Comment construire une culture de coaching en 5 étapes

Résumé

Building a coaching culture requires more than teaching managers how to coach. Yet DDI's data shows that only 25% of leaders say their manager coaches them effectively. Organizations can close this gap by securing senior leadership support, building coaching skills at every level, creating practice opportunities, establishing accountability, and measuring impact. Combining effective manager coaching with AI-enabled practice can also help extend development beyond formal conversations. Together, these five steps make coaching part of everyday work and help strengthen engagement, development, and performance.

La plupart des organisations n’ont pas de problème de performance. They have a development problem, and more specifically, a coaching gap.

DDI's Global Leadership Forecast 2027 reveals just how significant that gap is: Only 25% of leaders say their manager coaches them effectively. And with so few leaders receiving effective coaching, organizations can't afford to leave development to chance.

That gap matters. Because in a world where skills expire quickly and expectations keep rising, the ability to grow people-consistently and at scale-separates high-performing organizations from the rest. En d’autres termes, si vos leaders ne peuvent pas coacher, votre entreprise ne peut pas s’adapter. Les organisations qui donnent la priorité au coaching responsabilisent leurs leaders, renforcent les performances de l’équipe et obtiennent des résultats durables.

Building a coaching culture means making development part of everyday work, not something reserved for formal performance conversations. It requires leaders with strong coaching skills, employees who feel comfortable seeking feedback, and organizational practices that reinforce continuous growth.

Qu’est-ce qu’une culture du coaching ?

Dans les lieux de travail dotés d’une culture de coaching, le coaching est intégré au travail quotidien, favorisant l’apprentissage, le développement et la croissance continus.

At its core, a coaching culture marks a shift from traditional hierarchical structures to a more empowering, cooperative approach. Cela implique une communication ouverte, une écoute active et un questionnement réfléchi pour libérer le potentiel des individus et des équipes.

Et surtout, ce n’est pas hiérarchique. L’une des hypothèses les plus erronées est que le coaching est descendant, avec un employé plus âgé et plus expérimenté soutenant un employé plus junior. In a healthy, effective coaching culture, all team members, regardless of their level or role, help each other to be their best selves by creating a safe space for everyone to learn, practice new skills, and grow. 

Bien que la relation de coaching entre le leader et son subordonné direct soit essentielle, le coaching peut également se produire :

• Between peers
• From employees to leaders
• Across project teams
• During everyday problem-solving discussions

The key is that everyone needs feedback to grow. Ils doivent également être ouverts à l’apprentissage. Après tout, les leaders ne sont pas des experts en tout. They, too, need coaching and feedback from others, regardless of where they sit in the org chart.

À quoi ressemble une culture de coaching ?

Soyons clairs : il ne s’agit pas de rendre le travail plus agréable. Il s’agit de stimuler la performance. Pour qu’une culture de coaching fonctionne, les leaders doivent avoir les compétences et la confiance nécessaires pour coacher, motiver et développer les autres. They must learn to have better conversations that consider both the practical and personal needs of the person being coached.

Dans les cultures de coaching florissantes, plusieurs comportements sont systématiquement présents :

• Les leaders posent des questions au lieu de fournir immédiatement des réponses.
• Les employés se sentent à l’aise de demander du feedback.
• Les équipes réfléchissent régulièrement à leurs réussites et à leurs échecs.
• Les gestionnaires se concentrent sur le développement, pas seulement sur les résultats en matière de performance.
• Les conversations de coaching ont lieu à tous les niveaux de l’organisation.

Les organisations qui y parviennent ne traitent pas le coaching comme un événement, il se manifeste dans les conversations, les décisions et les priorités quotidiennes.

Ultimately, coaching cultures are built on trust, curiosity, and a shared commitment to growth. These behaviors make coaching a consistent part of how people work together, rather than an occasional development activity.

Quels sont les avantages de la création d’une culture de coaching ?

