Sustainability Inside-Out

Sustainability Inside-Out
Investigating coaching’s role in sustainability
September 2008
Andrew Outhwaite and Neela Bettridge
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Executive Summary
Sustainability initiatives in leading organisations are increasingly focusing on transformational and
systemic change, rather than incremental improvements. It is this link between transformation, and
the shift to new levels of individual and organisational leadership and development that highlight
how can coaching is critical for innovation and sustainability.
In essence, this research identifies that:
a) ‘Inner’ (personal development, organisational values and culture development) and ‘outer’
(organisational, business, market, sustainable) development are linked;
b) That real innovation and transformation, and the biggest leverage points for integrating
sustainability, occur in the ‘interior’ individuals mindsets and values, and organisation’s
cultures; and
c) Inter-subjective, dialogic processes, like coaching, are the most powerful and effective way
to accelerate leadership development and adoption of new values and culture. These
methods foster innovation and adoption of behaviours and systems that can accelerate
‘outer’ development of sustainable organisations and society.
What we have shown through this research is, with all other external factors being equal, the
capability, culture and leadership development of individuals and teams in the organisations can be
the difference to an organisation’s integration of sustainability. We cited several examples where
coaching can play a role in shifting the identity and culture of an organisation such that incremental
changes in processes and systems (the ‘what’ of technologies) are overtaken by more fundamental
and innovative changes in the value that is created, for whom, why and how.
Figure 1 Phases of transformation in an organisation’s attitudes to sustainability
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Leading transformational change towards sustainability is not about engineering and efficiency.
While technologies are important, the ability to widely apply them, or even create them depends on
organisations looking for opportunities for innovation in the changing external context. The
capability to think in this way, to question the assumptions prevalent in a sector, take new
perspectives, think long-term and ‘change the game’ are characteristics that leaders and leading
organisations can develop. They are characteristics that are identified in the later phases of both
the individual and organisational development models we introduce, and they are shifts that are
both most effectively driven through engagement in inter-subjective, reflective, developmental
processes like coaching.
Figure 2 The Integral Quadrants model makes distinctions between the factors affecting, in this context,
innovation and transformation towards sustainability.
There are a variety of factors that can constrain how fast an organisation can move towards
sustainability. Amongst them, there is a limited, but increasing focus on the internal barriers to
change – the mindsets and worldviews of individuals, and the values and habits of cultures. These
are as real as technical challenges. Our research supports the assertion that inner (e.g. mental)
and outer (e.g. behavioural), individual (e.g. ‘My’) and collective (e.g, ‘Our’) development and
growth towards more complexity and competency are linked. We hypothesised that stronger
recognition of that link and how organisations can support development in both areas would lead to
changes in what activities organisations prioritised when moving towards sustainability.
Through this research we have shown why and how coaching could be used more effectively to
support development in both areas, and that doing so would result in increased innovation and
faster movement towards integrating sustainability in organisations. Coaching an appropriate tool
for dealing with the challenges organisations will face in the next decade: It has the flexibility of
form and content to suit diverse organisations, while having an orientation towards positivity,
development, increasing awareness and responsibility, and focus on impact in the real world.
Coaching is most frequently used to support senior and emerging leaders in organisations, but
increasingly popular and effective are team and group approaches. Respondents to the survey and
interviewees described the benefits of coaching for the individual, team, organisation and
society/stakeholders. Their perceived benefits of coaching overlapped strongly with the broader
organisational and societal needs for innovation and change in the face of sustainability
challenges.
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Figure 3 Reported benefits of coaching at different levels

Some of the surveyed organisations were already, actively using coaching for sustainability. Of
those that were, most were doing so because both coaching and sustainability were already part of
their culture, and the integration of the two was a natural fit. Compared to the responses to
coaching in general, peer and group coaching were more common forms of coaching for
sustainability. This is at least partially because collaborative methods are more aligned with the
collective and transcendent values associated with sustainability.
Looking at the potential for coaching as a means of facilitating the values, behaviour, cultural and
systems change in organisations, we identified drivers at three levels:
 At the organisational level, organisations will be using coaching to: support emergence of a new
sense of who they are and what they do, encourage new values to be prioritised, and support a
radical shift in thinking towards ethical innovation as a competitive advantage. Culture is now being
identified as a major constraint to integration and implementation of sustainability, and coaching can
support this change.
 At the team level, coaching enhances team’s abilities to maximise the contribution of people of
diverse expertise and cultures. It also helps individuals develop collaborative leadership styles
appropriate to the increasingly complex challenges and new opportunities. The importance of a
supportive network of peers was emphasised by many champions.
 At the individual level, coaching is one of the most popular and effective tools for leadership
development. All change in organisations must involve individuals – whether they be as senior
leaders or those engaged in practical actions. Coaching can also support individuals broadening
their knowledge, skills and competencies and increasing the flexibility of their perspectives.
Coaching is also used to increase awareness and support development to later stages of the
development, leading to increased capability lead through complex transformations.
We also identified barriers to integration of coaching and sustainability, which included: if technical
issues or general awareness are the main constraints, if coaching is not valued within the existing
culture, or when no technical expertise or systems of support for coaches are in place. These
barriers can guide the choice the exact type of coaching that is most appropriate for the
organisational context, or even if coaching is appropriate at all.
The fundamental inter-subjective, positive, inquiring dynamics of coaching are common to all the
things we, and participants in the research, defined as ‘coaching’. And we identified many different
practices that can be used to provide the same experience or achieve the same aim.
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Figure 4 A 'slider' depicting the different characteristics of coaching approaches that can be adapted for
different contexts and purposes.
We identified a dozen characteristics of coaching that help fine tune the form that is most
appropriate to the purpose. Most coaching approaches can be characterised by the emphasis they
place on each of these characteristics. We focused on some specific forms of coaching we thought
could be commonly used for sustainability:
o Coaching for leadership development and personal transformation. This form of coaching
integrates the personal and professional, often supporting a major change in performance,
values and even identity. This is most common with senior executives, emerging leaders
and sustainability champions, and includes forms such as executive coaching;
o Groups formally and informally coaching each other around personal, organisational and
systemic challenges, or about skills development in a particular area e.g. breakfast clubs,
action-learning groups, or carbon clubs;
o Coaching teams, communities or the organisation itself, through individuals but not focused
on the individuals. In this case, individual’s development and enhanced performance is
contextualised as a means to higher-performing or transformed teams or organisations.
Examples include team coaching, whole-of-business coaching, or hosting communities of
practice;
o Amateurs coaching each other one-on-one using toolkits. This may focus on leadership
development, but is more commonly about skills and knowledge in a particular area. This
method costs less, is able to be distributed more widely. Examples include “we-coach”, and
social entrepreneurs and sustainability practitioners coaching each other;
o Integrating sustainability into performance management. This means adding social and
ecological goals to the development plans for individuals.
The most important factor to consider when choosing a form or type of coaching is the context and
purpose. As a bigger context for coaching, sustainability shifts attention from a particular method or
particular benefit for an individual, towards doing whatever is appropriate to having the greatest
impact in the external world. This wider, sustainability context expands the work of coaching
beyond just supporting the happiness and success of individuals, and shifts the focus towards how
those individuals can be more effective in their contribution to a more social and global definition of
success (i.e. a sustainable society). Coaches, coachees and organisations can now begin to take
advantage of the synergies between leadership development, innovation and sustainability.
We conclude with recommendations about how organisations can used the insights and
information we have generated, and advocated for widening the dialogue around this in the field,
and this research.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... 3
Table of Contents........................................................................................................................ 7
Table of Figures .......................................................................................................................... 8
1 Purpose and context .................................................................................................................. 9
1.1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 9
1.2 Our hypothesis .................................................................................................................. 9
1.3 Frameworks..................................................................................................................... 10
1.3.1 Nested systems............................................................................................................11
1.3.2 Integral Quadrants........................................................................................................11
1.3.3 Developmental stages ................................................................................................. 12
1.4 Methods........................................................................................................................... 15
2 Sustainability ............................................................................................................................ 17
2.1 Implications for organisations.......................................................................................... 18
3 Coaching .................................................................................................................................. 21
3.1 Use of coaching............................................................................................................... 21
3.2 Benefits of coaching ........................................................................................................ 22
4 Coaching and sustainability...................................................................................................... 25
4.1 Coaching’s use for sustainability ..................................................................................... 25
4.2 Coaching topics............................................................................................................... 26
4.3 Coachees ........................................................................................................................ 27
4.4 Coaches .......................................................................................................................... 27
5 Drivers for Integration ............................................................................................................... 29
5.1 Organisational ................................................................................................................. 29
5.1.1 Creating a new Identity................................................................................................ 29
5.1.2 Supporting cultural change.......................................................................................... 29
5.1.3 Innovation.................................................................................................................... 31
5.2 Team................................................................................................................................ 32
5.2.1 Collaboration and collective action.............................................................................. 32
5.3 Individual ......................................................................................................................... 32
5.3.1 Developing leaders...................................................................................................... 32
5.3.1.1 Increasing knowledge, skills and competency – ‘horizontal’ development .......... 33
5.3.1.2 Taking it to the next level – ‘vertical’ development............................................... 35
5.3.2 Supporting champions................................................................................................. 36
5.3.3 Coaches are ready ...................................................................................................... 37
5.4 Barriers to use of coaching.............................................................................................. 38
5.4.1 Culture or mindsets are not the primary constraint ..................................................... 38
5.4.2 Coaching is not value in that culture ........................................................................... 38
5.4.3 Perception of excessive focus on the individual.......................................................... 38
5.4.4 When sustainability expertise is not available ............................................................. 39
5.4.5 Insufficient infrastructure and support ......................................................................... 39
6 Options for coaching for sustainability...................................................................................... 40
6.1 Context for coaching ....................................................................................................... 49
6.1.1 Leadership development and transformation .............................................................. 49
6.1.2 Group and many-to-many ........................................................................................... 50
6.1.3 Global Focus ............................................................................................................... 51
6.1.4 Amateur....................................................................................................................... 52
6.1.5 Performance Management.......................................................................................... 53
7 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................. 55
7.1 Re-evaluating hypotheses and questions ....................................................................... 55
7.2 Appropriate recommendations ........................................................................................ 57
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7.3 Validity ............................................................................................................................. 57

7.4 Questions for further research......................................................................................... 58
8 Glossary ................................................................................................................................... 59
8.1 Coaching ......................................................................................................................... 59
8.2 Sustainability ................................................................................................................... 59
8.3 Corporate Sustainability .................................................................................................. 59
8.4 Innovation........................................................................................................................ 60
8.5 Transformation ................................................................................................................ 60
8.6 Cultural Change .............................................................................................................. 60
9 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 61
9.1 Scope .............................................................................................................................. 63
9.2 Validity of the survey ....................................................................................................... 63
10 References........................................................................................................................... 65
Table of Figures
Figure 1 Phases of transformation in an organisation’s attitudes to sustainability............................ 3
Figure 2 The Integral Quadrants model makes distinctions between the factors affecting, in this
context, innovation and transformation towards sustainability. ......................................................... 4
Figure 3 Reported benefits of coaching at different levels ................................................................ 5
Figure 4 A 'slider' depicting the different characteristics of coaching approaches that can be
adapted for different contexts and purposes..................................................................................... 6
Figure 5 A ‘nested systems’ or ‘holarchical’ representation of the relationship between key actors
relevant to sustainability. ..................................................................................................................11
Figure 6 Integral Quadrants showing two quadrants on the left which relate to interiors, and the two
on the right relating to exteriors – that which is observable, objective The I, We, It, Its in each of the
quadrants show how these perspectives relate to, and are expressed in, common language.. ..... 12
Figure 7 Phases of organisational transformation towards sustainability. This figure implies that the
‘transforming’ organisations have more complex and positive responses to sustainability
challenges. The word descriptions in each box are descriptors of the phases compiled from ten
separate reports that used similar spectrums. Note: CSO refers to ‘civil society organisations’ e.g.
NGOs, charities, community groups. .............................................................................................. 13
Figure 8 Stages of the Leadership Development Framework, showing the progression from earlier
(bottom) to later (top). The percentages are of managers surveyed who profiled at that logic. The
final 5% profiled at the ‘Opportunist’ Action Logic, but which is not described in detail here. ......... 14
Figure 9 Word clouds of the actual words used at different levels and dot-point summaries of the
top responses from survey respondents. Note: Words that appeared more often are larger. The top
two clouds were limited to the top 40 most used words. Each of the bottom six images represents
the 25 most used words, not all the words. The colours are for aesthetics, and do not communicate
meaningful information.................................................................................................................... 23
Figure 10 A ‘coaching slider’ representing the range of types and characteristics of coaching that
may be appropriate for sustainability............................................................................................... 40
Figure 11 Triple Loop Learning ....................................................................................................... 50
Figure 12 Benefits of coaching at different levels ........................................................................... 56
Figure 13 Maxwell’s Qualitative Research Design (2005). ............................................................. 61
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1 Purpose and context

