Most Senior Leaders Have One - and it’s not what you think

There's been a huge growth in personal coaching across all sectors, now we have coaches for every niche, yet there's one statistic remains consistent: while most managers, senior leaders and CEOs have a coach, they are usually independent professionals i.e. external to their organisation or company. They are not using in-house coaches.

According to research, it varies between 28% and 57% of organisations benefit from external business coaches, depending on size and 67% of gen X leaders want more external coaching. External coaching is valued by leadership teams and senior managers yet, many staff still don’t have a coach or are told to use the employee assistance scheme or in-house coaches.

Why do senior management prefer an external coach?

The four main reasons have not changed in the past ten years and are the fundamentals for any coaching relationship: -

1. Trust

2. Confidentiality

3. Impartiality

4. Results

A productive coaching relationship needs confidentiality within a the space to think and speak freely, to be challenged, explore blind spots without agenda. This creates greater openness, trust to reflect, and the psychological safety that fuels meaningful growth.

Internal coaches, however skilled, wear multiple hats with competing priorities. They may belong to a team or a department whose objectives might consciously or unconsciously influence their coaching or their client. This is the fundamental tension. The most experienced internal coach may still be perceived as too close to the politics and culture to provide the neutrality most want and need.

External coaches have just one job to do, they focus solely on coaching, it’s their profession, it's been my profession for last eighteen years. An external coach will have developed their niche and built a track record of experience carefully building their reputation and expertise. They will enter the coaching relationship with no assumptions or internal agenda.

This neutrality builds trust and rapport quickly and the boundaries are clear and easy to maintain. It’s a focused space where time, confidentiality are fully respected turning coaching into a high-impact, time-bound, results-driven process.

Sources: - 1. Gen X leaders wish for more external coaching - https://www.lorman.com/blog/post/39-statistics-that-prove-the-value-of-employee-training

2. organisations benefit from external business coaches - https://lcbusinesscoaching.com/en/business-coaching-statistics/