Creating a coaching culture isn’t just about making employees happier; it drives measurable business performance. DDI's research consistently links effective coaching to stronger development outcomes, talent retention, and organizational performance, and the Global Leadership Forecast 2027 also shows how coaching relates to trust and engagement.

Coaching Builds Trust and Engagement

The benefits of coaching go beyond helping leaders develop new skills. Quality coaching can strengthen the relationships and engagement that support performance.

DDI's research shows that leaders who believe their managers coach them effectively are 9X more likely to trust their managers than those who don't. Employees whose managers strongly support their development are also 4.8X more likely to strongly trust their manager.

Coaching also plays an important role in leader engagement. Only 9% of leaders are fully engaged, and effective manager coaching is closely associated with stronger engagement.

Effective coaching shouldn't depend on whether someone happens to have a naturally supportive manager. Organizations need to develop coaching capability consistently across leadership levels so more employees can benefit from the trust, engagement, and growth it supports.

Only 9% of leaders are fully engaged, and effective manager coaching is closely associated with stronger engagement.

Coaching Strengthens Leadership Development and Performance

Effective coaching helps leaders do more than develop new skills. It strengthens their ability to navigate difficult situations, support their teams, and apply what they learn on the job. Compared with leaders who receive no coaching, leaders whose managers are effective coaches are:

• 2.3X more likely to say they consistently bring out the best in their teams (43% vs. 19%).
• 3.2X more likely to feel very prepared to handle high-stakes conversations (41% vs. 13%).
• 5.6X more likely to rate their development programs as high quality (45% vs. 8%).

These leaders also report applying 15% more of what they learn back on the job.

For organizations, the value extends beyond individual development. When leaders receive effective coaching, they're better positioned to handle challenging conversations, support team performance, and translate learning into everyday leadership behaviors. That's what makes coaching essential to building stronger leadership capability across the organization.

How AI Coaching Supports a Coaching Culture

Building a coaching culture doesn't mean every coaching interaction has to happen between two people. AI coaching can give leaders additional opportunities to practice difficult conversations, reflect on challenges, and reinforce their skills between conversations with their managers.

DDI's research on AI coaching shows that leaders receiving both manager and AI coaching are 8X more likely to rate their development programs as high quality than leaders receiving no coaching (64% vs. 8%). That's also higher than the percentage receiving manager coaching alone (45%) or AI coaching alone (39%).

AI coaching offers benefits independently, too. Compared with leaders receiving no coaching, those receiving only AI coaching are 4.9X more likely to rate their development programs as high quality.

For organizations, the opportunity is to expand access to coaching while preserving the human relationships that support growth. AI coaching can provide a private space to practice and work through everyday challenges, while managers offer context, feedback, and opportunities to apply new skills on the job. Together, these approaches can make development more continuous and accessible.

Why Effective Manager Coaching Matters

A strong coaching culture starts with managers who know how to coach. They're uniquely positioned to support development because they understand their team members' work, see the challenges they face, and can provide feedback and guidance in the moment.

Yet access to effective manager coaching remains uneven. Among emerging leaders, only 17% strongly agree that their manager coaches them effectively, leaving many without strong coaching support as they build their leadership skills for the first time.

For organizations, this creates a challenge that goes beyond individual development. When coaching depends on whether employees happen to have an effective manager, opportunities for growth and support can vary significantly across teams.

Among emerging leaders, only 17% strongly agree that their manager coaches them effectively, leaving many without strong coaching support as they build their leadership skills.

Building a coaching culture helps close that gap by making coaching an organizational expectation. Leaders at every level learn to ask thoughtful questions, provide meaningful feedback, and create opportunities for employees to practice and grow. Over time, coaching becomes part of how teams work together, rather than something individual managers choose to do.

And as organizations introduce new coaching technologies, this foundation becomes even more important. AI can extend opportunities for practice and reinforcement, but managers remain central to connecting development with employees' goals, responsibilities, and everyday experiences.

