by Darrin Murriner, Co-Founder and CEO of Cloverleaf
Leadership coaching is one of the most effective ways to develop strong, capable leaders — yet, in many organizations, it’s still reserved for executives. The reality is leadership happens at every level. First-time managers, mid-level leaders, and senior executives all face moments where they need guidance, perspective, and support to navigate challenges and grow.
But leadership development doesn’t happen by accident. Great leaders aren’t just born — they’re shaped through self-awareness, feedback, and continuous coaching that helps them improve how they communicate, make decisions, and develop their teams.
Yet most companies don’t provide leadership coaching where it’s needed most:
For leadership coaching to truly work, it can’t just be a one-off experience or a luxury for a select few. It needs to be practical, relevant, and integrated into the daily moments where leadership actually happens — whether that’s navigating team conflict, giving tough feedback, or adapting to change.
The question isn’t whether leadership coaching is valuable — it’s how to make it work for more people in a way that’s meaningful, actionable, and built to last.
What Is The Goal Of Leadership Coaching
Leadership coaching is the process of helping leaders improve how they interact with others, make decisions, and develop their teams. It’s not just about individual self-improvement — it’s about equipping leaders to create real impact in their organizations.
A great leader isn’t someone with all the answers. It’s someone who knows how to ask the right questions, adapt to different situations, and bring out the best in others. Leadership coaching provides structured guidance to help leaders grow — not in isolation, but in the context of their teams, their challenges, and their day-to-day decisions.
3 Ideas That Strengthen Leadership Coaching’s Impact
Most leadership coaching follows a traditional, one-on-one model — focused on individual growth, often reserved for executives or high performers. But practicing leadership isn’t just a top-level function — it can happens at every level of an organization.
1. Leadership coaching should be accessible at every stage.
From first-time managers to senior executives. When mid-level leaders don’t get coaching, they’re left to figure things out alone, which weakens teams and slows progress.
2. Leadership coaching isn’t just about the leader — it’s about the team.
Leadership doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Effective coaching helps leaders understand their teams’ unique dynamics, improve collaboration, and create an environment where people can thrive.
3. Leadership coaching should be integrated into daily work — not just scheduled sessions.
Leaders don’t need advice weeks after a tough conversation — they need guidance in the moment, when it matters most.
Great Coaching Can Lead To A High-Performing Culture
Self-awareness that leads to action.
Leaders need more than just insight into their strengths, biases, and blind spots — they need to know how to apply that awareness in real interactions. Coaching ensures that self-awareness isn’t just theoretical, but something leaders can actively use to make better decisions and foster stronger teams.
A focus on building strong teams.
Coaching isn’t just about making a leader better — it’s about helping them bring out the best in others, develop talent, and build trust. When leaders are supported through coaching, they create environments where people feel heard, valued, and empowered to perform at their best.
Actionable feedback, not vague theories.
Effective leadership coaching offers practical, real-time insights leaders can apply immediately — not just high-level concepts about leadership. The best coaching doesn’t just teach theory; it helps leaders navigate the complexities of managing people, giving feedback, and driving change in the moment
Scalability and consistency.
Coaching should be continuous, relevant, and available to every leader — not a one-time experience for a select few. When coaching is integrated into daily work, it becomes a consistent driver of growth, rather than an occasional intervention.
The impact is real. One study found that for every $1 spent on coaching, companies saw a return of over $7. Coaching doesn’t just develop better leaders — it leads to smarter decisions, stronger teams, and better business outcomes. When leaders are equipped with the right coaching, they reduce costly mistakes, improve retention, and create cultures of accountability that drive long-term success.
Impactful leadership coaching strategies realize it isn’t just about developing individuals — it’s about changing how leadership happens in an organization. When development opportunities are embedded into daily work — instead of separate initiatives — the effects of coaching start to drive real, lasting change.
4 Principles That Make Leadership Coaching More Effective?
Coaching is about helping leaders apply new learning and discovery to improve team dynamics, decision-making, and workplace culture. But for coaching to drive lasting impact, it has to be personalized, relevant, team-centered, and continuously reinforced.
Let’s break down the key principles that make leadership coaching effective.
1. Personalization: Coaching Should Be Tailored to the Leader and Their Team.
No two leaders — or teams — are the same. Coaching should be customized to individual strengths, leadership styles, and team dynamics rather than following a generic framework.
