Marshall Goldsmith's Stakeholder Centered Coaching brings a leader's colleagues into the process from day one — so progress is judged by the people who work with them, not by self-report. Open to individuals investing in themselves, or employees whose organization sponsors the engagement.
Instead of a coach working with a leader behind closed doors, this method brings the leader's stakeholders — manager, peers, direct reports — into the process from the start. They help identify what needs to change, and they're checked in with regularly to confirm whether it's actually happening.
The result is coaching judged by real-world behaviour change, not by how the sessions felt. That's why it's the method organizations tend to sponsor for leadership and culture-change initiatives.
Change needs time to become habit — not just a spike right after a workshop.
Working with the leader — and often their manager — we pin down one or two specific behaviours to change, not a vague list of "areas to improve."
Colleagues who work closely with the leader are asked, upfront, what change would matter most to them.
Rather than dwelling on the past, stakeholders offer forward-looking suggestions — practical ideas the leader can act on immediately.
Every month or two, stakeholders are briefly asked whether they've noticed improvement — a short, low-effort pulse check, not a big review.
This continues for 12–18 months, giving the change time to become habit rather than a short-lived improvement.
This method is built to answer one question: has this leader actually changed, in the eyes of the people who work with them?
The people who work with you confirm the shift is real — this isn't just your own read on things.
Feedforward means you get concrete suggestions to act on, not just a list of what went wrong before.
Regular check-ins keep you accountable long after the initial sessions — change becomes habit, not a spike.
Coaching helps people discover their true potential — and people who grow tend to choose to stay.
Staff who welcome responsibility don't need to be chased or watched, freeing up the manager's time.
Better relationships and visible progress change the atmosphere across the whole team.
A coaching environment encourages suggestions without fear of ridicule — one idea often sparks another.
Coaching often uncovers talents and solutions a manager didn't know were available to them.
Coaching builds responsibility and ownership, leading to self-generated responses from employees.
People perform because they want to, not because they're being managed with carrot and stick.
Coaching principles underpin the high-performance culture so many business leaders are aiming for.
Coaching builds an attitude and behaviour people carry with them — in and out of work, wherever they go next.
of leaders using Stakeholder Centered Coaching improved their effectiveness, as rated by their own stakeholders.
Based on a study of 11,000+ executives and managers across multiple continents and industries.Have a leader take the free 5-minute Coachability Quiz first — a quick, honest signal of how ready they are to get the most from coaching.
A free, no-obligation conversation — for individuals, or for organizations exploring this for a leader or team.