How the Democratization of Coaching Can Benefit You

Not that long ago, coaching was reserved for the privileged few. Executive coaching was a big investment, focused on customized development of the senior most leaders to expedite their development in high states roles. At times it was also used as a remedial tool, a sort of last resort also for senior folks, but in cases where failure to change would lead to their exiting the company.?

Historically Only the Elite Few Had Access to Coaching

In spite of the demonstrable benefits of coaching and strong evidence of ROI , companies have struggled to make it available more broadly. Because historically coaching is done one on one and often over a period of at least six to twelve months, it’s been persistently difficult to offer at scale.?

Companies have used in-house and external development programs to give people a taste of coaching. For instance, I received one 90 minute coaching session when I attended a women’s leadership program years ago at The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), and a few sessions when I was nominated for Amazon’s Leader of Leaders program (yes, the acronym was LOL).?

Even the new language shows that coaching today is taking us in a new direction. What was once known almost exclusively as executive coaching is now called anything from business to leadership to performance coaching, focusing more on the genre and outcome vs. the level or role of the coachee. I personally think about coaching as being “for leaders at all levels” so it’s not focused on title or position.

The Democratization of Coaching Has Arrived

Though BetterUp (a global coaching platform) launched in 2016, my quick Google search didn’t turn up results for “democratization of coaching” before 2019, at least on the first few pages. It's still a relatively new concept, and people leaders should anticipate that coaching is going to become much more mainstream as more firms and platforms focus on accessibility.?

So what’s the democratization of coaching all about? Richard Antosik suggests that we need to shift two beliefs in order to understand this new coaching approach.?

1) Coaching is prohibitively expensive and reserved exclusively for executives.

2) Coaching is most effective in one-on-one scenarios.

As more people learn to embrace these ideas, the number of people who will have the opportunity to benefit from coaching is growing, as it becomes not only more affordable but also more inclusive.?

Three Types of Coaching That Go Beyond "Executive"

So what do these new types of coaching look like? Here are three practical examples - one of these might just be the solution you're looking for.??

• Team Coaching: Team coaching is focused on a group of people who share common goals and want to work together more effectively to achieve a shared outcome. It’s a tool that can be used to foster clarity, help with goal setting, and provide accountability. It can also strengthen decision making and communication among team members who want to work better together.
• Group Coaching: Group coaching is for people facing common challenges, who don’t necessarily work together day in and day out. They might come from different parts of the organization or different companies altogether. In group coaching, people can learn from and support one another. Popular examples include group coaching for women leaders or new managers.??
• Spot Coaching: Spot coaching is for individuals who want a 'just in time' approach consisting of one or a few sessions. It’s a great way to provide coaching to the broader team as a way to practice new skills or help navigate hard conversations. For instance, you might offer spot coaching to all employees, all managers, or to people who are newly promoted. I used spot coaching twice early in my career, and each time I found that? just one session helped me gain the perspective I was looking for.

If you take one thing away, I hope you will seriously consider including coaching as part of your development plans, whether for yourself or your team. Don’t be intimidated by the traditional coaching model that includes a longer and more costly process, available only to senior executives.

We can all benefit from coaching at different points in our careers, and modern models including team, group, and spot coaching are designed to work for every size and stage of company.??

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