Why 2010-Era Coaching Is Holding Your Team Back

Coaching has always been a valuable part of leadership and team development. But in many organizations, it hasn’t evolved alongside the workplace itself.

Teams operate differently than they did a decade ago—communication is faster, collaboration is more fluid, and challenges emerge in the moment. Yet, many companies still use program models that don’t match today’s realities.

Instead of helping teams grow together, coaching often is:

• Exclusive – Reserved for executives and high-potential employees, leaving most managers and team members without meaningful support.
• Disconnected from daily work – Delivered through workshops, quarterly reviews, or one-off training sessions that quickly fade from memory.
• Overly dependent on managers – Coaching is framed as a leadership responsibility rather than an organization-wide practice.

It’s not that these methods never worked—it’s that they were built for a different kind of workplace.

Three Major Gaps in Traditional Coaching

1. It’s Exclusive—Only Leaders Get Coached

Most coaching is designed for senior executives or “high-potential” employees. Managers and employees—who would benefit the most—are left without meaningful development opportunities.

• The problem: When coaching is limited to a select few, teams lose out on daily opportunities for growth.
• The impact:
  • 68% of managers have never received formal leadership training, leading to misalignment, disengagement, and poor team performance.
  • Employees receive little to no coaching unless they are identified as high-potential, which can lead to a lack of motivation and unclear career development.

2. It’s Disconnected—Training Happens Away from Real Work

Most coaching and leadership training happens in scheduled sessions or offsite programs. But by the time employees return to their day-to-day work, much of what they learned is forgotten or never applied.

• The problem: Coaching is treated as an event rather than something employees can apply in their daily roles.
• The impact:
  • 90% of what people learn in training is forgotten within a month without reinforcement.
  • Employees lack support when they need it most—before key conversations, during challenges, or when giving feedback.

3. It Overloads Managers—Too Much Pressure, Not Enough Support

Managers are expected to drive all coaching and development for their teams, yet they are already juggling multiple responsibilities. Without the right tools and shared accountability, coaching becomes another overwhelming task.

• The problem: When coaching is only a manager’s responsibility, it doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
• The impact:
  • Managers struggle to balance coaching with other demands, leading to inconsistent application.
  • Employees don’t receive consistent feedback or growth opportunities because coaching isn’t built into the team’s daily interactions.

Coaching is meant to unlock potential—but when it’s tied to outdated structures, that potential stays untapped.

If coaching isn’t embedded in how teams work together every day, it becomes another initiative instead of a real driver of growth.

So, what does modern, scalable coaching look like?

Let’s break it down.

The Future of Coaching in the Workplace: Scalable, Embedded, and Team-Driven

Workplace coaching is at an inflection point. Organizations are investing more in coaching than ever before—yet many employees still aren’t receiving the development they need.

A recent study found that 9 out of 10 companies plan to increase their investment in coaching over the next 12 months. But if coaching remains exclusive, disconnected from daily work, and overly reliant on managers, those investments won’t create the lasting impact organizations expect.

Coaching isn’t just an HR initiative or a leadership skill—it should be a shared, everyday practice that strengthens teams at every level.

What Needs to Change?

For coaching to drive real results, it must move beyond traditional approaches that limit its reach and effectiveness. Here’s what needs to happen:

• Coaching must be available to every employee, not just a select few. Too often, coaching is reserved for senior leaders or high-potential employees, leaving the majority of the workforce without meaningful development.
• It must be part of daily work—not something that happens in training rooms or scheduled sessions. Coaching that only occurs in structured programs often fails to translate into long-term behavior change.
• It must be shared—coaching isn’t something managers should have to carry alone. When employees learn how to coach and support each other, development becomes a continuous, team-driven process.

A recent Harvard Business Review article reinforces this shift, advocating for leaders to act as coaches and integrate development into daily interactions rather than treating it as a separate function.

How Coaching Must Evolve

Many organizations recognize the need for coaching but are still using outdated strategies. Here’s what’s changing:

• From Leadership-Only → Teamwide Development
  • Coaching should extend beyond managers to become a team practice that helps everyone improve.
• From Generalized Training → Personalized, Context-Aware Coaching
  • Employees need coaching that is relevant to their work, strengths, and challenges—not just one-size-fits-all advice.
• From Training Events → Coaching in the Flow of Work
  • Development needs to happen in the moment, guiding employees before key conversations, collaboration, or decision-making.

Organizations that make these shifts will create a workplace where coaching isn’t just an occasional intervention—it’s a continuous driver of team success.

Coaching That Fits Today’s Workplace

Coaching doesn’t have to be another task on a manager’s plate or a one-off training initiative. It can be woven into how teams work, learn, and grow together.

Companies that embrace scalable, embedded coaching will see stronger teams, greater agility, and a workforce that continuously improves—without adding to the burden of HR or leadership.

How to Make Coaching Scalable, Personalized, and Embedded in Workflows

To truly transform coaching in the workplace, organizations need a strategy that makes development accessible, relevant, and ongoing.

That means moving beyond traditional coaching models and embracing a scalable, personalized, and embedded approach that allows coaching to happen naturally throughout the workday.

Here’s how to make that shift:

1. Shift from Manager-Led Coaching to Teamwide Development

When managers are the only ones expected to drive coaching, it limits how often development happens and puts unnecessary pressure on them.

Instead, coaching should be something that happens across the team in everyday interactions.

• Employees learn how to coach each other—providing feedback, support, and development beyond just manager interactions.
• Managers serve as facilitators rather than the sole source of coaching—making team development more sustainable.
• Teams build a culture where growth and learning happen in the moment, not just in structured sessions.

When coaching is shared across the team, employees take more ownership of their development—leading to stronger collaboration, problem-solving, and continuous growth.

2. Embed Coaching in Daily Tools & Workflows

Coaching is most effective when it happens in the moment—before a critical conversation, during a challenge, or when an employee is struggling with feedback.

Yet, most coaching happens outside of the flow of work, making it difficult to apply when it matters most.

• Coaching insights are delivered directly through the tools employees use every day (for instance, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Email, Calendar).
• Instead of waiting for formal coaching sessions, employees receive personalized guidance right before key interactions—helping them apply learning instantly.
• Coaching becomes part of daily work, eliminating the need for extra meetings or long training sessions.

When coaching is embedded into daily workflows, employees don’t have to “find time” for development—it happens seamlessly as they work.

3. Automate Personalized Coaching to Make It Scalable

One of the biggest challenges with coaching is scalability. Many organizations struggle to provide consistent, high-quality coaching to every employee because coaching has traditionally required time-consuming, manual efforts.

Technology powered coaching changes that.

• Automated coaching insights provide personalized, context-aware guidance for every team member—without requiring more from managers.
• Employees receive just-in-time nudges that help them develop leadership, communication, and collaboration skills in their daily roles.
• Coaching becomes scalable across the entire organization, ensuring every employee has access to meaningful development.

By automating coaching that is personalized and relevant, organizations can provide continuous development without adding administrative burden.

When coaching is:

Shared across the team (not just led by managers),

Embedded into daily workflows (not isolated to training sessions), and

Made scalable with automation (not limited by HR resources),

…it becomes an organic, ongoing part of team success.

When coaching is built into the way teams work—not treated as a separate initiative—it strengthens collaboration, deepens trust, and drives measurable performance improvements across the organization.