The challenge of creating a sustainable society is one that many societies have failed at before. If
we are to succeed, it seems we would not just have to learn from the mistakes of the past, but
actually create new ways of seeing ourselves and acting in the world. Those yet-unknown ways of
seeing, being and doing are what some leading organisations are exploring through their efforts to
become sustainable. For them to be successful, it will require more than just engineering
technologies and new processes. We believe it necessitates new social technologies, and that
human and social technologies such as coaching will be critical. They will help us develop, reflect,
learn and make the right choices that lead to ecological and social sustainability.
1.1 Purpose
The goal for this work is to initiate a dialogue with our clients and peers about the role and
relationship of coaching in driving the shift in values, and culture towards those more supportive of
organisational and societal sustainability.
As coaches and consultants, our work is focused on supporting individuals and organisations to
make better decisions (by their own standards, and ours) and act to contribute positively to wider
efforts towards sustainability. We are specifically interested in the dynamic of integrating (or
‘embedding’) sustainability into visions and plans and facilitating cultural change.
Integration of sustainability into an organisation’s culture may not be immediately measurable by a
reduced ecological footprint of their operations, or increased effectiveness of meeting their
customer’s fundamental needs. But, we have identified cultural change and development of
leaders as a necessary and under-valued complement to technical change. Leadership and culture
represent the ‘who?’ and ‘how?’ of sustainability, which has been given less attention than ‘what?’.
As a result of this perspective, the following research questions guided our inquiry:
Primary:
 What are current attitudes to coaching and sustainability?
 Is coaching an appropriate tool for dealing with the challenges organisations will face in the
next decade?
 How can coaching and sustainability be linked for significant impact?
Secondary:
 What drives organisations to resource coaching as a priority activity for moving towards
sustainability?
 Is coaching an effective tool for taking organisations towards greater innovation, using
sustainability issues as an opportunity?
 Which kinds of coaching (i.e. models and practices) are being used?
 In what contexts (e.g. What size of organisations? In what teams?) are coaching and
sustainability being integrated, and where is there the greatest potential for this to occur?
1.2 Our hypothesis

Inner (e.g. mental) and outer (e.g. behavioural), individual (e.g. ‘My’) and collective (e.g, ‘Our’)
development and growth towards more complexity and competency are linked. We hypothesised
that stronger recognition of that link and how organisations can support development in both areas
would lead to changes in what activities organisations prioritised when moving towards
sustainability. Our own experience suggested that practices that support development in both
areas, such as coaching, could be used more effectively, and that doing so would result in
9
increased innovation and faster movement towards integrating sustainability.

We recognised this linkage, or coaching, does not currently get much attention, inform strategies or
guide practices within organisations moving towards sustainability. But, we thought this intersection
of personal development and sustainable development would be an area of growing interest.
Perhaps, we thought, in ten years time it will be unthinkable to have an organisational sustainability
strategy that did not make explicit reference to the importance of ’internal’ personal, team and
cultural development.
Quotes, such as these from coaches and researchers, supported our hypothesis and thinking:
“…….[research] shows that CSR can be the result of championing by a few managers,
based on their personal values and beliefs, despite personal and professional risks this may
entail.” 1
“For all of us, the adventure of becoming the person we were ’meant to be’ creates at least a
flicker of interest. Pretty much every employer now claims that individuals and their
development are core to their values and strategy. And as climate change begins to change
our world in ways that we do not yet understand it may create a ’causal necessity’ that will
evoke changes in our thinking and in the leadership we need at a global scale.” 2
In some organisations already leading towards sustainability, accelerating development of key
individuals and teams within their organisation is emerging as one of the most important factors to
improve sustainability innovation and triple-bottom-line performance. Increasingly, the capability for
individuals to transform (rather than technology, or the strength of signals from the biosphere or the
market) is the primary constraint on how fast organisations can change: the development of
individuals and teams is at the heart of the sustainability challenge.
Those that work with organisations to improve performance and develop leaders are also seeing a
shift. One coach observed:
“Never before have coaches been faced with such a wide-open field of conversations directly
relevant to the effectiveness of leaders and the stakeholders they serve. As the business
world’s centre of gravity moves from a traditional financial focus to one that includes
environmental and social stewardship, leadership coaches now are able to scale curiosity
and connections between the personal and global levels.” 3
When faced with so many exciting new technologies, increasing investment and financial drivers,
and tougher legislation or standards, coaching of individuals and teams may seem a small factor in
creating real sustainability outcomes. However, we think new there are emerging frameworks for
sustainability that make the logic and importance of the relationship between personal,
professional development and sustainable development clear.
1.3 Frameworks
We identified three frameworks that communicate the shift in perspective such that placing values
and capability individuals and teams as a central factor in the design and implementation of
sustainability strategies makes clear sense.
10
1.3.1 Nested systems
Figure 5 A ‘nested systems’ or ‘holarchical’ representation of the relationship between key actors relevant to
sustainability.
This figure is distinct from models of sustainability that emphasise the overlapping of social,
ecological and economic factors. It emphasises the fact that individuals depend on all the other
elements of the system, but that individuals also comprise all the other elements. Using this model,
we assert that without co-operation of the individuals involved, then teams, organisations and
society will not make coordinated, supported moves towards sustainability. Similarly, individuals will
not create significant change without working in an interdependent relationship with other parts of
the system.
This nesting of systems is already used in strategic frameworks for sustainable development and
advocated as a framework for future sustainability research. 4 Throughout this report we will
continue to refer to these ‘levels’ of focus.
1.3.2 Integral Quadrants

‘Integral’ refers to the work of many philosophers who have made efforts to integrate the many
strands of human knowledge into one system, to understand how they relate and be better able to
work across disciplines. Examples of these many strands include specialist areas of psychology,
ecology, anthropology, and physiology.
One of the most popular and influential amongst the resultant models has been one developed by
Ken Wilber. One aspect of his larger ‘AQAL’ model for an integral philosophy is a quadrant model. 5
This model makes distinctions between perspectives, areas of knowledge, or groups of actions
based on their orientation towards either the individual or the collective, and whether they are
focused on the subjective (interior) of objective (exterior) aspects. All four dimensions of the model
are present at all times and in all contexts, but it may be appropriate to direct attention to or take
action in one of the quadrants preferentially.
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Figure 6 Integral Quadrants showing two quadrants on the left which relate to interiors, and the two on the
right relating to exteriors – that which is observable, objective The I, We, It, Its in each of the quadrants show
how these perspectives relate to, and are expressed in, common language.. 6
The quadrants model can also be used as a way of checking what factors are influencing a
sustainability initiative. In the majority of books, strategies and organisational efforts towards
sustainability, the quadrants on the right are favoured, especially the lower right. This can be
appropriate, because that is the way in which we receive so many of the warning signals and
where the impact of our actions is most obvious e.g. ecosystem degradation.
This report focuses on the left quadrants, as these are the areas where the thinking, values,
norms, communications and emotional dimensions of sustainability initiatives are explicitly
addressed. These, ultimately are the dimensions where al the intentions to act originate from. We
are especially interested in the lower left, as this represents the ‘we’ space; this is where
consideration of shared values, norms and culture is the focus.
Through this report we will continue to use the language of the quadrants, mostly referring to
psychological, behavioural, cultural and systems perspectives; sometimes also using the words
individual, collective, interior and exterior.
1.3.3 Developmental stages

In all areas of action, from sports to academia, humans make distinctions between earlier and later
stages of complexity and competency of the activity and the actor. For example, in some martial
arts the progression from beginner to master is recognised with a system of coloured belts. Similar
distinctions are made in psychology, and there are well-developed models used to identify stages
in the development of children.
The same distinctions and sequential mapping of the development of the thinking, values and
competency can be made for organisations and leaders. Two of these models of stages have
influenced our work. They are the phases in organisational attitudes to sustainability, and stages of
development of the thinking, ‘action logics’ of individuals.
12
Figure 7 Phases of organisational transformation towards sustainability. This figure implies that the
‘transforming’ organisations have more complex and positive responses to sustainability challenges. The
word descriptions in each box are descriptors of the phases compiled from ten separate reports that used
similar spectrums 7 . Note: CSO refers to ‘civil society organisations’ e.g. NGOs, charities, community groups.
Figure 7 represents an integration of many models of stages of organisational attitudes to
sustainability and CSR. The progression is from avoidance and defensiveness, towards
organisations that have integrated sustainability into the mission and operations to such a degree
that they are acting pro-actively to address societal concerns. Organisations at the top of this
spectrum are not common, but a high percentage of organisations we engaged with in this
research had characteristics (e.g. policies, practices) that indicated they were at least ‘Involved’.
13
Figure 8 Stages of the Leadership Development Framework, showing the progression from earlier (bottom)
to later (top). The percentages are of managers surveyed who profiled at that logic. The final 5% profiled at
the ‘Opportunist’ Action Logic, but which is not described in detail here. 8
Figure 8 represents the stages of development of individuals, specifically in an organisational
context. This framework is based on results from standardised questionnaires completed by
managers, and interpreted to determine their thinking, motivation and strengths. The development
of leaders along this spectrum moves from characteristics of functional team members through the
characteristics of individuals who lead society-wide transformations. Leaders at later stages are
better able to deal with the complexity inherent in sustainability challenges, and more likely to be
interested in making a significant contribution to societal transformation through their work. This
does not mean they are necessarily ‘better’, just able to develop effective strategies and
relationships in diverse contexts.
The models described in Figure 7 and 8 represent an observed pattern of change over time. We
are suggesting, and will discuss later, that inter-subjective dialogue and other aspects of coaching
practices can create the context and stimulus for people to develop along the spectrum presented
in Figure 8. That is, that coaching can develop leaders that can handle more complexity and mode
effectively lead integration of sustainability into organisations culture and systems.
There have been some links made between these two models, highlighting the role of the CEO
and other senior team’s leadership development and mindset (the upper left in the quadrant model)
in determining organisational attitudes to sustainability. 9 While the link between the individuals and
14
organisations makes logical sense, especially considering our nested systems mode, there has
been no direct research into that relationship. It is also risky to make that direct link due to the fact
that these stages are very context-dependent, and that organisations have different characteristics
and constraints from individuals. For example, corporations are owned by shareholders, and the
enlightened perspective of the CEO may not align with what will increase quarterly profits, and
therefore have limited impact on the organisation’s collective actions. What we are suggesting in
this report is that, with all other external factors being equal, the capability, culture and leadership
development of individuals and teams in the organisations can be the difference that makes a
difference to an organisation’s integration of sustainability.
1.4 Methods
We used various methods to test our hypotheses, and they are briefly outlined below. The following
paragraphs also provide background of the sources of the anonymous quotes used in the report.
The survey respondents’ organisations were equally divided between four categories: corporate
multinationals, mid-sized organisations, small businesses and self-employed individuals. Half of all
the organisations were limited companies, with the remainder being a mix of social enterprises and
charities. The individuals who completed the survey were mostly at either director level (40%) or
senior consultants (40%).
We conducted half our formal, semi-structured telephone interviews with staff of large
organisations in the telecommunications, energy, consulting and education sectors. The other half
of the eleven interviewees were mostly from mid-sized social enterprises, but including one
interviewee from academia, and another from government. All were at or above director or senior
manager/consultant level. Their roles included policy, consultancy, management and corporate
responsibility functions. Throughout the report, interviewees are identified by a letter code e.g. ‘W’.
Initially, we focused our research, interviews and surveys on:
o Coaching of key individuals, by external coaches, who could make a significant difference
to advancing the integration of sustainability in large organisations.
As the research developed, we incorporated information from these additional perspectives:
o Coaching of teams, and even whole organisations
o Coaching for leadership development in the cases where sustainability was a focus; and
o Use of internal coaches, peer coaches and other types of coaching relationships.
We did not research the various coaching or sustainability models we refer to in-depth, as we felt
we had demonstrated good working knowledge in both areas through our previous work. Instead,
we focused on the area where very little work had been done – on the intersection between
coaching and sustainability. Because this has not been looked at before in great depth, this first
phase of our research into this area focused on qualitative research on relevant frameworks and
current attitudes and practices. We hope that this will generate a broader discourse that will enrich
our understanding and guide the next phase of the work, perhaps taking a more detailed look at
the actual impact of coaching on sustainability performance of organisations.
In addition to limiting the models and practices that we researched, the scope of this work was also
limited by available time, contacts and networks for distribution of invitations to participate and
geography. We are also aware that the cultural characteristics (e.g. of large British organisations)
may particularly constrain the interpretation of our results in other contexts.
More detailed information on our methods is available in Appendix 1.
15
Summary – Purpose and context
 The goal for this work is to initiate a dialogue with our clients and peers about the role and
relationship of coaching in driving the shift in values, and culture towards those more
supportive of organisational and societal sustainability.
 We are primarily interested in how culture, values and mindsets represent unexplored
opportunities for leveraging change towards more sustainable, innovative organisations.
 We assert that inner (e.g. mental) and outer (e.g. behavioural), individual (e.g. ‘My’) and
collective (e.g, ‘Our’) development and growth towards more complexity and competency
are linked.
 We hypothesised that stronger recognition of that link and how organisations can support
development in both areas would lead to changes in what activities organisations prioritised
when moving towards sustainability.
 We identified three frameworks that communicate the shift in perspective such that placing
values and capability individuals and teams as a central factor in the design and
implementation of sustainability strategies makes clear sense. They are: nested systems,
Integral Quadrants and developmental stages for individuals and organisations.
 What we are suggesting in this report is that, with all other external factors being equal, the
capability, culture and leadership development of individuals and teams in the organisations
can be the difference that makes a difference to integration of sustainability.
 Methods of investigation we used included a review of the literature and case studies,
surveys, interviews and peer dialogue. The focus was on large, British organisations.
16
2 Sustainability
The industrial model of development has brought substantial gains in wealth and wellbeing to
some, but has also bypassed the majority of the world’s population: the poorest 40% of the world’s
population accounts for 5% of global income, while the richest 20% accounts for three-quarters of
world income. 10 Although the great benefits of human development must be acknowledged, we are
degrading or unsustainably using 60% of ecosystem services (such as fresh water, clean air and a
relatively stable climate). 11 Many of these systems have lost their regenerative capacity, with some
10-30% of the mammal, bird and amphibian species currently threatened with extinction, all due to
human actions. 12 A significant impact of the varieties of exploitation has been increased CO2 in the
atmosphere from power generation, yet still 1.6 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live
without electricity. 13 Dramatic alteration of the earth’s natural systems points to an increasing
likelihood of abrupt, irreversible changes (e.g. loss of agricultural productivity, collapse of fisheries,
increasing sea levels) within the first half of this century 14 .
Tensions between nations and individuals attributable to disparity in wealth impair our ability to act
collectively to meet these challenges, as seen in the various rounds of Kyoto climate treaty
negotiations. Within society, the harmful health effects of ecological degradation are being borne
disproportionately by the poor. 15 The growing competition for the declining resources is likely to be
an increasing contributor to conflicts between individuals and nations e.g. over oil and water in the
Middle East. Even within nations where monetary wealth continues to increase, wellbeing and
happiness have been shown to have limited correlation with increasing gross domestic product 16 .
There is no doubt our species has dramatically accelerated its development of skills, technologies,
understanding of the interior (e.g. psychology, embrace of cultural diversity) and exterior worlds
(e.g. astronomy, quantum physics), and global systems for collective action. But, we are now
facing enormous and urgent challenges to our shared aspiration that present and future
generations be able to meet their needs within planetary constraints, let alone any aspirations to
continue on this trajectory of psychological, cultural and societal development.
Despite an increasing level of awareness of these challenges, our current dominant psychology
and culture, behaviours and systems for managing and responding to problems do not adequately
address the root causes of our un-sustainability. An example of an unsustainable and inappropriate
cultural belief may be that increasing material wealth is the primary cause of increasing wellbeing
in developed countries, which drives us to live beyond our means (financially, and ecologically). An
example of unsustainable systems may be global energy production and distribution systems that
are mostly dependent on finite (non-renewable) resources.
The question of whether incremental change at a defined pace can meet our aspirations for
sustainability in an acceptable timeframe is increasingly being answered with a ‘no’ by leading
sustainability experts. 17 A transition that will sweep aside the existing rules of the game and
unsustainable beliefs and practices will likely require a very different approach to the management
of day-to-day change. 18 For example, a large energy company we spoke with had been making
incremental changes to its transmission and production systems for many years. But now they are
truly placing sustainability at the core of their strategy, and it involves changing their relationship
with their customers from selling them as much as possible, to as little as possible; and it is a shift
from being an energy supplier to moving into markets where electricity is competing with other
energy sources e.g. to power vehicles. This is a very fundamental change in what they do, why,
and what business model will enable them to be financially, ecologically and socially sustainable.
Given this context, there are many potential leverage points for creating change. Multinational
corporations are frequently targeted as both the biggest sinners and barrier to change, and are
equally as frequently highlighted as the potential saviours, although neither case may be true all
the time. 19 We believe that the profile and resources of large organisations (and not just
multinational corporates, but large government departments and charities) mean they can be:
17
powerful role models for other large and small organisations, exert great influence through the wide
reach of their supply chains and cultural impact of their marketing campaigns, and can be in strong
positions to lobby for, or initiate, changes in the ‘rules of the game’. For example, we interviewed
an individual whose role was in the higher education sector. The potential influence of a change in
the sustainability messages communicated through course content, buildings, and the knowledge
of the teachers and tutors is enormous compared to working with individual schools or universities.
2.1 Implications for organisations

