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. 

认知同理心，表达为想象自我（想象自己处于他人的情况）或想象他人（想象他人处于他/她的情况）同理心，对于教练中的自我改变和满足感是必不可少的。在两项研究中，我们调查了教练的想象自我与想象他人同理心之间的差异。在一项调查研究 ( N 1 = 242) 中，我们发现教练对客户自我改变的感知越重要，他们不仅评价一般的同理心，而且特别评价想象-他人（但不是想象-自我）同理心的价值就越大. 在一项实验研究中 ( N2 = 57），我们操纵教练的想象自我与想象他人的同理心，并检查对客户自我改变和教练满意度的影响。结果表明，想象他人（但不是想象自我）同理心对这些教练结果因素有积极影响。因此，一个主要的实际含义是作为教练表现出想象他人而不是想象自我的同理心的相关性。然而，未来的研究应该调查其他人员发展方法，如关于想象自我与想象他人同理心的指导或培训。