Lessons for Leadership Coaching in a Leader Development Intensive Environment

Abstract

Organizations are increasingly using leadership coaching as part of a broader approach to promote
leader growth and improve individual and organizational performance. This broader approach can
include challenging experiences, new knowledge, reflection, mentoring, and assessment, among other
activities and support. There is compelling evidence that most of these components contribute to
leader growth, but there is almost no research that explores how these activities interact and should
be integrated for maximum effect. This study uses quantitative and qualitative research to assess the
effects of leadership coaching within a systematic and intensive approach to leader development, where
coaching participants also received science-based leadership instruction, mentoring, reflective exercises,
assessment, and evaluated leadership experiences. We apply our insights on leadership coaching to the
development of courage, grit, and warrior ethos within the military context. The findings suggest that
leadership coaching was preferred to mentoring and structured reflection, creating significant benefits
that were different from those created by other developmental activities. Leadership coaching also
increased leader identity and intellectual humility relative to the control group, while also enhancing
the value of experience and reflection in promoting leader growth. These findings suggest leadership
coaching should play a key role within a rigorous, activity intensive leader development system.