These sustainability challenges and issues extend beyond what individual organisations or even
nations have previously been affected by, or taken responsibility for. Some of the trends materially
affecting organisations include:
o Globalisation: Increasing global competition, interdependence of financial systems and
economies, increasing pace of transactions;
o Working across diverse cultural, political, ecological and regulatory contexts;
o Rising global populations, urbanisation, and increasing consumption of natural resources
per capita;
o Focus on happiness and wellbeing that may be emerging, but also many consumers
focusing on ‘what’s in it for me?’ and ‘self more important than community’;
o End of cheap natural resources and real ecological constraints e.g. water, oil, forests, soil
fertility, and increasing environmental regulation; and
o Accelerating development and adoption of new technologies, especially in communications.
Even as businesses are reacting to these trends, they are also being asked by governments,
driven by markets, and encouraged by civil society organisations, partners and consumers to
widen the scope of their responsibilities. But these demands and the need to engage with
stakeholders and work across sectoral boundaries in new coalitions are not only responsibilities.
As regulations and prices align economic with environmental drivers, and ethics increasingly
influence consumer choices, these trends are also opportunities for companies that take a
proactive leadership role for benefits such as:
o New product and market development (e.g. eco products, emerging markets);
o Public relations gains (e.g. building brand);
o Risk management and reduction (e.g. stakeholder views as early warning of problems);
o Cost reduction and productivity gains (e.g. resource efficiency, more engaged employees);
o Human resource development (e.g. competitive advantage for recruitment and retention);
o Creativity and innovation (e.g. more choices, viewpoints and questioning of assumptions).
All organisations are not equally able to perceive, or take advantage of these opportunities.
Imagine two multinational corporations in the electronics manufacturing sector, each at the
opposite end of the phases of attitudes to sustainability (Figure 77), and each facing new
legislation and demands to manage electronic waste through the whole life cycle:
o The organisation in the ‘no growth’ phase will still just pay lip service to demands for greater
responsibility and engaging with suppliers, buyers and legislators. It will likely react
defensively and try to avoid additional costs. It is less likely to take the lead in new growth
areas such as products that are low in toxins and highly recyclable.
o The organisation at the later phases will have already dealt with compliance issues, have
management systems in place, and have a strategy for meeting even tougher legislation in
18
the future. It is then more likely and able to see these trends as opportunities to reduce
resource and energy consumption, and build stronger relationships with buyers and
suppliers. It can maximise competitive advantage through this challenge.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter characterises organisations like the latter example, which are at the leading
edge of the spectrum of sustainable development:
“Companies that are breaking the mould are moving beyond corporate social responsibility
to social innovation. These companies are in the vanguard of the new paradigm. They view
community needs as opportunities to develop ideas and demonstrate business technologies,
to find and serve new markets and to solve long standing business problems.” 20
The urgent sustainability challenges, the demands for greater responsibility and leadership, and
the pull of new markets and opportunities all have significant implications for both civil society and
business organisations. For large, international organisations that are most able to exert influence
and take advantage of opportunities this is a compelling call for transformation and integration of
sustainability into the core of their strategy and culture. This means reconsidering the identity,
mission and role of the organisation, thinking in different ways to those which perpetuate the
problems, and widening the range of potential strategies and actions.
Transformation is not just about abrupt change in reaction to the challenges; it is about
organisations and individuals who are able to actively develop, and consciously contribute to
creating a better future. Transformation means more organisations that are thinking and acting
strategically through civil alliances, and who articulate their aspirations to have a net positive
impact on society and the earth. This may sound unrealistic, but if we truly understand what
sustainability means (e.g. The Natural Step definition, outlined in the Sustainability section of the
Glossary) and how far our organisations and society are from it, we realise there is no choice but to
transform. Organisations that are simply reacting to legislation and markets (whose signals are
lagging behind the ecological and social reality), are not going to be leading the shift towards a
sustainable society, and will not be in a competitive position in the likely case of rapid change.
Given that these changes will be most visible when observed in organisations, it is reasonable that
most research, writing and codifying of practice field is focused on that level, and on systems and
behaviours. But, recent papers and reports have urged a shift in research focus from changing
overall organisational behaviour to look at the psychology of individual behaviour, and addressing
the fact that “the role of individuals affecting environmental change in organisations has been
under-researched”. 21 Paying more attention to individual interiors would acknowledge that “the
exterior shifts realized—the activities and forms that sustainability takes—directly reflect the interior
mindsets and capacities of those involved”. 22 This suggests actions based on an understanding of
the role of mindsets and cultures are more likely to be effective in transforming organisations.
An example is that what could be described as a shift in identity (e.g. from airline company to
mobility service provider, or from manager of human resources to coach of a team of unique
human beings) may not immediately observable, but can be a powerful driver of change in
behaviour. Given this context, our attention in this report is on how significant shifts in individual
mindsets and collective values (interiors), and the development of new exterior behaviours and
systems can be facilitated through inter-subjective processes like coaching.
This report documents our inquiry into the suggestion that coaching, through:
o enabling people to access other perspectives, and think more creatively;
o questioning assumptions and habitual patterns of thinking and behaviour;
o providing a variety of feedback and support;
o encouraging awareness, responsibility and a positive attitude;
o enhancing the capability and willingness of individuals to lead themselves and others;
o allowing prototyping of new types of relationships and leadership; and
o increasing motivation and overcoming psychological or behavioural barriers to success,
is one of the most powerful and effective ways to accelerate this transformation.
19
Summary – Sustainability
 Global development has been beneficial for some, but most people and most ecosystems
are experiencing the negative consequences of ecological and social un-sustainability.
 Current efforts are not addressing the underlying causes of the problems.
 Large organisations are an important leverage point in creating systemic change, due to
their ability to influence through sector leadership, supply chains, marketing and politics.
 The challenges are urgent and transformational (not incremental) change in individual and
collective values and behaviour are required.
 These trends are challenges to organisations, but also opportunities. Organisations and
leaders at later phases of the development will be better able to innovate and build
competitive advantage.
 The role of individual’s mindsets and capabilities, and organisational values and culture in
driving change towards sustainability is under-researched, and an area we will focus on.
 We are testing if coaching is a powerful and effective means of facilitating the interior shift
in values, psychology, culture, through:
o enabling people to access other perspectives, and think more creatively;
o questioning assumptions and habitual patterns of thinking and behaviour;
o providing a variety of feedback and support;
o encouraging awareness, responsibility and a positive attitude;
o enhancing the capability and willingness of individuals to lead themselves and others;
o allowing prototyping of new types of relationships and leadership; and
o increasing motivation and overcoming psychological or behavioural barriers to success.
20
3 Coaching
The idea of one person supporting another (or group of others) to develop new skills, gain
knowledge and live in greater alignment with their values is not new. Historically, coaching
relationships can be seen across all fields of human endeavour, from sports to academia (e.g.
thesis supervisors) to religion (e.g. spiritual teachers, clergy). It is only recently that formalised
coaching has become more common in organisations.
Our starting point for this research was one-on-one executive or team coaching, where common
definitions (see Glossary for samples) make these types of distinctions:
o Bringing about performance improvement and achieving goals faster and with more ease;
o Distinct from mentoring or consulting, by not requiring experience/expertise in the
underlying issue or knowledge of a certain area;
o Distinct from therapy and counselling in that it focuses on goal-setting, outcome creation
and personal change management, and not on psychological pain or treating cognitive or
emotional disorders; 23
o An ongoing relationship providing structure, support and feedback, but distinct from
friendship because of the neutrality of the coach, and limited length of relationship; 24
o Realisation of personal and professional potential;
o A process of inquiry, personal discovery, definition of goals, inspiration and contemplation;
o Building awareness and responsibility;
o A positive, appreciative orientation;
o Focused on individuals.
Because of our focus on sustainability as the context, we were alert to the fact that the focus of
coaching definitions was on the impact on the individual. And, quite early on in the research we
realised that the most interesting and relevant forms of ‘coaching’ did not necessarily fit within this
individual focus, or other components of common definitions. So, we left the definition open in the
surveys and interviews, with the outcomes documented in subsequent sections.
Coaching’s power comes from the insight that internal factors (psychology, awareness, values) are
often the primary barrier to individuals and teams improved performance and realising desired
outcomes in the external world.
Economic and cultural trends have been conducive to a focus on individuals’ interiors, meaning
deeper and more sophisticated approaches to values, cognition and emotion have evolved for
improving performance and relationships. This shift in focus to interior barriers mirrors an observed
trend in our culture from an emphasis on the collective, community and the nation, to a greater
focus on the autonomous and independent individual who manages their own career and life. 25
This has meant that within organisations, traditional methods of training and ‘teaching’ are now
complemented or replaced by approaches to development, like coaching, that are more
customised and personalised.
3.1 Use of coaching