How personalization makes leadership coaching more effective:
Self-awareness is At The Core Of Better Leadership.
Leaders who understand their own tendencies, strengths, and blind spots can make better decisions, communicate more effectively, and create environments where people thrive.
- Behavioral assessment platforms with tools like DISC, MBTI, or Enneagram help leaders understand their natural tendencies, communication styles, and decision-making patterns.
- Strength-based assessments (like CliftonStrengths®) highlight what energizes leaders, helping them maximize their potential.
- When assessment insights can be layered, even better! Leaders get a multi-dimensional view of themselves and their teams — leading to more targeted coaching and better results.
Leadership Coaching Should Adapt to the Team, Not Just the Leader.
Leadership isn’t just about self-improvement — it’s about building strong teams. Coaching should help leaders:
- Recognize and adapt to different working and communication styles within their team.
- Navigate team dynamics more effectively, building trust and collaboration.
- Lead in a way that aligns with their team’s strengths—not just their own.
When leaders and teams can both be part of the coaching process, the impact is deeper and longer-lasting. Assessments are just one tool that can make coaching more personal, actionable, and relevant—leading to stronger teams and better leadership at every level.
2. Contextual Relevance: Coaching Should Happen When It Matters Most.
Leadership isn’t learned in a vacuum. Leaders need coaching in the moments where leadership skills are required — when they’re giving feedback, navigating conflict, or making tough decisions.
Why Timing Matters in Leadership Coaching.
Often, coaching opportunities happen out of sync with the actual leadership challenges the individual is facing. A one-hour session weeks before or after a tough conversation doesn’t help a leader navigate it in real time.
Leaders need coaching in the moment, when decisions are being made, feedback is being given, and challenges arise — not weeks later when the details are fuzzy.
Leaders don’t have time to dig through notes from past coaching sessions. They need quick, relevant guidance when they’re about to have a one-on-one, handle a conflict, or make a big decision.
Digital coaching tools can integrate coaching insights directly into platforms like Slack, Outlook, Gmail, and team dashboards, so leaders get nudges right when they need them — not as an afterthought.
Instead of hoping leaders remember what they learned in a coaching session, automating coaching nudges makes insights part of their daily workflow, helping them adjust, improve, and lead better day in and day out.
3. Team-Centered Coaching: Leadership Coaching Should Strengthen the Entire Team.
A leader’s success isn’t measured by their individual growth — it’s measured by how well they develop and empower their team. Coaching should help leaders strengthen collaboration, build trust, and bring out the best in others.
This shift from individual leadership coaching to collective leadership coaching is gaining momentum. Many organizations are recognizing that coaching shouldn’t just focus on one leader at a time — it should strengthen leadership across an entire team or organization.
Organizations Are Moving Toward Collective Leadership.
- According to DDI’s 2023 Global Leadership Forecast, only 12% of companies feel confident in their leadership bench strength.
- To address this gap, progressive organizations are shifting toward group coaching and team-based leadership development that breaks down silos, encourages shared learning, and creates accountability among peers (td.org.)
- Instead of viewing leadership as an individual skill, collective coaching builds leadership capacity across an entire organization— ensuring teams, not just individuals, are equipped to lead.
Leaders Need Coaching on How to Motivate, Delegate, and Give Feedback.
- Coaching is about equipping a leader to create an environment where people can thrive.
- This includes how to provide feedback, resolve conflict, and navigate team challenges — not just how to improve their own leadership skills.
4. Continuous Reinforcement: Coaching Should Be an Ongoing Process, Not a One-Time Event.
One of the biggest gaps in leadership coaching is sustainability. Too often, coaching happens in isolated moments — a workshop, a quarterly session — but fails to create lasting behavior change.
How continuous coaching strengthens leadership development:
Reinforcement Drives Retention & Real Behavior Change.
- Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve shows that people forget up to 70% of what they learn within 24 hours unless it’s reinforced.
- Micro-coaching nudges — like the ones Cloverleaf delivers — help keep leadership concepts top of mind and ensure they’re applied continuously.
Embedding Coaching Into Daily Work Makes It Scalable.
- Leadership coaching shouldn’t be a separate initiative — it should be integrated into daily interactions.
