Creating a coaching culture isn’t just a one-time project—it’s about transforming how people connect, communicate, and grow over time. In our previous blog Creating A Coaching Culture 101, we covered the many benefits a coaching culture brings to organizations, including improved teamwork, engagement, and growth.
Now, it’s time to move from “why” to “how” as we go deeper into the practical steps you can take to bring this culture to life. In this blog, we’ll dive into practical steps organizations can take to help leaders and employees alike adopt a coaching mindset, creating a supportive culture that empowers everyone in the organization in meaningful ways.
Laying the Groundwork: What It Means to Build a Coaching Culture
When we talk about a coaching culture, we’re talking about an environment where coaching principles become a natural part of day-to-day interactions and decisions. This doesn’t mean running endless coaching sessions—rather, it’s about bringing coaching approaches into how people communicate and collaborate.
Building this culture takes intention and strategy, but it’s well worth it.
According to the International Coaching Federation, the global governing body of the coaching profession, a coaching culture is comprised of three interconnected and interdependent components.
- Internal ICF Coaches: employees whose job is to coach other employees on a mandate basis.
- External ICF Coaches: coaches who coach employees within the organization on a contract basis.
- Leader as Coach: Managers who use ICF coaching as their primary leadership style
Both internal coaches and external coaches and managers who use coaching as their primary leadership style are all key players in supporting each other to integrate these principles, creating a culture where everyone feels empowered to explore solutions and grow together.
Here’s how we can make that happen:
Start with Leadership: Setting the Tone for a Coaching Culture
Leadership sets the example for the rest of the organization, which is why it’s crucial for leaders to embrace and model a coaching mindset. When leaders commit to coaching as part of their leadership style, it sends a powerful message that coaching isn’t just a checkbox activity, it’s part of how things get done.
When all managers and leaders in an organization are trained with professional coaching skills, they can integrate coaching behaviours like active listening, asking open-ended questions, and focusing on exploration over direction.
This shift encourages leaders to engage their teams in problem-solving and idea-sharing, rather than always offering answers or disguising suggestions as questions. When leaders show up as coaches, they make it clear that personal and professional growth are valued, setting an example for others to follow. This step alone can spark a ripple effect that helps bring coaching into everyday practices across the organization.
Develop Coaching Skills Across All Levels
To truly create a coaching culture within the organization, learning to coach shouldn’t only be limited to senior leaders or the human resources department – it should include everyone.
When employees at all levels learn foundational coaching skills, coaching becomes a shared skill rather than a specialty. Just imagine team meetings and performance reviews where employees practice open-ended questioning and constructive feedback.
For example, in the International Trade Administration’s case, they initially spent over $200,000 annually on external coaches. But when they invested in coaching training for all employees, they nearly halved their costs and saw even greater results: employees felt heard, set clearer goals, and grew in confidence. Over 98% of participants recommended the coaching program.
Another organization, Procore, saw similar success in 2019 as they introduced coaching to support their rapid growth, creating an empowered culture driven by constant improvement. As one leader noted, it sparked “a desire to always be better than we were yesterday.” You can read their full case study here.
There are many ways organizations can introduce core coaching skills among employees, and coaching education programs such as The Coaching Academy for Leaders offer different levels of courses for leaders, managers, and employees. The important thing here is the aim to help everyone—from entry-level staff to managers—use coaching techniques to support each other’s growth. Whether it’s offering encouragement during team meetings or listening deeply during one-on-one sessions, these coaching skills create a culture where people feel respected, valued, and motivated to grow.
Encourage Peer-to-Peer Coaching and Collaboration
One of the simplest ways to weave coaching into your organization is through peer coaching. Peer-to-peer coaching offers employees a chance to support each other by having an accountability partner to solve problems and discover new ways of working together. When people coach each other, they build stronger connections, learn from diverse perspectives, and gain confidence in their roles.
What’s great about setting up a peer coaching program is that it doesn’t have to be complicated. One important point about running a coaching circle is to ensure you mix up who coaches whom. For example, you don’t want people taking turns coaching each other. Instead, Member A would coach Member B, Member B would coach C, C would coach D, and D would coach A.
Peer coaching strengthens bonds and builds a culture where learning and collaboration are natural parts of everyone’s role.
Make Coaching a Core Part of Onboarding and Development Programs
Organizations should also think about introducing coaching principles from the very beginning in the hiring process as it sets new employees up for success. An onboarding process that includes coaching immediately lets new hires feel supported and connected, helping them understand that coaching is a key part of how the organization operates.
Beyond onboarding, embedding coaching into ongoing leadership development programs keeps employees engaged and motivated. Whether through professional coach training, mentorship paired with coaching, or career development sessions, incorporating coaching shows employees that their growth matters and that the organization sees that in the same way.
This is exactly what TD Bank Group was able to develop with their multi-phased coaching ecosystem whose objective was to create space and time for leaders to connect one-on-one with colleagues. With that, they were able to build a culture that enabled them to achieve higher employee engagement, improved performance, and even better customer satisfaction. You can read more about their case study here.
This approach also encourages a growth mindset – as you’ll find in this 2022 case study — where employees become more open to learning, experimenting, and adapting over time. Making coaching an integral part of onboarding and development ensures that coaching becomes second nature in the organization.
Overcoming Resistance to Coaching: What If They Don’t Buy In?
It’s common to encounter some resistance when introducing a coaching culture. Not everyone will jump on board immediately, and some may feel that coaching is time-consuming or uncomfortable. Coaches can play a vital role in addressing these concerns, offering practical ways to help employees and leaders alike see the value in coaching.
One effective approach is to start small, showing how coaching can enhance performance and communication so employees experience the benefits firsthand. Leaders and employees who want to prove the ROI of a coaching program to the organization can begin with our ROI of coaching resource here.
Sharing success stories and examples from within the organization can also help shift perceptions, highlighting how coaching can lead to positive outcomes. Creating a safe, supportive environment is crucial—people are more likely to embrace coaching when they feel respected and understood. By framing coaching as an opportunity to grow rather than a critique, you can help reduce resistance and open minds to the benefits of a coaching culture.
Monitor Progress and Celebrate Small Wins
Building a coaching culture doesn’t happen overnight, and tracking progress is essential to keep the momentum going. A robust assess, measure and ROI strategy should be clearly developed. Successful programs can be tracked and proven. For a deeper understanding of developing and tracking your program, read our blog that outlines the 8 components of a successful leadership development program here.
Simple metrics like employee surveys, feedback loops, and even informal check-ins can also help you see how well coaching is being integrated into daily routines.
Celebrating small wins along the way keeps spirits high and shows everyone that the journey is worth it. Recognize achievements like improved communication, enhanced teamwork, or personal growth—these moments reinforce the value of a coaching culture. Continuously gathering feedback from employees allows the organization to refine and adjust its approach, keeping the coaching culture fresh, relevant, and effective for everyone involved.
Sustaining a Coaching Culture Over Time
A coaching culture is a journey, not a destination, and staying committed to it means continually nurturing and adopting these principles. By integrating these steps, you’re helping create an environment where people feel empowered to bring their best selves to work every day.
Each step you take toward cultivating a coaching culture helps create a workplace where individuals and teams can truly thrive, bringing energy, resilience, and positivity to your organization. Embrace this approach, and watch how a coaching culture can transform your organization from the inside out.
Did you like this article? If you’re interested in building a coaching culture that delivers tangible results, check out the companion piece to this article: Coaching Culture 101.
by: Corry Robertson