This section contains highlights and interpretations of the results of the surveys and interviews as
they relate to coaching. Subsequent sections of the results focus on the current reality of coaching
and sustainability in organisations.
Coaching amongst the respondents’ and interviewees’ organisations was widespread and
common. Of the survey respondents, 71% indicated that formal and/or informal coaching occurred
in their organisation. This percentage is in line with the results from other surveys, such as the
CIPD’s Training and Development Survey. 26
21
Informal coaching was characterised by respondents as including some simple functions, “such as
individuals acting as sounding boards for ideas”. Within 36% of respondents’ organisations, more
than 90% of individuals were involved in informal coaching relationships.
And, amongst the interviewees, responses illustrated the range of attitudes and formal integration
of coaching culture:
“Every person has a counsellor…which is the same as having a coach. This may be their
direct boss, or in other instances it is someone relevant to what they do….” Y
“…it is not a standard offer. You know, ‘we believe in coaching, if you want coaching tell us
and we will sort something out for you’….” Z
In the majority of organisations, formal coaching was restricted to particular teams or individuals in
senior positions. When asked for more detail of coaching practices and who gets coached, half the
organisations were using formalised coaching for at least senior management and directors. In
35% of respondents’ organisations it was only senior management who received coaching. And, in
24% of organisations coaching was primarily restricted to certain teams, such as human resources
or sustainability.
“…in terms of formal structures, only opportunity for coaching exists above a certain level in
the business, and on a one-to-one basis.”
In a minority of organisations, coaching was pervasive with everyone getting coached.
Approximately half the respondent organisations had more than 50% of all their staff involved in
some form of formal coaching. For 30% of surveyed organisations (both large and small), the
coaching was pervasive. Similar situations were described by the interviewees:
“...more processes and small teams than you can contemplate”. Y
“Coaching is something that is imbued in the way we do business and the way we manage
change here.” V
For example, in two organisations we spoke with, everyone had a coach. This role was separate
from a line management relationship, and was focused on providing that individual with whatever
support they needed to achieve their personal and professional goals. In both cases the one-on-
one coaching was complemented by the opportunity to get involved in group and team activities
that were also coaching-like in their processes, and where the content was relevant to personal,
organisational and sustainability goals e.g. low carbon clubs, diversity, unintentional bias in
coaching and client relationships.
3.2 Benefits of coaching

Survey respondents were asked about the benefits of coaching. In addition to surveying the variety
of benefits, we were also interested to understand:
o Any distinctions between stated benefits (e.g. in official communications and policies), and
perceived benefits from the perspective of the person completing our survey; and
o Any differences between the stated and perceived benefits at different levels (of a nested
system): individual, team, organisation and society.
These last two areas of inquiry were to understand to what degree those who surveyed understood
the wider and more substantial benefits of coaching beyond what was typical in their organisation.
The responses to these questions are summarised in a table below, and also in ‘word clouds’. The
word clouds are intended to give a sense of the language and exact words used, without
presenting all the detail.
22
o Development and leadership o Awareness especially regarding the needs of

o Self efficacy and awareness others
o Performance and advancement o Feedback and guidance
o Innovation and problem solving o Confidence
o Relationships with clients and team
o (Team) Performance and development o Expanding sense of what’s possible

o Effectiveness, commitment, productivity o Understand strengths, weaknesses,
o Leadership and awareness alternative approaches
o Learning and sharing o Collaboration
o Mission, strategy, culture o Sustainability and community engagement
o Attracting ‘top talent’ o Happiness
o Greater positive impact and social mission o Transformation

o Skills and awareness for sustainability o Sustainability: more innovation and
o Better Customer Service stakeholder engagement
o Innovation o Happier individuals
o Inclusiveness o More well-thought out projects
Figure 9 Word clouds of the actual words used at different levels and dot-point summaries of the top
responses from survey respondents. Note: Words that appeared more often are larger. The top two clouds
were limited to the top 40 most used words. Each of the bottom six images represents the 25 most used
words, not all the words. The colours are for aesthetics, and do not communicate meaningful information.
23
From these responses about the benefits of coaching, we interpreted:

o Respondents perceived benefits of coaching, even when none were officially ‘stated’ e.g. at
the levels of organisation, customers and society. This suggests that a percentage of the
people in that organisation are already oriented towards the opportunity to use coaching for
wider impact;
o Overall, it seems the benefits of coaching, and especially benefits beyond the individual,
are a) not articulated well, and / or b) not officially considered or stated. This suggests there
is an opportunity for a report like this one to help articulate the case better, and get this
discussion on the agenda;
o The words used reinforce the interpretation that the respondents perceive personal and
societal benefits beyond improved performance and beyond those that are stated and
made explicit with the organisation. E.g. happiness, awareness, transformation,
collaboration, sustainability. Again, this suggests that the awareness of the wider benefits of
coaching is already there, but the opportunity to maximise the impact are not being
realised.
Summary – Current reality of coaching
 Coaching’s characteristics include:

- Ongoing relationships;
- Performance improvement and achieving goals faster and with more ease;
- Distinct from mentoring and counselling, by not requiring experience/expertise in the
underlying issue;
- A process of inquiry, personal discovery, definition of goals, inspiration and contemplation;
- Building awareness, responsibility;
- A positive, appreciative orientation;
- Focused on individuals.
 Formalised coaching is becoming much more common in organisations. This follows trends
towards more individualised programmes of learning and support.
 Coaching is used in 70% of organisations surveyed, with a lot of the coaching focused on
key individuals e.g. senior directors, emerging leaders.
 In several organisations surveyed and interviewed, coaching was already a pervasive
practice, and being used as a means to simultaneously further individual, organisational
and sustainable development goals.
 We, and the respondents to our surveys and interviews, defined coaching in a way that
included many informal practices, such as using other people as ‘sounding boards’.
 Coaching has benefits at individual, team, organisational and societal level (e.g.
stakeholders). Respondents also identified additional benefits beyond those ‘officially’
stated, but at higher levels responses were less clear. This suggests awareness of potential
for coaching is high, but there are barriers in understanding and application to it explicitly
being used for organisational and sustainable development purposes.
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4 Coaching and sustainability

This section draws on both the survey responses and the interviews, providing an overview of
where and how coaching is currently used in a way that is linked to sustainability. Two subsequent
sections of this report go into deeper analysis of the drivers and the options for different forms of
integration.
To provide context for the way coaching is currently used, we wanted to get a sense of what ‘stage’
the organisations we spoke with where at. Understanding whether they are ‘typical’ gives us a
sense of whether it is only organisations at the leading edge that are making the link between
coaching and sustainability, or if it is more widespread. So, we asked survey respondents how they
would place their organisation on a spectrum of attitudes to CR and sustainability.
o 20% either had “no policies”, or had “no resources to implement them”;
o 15% were somewhere between “having a policy and taking action, especially when clear
PR or marketing benefits” and “taking a strategic approach, and gain clear advantages from
CR and sustainability efforts”;
o 25% were “pro-active, innovative, and leading our industry (and others) in using business to
address social and ecological issues”;, and for
o 40% sustainability “is, and always has been, integrated in the core of why we exist as an
organisation”.
Respondents were also asked to describe whether their organisation was making “the link between
CR and coaching or between professional and personal development, and sustainable
development”. For 30% of respondents, improving performance on CR issues and challenges is a
stated purpose of coaching relationships in their organisation. At the other end of the spectrum,
40% said the link had not been made. We were surprised at the high percentage of respondents’
organisations that had explicitly made this link.
Our final question was:
“Even if your organisation does not currently make links between coaching and CR/
Sustainability... What do YOU think are the benefits of a more direct and explicit relationship
between CR restated, between personal/professional development and sustainable
development?”
The responses to this are very rich. The variety of perspectives on the question gives some insight
into attitudes, values, and opportunities for change in the status of the coaching-sustainability link.
So, we will just provide a quick overview here, and then explore the drivers in more depth in
section 5, to illustrate some of the drivers for a stronger role of coaching in the integration of
sustainability within organisational culture and systems.
4.1 Coaching’s use for sustainability

For some organisations, coaching is a core value, and especially important as an approach to
change.
“Coaching is something that is imbued in the way we do business and the way we manage
change here.” V
For others it was being used in a targeted and conscious way. This may mean targeted work with
particular members of the executive team, for groups of emerging leaders, or only with individuals
who specifically request and seek out a coaching relationship as one aspect of professional
development.
“For individuals on development programmes – emerging leaders programme – the
company facilitates internal and external coaches. And we have management coaching. I
25
have had two bouts in my career to move me from A to B in my career, and it is not
uncommon. Our previous CEO had a coach, it was well-known....” V
“Coaching, certainly at the moment, has been a self-selecting group of individuals…. I have
individuals coming to me saying ‘Can you do a coaching session with me around
sustainability as it is getting to be a more and more important part of my job’. For example, I
am working with the marketing director in a couple of weeks.” X
These responses touch on the implications of us being open in our definition of coaching while
completing this research. Coaching, by some definitions, does not have an agenda and does not
require expertise about the specific issues. When we ask the question about coaching and
sustainability, it implied a form of coaching that IS targeted and does have an agenda.
Some interviewees expressed concern about a) saying ‘coaching’ but then having an explicit
agenda, and b) sustainability being such a broad topic that any form of support and learning (e.g.
coaching, training) would need to be focused on a specific dimension of it (e.g. climate change) or
the material business implications (e.g. rising costs of natural resources). For example:
“Coaching generally and including CR issues as part of that process is the important thing
rather than explicitly positioning it as CR coaching.” Y
In contrast, for a few of the organisations, the widespread use of both coaching and sustainability
(separately), meant there was no real question of the value of their integration.
4.2 Coaching topics

We were interested if, within the broader topic of sustainability, there were specific topics that were
addressed using coaching. For example, Interviewee Y’s organisations used coaching for
performance, but also around issues like integrity, independence, ethics which are critical to the
auditing services they offer. For Y’s organisation, newer coaching topics included diversity and
reducing the environmental footprint of their office-based operations. Interviewee X, from a power
company, described how different parts of the business required different approaches:
“…we make commitments in all areas, for example, making the whole power generation
system more efficient. This is fine, because it is an engineering problem, and you can just sit
down and figure that one out.
But changing relationships with customers is much more difficult because it is not directly
controlled. It is a cultural thing, which is going to take quite a long time to achieve. That's why
the [coaching] programme we are developing is really important, because you can't just send
out an edict saying this is the new culture. Well, you could do, but it would not be terribly
successful…..”
Changing behaviour, practices and systems to reduce carbon emissions is a focus in some
organisations. In one organisation, groups of volunteers from the same department or floor on a
building work as a team on this issue, supporting each other, being coached by a senior person,
and also having access to a director-level mentor. This approach was particularly effective in
overcoming potential cultural and practical barriers to reducing waste to landfill. The result: a 12%
decrease in waste rather than the 4% target. These groups are:
“Growing like topsy at the moment as more and more individuals in the company is getting
engaged…. And everyone makes it work, rather than not work. It’s very easy to make things
not work in a large organisation. So we get enthusiasts. And they all get a senior sponsor, so
they know they have someone in their part of the business who they can talk to about
anything. Meanwhile they just get on with it. Now have 85 carbon clubs going on around the
world now. And where worthwhile individual ideas come up, where we can we industrialise
it.” V
26
4.3 Coachees
Coaching for sustainability is focused on particular individuals or groups rather than being
distributed evenly throughout organisations. For some, the focus is on individuals at the board level
to get buy-in and build understanding and capability in the early stages of engaging with these
issues. In some cases individuals get coached when they are self-identified sustainability
champions, whether that is their formal role or not. In other organisations, sustainability is
becoming integrated and the coaching is for reaching out to those who have not yet engaged and
facilitating collective approaches to innovating and overcoming tricky challenges. This may be
achieved through coaching within mixed teams – mixing vertically or horizontally within business
units or across departments to incorporate different perspectives:
“Yes, we do coaching at the moment for specific individuals in the business that have a
particular interest in this. We also have a series of decision-making boards at various levels
e.g. one for making decisions about projects that are more than 1 million pounds. ….there is
a coaching session with them so they know how to make the right decisions, basically.” X
“We coach in a way that is appropriate to the context. We can have a completely mixed
team, or one at a specific level. We run training for managers, but can also run focus groups
and workshops at different levels. Say if we have a 2,000-person organisation, we might
work with 20 individuals at the grassroots level…” U
4.4 Coaches
Coaching to support integrating of sustainability takes different forms, and is for different individuals
or groups in organisations. These different purposes and contexts mean that the coach, and the
role they play, is different depending on the situation e.g. formal or informal, internal to the
organisation or external. Some of the interviewees described who else they saw coaching in their
organisations:
“Yes, do work with external coaches. Also have in-house L&D professionals, some of them
have as a full-time role.” Y
“…it’s a mix. It’s presented as a choice. I know there is access to internal and external. Mine
is external, but I know there are internal too.” W
“That system requires them to have a coach and it requires them to have a mentor. The
mentor tends to be someone very senior who just opens the right doors. But always closer,
and the person who does most of the work is the coach. The team has a captain.” V
Many of the individuals we spoke with play a coaching role in their work. This included as coaches
of whole organisations, or ‘eco-teams’ or to support individual sustainability champions. They saw
that both they and others in similar roles benefit and grow from the experience:
“… those who are apparently leaders in the business get just as much out of it [coaching or
mentoring emerging leaders]. So it’s not just altruistic, we get to meet the next generation,
we might be working for them in 5 years.” V
This arrangement may also be an interesting expression of the cross-generational nature of
sustainability, where linking the values and decisions of present and future leaders is critical.
27
Summary – The current reality of coaching and sustainability
 Most of the organisations surveyed and interviewed were in the later phases of their
attitudes to sustainability, corresponding with involved, integrated and even transforming
phases. This group then is more advanced than what a randomised representative survey
might test. This means these organisation’s practices are closer to what we would expect to
become more widespread in coming years.
 Those organisations that had integrated coaching and sustainability had done so because
each on area of activity was already separately common practice. They already coached for
personal and professional development, they already addressed sustainability as part of
strategy, and so deepening both naturally involved integration.
 Specific topics were supported by coaching e.g. diversity, carbon/energy, a new strategy
with sustainability at its core, and changing relationships with customers.
 Key individuals received coaching, but teams (e.g. cross-departmental) are also coached
as part of drives towards greater engagement and cross-departmental innovation.
 Internal and external coaches were used, with some people coaching in addition to their
normal role for developmental benefits, and to connect with future generations of leaders.
 Even amongst the organisations we surveyed, which must represent the most progressive,
there is a significant opportunity to use coaching more consciously to facilitate innovation
and much greater integration of sustainability.
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5 Drivers for Integration

