Executive Coaching Made Simple
Welcome to Coachable Moments Episode 12 | October 2025
Congratulations, you survived the "back to work" period and the madness that September often beings! But, don't get comfortable too soon: performance reviews are firmly on the horizon, which often brings up conversations about supporting your leader's development with coaching.
In this months Episode we're talking all things Executive Coaching. Whilst we're preaching to the choir when we say that coaching for leaders and senior executives is highly effective, we can probably also agree that managing it can often be a headache for those in the People team.
Our goal from this Coachable Moment is to make that a little easier.
Simplify your Executive Coaching Strategy
Executive coaching is one of the most powerful ways to develop senior leaders. Coaching gives leaders a rare space to pause, reflect, and sharpen their impact. For senior leaders especially, where honest feedback is scarce, coaching provides challenge, accountability and outside perspective. Helping to close that all too familiar ‘awareness gap’ which grows through seniority.
Executive Coaching has been proven in studies by the International Coaching Federation (yes, they might be biased) to have net positive outcomes for businesses. Such as:
++ Personal & Professional Development: 75% of clients report better work performance, relationships, and communication skills.
++ Leadership Development: 85% note increased self-confidence and stronger management skills.
++ Financial Impact: Strong coaching cultures deliver higher revenue growth and improved profit margins.
++ Career Advancement: 62% of coached individuals improve career opportunities; mentoring increases employee retention and engagement.
The case for coaching is clear. But managing the process of bringing in Executive coaches can be anything but clear. Read how we're changing that in our recent in-depth blog post.
Triads: Yay or Nay? Here's how to decide
A triad is when a coaching conversation involves three people: the coachee, their manager or sponsor and the coach. But should you use them? If so, when? What are the risks?
Here's everything you need to know about triads, so you can decide if they're right for you...
A triad is a conversation between the coachee (the leader), their sponsor (often their manager) and the coach. It’s designed to align everyone around the goals, expectations and outcomes of the coaching journey.
Triads are usually used at the start, mid-point, or end of an engagement to keep the coaching focused and connected to business priorities
Why Use Triads?
When done well, triads can be a powerful tool for creating alignment and driving measurable impact. They can help you to:
- Create shared clarity on what success looks like
- Ensure coaching is aligned to business and leadership priorities
- Strengthen accountability between the coachee and their sponsor or manager
- Give the coach valuable context for more targeted support
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When Triads Work Best
Triads are most effective when they’re used to set direction or close the loop:
- At the start of a coaching engagement to align on objectives
- At the end to review outcomes and next steps
- When coaching is part of a strategic leadership initiative
When Triads Might Not Be Needed
Triads aren’t always essential. In fact, they can occasionally limit psychological safety or make coaching feel like performance management if not structured carefully. You might avoid using triads when:
- The coaching is deeply personal or developmental
- Trust between the sponsor or manager and coachee is still being built
- You’re giving leaders full autonomy over their coaching journey
- There’s a risk of the sponsor or manager overstepping into the coaching space
The best leadership coaching experiences strike a balance between alignment and autonomy. Triads can add huge value when they create connection and clarity, but only if they’re used with purpose and good boundaries.
If you’d like advice on how to integrate triads effectively (and evidence stronger ROI from your coaching investment), reach out to our team at Coachable and we can help you streamline your coaching experience, measure impact and get more value from every session.
Update from us: Growing the Coachable Team
We've always said "small and mighty" is better than "huge and erm...chaotic". We've sought out the best of the best coaches so you don't have to trawl through LinkedIn. And we're now even more organised thanks to Anu, our Programme Manager. Meet the newest additions to Team Coachable.
Launching Emerge: Development for First Time leaders
We kept this programme under wraps for a while now, having previously launched it with the team at HowNow (whom rated it a cracking 8.92 / 10).
Despite the high scores, we've been quietly iterating and improving it in the background to ensure it really is best-in-class.
There's no shortcuts when it comes to behaviour change, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but half a day of training won't move the needle. Emerge is a 12 week experience that'll unlock the potential in your first time managers and HiPos. Giving them the space to reflect, learn socially and embed new behaviours.
And finally, a little humble brag (sorry, kinda)
Thanks for indulging us. 2025 has been our 3rd year in business and we're super proud of the three award nominations we've received this year:
- Growing Business Awards - Education & Training Business of the Year
- Growing Business Awards - Young Business of the Year
- Learning Impact Awards - Startup Learning Provider of the Year
We're keeping everything crossed for the all important final announcements and black tie nights out. If anyone wants to share a table at the Learning Impact Awards in March, do let us know!
Phew, that's it for this month. Here's to ridding the world of shitty bosses and replacing them with Coachable leaders 🤘
Until next time,
Ally and Liz Co-founders