- With ongoing, accessible coaching, leaders don’t just get support when they schedule it — they get continuous, relevant insights that shape how they lead every day.
Leadership coaching is most effective when it moves beyond one-size-fits-all approaches and becomes personalized, contextual, team-centered, and continuous.
Organizations that embrace these coaching principles by leveraging assessments, contextual insights, and continuous reinforcement — will develop stronger leaders, more engaged teams, and a leadership culture that scales across every level.
How to Scale Leadership Coaching Beyond the C-Suite
Most leadership coaching is still reserved for senior executives. Traditional coaching models — like one-on-one coaching engagements — are expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to scale. As a result, mid-level managers and first-time leaders often don’t get the support they need.
But leadership isn’t just a top-level function. If coaching is only available to a select few, organizations miss a massive opportunity to strengthen leadership across the board.
To scale leadership coaching in a way that’s both effective and sustainable, organizations need a model that:
- Supports leaders at every level, not just executives.
- Provides on demand, relevant coaching — not just scheduled sessions.
- Uses technology to make coaching accessible, personalized, and continuous.
Why Many Coaching Models Cannot Scale
One-on-one coaching has long been the standard, but it comes with significant limitations when it comes to scaling:
High Cost: Executive coaching engagements can cost thousands of dollars per leader, making widespread adoption unrealistic.
Limited Reach: One coach can only support a handful of leaders at a time, leaving many managers without guidance.
Lack of Continuity: Coaching sessions happen in intervals, leaving gaps where leaders struggle to apply what they’ve learned.
Companies looking to expand leadership development across their organization need a more scalable, accessible, and embedded approach to coaching.
How to Scale Leadership Coaching Without Losing Impact
Think Of Leadership Coaching Beyond The Executive Level.
Leadership development shouldn’t just be for the top 10% of the company. Mid-level managers, first-time leaders, and high-potential employees also need structured guidance, feedback, and coaching.
- Instead of limiting coaching to a few individuals, organizations should make leadership coaching a core part of development at all levels.
- Group coaching, collective development, and technology-driven coaching nudges can make leadership support accessible to a much larger audience.
Leverage Technology to Democratize Coaching Opportunities.
Leadership coaching can be expensive, time-consuming, and hard to scale. One-on-one coaching engagements can cost thousands of dollars per leader, making it unsustainable to provide coaching across an entire organization.
Technology helps remove these barriers, making coaching more cost-effective, accessible, and scalable without sacrificing personalization.
Reduce Cost Without Losing Impact.
One-on-one coaching can cost thousands per leader. Scalable coaching tools provide consistent, high-quality coaching insights at a fraction of the cost.
Eliminate Scheduling Bottlenecks.
Coaching often relies on pre-scheduled sessions, leaving leaders without support when challenges arise. Digital coaching tools provide on-demand insights when leaders need them most.
Shift from Episodic Coaching to Ongoing Development.
Leadership coaching is less effective when it is experienced as one-and-done event. For real impact, coaching must be continuous, integrated, and reinforced over time.
Micro-Coaching Nudges Keep Leadership Skills Top of Mind.
Instead of relying on infrequent sessions, coaching should be woven into daily work through real-time insights and reminders.
Leadership Development Must Align with Real-World Challenges.
The best coaching happens in the moment—when leaders are making decisions, giving feedback, or navigating conflict.
By leveraging technology, expanding access, and making coaching continuous, organizations can equip every leader with the support they need to develop, lead effectively, and build stronger teams.
Coaching More Leaders, Strengthening More Teams
Leadership coaching has the power to transform organizations—not just by improving individual leaders but by creating stronger teams, better communication, and cultures where people thrive.
With new approaches and technology, coaching is no longer limited to a select few. It can be personalized, continuous, and embedded into daily work, making leadership development more impactful than ever before.
When more leaders get the coaching they need, workplaces become more connected, teams work better together, and cultures become places where people want to stay and grow.
Darrin Murriner is the co-founder and CEO of Cloverleaf – a technology platform that brings automated team coaching to the entire enterprise for better collaboration, improved employee relationships, and a more engaged workforce. Darrin is also the author of Corporate Bravery, a book focused on helping leaders avoid fear-based decision-making.