Drivers for coaching, in general, were documented in Figure 9. In this section, we look in more
detail at a few of the drivers for integration of coaching with sustainability. We have grouped the
different drivers from the perspective of the level of the organisation where they are most relevant.
5.1 Organisational
5.1.1 Creating a new Identity

Each organisation has a collective sense of identity – a personality, a history, and a story.
Integration of sustainability necessitates many organisations shifting how they think about
themselves, what they do and why. For example, a shift from ‘making carpets’ to ‘providing flooring
services’ or from ‘producing power’ to ‘providing heating and lighting services’. These shifts are not
just about eco-efficiency or incremental change, they are shifts in the left quadrants of values and
mindsets, which then open the way for more choices. For example, an organisation that is stuck on
the idea that it delivers air travel (right quadrants) is much less likely to be creative and innovate
than one which focuses on the fundamental needs it satisfies and value it offers its customers
(both left quadrants) e.g. the need to connect with family, the need to relax or connect with nature.
These shifts are significant, and can evoke different metaphors and images in the eyes of staff and
customers. Interviewee X described how he perceived this shift in identity to be one step beyond
internal cultural change:
“… inevitable that we are going to be moving to a low-carbon world. And energy is right at
the forefront of that. Different ways of wind turbines, solar on roofs etcetera. But that is not
particularly innovative. There are the next steps beyond that are: “What is our relationship
with the customer, how do we serve our customer?”. At the moment our business model is
selling as much as possible to as many individuals as possible. Future business model is
going to be selling as little as possible to as many individuals as possible. Because that is
the ecologically and socially right thing to do….” X
The tools and perspective of coaching often used to support individuals through times of change,
and in re-thinking their assumptions and patterns of relating in light of a new sense of their purpose
and identity. This may be through providing a map of the change process, through facilitating
difficult conversations or thinking through the implications of new priorities for action.
Other recent research supports the role of this shift in identity as an important part of the journey
towards sustainability, viewing “greening” as “a sense-making process, in which organisational
members’ individual and collective identity is gradually transformed”. 27
5.1.2 Supporting cultural change

A shift of identity needs to be supported by a changed way of relating and doing things, which we
call culture. Recent research into organisations leading the way in integrating sustainability
suggested culture was the top contributor to their success. 28 The culture of an organisation can be
seen in the values in use (not just espoused), systems of measurement and feedback, habits and
patterns of behaviour, organisational structures and relationships, and the stories and symbols that
get repeated. Culture is very much about the ‘who’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ than the ‘what’ (e.g. which
technology) which is often the focus of sustainability initiatives. Culture is what will support better
decision-making and collective behaviours, which are the real limitations now, not the technologies.
If there is the desire to shift the culture, coaching offers the tools and patterns of dialogue (e.g.
GROW, appreciative inquiry, action-learning) to support effective, positive conversations within the
29
organisation, that will support consistent expression of those new mindsets, values and priorities.
Two of the interviewees and a survey respondent shared their perspectives on how coaching may
play a role in the engagement process, and in building a new culture around new strategic
direction:
“Individuals are set in their ways and we need to engage them in our journey. It’s more about
the skill of involving individuals in a change and making sure individuals embrace it rather
than saying ‘do as you’re told’. It’s not policing.” V
“…developed sustainability strategy that is right at the heart of our business strategy as a
whole. We not only have to ensure they have commitment from the top, have specific
commitment and targets in place…it would be impractical, and would also be the wrong way
to go about it to say, ’Here is the new policy, and here is the new culture of the company and
the world that we work in. Understand it or you as an individual are not going to prosper’…
the role of coaching and sustainability is very relevant…” X
“Sustainable development has never been done before, so we have to make it up as we go
along. That means that we have to be alert, nimble, reflective, and brave. Coaching is a
really good method of helping us to be like this. Also, facing up to the data about species
extinction, climate change etcetera is harrowing, so personal one-to-one and group work
which allows emotional responses to be part of the conversation is important. Coaching is
one such approach.” Anon. from survey
As some organisations transform and develop, coaching is already a part of their culture. And,
using it to facilitate change in behaviour or values for sustainability is a natural integration of the
means and the ends, of a focus on both individuals and planet (beyond profit):
“…Because we have a process and a culture of coaching, because we have sustainability
as a growing topic. The two coming together is not an unnatural thing at all. For example
when we do carbon clubs, it is not something new that individuals question rather individuals
recognise it as another tool the company can use for business benefit which it believes is
worthy of someone's time” V
The quotes from survey respondents below were grouped because we saw how they each
pointed to the integration of coaching and sustainability, or the integration of strategy and
sustainability, or even the simple integration of CR and sustainability into everyday business such
that there is no ‘coaching for sustainability’ separately:
“The two should be entwined. CR & Sustainability are at the core of long term strategic
thinking. Heightening awareness of these links is good for business….” W
“Personal development is in line with the organisation’s long term goals, so that the day to
day work is consistent with the longer term. This also acts to provide a more fulfilling
workplace and one that will be able to better cope with future challenges.” Y
“Environmental credibility or sustainability credibility needs to become part of the background
of all managers….Coaching the manager who does not or has not...or will not take the time
to develop environmental or sustainability credibility needs to be coached to establish
direction, behaviours, and expectations for communication to lower levels.” X
And, one interviewee suggested a link between coaching and how supportive a culture is of
innovation. He described how coaching and mentoring could be a more positive alternative to
performance management systems, which he had heard and experienced as primarily negative:
“If there is a culture of coaching, then it allows people to be less defensive about making
mistakes. That is one of the keys to innovation is not being afraid to make mistakes. People
can be allowed to experiment…” S
This is a critical insight: cultures that are more open to challenging old ways of thinking and cultural
norms and less risk averse are more likely to support the necessary creative thinking and the
learning-as-we-go approach to address sustainability challenges.
30
5.1.3 Innovation
Companies that want to survive and thrive in the economic, political, environmental and social
contexts of the future will see moving quickly towards sustainability as an opportunity. The
opportunity is to take their individuals and the whole organisation to the next level: creating new
markets, new innovations, and transform their companies and society.
“Enter innovation and entrepreneurship. Both underpin a ‘revolution’ described by Gary
Hamel, one where entrepreneurs ‘think beyond new products and new services to entirely
new business concepts" in order to "meet deep customer needs in unconventional ways’,
placing sustainable competitive advantage beyond the internal resources approach outlined
by Porter et al.” 29
Leading this kind of shift means that organisations no longer just look competitive advantage
based on the internal resources of the firm. Instead, organisations start to look to the opportunities
for innovation in the changing external context. The capability to think in this way, to question the
assumptions prevalent in a sector, take new perspectives, think long-term and see themselves and
their context objectively so they can ‘change the game’ are characteristics that leaders can
develop. 30 They are characteristics that are identified in the later phases of both the individual and
organisational development models (Figure 7 and 4).
Some of those we surveyed are already working to facilitate development, and accessing the new
perspectives that will support innovation:
“We intentionally generate coaching conversations around self, relationships, and complex
systems (all of which are central for addressing the deeply personal and inherently systemic
nature of sustainability) - so the benefits include an expanded 'systemic consciousness' and
an 'increased capacity to innovate together' where there was once divides.” Anon. from
survey
“Sustainability portfolio is really a key enabler to getting individuals to think long-term. And
behave with long term in mind. In terms of good coaching being able to draw these things
out of you and enabling you to pull back or pull up form what you are doing… [they] are very
strongly linked.”.” W
This developmental process as facilitated by coaching would also increase ethical development as
individuals, teams and organisations widen their circle of concern. This notion of enhanced
competitiveness and performance through ethical development is supported by research. Acting
with increasing integrity, and being driven by values has been shown in research 31 that without
exception to be a characteristic of the ‘best’ companies. Developing more ethical practices has
also been correlated with better financial performance. Research has shown that organisations that
engaged in training around ethics performed better than those that only disclosed their ethics. 32
This research finds that those organisations that are value-driven still make more money than
others, but not by making profit a driver of their business. 33 Again, some of our interviewees had
first-hand experience of the positive, mutually reinforcing relationship between an expanded sense
of concern and responsibility, and enhanced profitability.
“…I think the piece we are bringing in now, which we are calling sustainable economic
growth, is that our product can help other individuals have better lives…Now we ask ‘How
can our products and solutions make everyone else’s lives better?’ That's good business
anyway, and actually that will turn on anyone in the company: 'Hey you can make more
money out of this’. Now for us...this is a serious business opportunity. V
31
5.2 Team
5.2.1 Collaboration and collective action

Coaching of individuals can increase their self-awareness and ability to collaborate with others with
diverse skills and perspectives. This may be important for improving individuals’ ability to
collaborate with teams. While leading individuals in organisations are often the focus of accolades,
the dynamic in leadership teams has been found to be essential to the long-term success. 34
Ensuring that teams work effectively together is especially important given the trans-disciplinary
nature of sustainability, complexity of markets and challenges, and the cultural diversity within
organisations and their stakeholders. Blowfield et al. even advocate that for innovation in
sustainability the focus is better placed on teamwork, than the actions of particular individuals. 35
Given the importance of teams, coaching whole teams, or engaging in action-learning sets is a way
to focus on the potential for the group to be more than the sum of the individuals. The focus can be
on activities that foster team action, surface and channel any unhealthy patterns or discontent, and
encourage reflection on self, team and the potential impact on the organisation. Interviewee Z
reflected on the potential for action-learning sets around sustainability challenges to both break
down silos and increase idea generation:
“… that peer action learning thing could be valuable. We do work collaboratively on things,
but there are quite a lot of silos as well. If you do come together with individuals about the
way sustainability is developing, you do often come up with different ideas about ways to do
things that you wouldn't have thought about it on your own. And knowing other individuals
are thinking about them as well gives you confidence to try and act and the momentum to do
things differently as well.” Interviewee Z
Three of the interviewees told stories of their experience with informal teams of sustainability
champions or peers that coached each other through regular breakfast meetings, or
irregularly connecting. In several of the cases mentioned, the teams were actually groups of
people from across different organisations, but who were playing similar roles. Interviewee T
explained the logic behind his preference for team coaching, highlighting that nothing can be
achieved in the sustainability field alone, whether it be collective decision-making or
collaborative action.
“I agree: the capacity of individuals to transform their values and perspectives is the primary
constraint on how fast organisations can be transformed. For me, this translates into
leadership capacity and that in turn, for me, means the capacity of individuals to accept that
they are members of a community of interdependencies that can only be transformed
through collaboration….The legitimacy of an act of leadership rests in the readiness of the
actor to fall back into a collective process and not to allow his or her leadership to concretise
into a role.” T
5.3 Individual
5.3.1 Developing leaders

