyself,” to the reflections embedded in modern films like The Matrix (1999). These ideas remind us that self-awareness has always been central to personal and societal transformation.

However, the roots of modern coaching are deeply grounded in the Human Potential Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This era focused less on fixing problems and more on elevating human experience – shifting attention from fixing problems to enhancing lives.

Coaching has since evolved into a distinct and respected profession, complementing counseling, mentoring, consulting, and teaching. At its core, coaching is a partnership that supports individuals in achieving their goals in a sustainable fashion.

In any game – whether it's in sports, business, or life – the moment I step on the field with the intention to win, coaching can be a tremendous support.

Today’s business world is defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). In this environment, one quality stands out as essential for leadership: self-awareness.

“A survey of 75 members of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council rated self-awareness as the most important capability for leaders to develop.” ¹

Other research — including studies cited in the MIT Sloan Management Review and conducted by the Korn Ferry Institute — confirms that self-awareness correlates not only with leadership effectiveness but also with improved collaboration and even financial performance.

“Self-awareness – a characteristic essential to career success and improved executive leadership – also appears to correlate with overall company financial performance.” ²

Despite this, many traditional training programs focus primarily on the transfer of knowledge – without addressing the deeper patterns of perception and interpretation that shape action.

This is where coaching plays a critical role. It strengthens our awareness of how we observe and make meaning, supporting alignment, learning agility, and clarity – all of which contribute to the development of generative leadership.

A key milestone in this evolution is Peter Senge’s 1990 work, The Fifth Discipline, which introduced systems thinking as the foundation of a learning organization. Systems thinking encourages leaders to see the interconnections within complex systems and to address root causes rather than symptoms.

Senge built upon the groundbreaking Double-Loop Learning model developed by Chris Argyris and Donald Schön. These two professors – at Harvard, Yale, and MIT – demonstrated that real growth occurs not only by correcting errors (Single-Loop Learning), but by challenging and adjusting the underlying beliefs and assumptions that shape our thinking (Double-Loop Learning).

Argyris noted that when people are confronted with questions that challenge their assumptions, they often react defensively – unaware that they’re doing so. Meanwhile, they can easily see the same patterns in others:

“The date presented so far in this book indicate that whenever people face double-loop issues, they will act in ways that are counterproductive; they will tend to be unaware that they themselves are doing so, yet tend to be aware when others are doing so. They will tend, therefore, to believe that any difficulties are being created primarily by others.” ³

This insight highlights a common dynamic: we tend to protect our core beliefs, even when they limit us.

These beliefs operate like invisible mental programs that shape how we interpret the world. Double-Loop Learning invites us to question these programs directly – and, in doing so, enables us to create a culture of inquiry, reflection, and innovation.

Generative leadership marks a paradigm shift. It moves beyond command-and-control models and fosters an environment of creativity, learning, and shared responsibility. Generative leaders cultivate conditions that invite diverse perspectives and support emergence, adaptability, and long-term innovation.

At the heart of this leadership model lies an ontological approach – one that redefines leadership as a relationship, not a role. It calls for resourcefulness rather than reliance on prescribed solutions and begins with a deeper question: not What do you want?, Why do you want it?, or How will you get there?, but rather: Who are you in this context?

The philosophical foundation of this ontological approach lies in the work of Martin Heidegger. Heidegger asserted that human beings are not passive observers of a given world, but active participants in shaping it. He describes us as thrown into pre-existing structures of meaning – assumptions, beliefs, and habits that color how we interpret experience. However, these structures are not fixed. Through self-reflection, we can become more aware of how we act and why – and thus make more intentional choices about how we engage with the world.

Heidegger famously wrote:

“Language is the house of Being. In its home man dwells.” ⁴

It is through language – together with emotion and the body – that we create meaning. These three dimensions are inseparable: they shape how we experience the world and how we take action within it. Therefore, deep transformation requires not just a change in behavior but a shift in how we relate to ourselves.

In the 1980s, this philosophical foundation was extended into the practice of ontological coaching by thinkers like Humberto Maturana, Fernando Flores, and Julio Olalla. The term ontology refers to the study of being – and in this context, to the conscious awareness of how we construct and participate in reality.

Maturana’s concept of structural determinism, introduced in his 1970 paper Biology of Cognition, states that living systems – including humans – do not simply react to external stimuli. Instead, they interpret and respond to inputs based on their internal organization. This means that our reactions are always filtered through a kind of internal master program — and that this program can be changed.

More recently, neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, in her 2017 book How Emotions Are Made, has brought scientific support to many of these ideas. Her research reinforces the notion – philosophically aligned with Heidegger – that reality is not simply given, but constructed through perception, language, and emotion.

The ontological approach makes one thing clear: we are not merely shaped by the world – we actively shape it. It invites us to take responsibility for our role in all outcomes – not only those we hope for, but also those we unconsciously create or avoid.

Instead of asking, What do you want? or Why is that important to you?, this approach starts deeper. It invites a shift in awareness from what we do to who we are. Questions like Who am I, and who have I decided I can become? can change the entire game. They encourage us to reexamine the underlying rules, assumptions, and identities that shape our actions.

• What if you could be successful in your health, family, and career – all at the same time?
• What if strength and vulnerability weren’t opposites, but complementary forces?
• What if you didn’t have to sacrifice meaning to achieve results?

Such questions expand what we believe is possible. Coaching becomes a tool not only for performance – but for presence, responsibility, and growth.

In a world that demands innovation and adaptability, integrating the ontological approach into leadership offers a way to foster deeper human connection, resilience, and authentic influence. Generative leadership, grounded in this awareness, creates space for new results – and for new ways of being.

¹ B. George, P. Sims, A.N. McLean and D. Mayer, Discovering Your Authentic Leadership, Harvard Business Review 85, no. 2 (February 2007): 129-138. Zitiert in: How to Become a Better Leader, MIT Sloan Management Review, 2012 und Forbes, Great Leadership Starts With Self-Awareness, 2018

² David Zes & Dana Landis, Korn Ferry Institute: A Better Return on Self-Awareness, 2013

³ Chris Argyris, Reasoning, Learning, and Action, 1982, Page 107

⁴ Martin Heidegger, Letter on Humanism, 1949, Page 5