How does coaching impact employee experience?

As a team and leadership coach specialising in coaching for culture, I’ve seen firsthand how transformative coaching can be in shaping organisational culture. In addition to my work as a coach, I also design employee experience (EX) strategy and solutions. This post explores some of the many connections between the two worlds of coaching and EX and how coaching can foster a strong culture, elevate EX and drive organisational performance.

I believe I’m just touching the surface with this post and that there are many other connections. I would love to hear your thoughts.

1. A coaching culture

When it comes to coaching impact, nothing has a greater impact on EX than an organisational culture with a rich coaching mindset. In The Coaching Habit, Michael Bungay Stanier defines a coaching culture as one where coaching becomes a daily, habitual practice embedded into the way people interact. Rather than a formal, separate activity, coaching is integrated into everyday conversations. It’s about leaders and managers shifting from providing answers, to fostering independent thinking and creating a culture where growth and learning happen through ongoing, informal coaching moments.

The consequences for employee experience are immense. Let’s use the EX Lens* to break it down.

The EX Lens identifies nine universal drivers of a great EX. It is based on Emma Bridger’s research over more than decade. Without digging into the detail of the EX Lens model (for the sake of brevity), it’s still easy to see just how much a coaching culture can impact EX through its power to positively influence a sense of meaning, enhance autonomy, support individual growth, help people embrace challenges and achieve impact in their work, as well as building connection with colleagues and the organisation’s purpose and values.

*The EX Lens is defined by Emma Bridger and features in EX by Design – How to Create an Effective EX for Competitive Advantage, co-written by myself and Emma. Find out more about the EX Lens at The EX Space.

2. Coaching for culture leadership

Leadership is pivotal in shaping an organisation’s culture, yet many leaders fail to fully understand, embrace or deliver on this vital role. There are many reasons why this might be the case – among them a lack of awareness of their own impact on culture (both positive and negative), and a lack of confidence to change or adopt new behaviours more aligned to the desired culture.

Coaching can break this impasse by giving leaders the self-awareness and tools they need to step into their role in driving the culture they want. Through coaching, leaders can discover how their behaviour and decisions impact culture. Coaching can help them reflect on their leadership approach and identify where they may be unintentionally creating a culture that contradicts their goals. For example, a leader who wants innovation but discourages risk-taking through rigid policies may send mixed signals.

Coaching also helps leaders align their actions with their cultural vision and develop emotional intelligence. This fosters trust, inclusion and psychological safety, ultimately creating a stronger sense of purpose and belonging for employees.

3. Supercharging HR and L&D

HR and people teams are at the forefront of shaping EX – though that is not to say the responsibility lies with them alone. However, that assumption is too often the problem. In our work, we regularly see HR leaders cast as the sole proprietors of culture and EX, rather than it being the collective responsibility of the leadership team. In this context, coaching plays two roles. Firstly, coaching is a way to support HR leaders and give them the skills, confidence and language to push back and keep culture and EX on the c-suite agenda. Secondly, coaching for HR teams enables them to model the sort of coaching conversations that leaders can adopt to start to instil a coaching culture in the organisation.

4. Coaching for employees

Coaching is a transformational tool for employees at all levels. As a learning and growth intervention, coaching offers personalised development that taps into each individual’s strengths and aspirations. In a coaching relationship, employees are supported to navigate challenges, set meaningful goals and build confidence. The result is that people take greater ownership of their professional growth. Coaching also promotes self-reflection, enabling employees to better understand their strengths and areas for improvement. This self-awareness boosts motivation and performance, as employees align their work with their values and skills.

5. Coaching as an EX design tool

Designing an effective employee experience relies on the principles of empathy, curiosity and experimentation. Coaching can play a powerful role in this process, helping teams design experiences that meet the real needs of employees.

Coaching encourages deeper questioning and empathy, pushing EX designers to ask, What do employees really need? and Where are their pain points? This approach leads to more thoughtful and personalised solutions, such as improved onboarding or development programmes.

Additionally, coaching fosters a culture of experimentation, a key element in successful EX design. It encourages teams to test new ideas, gather feedback, and iterate on their solutions, resulting in more responsive and adaptive employee experiences that genuinely improve engagement and satisfaction.

Conclusion: coaching as a cornerstone of employee experience

Coaching is more than just a development tool — it’s a foundation for a thriving employee experience. From enhancing EX design through empathy and experimentation, to creating a coaching culture that drives individual and team growth, coaching builds self-aware leaders and empowered employees.

This blog post touches on just a few of the connections between coaching, culture and EX. I’m sure there are many more. Where do you see them?