While development of individuals may not be the ultimate impact we are seeking for this work, they
are the most fundamental unit comprising an organisation, and all change and transformation must
engage and involve every individual in the process. These two quotes illustrate the pivotal role of
the mindset, worldviews and values of key leaders in facilitating a shift towards more sustainable
organisations:
“I can only change this company as quickly as I can change myself” Allied Signal CEO, Larry
Bossidy
32
“You can’t solve a problem with the same level of thinking that created the problem.” Albert
Einstein
Leadership is recognised as one of the most needed resources for creating sustainable
organisations and a sustainable society, and two-thirds of organisations reported a shortage of
effective leaders. 36 Many analysts and reporters emphasise that we have all the technology and
knowledge we need to create sustainable processes, but what is lacking is the wider application of
such solutions. This requires people in positions of responsibility and influence to make decisions
that move their organisations, communities and nations towards sustainability.
“… solutions never occur independent of leadership. An innovative technology or method
may be part of the approach, but the successful implementation of a solution that is truly
next-level requires management of an extensive work effort, coordination of a multitude of
interdependent business processes, and skilful leadership of a significant number of
stakeholders (internally and externally).” 37
“Leadership development forms an important part of the sustainability agenda in two ways.
First, those at the core of the sustainability strategy (the CSR manager and team) need to be
powerful leaders to bring about the change in the organisation. And second, leaders
throughout the organisation need to develop their leadership skills in a way that builds all
three bottom lines of sustainability and corporate responsibility.” 38
And, many of the challenges that leaders are facing are not about more skills or better information:
“Many CSR managers have the technical know-how to perform their jobs, but are continually
confronted (and often baffled!) with the change management and political challenges which
come with the job.” 39
Given this need, the findings of research into perceptions of coaching as a way to develop leaders
give support to the integration of coaching and sustainability for this purpose.
“Looking to the future, it is likely that coaching will play a major role in leadership
development.” 40
“External executive coaching is considered to be the third most effective means of
developing leaders, with 84% of respondents rating it as effective. Internal executive
coaching is close behind, with 80% considering it to be an effective means of development
for senior executives.” 41
There is no doubt that sustainability issues, in whatever way they make themselves material and
strategic concerns of organisations, are going to be significant drivers of decision-making in the
future. Given the ambiguity and complexity of all the dimensions of sustainability, coaching is a
more flexible means of support than others such as training.
“What's emerged from our thinking so far, and from what you have described. Coaching is
quite a flexible mechanism for encouraging individuals to perform or do well in areas that
matter to them…it can happen without being specific about the content, and so is quite
adaptable.” V
5.3.1.1 Increasing knowledge, skills and competency – ‘horizontal’ development
A recent report highlighted the distinctions between ‘horizontal development’ and ‘vertical
development’. 42 Horizontal development refers to expansion in capacities through increases in
knowledge, skills and behaviours associated with a current mindset; vertical development is
associated with capacity shifts from an individual’s current way of meaning-making to a broader,
more complex mindset.
Leadership within organisations and for sustainability requires the ability to work across issues,
business units, areas of expertise and cultures. The shift from an expert or specialist to someone
33
who has broader interests, skills, and intelligences (e.g. emotional) is also something that can be
facilitated through coaching. Within organisations this may mean supporting individuals’ identities
as humans with interests beyond their roles, or encouraging individuals to master new things
outside their comfort zone.
“If you move throughout this business, if you do nothing else other than your job, even if you
are very good at your job, you are not as rounded as the next person who does do it.” V
“…the individuals who are going to success are going to be the ones who are clued up on
this [sustainability]. Not the ones who are clued up on spreadsheets and finance. It will be
the ones who have gone out there proactively and educated themselves and taken a wider
interest in these worldwide sustainability issues.” X
“…[Developing new skills and leadership abilities outside the specific training] is not
necessarily the primary reason that organisations get us in…the volunteers get a couple of
days of training, and then do get mentored through the process as well. So they undoubtedly
get lots of new skills outside the environmental programmes.” Interviewee U
“…it can encourage the coachee to think more broadly and holistically about their wider role
and purpose in their career and ultimately society. I think this wider link to personal values in
connection to personal growth is the strongest link [between coaching and sustainability].”
Anon Survey Respondent
Whether it be through trying new things (e.g. using expertise in voluntary work with a charity),
engaging with new cultures and disciplines (e.g. in a cross-departmental or international team), or
mastering new skills (e.g. facilitation, carbon footprint calculations) these activities all increase the
breadth of a leader’s experience. This breadth of experience will supply the individual with more to
draw on when seeking to ‘translate’ and relate sustainability issues to others who may have
different roles, priorities or mindsets.
The ability to speak to and engage with others in a language that resonates with them is a critical
skill for leaders, whether it is for sustainability or not. One interviewee emphasised both the
importance of different perspectives on the value of ‘green services’, but also the importance of
being able to translate the imperative to address sustainability issues in a way that is meaningful to
those with other priorities or responsibilities.
“Some of the individuals who are selling them [environmental services] probably come from
a very green thinking point of view, and others are probably less naturally from that point of
view. But because it is a service that we sell and there's an opportunity to generate income,
you can kind of naturally have to see the opportunities around environmental management
and being able to provide those services.” Y
“…if you take Marks and Spencer as an example. Very, very few of their senior executives
would not be environmentally-aware because of their strategy. They would not have all been
coached in it, but see the business case in it.” Interviewee” Y
Leaders trying to communicate and catalyse change must develop the self-awareness to
understand that others may be operating from a different set of values and assumptions as others.
They must also ‘translate’ messages to influence people throughout the organisation to engage in
the sustainability challenge. As you can imagine, the general communication and ability to
empathise with the perspectives of specialist engineer, marketing manager and shop-floor worker
will be different. They may all focus on the same big picture, but then emphasise different reasons
to engage in the sustainability challenge (e.g. driver and opportunity for innovation; a chance to
anticipate market trends and develop products; or a reason to reduce toxins in manufactured
products).The same dynamic of needing to translate applies to the different value systems and
stage development (Figure 8).
34
5.3.1.2 Taking it to the next level – ‘vertical’ development

Two reports we reviewed particularly focused on making the distinction between current level and
next level leadership. 43 , 44 They described the critical characteristics of next level leaders to
question assumptions, in addition to other characteristics (e.g. big-picture thinking sees what no-
one else can see, versatility across multiple strengths). They related these characteristics to the
developmental stage models we presented earlier: questioning the assumptions that defined the
perspective held at early stages of development.
“Leaders operating from a current-level perspective tend to accept the assumptions…. they
may lack an objective view of their own assumptions and beliefs; therefore, their perspective
on the situation is perceived to be the only reality. Next-level leaders…are aware of many of
the underlying assumptions and beliefs of the traditional success formulas but don’t
completely buy them.“ 45
If the mindset of individuals and their capacity to shift to a broader more complex mindset is a
capacity needed for leadership towards sustainability, coaching stands out as the number one
means to support this change. This does not necessarily mean that personal development should
come ahead of effective, collaborative action. But for individuals in key positions (e.g. CEO) their
capacity to navigate the complexity of sustainability is a critical aspect of the organisation’s
capacity. Coaching methods, including dialogue, inquiry, 360 feedback, use of recordings (video,
audio) and other objective perspectives of measures of real-world performance are exactly the
methods that can facilitate questioning of assumptions and increased self-awareness.
The stage development models, suggest that it is only at later stages of the spectrum that
individuals understand that others have different values, and have the urge to take responsibility
for ensuring communication with them resonates with those values. The increasing ability to take
the perspectives of others and to handle the complexity of sustainability challenges demands that
leaders are able to handle increasing amounts of complexity.
“… leadership that is more expansive, more inclusive, and more complex. The next-level
leader’s strategy takes more perspectives into account; therefore, it is inherently more
intelligent, more potent, and better suited to solve the challenges of complex
marketplaces.” 46
Developing an increased awareness of your own and other assumptions and values, and taking
responsibility for engaging in a way that resonates with them is something that a coach often
focuses on. The greater awareness a leader has, the more choices and options are available in
terms of strategies and tactics. Leaders who have more choices are more likely to deliver a
winning strategy or execute on it successfully. And, coaching is a field where every coach and
process seeks to increase awareness and the ability of individuals to take responsibility for
themselves and others in a positive way.
“I agree a heightened state of awareness is something that good coaching allows one and
group to achieve. Can elevate above day-to-day (must deliver on them, can't forget them)
but the opportunity good coaching gives you is to draw you up above while still remaining
connected to others...you can see that person over there is related to something to do with
me so we have a connection.” W
It is also postulated that at later stages individuals’ sense of identity, their values and purpose
become more aligned with a perspective that prioritises in a way that is aligned with sustainability.
“What integral coaches know is that attuning the close-in relationships within the self and
between the self and others are the primary node from which one scales outward to the
broadest integral connections, including stewardship for nature. Put another way, naked self-
interest matures beautifully and powerfully into enlightened self-interest when one awakens
to the fullness of circles we live and work within.” 47
“Transpersonal coaching in particular can link personal well-being and performance to
societal well-being and performance” Anonymous Survey Respondent
35
A shift in values, identity and developing an increasing complexity in thinking and action is not
something that can or should be forced on someone. Most people change only when they see the
need to, and see the purpose for it, within their own mindset. 48 One of the primary functions of a
coach is to support alignment and inquire into dissonance they see between the coachee's values,
aspirations and behaviour (e.g. espoused values that are different from values in action). There are
other means by which individuals can facilitate this sort of reflection themselves (e.g. meditation,
setting and reviewing of goals), but coaching is one of the most powerful and relevant in an
organisational context because it is easy for someone else to take a fresh perspective on your own
behaviours than it is on your own.
While the success of coaching should probably not be measured by transforming the one being
coached to a later stage of development, it may be an outcome desired by the coachee:
“If that happens [transformation and vertical development], well and good but that's the
client's job not the coach's. As a coach I see my role as to listen, question, and hold the
space for the client to reflect on strengths and gaps and to choose wise action. Translational
development within the same stage of development is perfectly acceptable; transformational
is an unexpected gift and a bonus” 49
5.3.2 Supporting champions

The previous paragraphs have described drivers for using coaching to develop leaders for
sustainability. In many organisations, leaders are already stepping up to ensure sustainability is
integrated. These ‘sustainability champions’ may or may not have formal roles relating to
sustainability, but could benefit from the support that coaching offers. In these cases, it is not so
much a case of convincing them it is important; it is more a case of helping them find their way
through the practical difficulties they face in enacting that. A selection of quotes on coaching
champions is below:
“…the topic is so big, and the actions are so numerous, that I can see a real value in
coaching to identify the 5 or 6 things that could make a difference, maintaining the focus on
those and taking them forward.” Z
“Coaching is great at strengthening authentic action. Authentic action makes individuals
more effective in complex environments, especially where change is going on, and
particularly when the coachee is a leader of change. CR/sustainability tend to require
complex change to become integrated in an organisation. Coaching therefore has a strong
contribution to make to successfully integrating CR/sustainability in a company's behaviour.”
Anon. survey respondent
“It’s clear that the success of a champion depends on a number of things, some is their own
skill in being able to package ideas and sell them within their own organisation. But it also
depends on the leadership support, which becomes far more difficult if there is not a line
manager to give you that space.” S
“So it is not so much a case of convincing them it is important, it is more a case of helping
them find their way through the practical difficulties they might face in enacting that” Z
An individual championing an issue can be an important way for change to happen in
organisations. In some organisations, these ‘champion’ roles are actively recruited for or coaching
resources are directed to support them. Various champion roles were described by our
interviewees, including senior directors who sponsored new initiatives, external specialists who
acted to inspire through leading by example or providing expertise, and grass-roots staff who took
responsibility for a particular issue such as energy efficiency or cycling to work.
In addition to the leadership development framework, other work has characterised sustainability
champions specifically, including ‘ecological selves’ 50 and CSR Change Agent profiles. 51
36
Ecological selves and the leadership development framework imply a developmental direction,
while the CSR Change Agent profiles are not described as being sequential or any type being
preferable. Individuals with any of these preferences or mindsets could be effective, depending on
the context of the organisation, and their natural preferences for being and acting.
The author of the change agent profile emphasises the importance of change agents aligning their
role (formal or otherwise) with their natural source of satisfaction. In all characterisations of change
agents, the ability to take the role most appropriate to the context is seen as valuable. It is also
made explicit that either organisation should have a mix of all the types of change agents (in CSR
Change Agents), and that healthy champions (i.e. an expert or activist, but not a recluse or
iconoclast) of every type are valuable in effectively integrating sustainability.
5.3.3 Coaches are ready

As well as there being drivers for having key people or teams coached, there is also increasing
interest from coaches in doing socially beneficial work. Parallel to our research, a survey was being
conducted by the UK chapter of the International Coach Federation (UK ICF) in partnership with
the CIPD ‘Coaching at Work’ publication. 52
The headline findings from the survey include interest from both coaches, and from organisations,
where staff may take on a voluntary coaching role with an organisation that would value that sort of
support e.g. charities.
It is “very important” to 64% of respondents to use coaching skills to make a contribution to
the wider community.
Some 49% of practitioners - and 36% of employers - already use coaching skills as part of
their support to the wider community.
The reason individuals and employers are using coaching skills with community work include
“because it is the right thing to do” (62%) to enhance the employer brand (31%) and to
improve retention (12%).
The survey confirmed that practitioners and employers would like more information about
how and where to start (55%) and about what others are doing in this field (58%).”
As it relates to our research questions, there is clear interest from the coaching profession in
engaging more explicitly with the larger context of sustainability and using these skills for wider
benefit. This reflection provides insight into one practitioner’s perspective on this:
“The awakening process in corporations creates new perspectives for coaches, too… As
coaches, we can be expected to coach with more perspective, depth, courage, and
compassion, from a perspective that bears witness to the larger social, economic, and
environmental conditions and trends in the world. I know that stance may strike some as an
agenda, but I believe it is simply a grounded framework. What is the alternative – especially
in this globally intimate, climate-changing, ecologically endangered, and socially unstable
world in which we compete for limited resources?” 53
This research is interesting from the coach perspective, which can be considered as the ‘supply’
side of the market for integrating coaching and sustainability. This is most meaningful when
considered against the real, significant and urgent demand that is emerging through the
perspectives documented in our research e.g.
o Our society is facing enormous challenges that will require a real shift in mindsets and
behaviours,
o Organisations are seeing coaching as an opportunity to develop more innovative and
sustainable individuals, teams and cultures for competitive advantage,
o Individuals are becoming more interested in both personal development and growth, and in
making a contribution to creation of a sustainable future.
37
5.4 Barriers to use of coaching

