What’s holding back leadership interventions – and how to design ones that stick.
In today’s fast-moving world of work, leadership needs an upgrade.
Between AI disruption, economic headwinds, and growing expectations for inclusive, human-centred leadership, organisations face a critical challenge: Are our leaders truly ready for what’s next?
For HR Directors, Chief People Officers, and Heads of L&D, this challenge is also an opportunity – to rethink what great leadership development coaching really looks like.
Because despite growing investment, many leadership programmes fail to create lasting change. At Thrive Partners, we believe it’s time to put coaching at the heart of your people strategy.
In a recent session hosted by our Head of Coaching, Amanda Kerr, and senior coach Andrew Wilson, we explored what makes leadership development coaching work – and why it’s the missing link in preparing leaders for what’s next.
Coaching Is a Business Tool, not a Soft Skill
One of the most powerful takeaways from our session came from Andrew:
“Coaching is a business-focused tool. It’s essential for sustained high performance.”
This isn’t opinion – it’s backed by evidence. Studies from the Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan, and McKinsey show that coaching builds adaptability, resilience, and agility – three critical traits for future-fit leadership.
The myth that coaching is a luxury or ‘nice to have’ is outdated. When embedded properly, executive coaching enhances performance, supports retention, and drives cultural change.
Most Leadership Programmes Fail Because They’re Not Designed to Stick
Here’s the hard truth: tick-box programmes and one-off workshops don’t deliver transformation.
Why? Because they:
- Lack senior sponsorship
- Don’t connect to real business needs
- Aren’t designed with behavioural change in mind
- Don’t involve the wider system – line managers, peers, and teams
- Forget that learning time should be as protected as annual leave
As Amanda put it:
“Without systemic thinking, the impact rarely goes beyond the individual. And even then, it’s short-lived.”
At Thrive, we help organisations avoid these traps – by grounding our work in sustainable leadership development.
Great Coaching-Led Programmes Create Buzz and Behaviour Change
Whether it’s a 6-month cohort or a 12-month initiative, effective leadership development coaching creates both buzz and behaviour change.
That’s why we design programmes that are:
- Experiential, to activate insight
- Systemic, to ripple across teams
- Measurable, so the impact is visible
- Sponsored, with senior engagement baked in
We also help clients build the conditions for success – whether that’s co-creating a shared language of leadership, or ensuring the programme creates visible, culture-shaping stories.
It’s not just about building individual capability. It’s about building momentum.
Make the Most of Digital Learning to Protect Precious In-Person Time
In-person experiences are powerful – but they can also be expensive and finite. That’s why we help organisations use digital learning intelligently.
We front-load programmes with pre-work, self-paced resources, and coaching touchpoints – so when people do come together in person, it’s for the real work. Reflection. Vulnerability. Team bonding. Sponsor-led dialogue.
This hybrid model ensures every session counts – and leaders walk away with actionable insight, not just inspiration.
Create Truly Feedback-Driven Environments
Future-fit leadership means embracing feedback – not just giving it – but actively inviting it and acting on it.
Coach-like leaders don’t wait for formal reviews. They build cultures of continuous dialogue, real-time learning, and peer challenge. It’s not just about performance management – it’s about cultivating openness, resilience, and adaptability.
This is what we mean by a coaching culture: A workplace where listening is active, feedback is safe, and people think for themselves.
Align Experiential Learning with Action Learning Back on the Job
Leadership development coaching should never be a standalone experience. To make learning stick, we help organisations align experiential sessions with on-the-job application.
This means building in:
- Reflection loops
- Accountability through peer groups or line managers
- Action learning sets
- Follow-up coaching sessions
Leaders don’t just leave with theory and thinking. They leave with clarity, commitment, and a next step already in motion. They feel energised and inspired, ready to take the learning and insights back into their day-to-day reality.
So, What Does Great Leadership Development Coaching Look Like?
At Thrive Partners, we don’t offer off-the-shelf programmes. Every solution is tailored to organisation context and need; but the ingredients are consistent:
- Diagnostic clarity: We always start with “where are we now?” and “where do we want to be?”
- Blended design: We combine 1:1 coaching, peer learning, sponsor input, and digital tools.
- Systemic alignment: The whole system is engaged – from line managers to executive sponsors.
- Measurable outcomes: We track behaviour, impact, and ROI – not just participation.
- Safe, high-challenge spaces: Coaching creates environments where leaders can reflect, reset, and grow. Our coaches do this – across the globe.
Leadership Development Coaching Is the Smart Way Forward
Future-fit leadership is about so much more than capability – it’s about mindset, culture, and confidence to lead through the unknown.
That’s what leadership development coaching makes possible. It bridges personal purpose with professional performance. It helps leaders unlock their potential, while contributing to broader organisational transformation, with the knowledge that their personal growth is helping the organisations to drive its goals and ambitions, too.
Amanda summed it up best:
“At the heart of it all is behaviour change. Coaching is the most powerful tool we have for that.”
Final Thought:
If your leadership development offer feels like it’s not moving the dial, it may be time to redesign – with coaching at the centre. Coaching-led development isn’t a trend. It’s a proven approach for building resilient, inclusive, and high-performing organisations.
Let’s talk about what it could look like for your people.
Download our free guide here to get you started – How to Design Leadership Development That Sticks
