Leadership coaching for systemic impact

Ben Gibbs, Integrity Coaching; Restart-Ed, UK Leadership is not an individual act Leadership coaching is now firmly established as an effective way to support an individual’s professional and personal development and to help leaders reflect on the complexities of their role. Through a carefully managed process of dialogue, the coachee is helped to explore how their own identity and characteristics ‘show up’ at work and, with the coach, to co-create new ways of thinking, being and doing. The idea is that the leader can return to their role with fresh perspectives on its challenges and a willingness to change any behaviours identified as potentially problematic (Bluckert, 2006). Arguably, this focus on the individual is one of the reasons for the success of coaching. After all, leading others can be a lonely and altruistic role with limited opportunities for guided self-reflection and ‘me time’. But it is also increasingly recognised as a shortcoming too, which limits the