Why your next CEO might be a team coach

The CEO job description is being rewritten. Command-and-control leadership is out. What’s replacing it? Coaching. And not just the kind focused on individual development - but coaching that works with the whole system, especially leadership teams.

In a world defined by volatility, hybrid work, digital acceleration, and constant stakeholder scrutiny, high performance isn’t just about having the right people - it’s about how well they work together. That’s why your next CEO won’t just be a strategist or decision-maker. They’ll be a team coach.

The CEO as culture shaper, not just captain

Leadership used to be about vision, direction and authority. But organisations are too complex for any one person to hold all the answers. Today’s CEOs need to shape culture, build trust and unlock the collective intelligence of their leadership teams. That calls for a coach’s mindset and skillset.

Team coaching is about more than motivating people. It’s a structured approach to helping teams align on purpose, work through tension, stay accountable, and engage their stakeholders. CEOs who coach their teams don’t just drive performance - they enable transformation.

As Ken Blanchard put it, “In the past, a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people... they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.” That sentiment sits at the heart of coaching-led leadership.

Why team coaching skills matter at the top

Most leadership teams underdeliver. They’re made up of smart, experienced people - but too often, they work in silos, avoid hard conversations, or compete for influence. Add internal politics or poor communication, and even the best strategies start to falter.

That’s where coaching comes in. A CEO with team coaching capability knows how to:

• Align a team around a shared purpose and stakeholder expectations
• Facilitate open, honest conversations - especially when things get tense
• Shift behaviour patterns that hold the team back
• Build ownership, not dependency

They’re not just managing performance; they’re creating the conditions for it to thrive. It’s a powerful shift from being the loudest voice in the room to being the one who listens hardest, nudges gently and enables others to lead.

Systems thinking, stakeholder thinking

Leadership teams don’t exist in a vacuum. Every decision they make has ripple effects across employees, customers, communities, and shareholders. That’s why systemic team coaching - which connects a team’s internal dynamics with its external impact - is so powerful.

Professor Peter Hawkins, one of the pioneers of this work, puts it simply: great leaders “coach the connections” - between people, roles, functions, and stakeholders. CEOs who think and act systemically are better positioned to navigate complexity and lead for the long term.

Systemic awareness also helps leadership teams build resilience. Instead of reacting to pressure in isolation, they anticipate shifts in the wider system - from market dynamics to social expectations - and adapt together.

What the best leadership teams focus on

According to "The Next Leadership Team" by Thomas Keil and Marianna Zangrillo, the most effective leadership teams succeed because they are built around seven essential areas:

• Team purpose: a shared understanding of why the team exists
• Setting the team environment: cultivating psychological safety and trust
• Defining team structures and processes: clarity on roles, responsibilities, and how work gets done
• Managing discussions: encouraging diverse viewpoints and constructive dialogue
• Making decisions: building alignment without falling into groupthink
• The leader’s role: knowing when to step forward and when to step back
• Development tools: using data and feedback to grow team capability over time

Each of these areas can be significantly strengthened when the CEO leads with a coaching mindset. They’re not just facilitating meetings - they’re helping the team evolve.

Coaching is the future of leadership

You don’t need to call yourself a “coach” to lead like one. But in the next decade, the CEOs who succeed will be the ones who:

• Ask better questions than they give answers
• Build trust faster than they impose control
• Develop people rather than direct them
• Align teams rather than manage them individually

As James Belasco once said, “Coaching is designed to be the leadership approach of the 21st century.” It’s not a soft skill - it’s a critical capability for navigating complexity and building a high-performance culture.

The next CEO who transforms your organisation won’t just lead from the front. They’ll coach from the centre.