During our Masterclass on managerial excellence, we had the honor of welcoming Susanne Liepmann and Jean-Michel Huet, authors of Coaching, Organization & Leadership: In the West, Plenty of New, to explore the role of the coach within an organization: mirror, catalyst, or facilitator of self-discovery. With them, we examined the role of the coach in business: how coaching contributes to the transformation of teams and leaders. Here are the key insights from their presentation.
Mirror, Lever, Revealer
The coach can play three complementary roles: mirror—reflecting back to the person or team an accurate image of their behaviors and impact; lever—helping to unlock situations, make decisions, or shift posture; revealer—bringing to light talents, blockages, or unconsidered options. Depending on the context (individual, team, organization), the coach adapts their posture and tools.
The Coach in the Organization
Integrating coaching into the organization requires clarifying the mandate (who mandates, for what, with what limits), ensuring confidentiality and neutrality, and linking coaching to strategic issues (leadership, transformation, conflict management).
The coach is neither an advisor nor a subject-matter expert; they support reflection and action without imposing solutions.
Manager and Coach: Boundary and Complementarity
The manager can adopt a coaching posture (powerful questions, listening, empowerment) without replacing the external coach for sensitive topics or hierarchical levels.
The complementarity between external coaching, internal coaching, and management strengthens the culture of development and feedback.
When to Mandate a Coach and for What?
Coaching is relevant for transitions (taking on a new role, changing positions), recurring blockages (relational, decision-making, posture), strategic issues (transformation, team leadership, conflict management), or simply to develop the potential of an employee or leader.
It is essential to define the scope (who mandates, for what, with what limits) and to separate coaching from consulting or evaluation—the coach does not impose solutions, they support reflection and action.
Confidentiality and neutrality are essential conditions for enabling openness and perspective.
In a nutshell…
- Mirror, lever, revealer: three roles of the coach; adapt the posture to the context (individual, team, organization).
- In the organization: clarify the mandate, ensure confidentiality and neutrality, link coaching to strategic issues; know when to mandate (transitions, blockages, development).
- Manager and coach: coaching posture possible in daily practice (powerful questions, listening, empowerment); complementarity with external coaching for sensitive topics or hierarchical levels; culture of development and feedback.