Workplace Coaching: Executive privilege or employee right?

Introduction

Executive coaching has origins in the 1940s and 60s, when senior managers were offered counselling by organisational psychologists to excel in their work. It really took off in 1992 after John Whitmore published his book Coaching for Performance. 

Today, executive coaching has become a symbol of kudos, often associated with the executive team and upper management. While coaching is slowly becoming more mainstream, I continue to come across people who perceive coaching as still being a privilege of the few in their organisations, rather than the language of the many. Organisations are often either ignorant of this or do little to challenge this perception, missing the opportunity to foster a company culture that values professional development for all.

Key points

• Coaching shouldn’t be just for executives: Limiting coaching to senior leaders creates inequality and misses the chance to build a stronger, more inclusive company culture.

• Universal coaching access drives performance: Making coaching available to all employees—managers, team leaders, and staff—enhances performance, develops soft skills, and strengthens organisational culture.

• Now is the time for change: The modern workplace demands a shift from top-down leadership to empowering all employees through coaching, unlocking creativity and agility across the organisation.

‘Consequences’ of Executive Coaching

Organisations fail to see the picture that the sole use of coaching for ‘executives’ and the absence of ‘universal’ coaching portrays to employees. Peter Hawkins (2020) cites an incident in South Africa working with the government on a ‘Coaching Culture Strategy’. In response to a question, a frontline team member stated:

“It sounds like the people in the big offices, big cars and big paychecks get the big coaches. I think this is very expensive personal development for the very already highly privileged.”

Quite thought-provoking when put like that. There must be a coaching approach that supports the unique roles of senior leaders, yet treats everyone as equal contributors to performance and therefore deserving of similar development opportunities. 

Coaching programs are too powerful an approach to be limited to the few. Denying access to coaching for the many will impact the success of individuals and organisations alike. It is also disappointing to see organisations where executives reap the benefits of executive coaching but do not promote it to the masses. 

Seeing It Differently

If coaching is so important for senior leaders—improving awareness, developing mindsets and behaviours, enhancing performance, ‘maximising potential’, developing autonomy and ownership, and building emotional intelligence—then surely coaching is equally applicable for managers, team leaders, and employees? The best idea is to make coaching accessible at the right time for everyone, not just a select few.

Coaching of the few potentially only changes the culture between the few. Coaching throughout the organisation will have a much more dramatic cultural effect and change.

When executive coaches work only with the top, it can leave leadership gaps elsewhere, especially among middle managers and top talent who are often overlooked for such professional coaching.

The tide is turning. It is slowly moving more towards coaching. However, put simply, expecting employees to perform every day means access to the tools that enable this performance—like coaching sessions—needs to be present, now.

Coaching as a Performance Tool

Thinking about it, coaching is one of the most accessible and basic performance ‘tools’, forms of development, and approaches to communication in an organisation. Initiated by leaders, line managers, and employees alike, coaching helps develop soft skills and strengthens interpersonal relationships. After initial development, the financial costs are minimal compared to other development activities. Interestingly, by adding up the costs of executive coaching for the top team, there is a strong chance that this funding could have trained a significant number of internal coaches and managers, or even helped develop an organisational coaching program.

Equality of Access

I am not suggesting not undertaking coaching for senior leaders. I simply advocate equal accessibility for all to coaching. As a minimum, all line managers and team leaders—as enablers of employee performance—should be trained in coaching. HR departments and L&D teams should push to build coaching into organisational strategies, policies, and processes, challenging the status quo around the perception and adoption of organisational coaching practices.

Employees should not be afraid to ask and push for coaching and, where appropriate, receive training in it.

Similarly, making coaching an integral part of every leadership and management programme—both receiving and delivering coaching—is essential for developing leadership skills and a strong leadership style.

Conclusion: ‘New World Order’

Finally, the times we now find ourselves in require a radical rethink of how we engage, lead, and enable employees. The older ways won’t be as effective. Directive, command-and-control will not yield results in our increasingly dispersed world. Utilising employee expertise, harnessing team creativity, power, and agility is the way forward.

Now is the opportunity for coaching to be a staple across and within organisations, helping to address performance issues and unlock the full potential of every team member.

Ready to make coaching a driving force for growth in your organisation?

If you believe it’s time to break down barriers and give every team member—not just the few at the top—access to the benefits of coaching, I’d love to help. Simply complete our discovery form, and we’ll arrange a free, no-obligation chat about your goals and how Abintus can support you.

At Abintus, we’re passionate about empowering managers, nurturing high-potential employees, and building a true coaching culture that unlocks the full potential of your people. We offer virtual and face-to-face coaching and coach development opportunities, working with teams and organisations to help initiate and embed coaching practices and cultures.