Comment les leaders développent-ils leurs compétences en coaching ?

La mise en place d’une culture de coaching commence par doter les leaders des compétences dont ils ont besoin pour coacher efficacement. De nombreuses organisations supposent que le coaching est une compétence intuitive, mais en réalité, le coaching nécessite de la pratique, de la structure et du feedback.

Chez DDI, nous enseignons souvent aux leaders un cadre simple pour les conversations de coaching, connu sous le nom de modèle ACE :

Demander

Les leaders posent des questions ouvertes pour mieux comprendre les objectifs, les défis et les perspectives de l’employé.

Se connecter

Les leaders établissent la confiance en faisant preuve d’empathie et d’un intérêt sincère pour le développement de l’employé.

Stimuler

Les leaders aident les employés à identifier des solutions, à fixer des objectifs et à s’approprier leur croissance.

Cette approche aide les leaders à passer du statut de solutionneurs de problèmes à celui de bâtisseurs de capacités, en donnant aux employés les moyens de penser de manière critique et de développer leurs propres solutions.

Alors que les attentes en matière de leadership continuent d’évoluer, les compétences en coaching deviennent de plus en plus importantes. In fact, 83% of HR organizations anticipate a significant increase in leadership skills needs over the next five years. Le développement des capacités de coaching est l’un des moyens les plus efficaces pour les organisations de préparer les leaders à ces demandes croissantes.

Comment créer une culture du coaching ?

La création d’une culture de coaching nécessite des efforts intentionnels et un engagement soutenu de la part de la direction. Vous trouverez ci-dessous cinq mesures clés que les organisations peuvent prendre :

1. Obtenez un soutien de haut niveau.

Pour être couronnées de succès, les initiatives de changement de culture doivent souvent commencer au sommet. Les hauts dirigeants doivent allouer du temps pour encadrer les réunions, les tête-à-tête et les conversations informelles. Mais le plus important, c’est qu’un haut dirigeant doit être perçu comme « joignant le geste à la parole ».

Trois facteurs clés peuvent aider les leaders à augmenter l’efficacité de leur coaching : 

• Les managers et/ou les mentors officiels donnent l’exemple positif avec le coaching. 
• Leaders use objective assessments to gather feedback on their coaching skills and to guide their development. 
• Les leaders constatent l’impact du coaching sur leur efficacité globale. 

Lorsque les hauts dirigeants font la promotion du coaching, non seulement en paroles, mais aussi en actes, cela donne un exemple puissant à l’ensemble de l’organisation.

2. Donnez à tous les leaders des compétences en coaching.

La deuxième étape consiste à donner aux leaders à tous les niveaux des compétences en matière de coaching. En outre, assurez-vous que les personnes occupant des rôles de leadership informels (tels que les chefs de projet et les leaders Agile) ont des compétences en coaching. Quelle est la meilleure façon de le faire ? Au minimum, formez chaque leader formel et informel aux compétences de base en leadership.

The core skills combine emotional intelligence and coaching, enabling people to prepare for an assignment and learn and improve for the future. Idéalement, les leaders peuvent également accéder à des ressources supplémentaires qui soutiennent leur développement.

As such, many companies have built robust learning journeys to train their leaders to become capable coaches. The result? You take a big step toward creating a coaching culture that delivers the benefits mentioned earlier.

3. Encouragez les employés à appliquer leurs compétences en coaching au travail.

After training, the next step is to apply the skills on the job. L’adage est simple mais vrai : c’est en forgeant qu’on devient forgeron. But how can leaders build the coaching practice they need to succeed?

First, leaders need an action plan. While it is common to offer development activities for a group of learners, every leader needs a personalized follow-up plan that connects behavior to the organization's business priorities. Certaines entreprises proposent des séances de suivi en petits groupes pour les leaders afin de discuter des possibilités de coaching et de partager les expériences et les leçons apprises.

