Coaching Alone Won’t Help Organizations Scale
Originally published in Forbes, October 2024.
Chris “Mitch” Mitchell
An executive coach I worked with years ago recently shared an unfortunate client story. A forward-thinking CEO of a multi-site healthcare services organization reached out requesting coaching services. Her goal was to elevate her capabilities following a private equity firm’s investment in the company so she could meet the new backers’ high expectations.
Six months later, the CEO felt she had improved her ability to connect with employees and delegate but was losing the confidence of her board as she struggled to meet targets. The pressure was taking a toll on her ability to serve as an effective and inspirational leader.
In my experience, this scenario is all too common. Smart, hard-working leaders in organizations undergoing transformations feel the pain of being asked to accomplish more, and they reach for coaching as the go-to fix. Their attitude is, "Just make me a better leader and I’ll get the enterprise over the finish line somehow."
They don’t request or receive coaching that reflects the specific business needs of their organizations. More significantly, they internalize the growth challenge as one that rests fundamentally with them and their executive team instead of considering their context and climate.
Why We Over-Rely On Coaching
The reality among organizations looking to achieve rapid scale is that coaching alone isn’t enough. These companies require a far more comprehensive approach that takes into account organizational strategy, structure, culture and, most importantly, the degree to which key stakeholders are aligned.
“Coaching as a concept is woven into our cultural fabric. We embrace the use of fitness trainers, relationship experts, financial advisors and the like. It has become an ingrained belief that desired outcomes are best achieved by fine-tuning one’s personal abilities.”
Too few leaders recognize this. And it’s understandable, given our society’s strong emphasis on self-reliance. The rugged individualism that our culture has long idealized is alive and well, especially in America’s board rooms. Leaders continue to overvalue the contributions of individual leaders and undervalue the systems in place—both visible and invisible.
What’s more, many leaders become successful at least partially as a result of having exceptionally strong work ethics—a vital quality in CEOs, but one that can ironically point them down the wrong paths. Based on their experience, they mistakenly, often subconsciously, believe that all goals are within reach for those who are willing to work harder and smarter. This inevitably leads to frustration and disappointing results.
Finally, coaching as a concept is woven into our cultural fabric. We embrace the use of fitness trainers, relationship experts, financial advisors and the like. It has become an ingrained belief that desired outcomes are best achieved by fine-tuning one’s personal abilities.
So What Does It Take To Scale Successfully?
Of course, much of the thinking behind these perceptions is valid. The most successful executives are almost always strong individuals with exceptional capabilities and work ethics, who are committed to continuous self-improvement. Many of these executives engage mentors, coaches and advisors and see direct, even exponential business results.
Yet the leaders who excel at rapidly unlocking their organizations’ growth potential go much further than achieving personal growth. They consider the parts and the whole—utilizing strategic business-focused executive coaching while simultaneously initiating overall change management.
Often, leaders don’t find their way to this perspective right away. In time, however, and with the right partner, they realize that while individual excellence does matter, the surrounding reality matters just as much, if not more. The savviest such leaders recognize the power in taking a more holistic approach to developing their organizations and harnessing that power to achieve scale.
Don’t miss my next article, on the most impactful enterprise-wide initiatives CEOs can pair with executive coaching to transform organizations.
Read this article as it originally appeared in Forbes here.
Mitch Mitchell is a Principal at FMG Leading. He leads the firm’s investors and private equity practice, partnering with senior executives, investors, and boards to accelerate growth and create exponential value.