Building an Internal Coaching Development Program

Anthony Randall • April 11, 2025

Best Practices for Organizational Leadership By Dr. Anthony Randall 

Organizational leadership is the art and science of developing, promoting, and retaining talent by aligning personal growth with organizational objectives, values, and outcomes.  For the first time in history, the marketplace is filled with five generations of employees and leaders.  Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Y, and Gen Z. Implementing a holistic leadership development and coaching process enhances communication, culture, cohesion, and company success.  


One of the most repeated comments we receive from leaders who participate in our ICF Level 1 Vanguard Professional Coaching Course after Day 1 is, “Wow, I thought I was coaching people, but what I was really doing was consulting, mentoring, or counseling my employees.”  Consulting, mentoring, and counseling all have their time and place.  Today’s leader likely has to wear all three hats, however, learning how to professionally coach your team, your peers, and even those you work for is a talent development paradigm shift. 

What are the benefits to developing an internal coaching program for your business, government agency, athletic department, sports teams, or school district? Partnering with an external ICF-credentialed coaching company to build an internal program, like Vanguard XXI can realize significant gains. Consider these five benefits: 


1. Enhanced Leadership Capability and Self-Awareness 


Professional coach training and accreditation accelerates character development, critical thinking, decision making, and emotionally intelligent leaders. Research shows that coaching is a highly effective leadership style for building self-awareness, teamwork, cohesion, and conflict resolution, all emotional intelligence attributes.  Coaching empowers the client to develop their own solutions through evoking awareness and facilitating client growth.  This leads to more adaptable leaders who tap into their true potential to lead with initiative and creativity rather than waiting around to be told what to do.  


  • Check this out: Lash, S. Unleashing the Coaching Leadership Style. British Army – Centre for Army Leadership Insights, No. 38 (2022) army.mod.uk 
  • Chang, J. Cultivating a Coaching Culture. Military Review (Nov-Dec 2022)  
  • armyupress.army.mil 

Q: What would improve in your organization if leaders two levels down executed on mission and intent without having to be told what to do?   


2. Improved Organizational Performance and ROI 

Coaching directly contributes to more cohesive individual, team, and organizational performance. Employees feel valued and respected when the organization invests in their professional growth. Companies that implement coaching report substantial gains in productivity and results; one study found executive coaching delivered an impressive 788% return on investment by boosting productivity and employee retention.  

In corporate, educational, or military environments, these improvements translate into higher efficiency and mission success.  

Check this out: Team output can also improve significantly – coaching has been linked to about a 50% increase in team effectiveness and a 48% improvement in overall organizational performance on key metrics. american.edu 

 

Q: How would vertically integrated businesses, school districts, and military formations improve in their leadership development, evaluations, and promotions if their leadership team used a common coaching language and created a coaching culture?   

 


3. Greater Employee Engagement and Retention 


Internal coaching programs demonstrate organizational commitment to people development boosting basic employment needs, psychological safety, and professional growth goals. Coaching conversations provide confidential personalized support and career development increasing talent retention. 


Q: How would implementing a professional coaching program in your organization keep high performers in your business vs a competitor, your school district vs another, and increase reenlistment and career military personnel?   

Check this out: American University – The ROI of Executive Coaching. american.edu 

 


4. Stronger Culture of Continuous Learning and Trust 


A coaching language and coaching culture foster continuous learning, trust, and collaboration. A coaching-style leadership approach encourages open communication and growth mindsets rather than command-and-control. In educational settings, for example, coaching has been shown to strengthen team relationships by building deeper trust and rapport.   


Q: How would student performance, school spirit, and academic extracurricular success increase when school administrators, counselors, and teachers are committed to a coaching language and culture for their staff, faculty, and student wellness?   


Check this out: Over time, such a coaching culture leads to more innovation, better knowledge sharing, and a positive environment where people at all levels feel empowered to learn and improve. files.eric.ed.gov. 


5. Robust Talent Pipeline and Succession Planning 


Finally, partnering with expert ICF-certified coaches to develop internal talent strengthens the leadership pipeline. Coaching accelerates the growth of high-potential employees and prepares them for greater responsibilities. It also helps to identify and develop future leaders, closing succession gaps.  


Partnering with Vanguard XXI provides your organization with five ICF Level 1, 2 and 3 Coaching certification courses.  We are a force multiplier that partners with you to build your internal coaching program.  We also provide external ICF ACC, PCC, and MCC level executive coaches to partner with your C-Suite, HR, and Leadership Development professionals for individual, team, and group coaching.  We are the accelerant in your leadership development fuel.   


Check this out: Building a coaching language and coaching culture within leadership development increases your talent management and organizational leadership process.  https://coachingfederation.org/become-a-coach/why-become-a-coach/ 


Q: How can you trust the Vanguard XXI process?  Our world class leadership development and coaching curriculum has trained over 17,000 people.  We are trusted by more than two dozen companies from Fortune 100 and 500 to family-owned businesses, college and professional sports teams, and the US Department of Defense. Let’s get started today!  

One Conversation Can Shift the Trajectory – Are You Making Space for It?

