The Benefits of Creating a Coaching Culture

"The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them."

— Ralph G. Nichols

In Today's Issue:

• A coaching culture, a hack for improving engagement? 

• Tips for embedding a coaching culture

• Practical Tip for dialling up your listening abilities

• What’s Coming Up

A coaching culture, a hack for improving engagement?

Imagine a workplace where growth isn’t just encouraged, it’s baked into the culture. That’s what a coaching mindset does. It shifts leadership from “telling” to “raising awareness,” creating an environment where people take ownership, collaborate, and continuously improve.

Building a coaching culture isn’t about becoming everyone’s personal mentor. It’s about fostering curiosity, asking the right questions, and empowering your team to find their own solutions. A coaching mindset creates space for people to step into their potential and own their contributions, rather than waiting for direction.

Coaching also has a powerful ripple effect—it builds trust, strengthens relationships, and creates resilience across your team. Leaders who coach empower their people to navigate challenges with confidence, supporting both well-being and performance.

If you want to elevate your leadership and your team, ask yourself: Am I leading for answers, or am I leading for growth? The difference could change everything.

What are the necessary steps to embed a coaching culture?

In our recent Mastermind session, Ambassador Deema Ghata-Aura shared her wisdom on embedding a coaching culture.

Tips on Embedding a Coaching Culture

1. Start with the Leaders
   If your leaders aren’t coaching, no one else will. Train them in coaching fundamentals: deep listening, powerful questioning, and holding space rather than solving.

2. Normalise Feedback
   Make regular feedback part of the rhythm, quick, specific, and two-way. Use frameworks like SBI (Situation/Behaviour/Impact) to take the sting out of it.

3. Build it into Systems
   Embed coaching moments into one-on-ones, team check-ins, onboarding, and performance reviews. Coaching shouldn’t be an add-on; it should be how you lead.

4. Make Reflection a Habit
   Encourage reflection after key meetings, projects, or feedback. Ask: “What did you notice?”, “What would you do differently?” , it builds self-awareness and ownership over time.

Practical Tip: A Micro Thinking Environment Exercise

Based on Nancy Kline’s ‘Time to Think’ (1999)

We often interrupt others without realising it, finishing their thoughts, jumping in with solutions, or simply filling the silence. 

This week, try this brief practice:

The Setup:
Grab a coffee with a colleague or friend (in person or online). Say:

“I’d love to give you five minutes of uninterrupted thinking. I’ll just listen—no interjections, no solutions. You can talk about anything you want to think through. I’ll simply hold the space.”

The Rules:

1. They get 5 minutes to speak.

2. You don’t interrupt—not even to agree.

3. When they finish, ask: “What else do you think or feel about that?”

4. Let them keep going. (Repeat that question a couple of times.)

Why it works:
This kind of generative attention creates a rare space where people think for themselves, not just aloud. It’s powerful, respectful, and, according to Kline, one of the fastest ways to foster trust and clarity.

Reflection Prompt:
Afterwards, ask yourself:

“When was the last time I was truly listened to like that?”
“What changed for the other person when they had that space?”

Check out our recent podcast guests!

Catch up on powerful conversations designed to help you lead and live well:

Data Driven Wellbeing Strategies for Business Success with Bobbi Hartshorne

Building Workplace Wellbeing Communities For Impact with Hannah Wells

Join us at our next Mastermind Session in Dubai and/or Abu Dhabi 

Don’t miss our next live mastermind sessions: 

• Our next sessions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi will examine the bridge between management and leadership. In a world where leaders are required to be managers and vice versa, the middle manager is often forgotten. These people, required to be many things to many people, are burning out. Our sessions will look closely at what we can do to help these crucial team members, before it’s too late.

These are interactive sessions designed to spark new ideas and actionable strategies for practical use in your daily lives.

Secure your tickets here. 

• Dubai, 28th May, Radisson Blu, Media City

• Abu Dhabi, 28th May, The Bridge Wellness Hub