Lead different. Grow faster. Spend less: Baringa’s coaching advantage

How one consultancy cut costs, fuelled leadership promotions, and built a scalable culture of coaching.

Since 2021, Baringa Partners has redefined what leadership looks like. By embedding coaching at the heart of its people-first culture, the management consultancy has created a high-impact development strategy that’s as good for business as it is for people. The result? An 81% drop in external coaching spend, £200k in annual savings, and a surge in promotions, with 47% of internal coachees stepping into more senior roles.

This is the story of how coaching became the catalyst for cultural transformation, leadership growth and long-term success.

From vision to action: Embedding coaching in the heart of Baringa

The coaching journey began in 2019 when managing partner Adrian Bettridge and chief people officer Emma Pace took part in the AoEC’s open Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching. Inspired by the depth of reflection and impact, they saw an opportunity to scale coaching across the organisation.

With a long-standing reputation as a ‘Great Place to Work’, Baringa’s values – Be kind. Be curious. Be great. – already aligned with the coaching ethos. Adrian and his leadership team wanted a practical, sustainable approach that would nurture individual growth and fuel business performance.

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Working in close partnership with the AoEC, Emma and Angel Conley, head of leadership development, led the charge to weave coaching into Baringa’s leadership DNA. Today, coaching is core to how leaders engage teams, build client relationships and spark collaboration.

Building leaders for the future

At the centre of Baringa’s approach is its T-shaped leadership model, which champions deep expertise combined with broad collaboration.

Coaching brings this to life through the Baringa Leadership Model: Listen. Coach. Lead. Angel Conley explains that: “The Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching is available to all partners and particularly underpins the ‘listen’ and ‘coach’ elements of our model.”

She adds, “Our leaders are expected to align with the firm’s strategy, empower people, and create an entrepreneurial environment where innovation can thrive. Coaching helps them stretch and support others, drive performance and learning, and create meaningful career growth opportunities. Just as importantly, they listen – building a more inclusive, more human culture where people can do their best work.”

Despite time being the biggest challenge in building internal capability, Baringa has now trained 97 AoEC-qualified internal coaches. And the change is clear. “Our partners have become evangelists for coaching,” says Angel. “It’s brought the best out in them – more confidence, greater competence, stronger networks, and a willingness to be more open and vulnerable.”

Sam Thornton, one of Baringa’s management consultants, agrees that “the partners are more effective and more confident in the entirety of their role – not just in using a coaching leadership style.”

Shifting mindset, redistributing responsibility

For Adrian Bettridge, coach training changed his perspective. “I really enjoyed learning a different type of leadership skill – how to coach, how to ask better questions, and how to help people find the answer for themselves,” he says.

This emphasis on empowerment is now embedded in how Baringa develops its people. “Progression at Baringa is about spending more time with clients and coaching the next generation to deepen their expertise and deliver even more value,” Adrian adds.

Sam Thornton notes another important shift: “The psychological ownership of some of the problems has actually shifted to the people asking the questions. That fatigue is more evenly distributed now.”

Delivering impact and saving money

Today, 70% of all coaching at Baringa is delivered internally – a move that has significantly cut costs while strengthening internal talent. The result is an 81% reduction in external coaching spend, £200,000 saved annually, and 47% of those coached internally promoted to senior roles. Coaching is no longer a perk – it is now an integral part of the firm’s leadership approach.

Improving engagement and retention

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Creating client value through coaching

Baringa’s people-first ethos has always set it apart. But now, coaching isn’t just supporting internal development – it’s creating value for clients, too. Adrian says, “What I enjoy most is asking insightful questions that get to the heart of a client’s challenge – understanding what’s really going on in their business.”

By weaving coaching into consulting conversations, Baringa is helping client leaders unlock their own insights, navigate resistance and take action. Sam adds, “We’ve seen them uncover new avenues of work for themselves during coaching conversations. They’re identifying opportunities they weren’t aware of before.”

Scaling sustainably with the AoEC

Baringa’s partnership with the AoEC has built a powerful coaching foundation that now drives leadership capability and business performance. This foundation continues to evolve, with the recent addition of supervision and plans underway for a platform to manage coaching more effectively.

Karen Smart, AoEC’s head of consultancy, says: “Our work with Baringa shows the power of coaching when it becomes part of how leaders think and act. Our partnership with Baringa has allowed us to collaborate with a team that truly understands the value of coaching, not just as a technique but as a way of being. They’ve created a sustainable model for growth – one that’s people-centric, empowering and truly future-focused.”