In the UK today, the leadership coaching market is firmly established having reached adolescence at the turn of the millennium. It is still growing both in size as well as the curriculum taught which still evolves in line with current research. Data from Fortune Business Insights suggests the industry is worth £25.5 billion currently and growing.
From a theoretical perspective, there has been a great deal of research into the different styles and history of leadership philosophies ranging from the ‘Great Man’ theories of the early 1940s to more recent trends in ‘transformative leadership’, although even these still represent a focus on Western industrialised views of leadership.
Organisations are investing sizeable budgets into leadership development, which includes both executive one-on-one coaching as well as leadership development programmes. One of the most significant recent trends and an area that represents growth in the market is the emphasis on leadership coaching for team and line managers.
While many programmes continue to target the C-suite, the accelerating pace of change, hybrid working and the flattening of organisational hierarchies means team-leaders now carry substantial decision-making and influence – and have little experience in how to manage the team dynamics that come with this.
For providers, the imperative now is two-fold: first, to bring credible, differentiated content (grounded in research, accreditation and the specialist levers of trust, resilience and team-dynamics) and second, to deliver in ways that align with modern working patterns—blended, flexible, outcome-driven.
Most critical in the provision of any leadership coaching programme is to ensure the learning is applied within the workplace. Too many people, delighted at the opportunity to spend a few days out of the office, will immerse themselves in an engaging workshop, only for the knowledge to become a distant memory as soon as the emails start flying around again.
For these reasons any programme at Centre for Teams includes the learning mentor role. A peer or senior colleague within the same organisation as the participant who can meet with them during the course to enquire, ‘how are you going to apply the learning in the workplace?’
This is the critical question that bridges the gap between a useful learning experience and a practical development programme that can evidence a real return on investment.
If you would like any information on any of our leadership programmes, please do get in touch or request a brochure.