While we have highlighted the areas in which coaching may be a particularly effective tool for
integrating sustainability, there are barriers to it not being more widely used. Understanding these
barriers can support the appropriate use of coaching, and the adaptation of coaching practice for
the purposes of sustainability.
5.4.1 Culture or mindsets are not the primary constraint

In some organisations, and at certain stages of engagement with CSR, the culture, values and
mindsets may not be the constraining factor. The integral quadrants model can be used to identify
other dimensions of any system that may constrain sustainability success. These include individual
capacity, the culture of the nation where the organisation exists, or the collective systems,
organisational structure and infrastructure.
Similarly, key individuals and organisations may value coaching as a tool, but awareness raising,
training and more in-depth work may be more relevant to the stage of the change process for that
organisation. For example:
“Not yet [using coaching], first step is really to raise awareness.” Z
“No, we have formal training sessions with 8-12 individuals. It is training more than coaching.
The ability to have 1-1 or 1-2 conversations would be more powerful, but….” X
5.4.2 Coaching is not value in that culture

In most of the organisations we engaged with there was an acceptance of the role of coaching, but
it was not a universally-accepted means of achieving goals. Consulting, training, mentoring,
policies and regulations may be other means trying to achieve similar changes in how an
organisation operates and for what purpose. As Interviewee U described, there is still some way to
go in legitimising the role of coaching compared to, or as a complement to, technical fixes:
“Has been more of an interest in the technical side of things over the last 2-3 years, and it is
just the last year that we have seen more interest in the behavioural change side of
things…There are organisations that would like to do it, but haven’t quite grasped how
different it is from buying a widget.” U
5.4.3 Perception of excessive focus on the individual

Coaching, especially in the one-on-one executive form, may be seen as over-indulging in the
needs of the individual if it is not placed in the context of organisational or societal goals. This may
result in it being less appealing than other methods of improving performance. One interviewee
was particularly strong on this point:
“Action research and action learning each in different ways seem to me to be the best ways
of exploring and progressively allowing organisations to change towards sustainability, … so
– for me – the coaching relationship is, at worst, a dangerous form of exceptionalism and, at
best a parallel checking-in process. A bit like an individual turning in her chair from a circle to
consult an independent observer, while keeping her feet pointing firmly towards the group.” T
“…That’s why I have a lukewarm approach to coaching – it takes place away from the
collective; it is a kind of exceptionalism and it relies on a problematic exchange of
authority…” T
38
5.4.4 When sustainability expertise is not available

While professional coaches may have a desire to have societal impact, it is likely that they do not
have the tools or understanding to integrate their work with individuals or small teams with broader
organisational sustainability issues. Also, the barriers to coachees being effective champions, or
engaging more with sustainability may not be awareness, responsibility or confidence, but instead
just a lack of technical skill and information. While coachees could seek that information out with
support from a coach, a formal course, reading books or seeking a teacher may be more
appropriate than a coach who does not have expert knowledge in the area:
“I have doubts about the value of self-pedagogy, eliciting knowledge form inside…The
challenge is more about education and telling, needing to get the message across…” T
“We try and focus on behaviour change, but in order to facilitate that we need the technical
approach too. So have 10-15 support technical specialists around the country…It is essential
to facilitating better behaviour change.” U
5.4.5 Insufficient infrastructure and support

Successful coaching often requires supporting systems, such as supervision of the coaches,
facilitation of group and action learning processes, and time and resources for the coachees and
coaches.
“An area where we are less good, is asking individuals to create and run these local
community or common interest groups [e.g. carbon clubs], but not supporting them
effectively at all. There are a few that work very well, but are those which are driven by very
self-motivated individuals…there does need to be a certain amount of governance and
structure around them.” W
Summary – Drivers for integration of coaching and sustainability
There are many drivers for integrating coaching for sustainability in the future:
 At the organisational level, organisations will be using coaching to: support emergence of a
new sense of who they are and what they do, encourage new values to be prioritised, and
support a radical shift in thinking towards ethical innovation as a competitive advantage.
Culture is now being identified as a major constraint to integration and implementation of
sustainability, and coaching can support this change.
 At the team level, coaching enhances team’s abilities to maximise the contribution of
people of diverse expertise and cultures. It also helps individuals develop collaborative
leadership styles appropriate to the increasingly complex challenges and new opportunities.
The importance of a supportive network of peers was emphasised by many champions.
 At the individual level, coaching is one of the most popular and effective tools for leadership
development. All change in organisations must involve individuals – whether they be as
senior leaders or those engaged in practical actions. Coaching can also support individuals
broadening their knowledge, skills and competencies and increasing the flexibility of their
perspectives. Coaching is also used to increase awareness and support development to
later stages of the development, leading to increased capability lead through complex
transformations.
 Some individuals are already sustainability champions and leaders, and in this case the
coaching can support them to generate support, and lead change in a way that resonates
with the values and preferences of others.
 Some of the barriers to integration of coaching and sustainability included if technical
issues or general awareness are the main constraints, if coaching in general is not valued,
or when no technical expertise or systems of support are in place.
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6 Options for coaching for sustainability

We have reviewed the context of the current reality of coaching for sustainability in organisations,
the drivers and the barriers. In this section, we introduce some distinctions between the languages
of coaching, the specific types of coaching, and describe some options in detail. By covering many
of the possibilities, we can provide the information needed to choose the most appropriate form of
coaching for different organisational contexts.
Other research, interviewees and respondents generally agreed with the language we used to
describe coaching, but there was not total clarity on the specific examples of practices and whether
they were actually ‘coaching’.
“I think of coaching as a one-to-one thing with someone who knows more than I do. The coach
helps the coachees find solutions rather than training, helps them come up with ideas
themselves….” Z
“I think coaching would encompass most of the things we do…It is all about providing advice
and guidance. Whether it is one to one coaching sessions or writing a report for a specific
audience you could wrap all our advice and guidance services in together as coaching…” U
Some of the practices described in this section are outside our original definition of coaching,
which focused on the one-to-one type of relationship most commonly seen in executive-coaching.
But, the practices below all encourage the same developmental dynamic, make the same
distinction between the role of coach and coachee, have the same desired outcomes, and always
involve an inter-subjective dimension that is distinct from 1st-person (e.g. contemplation, journaling,
personal goal setting, meditation) and third person (e.g. video-taping performance, anonymous 360
feedback, completion of tests and assessments) perspectives.
Figure 10 A ‘coaching slider’ representing the range of types and characteristics of coaching that may be
appropriate for sustainability.
The Figure 7 depicts some characteristics of coaching interventions that may support movement
towards the goal of sustainability, with detail and examples provided throughout the rest of this
section. Making these distinctions may offer a useful way for individuals or organisations to
customise and create new options for integrating coaching into sustainability initiatives. Most
coaching initiatives could be described in terms of these criteria, for example:
40
1) An individual from outside (external) the organisation with no background in sustainability

