What if coaching wasn’t just for the person at the top?
Executive coaching has traditionally been exactly that: coaching for executives.
And it makes sense.
The more senior you become, the fewer people you have to talk openly with. The decisions get bigger, the pressure increases and having someone outside the organisation to challenge your thinking can be incredibly valuable.
But over the last few years, I've noticed something through my own coaching work.
Some of the most rewarding results happen when I'm not just coaching one leader. I'm coaching the team around them too.
I've seen it work across businesses, university research teams and international teams in complex environments.
Different sectors, scales, and countries. Very different challenges.
But there's something very powerful about what happens when several people within the same team are all doing the work.
Leadership doesn't happen in isolation
A CEO might be wrestling with how to communicate a difficult decision.
One of their directors might be frustrated because they don't understand why that decision is taking so long.
A new manager might be struggling to step up and lead rather than doing everything themselves.
Two colleagues might be avoiding a conversation they really need to have.
Someone else might simply need the confidence to trust their judgement and take the next step.
None of these things is happening in isolation.
They're happening between people who work together, make joint decisions and are ultimately trying to achieve the same thing.
When I'm coaching several people in the same team, I get to know the business, the pressures, the personalities and what they're trying to achieve. Individual coaching conversations stay confidential, but understanding that wider context makes the coaching richer.
Everyone gets to do their own work
This is the bit I find particularly rewarding.
One person might become more confident in saying what they really think. Another might realise they don't need to control every detail. Someone else gets better at listening rather than immediately jumping in with the answer.
A senior leader might recognise the effect their own pressure is having on everyone around them.
Each person is working on themselves and their own leadership. But then they come back together and they're more self-aware and willing to listen. They're more able to have difficult conversations and appreciate what other people bring.
Basically, everyone gets a little better at playing nicely together.
And I don't mean that flippantly. I've seen whole teams improve because the individuals within them have done the work. Communication gets easier, relationships improve and people challenge each other more constructively.
Helping individuals perform better starts helping the whole team perform better.
And it's incredibly rewarding to watch. And experience it for yourself.
Coaching when it's actually needed
There's another reason I've come to love this way of working.
What a team needs changes.
This month, the CEO might need support navigating a strategic decision.
Next month, someone has stepped into a bigger leadership role and needs some space to work out how they want to lead.
There might be a relationship that's becoming difficult, a big change to navigate, or something the whole team needs to get around a table and work through together.
That's why I like combining individual and team coaching rather than treating them as completely separate things.
Sometimes the best use of my time is a 1:1 conversation, sometimes it's getting three or six people in a room together. Sometimes it's both.
The coaching can respond to what's actually happening in the business.
What if more people had access to coaching?
That's also made me question why we so frequently reserve coaching for the most senior person.
Of course executive coaching is valuable. I love it and will continue doing lots of it.
But there are people throughout organisations making decisions, managing others, navigating difficult relationships, stepping into bigger roles and trying to do great work.
They don't necessarily need a six or twelve-month Executive Coaching Programme.
Sometimes they need access to a really good coach at the moment it would help most.
And organisations don't necessarily need another leadership development programme either.
Sometimes they need somebody who gets to know the business, understands the people and is there consistently enough to help when things get tricky, or when there's an opportunity for someone to really step up.
A coach in your team's corner
I've realised I want to do more of this.
So I'm making something I've previously done quite bespoke a more formal part of my coaching offer: Flexible Team Coaching Partnerships.
An organisation has a monthly coaching allocation that can be used across an agreed team for 1:1 executive and leadership coaching, support for emerging leaders, or group and team sessions, depending on what's needed most.
I get to know your business and your people. Individuals still get the confidential coaching space they need. And together, we can strengthen the communication, relationships and leadership around them.
More confident people. Better conversations. Stronger teams. Greater impact.
And, hopefully, a team that performs brilliantly while enjoying working together a whole lot more.
Team Coaching Partnerships start from £1,500 per month.
If you're wondering what having a coach in your team's corner could look like for your organisation, book a call and we can talk it through.
Impactfully,
Mehalah Beckett is an executive, team and business coach, and the founder of Lead Powerful Impact, a certified B-Corp.
She works with purpose-driven leaders and sustainable businesses who want to move beyond performance, lead with clarity and self-trust, and create impact without burning out.
Find out more at Lead Powerful Impact | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
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