Why leaders bring the climate crisis into the coaching space

As the climate crisis intensifies, its impact is no longer confined to environmental headlines or sustainability departments. It is becoming a pressing concern for leaders across sectors - one that increasingly finds its way into the coaching conversation. But why would a leadership client choose to explore climate within executive coaching? And how can coaches hold this space without being directive?

Coaching as a systemic lens

Executive coaching has always been about more than individual performance. At its best, it invites clients to consider the wider systems they operate within - organisational, societal and ecological. Climate change is arguably the most urgent systemic issue of our time. It affects supply chains, stakeholder expectations, employee wellbeing, and long-term business viability.

When a coach is trained to work systemically, they are equipped to help clients explore how their leadership decisions ripple outward. This might include reflecting on the organisation’s environmental impact, the values it promotes, or the legacy it leaves. Climate coaching doesn’t impose an agenda - it offers a lens through which clients can make sense of their role in a rapidly changing world.

A safe space for difficult conversations

For many leaders, the climate crisis evokes a complex mix of emotions: anxiety, guilt, helplessness, or even scepticism. These feelings are rarely voiced in boardrooms or strategy meetings. Coaching provides a confidential, non-judgemental space where clients can process these emotions and begin to articulate their own stance.

This psychological safety is crucial. It allows leaders to move beyond performative sustainability and engage with the topic authentically. Whether they are wrestling with personal values, organisational inertia, or the fear of being seen as ‘too political’, coaching offers a space to think aloud and think deeply.

A developmental opportunity

Engaging with climate through coaching is not just about risk mitigation - it’s a profound developmental opportunity. It challenges leaders to expand their perspective, embrace complexity and lead with purpose. These are core capabilities for navigating the uncertainty of the 21st century.

Climate-aware coaching can support clients to:

• Clarify their values and align them with organisational action
• Explore ethical dilemmas and competing priorities
• Develop resilience in the face of eco-anxiety or climate grief
• Lead change in cultures that may be resistant or ambivalent

In this way, climate becomes a gateway to deeper leadership growth - not a detour from the ‘real work’.

Navigating corporate culture

Of course, not every leader is ready to talk about climate. Some organisational cultures may be risk-averse, politically cautious, or focused on short-term metrics. In such contexts, raising environmental issues can feel risky or even taboo.

This is where the skill of the coach is paramount. Climate coaching is not about pushing an agenda or forcing the topic. It’s about being attuned to the system and offering climate as one of many possible entry points. A coach might ask, “What’s happening in the wider environment that could impact your strategy?” or “What legacy do you want to leave as a leader?” - questions that invite reflection without prescribing direction.

An invitation, not an imposition

Ultimately, climate coaching is an invitation. It invites leaders to consider the broader context of their work, to reflect on what matters most, and to act with integrity. It does not demand that every client becomes a climate activist. But it does recognise that leadership today cannot be divorced from the ecological realities we face.

For coaches, this means developing the confidence and competence to hold climate in the room - gently, skilfully and systemically. For clients, it means having a space where they can explore the climate crisis not as a compliance issue, but as a leadership challenge and a human concern.