Others leverage peer coaching, online simulations, or AI coaching tools that give leaders a private space to practice difficult conversations, receive feedback, and build confidence before applying their skills on the job. Above all, it's critical to create an environment and action plan that let everyone practice, apply what they learn, and get feedback on their progress.

AI coaching can also help leaders maintain momentum between formal development experiences. Rather than waiting for their next training session or one-on-one, they can practice a challenging conversation, reflect on a recent interaction, or prepare for an upcoming coaching opportunity.

But practice is most valuable when it's connected to a clear development goal. Among leaders receiving AI coaching, those with an up-to-date development plan report applying 76% of what they learn on the job, compared with 47% for those without one. That reinforces the importance of connecting coaching practice to ongoing development and manager support.

Réfléchissez à la façon dont les athlètes et les artistes perfectionnent leurs talents. Ils pratiquent régulièrement (tous les jours !) et pendant de longues périodes. Ils demandent et attendent des commentaires de la part des autres. Un niveau similaire d’engagement et de dévouement est nécessaire pour devenir un bon entraîneur. And when that commitment combines with opportunities to coach, you're well on your way to creating a coaching culture.

Among leaders receiving AI coaching, those with an up-to-date development plan report applying 76% of what they learn on the job, reinforcing the importance of connecting coaching practice to ongoing development and manager support.

4. Créer une responsabilisation.

Tout le monde doit être tenu responsable de son rôle dans la création d’une culture d’entraînement réussie. Souvent, seuls les leaders sont tenus responsables de coacher et d’enseigner à leurs équipes à se coacher mutuellement. Mais dans une véritable culture du coaching, chacun est responsable de coacher et d’être coaché, quel que soit son niveau.

L’un des résultats d’un coaching efficace est que les leaders forment des équipes qui se sentent soutenues et habilitées à prendre des décisions. Le système de responsabilisation qui en résulte encourage les employés à s’approprier leur performance et encourage les gestionnaires à s’approprier la façon dont ils encadrent les autres.

How will you know if your organization has this level of accountability? When every employee, at every level, has regular coaching conversations.

5. Mesurez l’efficacité et le retour sur investissement.

Finally, evaluate the effectiveness and ROI of your company’s coaching efforts. Qui coache avec succès ? À quelle fréquence les conversations de coaching ont-elles lieu ? Quels sont les résultats commerciaux qui s’améliorent en conséquence ? Tapping into this information will help you understand which elements of a coaching culture are working well and which areas need improvement.

The first step in measuring ROI is identifying metrics your coaching culture should influence. Les mesures courantes comprennent l’engagement et la rétention des employés, la productivité et la satisfaction des clients.

Then collect quantitative and qualitative data over time on the metrics you’ve identified, and analyze it to spot improvements and trends. Si vous pouvez lier le coaching à l’amélioration des résultats de l’entreprise, vous démontrerez la valeur d’une culture de coaching. By measuring the ROI of a coaching culture, organizations make data-driven decisions, optimize their coaching programs, and continuously improve employee development and performance. Cela profite aux employés individuels et contribue au succès et à la croissance globaux de l’organisation.

As AI coaching becomes part of leadership development, organizations should also evaluate how it supports practice, skill application, and the quality of development. The goal isn't simply to measure adoption, but to understand whether different coaching approaches are helping leaders improve their effectiveness.

Quel rôle jouent les leaders dans une culture de coaching ?

Les leaders jouent un rôle clé dans la création et l’entretien d’une culture de coaching florissante qui stimule le développement des employés et favorise la réussite de l’entreprise.

By acting as coaching role models, they inspire and motivate their teams and demonstrate a commitment to coaching that others want to adopt. Lorsque les leaders s’engagent dans des conversations de coaching, ils montrent que le coaching est un élément précieux de la croissance.

Eighty-three percent of HR organizations anticipate a significant increase in leadership skills needs over the next five years. 

