Originally published in Forbes, December 2024.

In my last article, I discussed how coaching provides much-needed opportunities for individual growth among top leaders but can’t fully unlock an organization’s potential on its own. The most successful executives take a more holistic approach, combining individual growth initiatives with comprehensive, enterprise-wide change initiatives. They know that coaching alone isn’t enough.

But what additional approaches can executives take to better prepare their organizations for rapid growth? Through decades of business advisory work, we’ve identified three key strategies that, when paired with coaching, can help companies scale and maximize the return on their coaching investment:

Clarify and cascade strategic priorities

As the saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, then where are you going?” Wise coaches and receptive coachees can only make so much progress without clarity about where the organization is headed and how each leader is expected to contribute.

By establishing a clear list of priorities, executives can ensure coaching and all other change efforts are focused on supporting the enterprise’s most immediate, pressing goals, maximizing overall impact and setting the table for exponential growth.

Explicitly instill organizational values

There’s often a gap between what’s written on the wall and what happens in the hall. When values fail to align, problems surface, even in organizations committed to developing leaders through coaching. No amount of one-on-one or group sessions will work in environments that tolerate and/or implicitly reward bad behavior. Only by clearly setting expectations and holding people accountable can companies truly reinforce their values and harness them to create a positive culture that allows team members to propel the organization forward.

To illustrate, think of a healthcare startup that has established a “no jerks” policy in order to create a climate of high trust and high performance, where employees do their best work. At the same time, the company hires industry experts who—despite the existing policy—are harsh, judgmental and transactional, making day-to-day collaboration and teamwork extremely challenging. The result is chronic underperformance with disengaged team members who lack the confidence needed to operate independently and decisively.

“There’s often a gap between what’s written on the wall and what happens in the hall. When values fail to align, problems surface, even in organizations committed to developing leaders through coaching.”

— Chris "Mitch" Mitchell

Foster a culture of continuous self-improvement.

Too many workplaces regard coaching as a "scarlet letter"—a corporate program designed to “fix” flawed under-performers. This mentality limits the positive impacts of coaching, preventing leaders from openly discussing their progress and keeping them, their teams and the whole organization from reaching their full potential.

Top leaders can counter this by shaping cultures of continuous self-improvement in which coaching is a gift and ongoing learning and development is seen as a positive attribute. This serves to destigmatize coaching and encourage team members to innovate, collaborate and think bigger.

It will be easier said than done.

A word of caution about these recommended approaches: They are much more difficult to implement than most leaders appreciate. This stems from the fact that too many top executives mistakenly separate business growth from organizational health. They focus too much on the short term and not enough on the long term. This creates an environment in which employees accurately recognize human capital and cultural initiatives as actually less important in the eyes of leadership. They act accordingly and the whole enterprise suffers, regardless of the addition of coaching and/or other elements.

Leaders looking to truly drive transformation must change this paradigm and internalize the absolute importance of setting the right example: leading from the top. They might seek out and communicate how they themselves will “always be growing as a leader” and regularly work with a coach or advisor who offers wisdom tied to both their individual performance and the business itself.

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.