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!  

Practice Makes Permanent: Why Character Isn’t Taught—It’s Trained

By Phil McKinney • August 11, 2025
Imagine being told that character isn’t something you’re taught once—like a formula in a textbook—but something you embody through consistent, deliberate action. In today’s fast-moving world, where soft skills and values are more critical than ever, our attention should turn toward what really shapes who we are—and who we can become. It’s not theories or lectures that build character—it’s the daily, deliberate repetitions that do. 1. The Fallacy of “Teaching” Character As leaders, we need to challenge the conventional notion that character is delivered through instruction alone. Character is shaped in the doing—the habits and practices we repeat when no one is looking. Real growth happens in the mundane, the moment-to-moment grind of getting things right—even when it’s hard or seemingly insignificant. 2. Practice → Permanent: The Power of Repetition “Practice makes permanent” reframes the old adage “practice makes perfect.” What we repeat becomes our default. Every handshake, every deadline met, every act of integrity reinforces who we are becoming—not in an instant, but over time. This aligns with current neuroscience about neuroplasticity—our brains literally wire themselves to repeat the patterns we practice habitually. This insight underscores that our ethical wiring is no different. 3. Shifting Mindsets: From Knowledge to Habits What if character development programs focused less on imparting wisdom and more on cultivating habits—rituals of honesty, respect, and resilience? We should shift from teaching principles alone to engineering micro-practices—tiny, consistent actions that eventually become part of our identity. For leaders and organizations, that’s gold. We should work to integrate values into our daily routines. Think pre-meeting rituals, feedback loops that reinforce trust, or recognition rituals that reward quiet integrity. 4. The Role of Accountability and Consistency Training for character isn’t a one-off—it’s a continual process. As leaders, we should emphasize the importance of structures: peers, mentors, trackers, and accountability systems that help sustain daily practice, especially when motivation dips. 5. Application: How to Train (Not Teach) Character Identify the micro-habits you want to instill—whether it’s speaking up with empathy, doing what you said you’d do, or pausing before reacting. Design rituals or prompts—lane-change reminders in Slack, morning reflection questions, or quick check-ins with peers. Track and reflect , not for criticism, but to reinforce self-awareness and celebrate consistency. Anchor practices to existing routines—like a moment of pause before dinner to intentionally reflect on how you showed up that day.  Conclusion We must reframe character development as active training, not passive instruction. It calls us to examine our daily actions, our routines, and the invisible patterns that define us. It’s a powerful reminder: if you want to lead with integrity, compassion, and resilience, start by practicing those traits—relentlessly and deliberately. Next Steps Do you or your organization need help with this? At Vanguard XXI, our “training” is more about practice than talk. Using intentional activities and experiential adult learning methods, we help individuals and organizations move beyond the information dump to practicing the habits of character we wish to model. Check out how we can help at vanguardxxi.com/services.

Why Leaders Who Don’t Get Coached Get Left Behind

By Phil McKinney • August 4, 2025
Why Leaders Who Don’t Get Coached Get Left Behind