Over the past decade, coaching has transformed from a powerful intervention exclusively for executives to a dynamic force for development across entire organisations. This shift, often described as the democratisation of coaching, is reshaping how we think about leadership, performance and growth. But democratisation brings more than just access. It raises hard questions about quality, context and impact, especially in an era of artificial intelligence and hybrid work.
At Organisational Coaching Hub (OCH), we believe the future of coaching lies not in giving everyone a coach, but by building coaching capabilities that reflect how people really work – together, in teams. Because organisations don’t transform one person at a time – they transform together.
The AI Dilemma: Democratisation or Displacement?
AI-powered coaching platforms are rapidly expanding access, offering always-on, scalable support across industries and geographies. In under-resourced regions, this represents a breakthrough. As Professor Nicky Terblanche of Stellenbosch Business School has shown, AI coaching can empower young professionals and entrepreneurs in Africa where human coaches are scarce. The potential here is enormous.
And yet, access alone isn’t enough.
We must ask: What kind of coaching are people actually receiving?
If coaching becomes automated and ubiquitous, do we risk diluting its human value?
And perhaps most provocatively: If everyone has a coach, does that undermine good leadership?
As more organisations encourage team members to “ask their coach” – whether human or AI – leaders risk being sidelined as the emotional anchor and developmental mirror for their teams. Coaches, not leaders, become the new container for workplace intimacy and reflection. Is that really progress or just a quiet erosion of leadership?
From 1:1 to 1:Team — A Smarter Ratio for Coaching at Scale
At OCH, we prefer a different approach – one that builds people and leadership. Our mantra is “everyone deserves to be led well” which means we champion great leadership first and foremost. Coaching is therefore a vehicle to achieve this. Professional coaching is targeted and specific. If it is ubiquitous it risks being bland or worse, dependent. We believe democratisation of coaching can also be delivered through coaching the team as a whole, not just everyone individually. Coaching at the team level keeps coaching grounded in context, relationships, and real-world collaboration. One coach, working with many, shaping shared language, deepening trust, and enabling collective accountability.
This is democratisation through ratio, not replication.
And it doesn’t stop there. We work with the team leader to adopt a coaching-style, so that listening, reflection and powerful questioning become part of everyday team life, and leaders remain as close as possible to their people. It is too easy to miss the importance of this as a leadership attribute and outsource it.
Why Team Coaching is the Game-Changer
While 1:1 coaching remains valuable, team coaching offers a different kind of power. It reflects the reality of how work gets done – through the quality of collaborative relationships. It builds trust, fosters psychological safety, and aligns collective goals. Teams that engage in team coaching are more likely to:
- Navigate conflict constructively
- Make faster, smarter decisions
- Strengthen cross-functional accountability
- Improve stakeholder alignment
- Learn together better
Crucially, systemic team coaching supports systems thinking and systemic doing. It helps teams recognise their interdependence and their role within a broader context – organisationally, socially, and ecologically. As Peter Hawkins writes in the foreword to “Extra-Dependent Teams: Realising the Power of Similarity” by David Kesby, it:
“helps us understand how teams are necessarily becoming more fluid, more networked and more focused on external connecting as much as, if not more than, its internal relationships.” Peter Hawkins, Renewal Associates
This perspective challenges us to move beyond the individualistic mindset of “me” and embrace the collective intelligence of “we.” Systemic team coaching enables this shift, not just in how teams operate internally, but in how they relate to the wider systems they’re part of. It’s not just coaching for performance, it’s coaching for interconnected impact.
Team Coaching with You
Contact us to explore how team coaching can realise your team’s needs and aspirations.
Coaching That Matches How Teams Actually Operate
But one of the misunderstandings of systems is the belief that teaming and teams follow the same pattern. David Kesby, founder of OCH and a thought leader in team and organisational dynamics, identified that when we really look at teams in organisations, for what they are, not how we believe they should be, we notice there are two types of teams: Inter-Dependent and Extra-Dependent.
The dependency of each type of team is fundamentally different and affects how that team operates with itself and the wider system. Coaching any team without a simple understanding of the team’s dependency can lead to ineffectiveness – or perhaps even make things worse.
“When coaching a team that appears fragmented, it may not be dysfunctional. It may simply be that you’re looking at an extra-dependent team. They collaborate outward, not inward, and it can feel like herding cats. If you’ve ever tried to herd cats, you’ll soon realise you’re doing the wrong thing! Yet such teams exist in most organisations and they contribute huge value – when led well.” David Kesby, Organisational Coaching Hub
Understanding this distinction is essential. Otherwise, we risk misdiagnosing healthy but non-conventional teams as broken and offering the wrong interventions.
Diagnosing Team Types for Effective Coaching
At OCH, we’ve developed the Team Dependency Diagnostic, a tool that helps organisations identify whether a team is interdependent (depending on each other) or extra-dependent (depending on people outside the team). This clarity allows us to design coaching that fits how the team actually works.
You can explore the tool here: Team Dependency Diagnostic
Coaching for Collective Growth
Democratised coaching doesn’t have to mean everyone getting a coach, where the majority get a cheaper and poorer version of what the C-Suite receives. It can mean increasing relevance and reach. It’s not about outsourcing your most sensitive conversations. It’s about elevating team performance by embedding development into everyday relationships.
That means:
- More leaders adopting a coaching style
- More teams receiving tailored coaching
- More organisations building cultures of reflection, inquiry and shared accountability
Coaching, in this approach, is no longer a separated support function. It’s a partnered capability.
Our Perspective at OCH
At OCH, we believe the future of organisational performance lies in coaching cultures where learning, dialogue and development are woven into daily team life. Team coaching is central to this, because the team, not the individual, is the primary unit of transformation.
As AI changes what’s possible, and coaching expands in reach, the question isn’t who gets access but what kind of coaching builds real, collective growth?
Our answer: One coach. One team. And leaders who lead by listening.
