What are we actually measuring when we measure the impact of coaching?
It could be technical capability, cognitive skills, emotional intelligence, confidence, behaviour or other human growth skills. The important question is not whether someone has changed, it’s whether that change is contributing to what matters to the organisation. I think a return on investment (ROI) is what matters to the organisation. And it’s our responsibility to identify meaningful indicators and show evidence that something is changing as a result of the coaching. This could include productivity, efficiency, employee satisfaction, leadership behaviour, confidence, decision-making or collaboration.
The impact should go beyond the individual, for example, Are you changing the culture? Are leaders telling a different story? Are behaviours changing across the organisation? Are you building a team rather than simply bringing together a group of people? Ultimately, measuring coaching impact is about connecting individual growth to organisational outcomes. Are people not only becoming better at what they do, and changing how they think, behave and work together?
