Research Wednesday | January 7, 2026

Evidence on the Impact of Coaching

I have learned to be skeptical of television personalities who claim expertise in nearly any field.  That is the prejudice with which I approached the work of Dr. Brene Brown, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how deep the research base on which she bases her conclusions.  Her latest book, Strong Ground (2025), features data from over 16,000 participants in coaching, which should be of interest to our coaches and coaching clients.  

Turnover rates were reduced by more than 50%.  

41% of participants reported boosts in productivity and energy.  

86% reported an increase in management effectiveness.  

14% reported an increase in leadership development.

One of the key factors that distinguishes coaching from Creative Leadership Solutions is that we are rigorously accountable for our results, with reports to building and district leaders after every coaching meeting.  I would like to include a couple of parenthetical notes with this report.  First, “coaching” has a very ambiguous definition in many quarters, which has led many senior leaders to be skeptical.  See our book “Fearless Coaching” for greater precision in the use of this term.  We sometimes use the phrase “collaborative team support” instead of “coach” if the term “coach” might alienate potential clients.  Finally, we need to have an exceedingly clear definition of what coaching is and what it is not.  The book Fearless Coaching does a nice job of drawing this distinction clearly.

https://www.creativeleadership.net/fearless-books

Related Posts

  • Research Wednesday | April 8, 2026

    Uncomplicated Grading Reform
    Contributing author: Dr. Emily Freeland

    It is not surprising that in schools and districts, significant grading reform efforts often stall. Not because educators disagree with the need to reconsider current practices, but because the work becomes burdensome and overly complicated. Issues and disagreements arise when monitoring checklists multiply in length; reporting systems grow more complex, and fairness and accuracy give way to compliance.

    Read More

  • Research Wednesday | March 11, 2026

    The Key to Secondary School Success: Getting 9th Grade Right
    Contributing author: Dr. Douglas Reeves

    Kaaron Andrews has studied the relationship between 9th-grade student performance, graduation, and subsequent post-secondary success.  She is the Director of the Center for High School Success. When they increase on-track 9th-grade rates, they are 3-4 times more likely to graduate from high school. It is the single strongest predictor of high school success – more than race, socioeconomic status, or even 8th-grade test scores. She contends that high schools are programmed for disconnection – disconnected from their peer group and from teachers who often have 150 students with whom they struggle to have a relationship.

    Read More

  • Research Wednesday | March 4, 2026

    Do Audiobooks Count as Reading?
    Contributing author: Dr. Douglas Reeves

    While surveys indicate that more than 40% of U.S. adults think that listening to a book should not be regarded as genuine reading, Brian Bannon, Chief Librarian of the New York Public Library, disagrees in a November 23, 2025, article.  He notes that while print circulation in the library has remained flat over the past five years, audiobook demand is up 65%.

    Read More