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Building Trust: How to Cultivate a Culture of Credibility
When it comes to your employees, what do you value most? Sure, they have to be hardworking and dedicated, and …
Has leadership gotten harder?
Managers are expected to lead larger teams at the same time as rapid evolution in technology and an uncertain economy are shifting the work we do and how we do it at its core. If leaders at your organization are feeling the pressure, they certainly aren’t alone.
Gallup’s 2026 State of the Global Workplace report shows that engagement among managers is down 9 points since 2022. In a conversation with Fortune, Mark Thompson, chairman of the Chief Executive Alliance and CEO coach to Fortune 500 leaders, and Byron Loflin, Nasdaq’s global head of board advisory, described today’s leadership environment as a “pressure cooker.” Surviving at the top, they argued, is harder than ever.
Today, every leader operates under a spotlight. Social media has amplified visibility and shortened reaction time. Results are reported instantly. Decisions are dissected publicly. The intensity is unrelenting. You don’t just lead in an organization; You represent it, constantly. We see this at an extreme level with top CEOs’ names in the headlines, but it is felt at every level of leadership. From side conversations happening over messaging tools to Glassdoor reviews, leaders are made acutely aware of how their actions are interpreted, affecting their career and the success of the whole organization.
We consistently see the pressures of today’s work environment show up in five core leadership challenges. These are the areas where leaders are seeking the most support and development.
With these five challenges, it’s no wonder that leaders are feeling stressed and disengaged. It can feel like they’re fighting an impossible battle with no one in their corner.
That’s where coaching comes in.
Coaching has become one of the primary ways leaders develop today. Organizations rely on coaches to help leaders think clearly, navigate pressure and make better decisions. Leaders rely on coaches for perspective, objectivity and feedback they may not receive elsewhere. At its best, coaching provides space for leaders to slow down, assess what’s happening and choose how to move forward with intention.
Effective coaching can help leaders address these core 5 challenges by translating them into behaviors and skills that leaders can develop. Let’s take a look at those challenges again and break them down into leadership skills gaps.
The skills gaps:
How coaching helps: Coaches provide a safe environment where leaders can work through complex challenges and practice how they would communicate them to their team. When it comes to communicating critical decisions, you often only have one chance to get it right before miscommunication can lead to confusion and the spread of misinformation. Skilled coaches can guide leaders in creating a communication plan that provides clarity and instills confidence.
The skills gaps:
How coaching helps: When hired by the organization, coaches can have key insight into overall organizational goals that they can use as a north star in coaching conversations. In addition, by having some distance from the immediate problems at hand that feel urgent, they can help leaders gain perspective and focus on the big picture rather than spending all of their energy on today’s “emergency.” These kinds of reminders can help leaders stay grounded and reorient them to larger goals.
The skills gaps:
How coaching helps: Coaches come to these engagements with a wealth of professional knowledge from training, their own professional experience and from coaching leaders in all kinds of situations. They can identify areas for improvement with keen accuracy. High-level leadership skills like business acumen and negotiating are ones that particularly new leaders struggle with, because these situations are new to them. Coaches can give them clear direction from seemingly small shifts, like the way you start the conversation, to significant mindset changes, like presenting solutions from the point of view of stakeholder priorities.
The skills gaps:
How coaching helps: Holding others accountable is uncomfortable, especially if they are, or used to be, your peers. Coaches can help leaders learn how to give feedback and create accountability in a way that doesn’t feel harsh or condescending. In fact, it can even feel empowering. Often leaders learn from example with their coach. The same behaviors their coaches are using to influence them are the ones they need to influence and motivate their team.
The skills gaps:
How coaching helps: Leading through change is perhaps one of the most common challenges coaches are called upon for. They’ve seen change across a multitude of industries and know the common pitfalls that leaders may face. Often during change, a coach becomes the rock that the leader can come to and count on when everything else feels uncertain. They help the leader come up for air and take a beat before diving back into the stress and complexity of their everyday. Critically, coaches help leaders process change and differences across their team. These engagements are a place where leaders can speak their mind without fear of judgement or professional backlash. Once the real fears, insecurities and concerns are in the open, working towards solutions becomes possible.
As organizations expect more from their leaders, support like coaching stops being optional and becomes critical to success. There is only so much even the highest potential individuals can accomplish alone. Development needs to be continuous to keep up with the modern workplace. Coaches can be a lifeline for leaders during the most challenging circumstances, providing a sounding board, expert advice and clear focus.