Les leaders doivent également fournir des ressources et un soutien. They can offer training to build coaching skills and knowledge and set aside time for practice and feedback.

Il est également essentiel d’intégrer le coaching dans les discussions sur la performance. This practice encourages regular feedback, goal setting, and development planning, making coaching a natural part of the performance management process and embedding a coaching mindset into the organization's culture.

Quels sont les défis qui peuvent empêcher une culture de coaching ?

Changing organizational culture is hard work—it requires behavior change. La culture d’entreprise comporte d’innombrables couches qui s’accumulent au fil du temps. La culture organisationnelle comprend les rituels, les symboles, l’aménagement et la décoration de l’espace de travail, les valeurs exprimées, les hypothèses inconscientes et bien plus encore. Fondamentalement, tout ce qu’une personne vit lorsqu’elle interagit avec l’organisation est un « fragment » de la culture de l’entreprise.

Alors, comment pouvez-vous construire une culture de coaching efficace au sein de la culture existante ? Voici cinq choses que vous pouvez faire :

1. Encouragez le soutien des parties prenantes.

Internal communications are an important step in getting everyone on the same page about why a coaching culture matters. Et le soutien de la haute direction est crucial. Votre haute direction doit communiquer à l’échelle de l’organisation sur les raisons pour lesquelles le coaching est précieux et sur la façon dont les leaders peuvent le faire.

2. Soulignez et récompensez les bons.

L’objectif est de rendre le coaching efficace si facile et normalisé qu’il devient une habitude culturelle inconsciente. Mais comment cela peut-il être fait ? Les leaders ne doivent pas se contenter de transmettre le message que le coaching est important. They need to model good coaching so others can see it in action. Mettre en évidence et récompenser les exemples et les résultats positifs du coaching est un excellent moyen de renforcer le message.

3. Expliquez clairement les avantages.

One of the biggest barriers to coaching is the belief that there isn’t time for it. To overcome this resistance, leaders need to understand how coaching benefits both their teams and the business. Those benefits may look different across organizations and teams, but making them clear is essential to gaining support and encouraging coaching as an everyday practice.

4. Ne faites pas du coaching un outil d’évaluation.

Les employés ne sont pas toujours enthousiastes à l’idée de bénéficier d’un coaching. Many perceive coaching as a form of negative feedback that sounds like: "You are not doing something right, so let me tell you how to improve."

L’objectif du coaching est d’obtenir de meilleurs résultats ; Il ne s’agit pas d’un outil d’évaluation. Furthermore, building a coaching culture means being coached, and it requires all employees to become coaches for their peers.

Les objections au coaching de la part des contributeurs individuels sont les mêmes que celles des leaders :

• Je n’ai pas le temps.
• Je n’en ai pas l’occasion.
• Je ne sais pas comment.

It is important to show people they will not need to take on additional work. Au contraire, ils doivent ajuster leurs routines pour intégrer le coaching.

5. Promouvoir le coaching en tant qu’état d’esprit.

After everyone understands the concept of creating a coaching culture, they may expect a detailed plan for what they should do.

Malheureusement, ce n’est pas si simple. Construire une culture de coaching, c’est promouvoir un état d’esprit de coaching. Il s’agit également de former des leaders capables de gérer les situations dans l’instant, plutôt que de tenir des réunions de type intervention avec un peu de coaching, juste pour cocher une case.

Une culture d’entraînement et une culture organisationnelle saines

Building a healthy coaching culture requires more than providing opportunities to learn. Leaders need ongoing support, meaningful feedback, and regular chances to practice their skills. That support can come from managers, peers, formal development experiences, and increasingly, AI coaching tools that help reinforce learning between conversations.

If your organization is already investing in workplace coaching, don't stop at isolated efforts. Build a culture where coaching happens at every level and becomes part of everyday work. By developing effective manager coaches and giving leaders additional ways to practice and grow, organizations can strengthen engagement, improve performance, and make continuous development part of their culture.