By Phil McKinney • July 14, 2025
Leadership is often defined by the decisions you make, the strategies you set, and the people you influence. But here’s a truth many leaders quietly carry: The higher you rise, the harder it becomes to find space for your own growth. Yet, one powerful, focused coaching conversation can shift your thinking, your strategy, and your leadership trajectory. The question is: Are you making space for it? Leadership Can Be Isolating You hold the vision. You solve the problems. You set the tone. And often, you’re expected to have the answers. But who do you get to process with? Who helps you explore what’s beneath the surface when you’re navigating complexity, doubt, or burnout? This is where coaching becomes more than a professional development tool. It has become an essential leadership practice. Coaching Isn’t for the “Fix” – It’s for the Future Coaching isn’t about correcting weaknesses. It’s about creating intentional space for reflection, clarity, and aligned action. For leaders, coaching can help: Recenter on purpose and values Break through decision fatigue and mental clutter Navigate relationships and influence more skillfully Stretch from operational to strategic thinking Avoid blind spots and reactive leadership Often, the insight that changes everything comes not from a book, a keynote, or a training—but from a coaching conversation where you are fully heard, challenged, and supported. Are You Making Space for Your Conversation? Leaders are quick to create space for others: team check-ins, one-on-ones, performance reviews. But too often, they delay or downplay their own development. Coaching requires just a few things: Time blocked for you A safe space without judgment or agenda A coach who listens deeply and challenges you gently A commitment to growth, not perfection This isn’t a luxury. It’s leadership hygiene. The Best Leaders Don’t Go It Alone Behind every great leader is a space where they aren’t leading. They’re reflecting. They’re stretching. They’re being coached. Because even the strongest leaders need a mirror. Even the most visionary thinkers need space to think. Even the most decisive decision-makers need clarity. One conversation can shift your trajectory. Are you making space for it?

Still Doing Trust Falls? It’s Time to Redefine Your Leadership Offsite — With Vanguard XXI

By Phil McKinney • July 9, 2025
Let’s be honest: If your leadership offsite still includes trust falls, escape rooms, or campfire storytelling — you’re wasting your most valuable asset: executive attention. In a world where leadership demands clarity, adaptability, and alignment, team-building is good, but isn’t enough. It’s time to trade performative bonding for purpose-driven transformation. At Vanguard XXI, we design leadership offsites that don’t just bring teams together — they change everything. A Vanguard XXI Offsite: Where Leadership Gets Real Traditional offsites may offer a temporary morale boost. But if you want lasting impact, you need more than motivation — you need methodology. That’s where our approach comes in. Here’s what sets us apart: 1. Transformational Leadership Growth We go beyond traditional training by using David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle to ensure leaders learn by doing — and reflecting. Leaders don’t just gain insights; they experience a shift in how they think, relate, and lead. This holistic method integrates real-time feedback, structured learning loops, and personal accountability — all in the context of your organization’s real challenges. ✅ Outcome: Sustainable growth anchored in self-awareness, action, and real-world learning. 2. Moral & Ethical Decision-Making + Character Development In today’s climate, leadership isn’t just strategic — it’s moral. We help leaders explore how their values, biases, and ethical frameworks shape their decisions. Using real-world dilemmas, guided reflection, and peer dialogue, leaders develop the character and clarity to navigate complex challenges with integrity and courage. ✅ Outcome: Leaders who make high-stakes decisions grounded in ethics, not ego. 3. Emotional Intelligence Development Trust. Empathy. Composure. Influence. These aren’t soft skills — they’re leadership differentiators. We help leaders expand their emotional range, elevate their relational agility, and coach others with presence and precision. Vanguard XXI’s certified coaches use proven tools to build EQ capacity — fast. ✅ Outcome: Leaders who act as trusted advisors — not just decision-makers. 4. Leading and Coaching for High-Performance Teams Most teams don’t suffer from lack of talent — they suffer from lack of alignment and trust. Our offsites equip leaders with coaching strategies to unlock psychological safety, fuel collaboration, and create shared ownership. We don’t just talk team performance — we engineer it in the room. ✅ Outcome: Teams that leave with clarity, commitment, and a roadmap to win together. At Vanguard XXI, we want to transform offsites into launchpads for strategic clarity, team alignment, and personal growth. This isn’t just team-building exercises or roundtable discussions. It’s real-time growth in action. We create environments where leaders stop performing and start co-creating. No posturing. No politics. Just powerful dialogue, mutual goals, and actionable steps that are rooted in mutual accountability. This produces real outcomes and not just “great energry.” When this happens, everything changes. Every Vanguard XXI offsite ends with: • Clear individual commitments • Strategic next steps • Shared leadership agreements that stick Our follow-through coaching ensures offsite momentum turns into measurable results — across culture, execution, and impact. Let’s Be Clear: This Isn’t an Offsite. It’s an Inflection Point. If your team is stuck, fragmented, or just coasting — a Vanguard XXI leadership offsite can reset the system. We don’t do retreats. We architect turning points. Leadership isn’t built by falling backward into someone’s arms. It’s built by stepping forward into clarity, trust, and courageous collaboration.  Let’s design an offsite that doesn’t just feel different — it delivers different. Ready to reimagine your leadership experience? Connect with us at vanguardxxi.com or send a message to start a conversation.