Stop Fixing, Start Coaching

How to Get to the Root of the Problem

Coaching has become an increasingly valuable tool for organisations seeking to support people and improve performance. A recent meta-analysis of workplace coaching confirmed that coaching consistently produces positive outcomes such as stronger performance, better goal achievement and improved well-being. But it also found that the field is still developing — we don’t fully understand which coaching methods are most effective, or how long interventions should run. In other words, coaching works, but quality and context matter.

Beyond Training: Why Coaching Adds More

Training is essential; it provides knowledge, frameworks, and tools. But research shows that coaching is especially effective at helping people apply what they’ve learned, overcome procrastination, and embed new behaviours. When coaching follows training, the learning sticks.

The Benefits of Coaching

1. Performance and Focus
Coaching conversations help employees clarify goals, break them down into practical steps, and stay accountable.

• Example: A project manager, convinced their workload was “unmanageable,” used coaching to reframe the problem. By distinguishing facts (deadlines, resources available) from assumptions (“my director won’t support me”), they identified new approaches and regained control.

2. Building Confidence and Resilience
Nancy Kline’s Time to Think reminds us that people think best when they are given uninterrupted space. Too often, managers rush in with advice, but the first issue raised is rarely the real problem. When employees are supported to surface their own solutions, they gain confidence and resilience that borrowed answers can’t provide.

3. Supporting Leadership and Change
Leadership coaching research shows that effective coaching helps leaders achieve “intentional change”  moving beyond short-term fixes to reflect on deeper patterns, self-monitor, and mobilise intrinsic motivation. This is particularly powerful in times of organisational change or transition.

4. Challenging Thinking Patterns
Michael Bungay Stanier, in The Coaching Habit, stresses the importance of “staying curious a little longer.” Jumping in with advice may feel helpful, but it usually stops the exploration too early. Coaching supports individuals to ask: Am I reacting to facts or feelings? What else might be true?

The Pitfalls

• Advice disguised as coaching. Even when someone asks for advice, offering it too quickly often misses the real issue. Coaching works best when the individual surfaces their own answer.
• Quality varies. The coaching industry isn’t regulated, and poor-quality coaching can do more harm than good.
• Not a substitute for management. Coaching doesn’t replace feedback or accountability.
• Time and cost. It’s an investment, particularly for SMEs.
• Fit. Coaching only works if the individual is willing.

Final Thoughts

When done well, coaching supports individuals to move from assumptions to clarity, from feelings to facts, and from surface-level problems to the root cause. It complements training by embedding learning, and it strengthens leadership by enabling intentional change.

The art of coaching lies not in the advice you give, but in the questions, you don’t rush to answer.