Transforming Coaching into Organizational Capability:
The Rise of Internal Coaches in the U.S.

As of 2024, the United States is seeing a growing divide between companies that successfully integrate coaching into their organizations and those that have abandoned the effort (*1).

In 2019, COACH A fully partnered with COACH U in the U.S. Through our collaboration, we began to understand the reasons behind this divide. Observing the realities of U.S. management and the evolving trends in corporate coaching, it becomes clear that this is not merely a debate about whether coaching is beneficial. Instead, the key question is how coaching can be effectively embedded within organizations. Success requires more than simply implementing coaching programs--it demands strategic wisdom.

In this article, I will share key insights from U.S. case studies and explore how coaching can become an organizational capability. The answer may lie in the role of the "internal coach."

The Coaching Skills Managers Need

Companies in the U.S. are currently facing significant management challenges. Key findings from recent studies highlight the following:

• CEOs report that their biggest concern, the issue that keeps them up at night, is talent-related (*1).
• 82% of managers ended up in their roles by chance, without formal management or leadership training (*2).
• 84% of American workers feel burdened by poorly trained managers, leading to unnecessary work and increased stress levels (*3).
• 50% of employees under ineffective managers plan to leave their organization within the next year, compared to just 21% of employees with effective managers (*2).

In this environment, retaining high-potential leaders and employees has become a major priority for many organizations.

According to (*1), high-potential employees seek opportunities for growth, strong interpersonal skills in their managers, and high-quality coaching and leadership development programs. However, when asked whether they wanted more coaching from their current managers, only 23% responded positively.

On the other hand, employees who consider their managers to be "effective coaches" are significantly more receptive to coaching. They are also 2.7 times more likely to take ownership of their own leadership development. COACH A's research (*4) further indicates that managers who incorporate coaching into their one-on-one meetings create more than twice the impact on their employees compared to those who do not.

If both individuals and organizations desire growth, then improving managers' coaching capabilities is no longer a "nice to have"--it is a "must-have."

Insights from U.S. Companies

Through my interactions with U.S. clients, I have gained insights into the importance of having a long-term vision and strategy for organizational coaching.

One U.S. government agency has been committed to building a strong coaching culture for over a decade, aiming to provide coaching opportunities to 100% of its employees. Each year, they develop more than 10 internal coaches, requiring them to obtain ICF certification and positioning internal coaching as a prestigious career path within the organization.

Similarly, a major North American financial institution with 60,000 employees has been running a coaching program for over 10 years. Each year, more than 20 employees participate and go on to serve as internal coaches. These internal coaches specialize in supporting financial advisors' business success. Their team is branded as a "Center of Excellence (CoE)," playing a pivotal role in shaping the company's coaching culture. The CoE's impact has generated strong word-of-mouth, leading even busy line managers to voluntarily apply for the same coaching program.

Both organizations have clearly defined the vision of making coaching an organizational capability and have strategically branded their internal coaching teams. As a result, internal coaches take pride in their roles, actively conducting one-on-one and group coaching sessions while also providing coaching training within the company.

One internal coach shared the following insight:

"Employees from business units spend part of their careers as internal coaches and then return to business roles. These individuals naturally become business leaders who can effectively integrate coaching into their leadership."

In other words, organizations are now incorporating internal coaching into their talent development processes as a strategic capability (*5).

Internal Coaching as an Organizational Capability

According to the ICF's 2023 research, in the next five years, companies will increasingly invest in coaching by developing leaders and managers with coaching skills and by leveraging internal coaches (*6).

Organizations that prioritize developing internal coaches recognize the following benefits of internalizing coaching as an organizational capability:

• Broader access to development opportunities for future talent
• Cost-effectiveness
• Adaptability to the organization's unique circumstances
• Enhanced talent development

These approaches hold significant potential for Japanese companies as well.

During a recent COACH U advisory team meeting, we discussed why coaching struggles to take root in organizations. A senior team member offered the following perspective:

"For managers, there are no role models for coaching. There is no clear vision. That's why it doesn't spread."

At that moment, I had an insight:

What if internal coaches could serve as that vision? By cultivating internal coaches within an organization, coaching could become something the organization truly owns.

* * *

This article introduced the evolving role of "internal coaches" in the U.S.

The two organizations highlighted here have successfully embedded coaching as an essential and irreversible organizational capability. However, their journey began over a decade ago with just a handful of employees participating in trial programs (*7).

A small first step is all it takes. I hope this article provides valuable insights for shaping the future of coaching within your organization.

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Language: Japanese