Measuring the Maturity of a Coaching Culture: From Ad Hoc to Optimized

Introduction

In today’s fast-changing environment, organizations that thrive are those that foster a coaching culture. In such workplaces, coaching is more than a development tool—it becomes a mindset, a daily habit, and a shared responsibility across all levels.

But a coaching culture does not appear overnight. Like organizational agility or innovation, it grows through levels of maturity. Understanding where your organization is today is the first step toward building a stronger culture of coaching that drives performance, engagement, and sustainable growth.

The Five Levels of Coaching Culture Maturity

Organizations typically evolve through five maturity levels:

1. Initial / Ad Hoc

   • Coaching happens sporadically and and inconsistently.

   • No training, structure, or recognition of coaching as a strategic tool.

   • Leaders see coaching as optional or a "nice-to-have".

2. Developing / Emerging

   • Some leaders receive basic coaching training..

   • Pilot coaching programs are introduced, often HR-driven.

   • Awareness grows, but practice remains limited.

3. Defined / Structured

   • Coaching becomes part of leadership competencies.

   • Internal and external coaching programs formalized.

   • Employees begin to expect coaching as part of their development journey.

4. Integrated / Embedded

   • Coaching is woven into daily leadership conversation.

   • Coaching is linked to strategy, values, and performance management.

   • Leaders are evaluated on coaching competencies..

5. Optimized / Coaching Culture

   • Coaching is natural and proactive—employees both seek and offer it.

   • Coaching behaviors are deeply embedded in “how we work.”

   • The organization measures clear business outcomes from coaching, such as innovation, productivity, retention, and customer satisfaction.

Metrics for Coaching Culture Maturity

Each maturity stage can be tracked using different categories of metrics:

• Adoption Metrics (early stage): % of leaders trained, number of coaching hours delivered, participation in pilot programs.

• Behavioral Metrics (mid stage): % of employees reporting their manager coaches them, peer coaching sessions, 360 feedback on coaching skills.

• Cultural Metrics (advance stage): Employee survey items like “Coaching is part of our culture,” psychological safety indicators, proactive coaching requests.

• Business Impact Metrics (optimized stage): Retention of high-potential talent, improved performance outcomes, contribution to revenue growth, innovation, and customer engagement.

The Coaching Culture Maturity Assessment Tool

To determine the current maturity stage, organizations can use a 20-item questionnaire across five dimensions:

A. Leadership & Skills – Are leaders trained and using coaching behaviors?

B. Programs & Structure – Are there formal systems, internal coaches, and peer programs?

C. Employee Experience – Do employees receive and proactively request coaching?

D. Culture & Mindset – Is coaching aligned with values and embedded in daily work?

E. Impact & Measurement – Is coaching effectiveness linked to engagement, retention, and business outcomes?

Each item is scored on a 1–5 scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree).

Scoring Guide:

• 1.0–1.9 → Initial / Ad Hoc

• 2.0–2.4 → Developing / Emerging

• 2.5–3.4 → Defined / Structured

• 3.5–4.2 → Integrated / Embedded

• 4.3–5.0 → Optimized / Coaching Culture

This survey can be deployed through HR systems, leadership 360 tools, or employee engagement platforms, and repeated annually to track progress. Here is the excel spreadsheet on the 20-item questionnaire.

Coaching_Culture_Maturity_Questionnaire.xlsx

Download XLSX • 11KB

Practical Implications

• At early stages, focus on adoption metrics: training, participation, awareness.

• At mid-level maturity, emphasize behavioral and cultural change: how often leaders coach, and how employees experience it.

• At advanced maturity, the focus should shift to business impact: innovation, retention, performance, and customer results.

By using both metrics and the assessment tool, organizations gain clarity not just on “where they are,” but also on the roadmap forward. Leaders and HR practitioners can use the maturity assessment to track progress annually and design interventions that accelerate growth toward an optimized coaching culture.

Conclusion

A strong coaching culture is not built by chance—it grows through conscious investment, leadership commitment, and continuous measurement. By tracking maturity across levels, aligning metrics with culture, and embedding coaching into daily practice, organizations can move from ad hoc experiments to a truly optimized coaching culture that drives both people and business outcomes.

References

1. Kapoutzis, N., Passmore, J., & Kolyva, K. (2024). Coaching culture: an evidence review and framework for future research. Birkbeck, University of London.

2. Passmore, J., & Crabbe, K. (2023). Building a coaching culture: The LEAD Framework. Henley Business School.

3. Clutterbuck, D., Megginson, D., & Bajer, A. (2016). Building and sustaining a coaching culture. CIPD.

4. International Coaching Federation (ICF). (2017, updated 2022). Building a Coaching Culture for Change Management. ICF & HCI.

5. Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH). (2017). Creating a Coaching Culture. LHH White Paper.

6. InsideOut Development. (2023). Realizing the Value of a High-Impact Coaching Culture. InsideOut White Paper.

7. Hawkins, P. (2012). Creating a Coaching Culture. McGraw-Hill.

8. Whitmore, J. (2017). Coaching for Performance: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership (5th ed.). Nicholas Brealey Publishing.