(pure coaching) is hired to coach the small sustainability team (one-to-many) to achieve
greater than projected savings in carbon emissions (specific purpose). The team sought the
coaching out themselves after recognising barriers to their culture and performance shifting
to the next level (transformational). The team has a goal to take the organisation into a
leadership position within its sector, and through this position positively influence the
industry’s overall global sustainability impacts (global focus).
2) A former employee-turned coach (internal/external) has been engaged on a contract (long-
term) to work with high-potential (one-to-one) individuals to support their professional and
personal development. The coach has knowledge of the business, and is expected to offer
some guidance (mentor). While the organisation is paying for the coaching and expects it to
have some performance benefits, the primary challenge it is addressing is retention of good
staff in key positions (organisational focus).
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Table 1 Detailed characteristics of different modes and forms of coaching, including the relevance of each for integrating sustainability. Not all from
Figure 7 are included here.
External
Description: Coaching from outside the organisation
Applications:
o Executive coaches are frequently external.
o Action learning sets may contain participants from other organisations (e.g. BITC’s Peer Learning Network 54 ).
o Teams of internal eco-champions may be supported by external consultants.
o Groups of external advisors may also serve a coaching role at an organisational level (e.g. BT’s Leadership Panel 55 or Interface’s Eco Dream Team 56 ).
Benefits:
57
o An outsider’s perspective can challenge assumptions and facilitate transformational change in the culture .
o Independent feedback can come through partnering relationships (e.g. Business – Civil Society Organisation partnerships).
o A type of coaching relationship may develop auditors or certification bodies that provide objective assessment of performance against standard criteria e.g.
Global Reporting Initiative.
o May be particularly useful as organisations start to become more strategic and pro-active about their engagement and performance.
Internal
Description: Internal coaches for individuals or teams may be employed full-time in a coaching role, or it may be an additional responsibility on top of their normal role.
Applications:
o Peer coaching between team members.
o Managers coaching individuals or teams in the same or different parts of the organisation.
o In some organisations, everyone is both a coach, and gets coached.
Benefits:
o Relevant for organisations that have a clear strategy for development (sustainable and otherwise) and whose priority is increasing engagement, growing a
new culture, and becoming more internally innovative and reflective (e.g. as a competitive advantage).
o May not offer the value of external and objective perspective, but can have advantages in terms of cost.
o Can ensure a consistent approach across multiple coaches. E.g. Some organisations use internal coaches to aggregate data about coaching topics to detect
any wider trends amongst coachees. 58
o Supports the development of a self-reflective, coaching culture.
Amateur
Description: Individuals with minimal formal training act as coaches. They may draw on the increasing number of books, online courses, websites and toolkits to
support their coaching practice. There may be no payment for services.
Applications:
o Peer-to-peer, one-on-one coaching facilitated by tools like we-coach 59 . This low-cost toolkit provides step-by-step instructions for doing ten peer coaching
sessions with a friend. Each person takes it in turn to coach the other in each session.
o Other examples of tools and websites (e.g. horsesmouth 60 , school of everything 61 ) serve to connect those that want to coach (or teach) and those that want
to learn or be coached.
o Online tools, like carbon diet 62 or the nag 63 , provide users with regular progress updates and reminders as they work towards their personal sustainability
goals.
Benefits:
o Engagement with a very large number of people is possible, at low cost.
o May be fit-for-purpose for situations where no deep psychology is required.
o The role of coach and coachee is often shared, increasing access to multiple perspectives.
o May be appropriate for focusing on particular sustainability topics, or monthly themes.
o May be useful for organisations shifting from a very top-down controlling culture to one where individuals at all levels are more empowered to take leadership
roles.
Professional
Description: Executive coaching is increasingly focused on standards of professional accreditation. Organisations such as the International Coach Federation,
European Mentoring and Coaching Council and Middlesex University accredit individual coaches or the coaching school.
Much of the accreditation drive is towards legitimising the role and value of a coach. Also a reaction to the boom in ‘life coaching’. Life coaching evolved out of
executive coaching, but is focused on personal (rather than business or organisational) goals.
Applications:
o Where there is significant individual or organisational change occurring.
o For individuals in senior positions or those who are acting as key influencers.
Benefits:
o Professionals have trained, studied and are likely to deal with complex issues and internal barriers in a systematic and proven way.
o Brings necessary legitimacy to coaching in organisational contexts where the culture may be suspicious or unsupportive.
o Where the content of the coaching and the development process may involve some deeper psychological issues that need to be identified.
o If the coach has an understanding of the sustainability context, this may be an appropriate match for executives seeking to understand this agenda in more
detail.
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Many-to-many
Description: Coaching amongst groups of peers in an agreed, reciprocal arrangement. Facilitators may be involved but their role is not to do the coaching, but instead
to ensure the structure and environment is supportive of coaching.
Applications:
o Carbon clubs, cycle-to-work clubs, recycling clubs, carbon rationing action groups.
o Breakfast clubs, lunch clubs where professionals meet over a meal. Especially relevant for ‘champions’ who may feel isolated in their organisation.
o Networks of change agents and professionals that meet regularly to share stories, needs, wants and skills. E.g. Pioneers of Change.
o More formal groups may use methods of action-learning sets, cooperative inquiry, and co-counselling.
o Cross-departmental teams and taskforces may also serve as a forum for members to coach each other.
Benefits:
o Aligned with many of the values associated with sustainability e.g. collaboration.
o Useful for focusing on specific issues where collaborative action and creative thinking will benefit all.
o These types of approaches are more social, collaborative, and perhaps more reflective of the type of mass engagement required to successfully deal with
sustainability challenges and shift organisational culture.
o May be appropriate for organisations where hierarchical systems or structures are stifling creativity or innovation.
o Lower cost and resourcing than individual coaching.
o This type of collaborative inquiry is well-matched to the complexity of sustainability, as there are a limited number of people and organisations who have it all
worked out and can claim to be ‘sustainable’.
One-on-one
Description: One-on-one coaching is one of the most familiar forms. It is increasingly widespread across many organisations. 64 Team coaching is ‘one-to-many’ which
is somewhere on the spectrum between one-on-one and many-to-many.
Applications:
o Often standard means of supporting development of ‘emerging leaders’ and ‘high-potential talent’ (as individuals, or in teams) being groomed for senior roles.
o Often coaching is available to senior managers, executives and directors to facilitate improved performance and support them in periods of major change.
o This form of coaching can also be used for remedial work with individuals or teams, but in all cases is focused on helping someone learn to improve their
awareness, responsibility and positive perspective.
Benefits:
o Valuable for supporting the development and performance of key individuals or teams.
o Each individual gets the full attention of the coach.
o The opportunity to go quite deep into issues, while still feeling safe.
o For teams, dramatically improves dynamics and performance to leverage full potential of the individuals and the collective.
o Relevant where individuals or teams are critical decision-makers, and where they rapidly need to learn new skills or perspectives.
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Integrated
Description: Coaching when it is used as part of a package of measures to support healthy development of individuals, teams and the organisation. The distinction is
between this situation, and that where the coaching is additional or on the side rather than a core part of process.
Application:
o Coaching as a standard offer as part of personal and professional development packages and woven into the mix of other training, performance
management systems or job rotation.
o Managers also being coaches to those who report to them, or to staff in other areas. The point is that the manager role automatically necessitates some
coaching skills.
Benefits:
o The method and content of coaching is consistent with the other processes going on in the individual’s life or in the organisation.
Mentoring
Description: Mentoring can be distinguished from coaching by the level of expert or situation-specific knowledge that the coach brings, or that the individual needs.
Mentors tend to have ‘been there before’, and act as masters who guide the apprentice.
Applications:
o Receiving advice and support from outside the organisation, from subject-matter experts, or leaders of other organisations, who are ahead on the
individual/organisational development spectrum.
o Seeking to develop a specific skill e.g. group facilitation or business model innovation.
o Senior people within the organisation may mentor junior leaders, guiding them through issues and challenges that may be specific to that organisation.
Benefits:
o In the sustainability context, mentoring is relevant for those organisations and individuals that know where they want to go, what they need to know, and just
need the guidance and support to get there.
o Excellent for sharing knowledge within or across organisations as they individually or collectively work towards sustainability.
o May suit organisational cultures where hierarchy, seniority and experience are valued.
Individual focus
Description: The context for the coaching is primarily about supporting the development of the individual to increase their performance, wellbeing or skills.
Applications:
o Where there is a significant personal challenge that the individual may need to be coached through before they can engage with others or with a
larger/higher goal.
o There are services where coaches support key individuals to ‘green’ their lives and live more congruently with their values e.g. Carbon Coach or Eco-
Concierge 65 , but these services still tend to have a higher motive.
Benefits:
o This focus on the individual above all else may be typical of coaching, and this resonates with an individualistic culture.
o Where there is an imperative for the individual or organisation to ‘walk the talk’ before it/they can engage.
o There may be situations where a key person in the organisation just needs to be supported to be healthy, and to frame the work in any larger context may be
overwhelming.
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Global focus
Description: The context for coaching is primarily about the global imperative. In the ‘nested systems’ (Figure 1) the global focus includes all the component
perspectives.
While the coaching may be one-on-one or in a team the outcomes and success of the coaching are intended to be measured in terms of the net positive impact on
the planet and society as a whole. This means the health of the individual is not the ends, rather a necessary means.
This may mean that the individual is supported to prioritise service to the global whole over and above any personal aspirations.
Application:
o When coaching activists or change agents who work within an organisation and have higher social or ecological missions. The activists get coached, but only
so they can better serve their/the organisation’s global mission.
o Coaching that is truly ‘world-centric’ in its perspective is not likely to be common, but coaches of teams or individuals frequently ask questions about the
wider benefits of actions. This shift in focus can liberate the individual to do what needs to be done and transcend their own fears, self-limiting beliefs or
material desires.
Benefits:
o This perspective is very relevant to sustainability. It re-contextualises the purpose of coaching to empower coachees.
o The ability to take this perspective is a valuable skill for sustainability leaders and champions.
o Even if the coaching is guided by the questions of ‘What is best for the team’, ‘What is best for the organisation’ or ‘What is best for the community?’ these
are all steps towards the sort of mindset and ethic that is more likely to lead to sustainable behaviours.
o Sustainability provides a compelling context for personal development, far more compelling than development for an individual’s own sake.
o The relative impersonality of this approach can be freeing.
o May be suited to organisations adopting strategic, innovative and transformative approaches to their work.
Horizontal
Description: This refers to coaching where the intention is to increase the capability of the individual or team to access multiple perspectives. This may mean being
familiar with the perspectives of different stakeholders, cultures, disciplines, or organisational functions.
Application:
o Coaching methods that focus on learning more about other values systems, roles, learning preferences, types and any other measure of diversity.
o Coaching methods that facilitate learning of new skills and which may extend beyond the professional and organisational. E.g. developing emotional
intelligence, mastery of martial arts or any other interest outside work, or being coached in a new skill area e.g. marketing, for someone who has an
accounting background.
Benefits:
o Enables the individual to engage with many different audiences and contexts, rather than just being focused on a very tight, familiar perspective.
o May permit individuals or organisations to tap into and express their true passion and be authentic in a work context. E.g. by legitimising leisure and other
activities in a very work-oriented culture.
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Transformational
Description: Some coaching approaches are specifically about taking people on a journey to reconnect with, contemplate, and perhaps evolve their highest sense of
self and deepest values. These approaches may bring coachees to question who they are – their identity.
Application:
o Programmes where the purpose is to confront people with their own dissonance in values and behaviours, or expose them to the impacts of their individual
or organisational actions. This may include visits to sites of environmental degradation or poverty that the organisation has had some involvement in
perpetuating.
o Contemplative, meditative practices that facilitate the capacity to see one’s own strategies, identity and stories as objects in consciousness, rather than being
part of the subject.
o Nature-based programmes. E.g. coaching through vision quests, outdoors solo learning journeys, or team challenges.
o Activities like collective dialogue processes e.g. U Process and Presencing, After-action reviews and debriefs, collective review of objective perspectives on
performance (e.g. videos of workshops or collective action).
Benefits:
o This sort of transformational coaching can support individuals to develop as leaders, to go beyond their previous limits in thinking.
o This is the sort of dynamic and change that is being called for to meet sustainability challenges; not just incremental improvement, not just learning new tricks
and technologies, but fundamentally re-thinking our role, relationships and identity.
Informal
Description: Informal coaching refers to situations where either the roles and/or the format of any coaching relationship is regular, explicit or agreed.
Application:
o Using other people as ‘sounding boards’ and informally testing ideas and approaches with them.
o Physical environments and the timing of activities at workplaces can be conducive to informal coaching and exchange of ideas. One might imagine that
where lunch is provided in a large cafeteria, people would connect and talk about work challenges in a way that met some of their needs for support and
advice.
Benefits:
o Does not usually require resources or effort to facilitate.
o May be attractive to individuals with different preferences that mean they resist formalising of these sorts of relationships.
o If this sort of culture can be supported, it may result in more synchronicity, innovation and systemic change than a formal coaching culture where there is no
opportunity for random cross-fertilisation of perspectives across different parts of organisations.
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Formal
Description: Formal coaching describes when the roles and relationship is agreed, perhaps in writing. It may also refer to situations where, although the roles are not
concrete, there is a conscious and well-articulated framework used in conversation.
Application:
o Hiring an executive coach, allocating time and resources to coaching in budgets and work plans, and having it as part of individuals’ role descriptions.
o Using templates for meetings and conversations that guide participants through processes like GROW.
o Regular action-learning sets where there is a set agenda and order of proceedings.
o Encouraging people to use conversational frameworks like Non-Violent Communication, Action Inquiry, ORID or Clean Language.
Benefits:
o Formalising coaching recognises the legitimacy and value of inter-subjective methodologies for personal and organisational development.
o The formality can ensure that people take their contribution seriously.
o Consistent, repeated practice of coaching tools and methods is the best way to ensure they become commonly used.
Open purpose
Description: The purpose for any coaching is not tightly defined. There is no agenda or framing of the session or relationship imposed by the organisation, coach, or
perhaps even coachee.
Application:
o Regular coaching sessions where the coachee just discusses whatever is relevant and meaningful to them, and the coach just pays attention and asks the
right questions.
o The primary purpose may just be to get a team of people together to talk, and if people learn, reflect and generate ideas then the purpose is satisfied.
Benefits:
o Participants feel free to talk about whatever is on their mind, or wherever their energy is, or whatever their attention is on.
o Can support individuals to find out for themselves what really matters to them. They can talk, free from the constraints of the sustainability imperative or the
need to talk about and do that which is only purely professional.
o Very open coaching may be most effective when individuals are in periods of transition or recognising the dissonance between their own values and
behaviours and want to go on a free-wheeling exploration of the implications of this across their whole lives.
Specific purpose
Description: Coaching with a specific purpose e.g. becoming the number one sales person, a global expert on a particular topic, master a new skill, or make a specific
impact on the external world.
Application:
o An ‘emerging leader’ may decide to become the organisation’s expert on zero-waste manufacturing processes, and may seek specific coaching towards that
goal.
o Carbon clubs/rationing action groups are forms of coaching that are focused on a very specific area of change.
Benefits:
o Can be very relevant to sustainability when there are such compelling, and specific topics as climate change, loss of biodiversity, waste, water efficiency etc.
o The specific purpose of coaching may be to collectively reach organisational targets related to a particular strategic goal e.g. waste reduction.
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6.1 Context for coaching

The key factors when considering the appropriate options for modes and forms coaching are the
context and purpose. A critical question in this context is: “Are the most valued outcomes of the
coaching process at the individual, team, organisational, societal or global level?”
In some cases the focus of coaching is highly individual e.g. life coaching outside organisations.
Some forms of one-to-one coaching have implicitly organisational outcomes, but do not make
explicit the logic of how one-on-one executive coaching will contribute to organisational goals.
There are emerging approaches that focus explicitly on the business as a whole rather than the
individual. 66 Just as there are strong relationships between the habits, beliefs and motivation of an
individual and their objectively measured performance, so is there a parallel between the culture of
an organisation and its objectively measured (financial, ecological and social) performance.
While this whole-business approach may involve a variety of traditional coaching mechanisms e.g.
one-on-one coaching, the context and purpose are very different. The coaching of individuals or
teams is re-contextualised as both an individual/team development process, but more importantly a
business development process.
There are also coaching contexts that extend beyond the organisation. Activists and social
entrepreneurs may seek coaching support and coaches may offer it (at a subsidised rate 67 ), and it
is usually very clearly focused on the global impact that increasing the capacity of that team or
individual will have. The same step can be made in the spiritual domain, where progressive
movements 68 are challenging the perception of coaching and personal development as too
focused on the individual or too narrow in their scope. Instead, the context is all about coaching the
individual who is most interested in their own contribution to the development of the whole.
The focus and purpose of coaching is a large part of what this report is about. The sustainability
challenge is THE most compelling, overarching context for all our professional and personal
development at this time. Development of individuals makes limited sense if their enhanced
capabilities are not used in some way that helps us create a society that will continue in perpetuity.
The context makes the coaching more compelling, because it is a means to a wider ends, and the
coaching makes sustainability more real, personal, and a vehicle for an inter-subjective, dialogic
development process.
The nature of sustainability and the individuals that are attracted to work in this area means most
people are already focused on the impact of their work in the world as the a very high priority in
their lives. Many of the definitions of sustainability contain implicit values or point to a self-
transcendent sense of self. 69 While people still want to be happy and develop as individuals, the
collective health of the planet and society is often their driving concern.
If we accept a global context for coaching, and accept sustainability as the most compelling goal,
we can look at five examples of modes and forms of coaching and how they can facilitate
development towards that goal.
6.1.1 Leadership development and transformation

This form of coaching integrates the personal and professional, often supporting a major change in
performance, values and even identity. This is most common with senior executives, emerging
leaders and sustainability champions, and includes forms such as executive coaching;
The word transformation has been used throughout this report, and has particular meaning in
some specific models of development and coaching. For example, in the Leadership Development
Framework, the shifts between action-logics are described as transformations.
The authors of the research suggest it is possible to accelerate a shift up the action logics through
conscious effort. The methods they have documented as supporting these changes include
engaging in conscious experimentation supported by a group of peer leaders, engaging in self-
reflective practices, taking an objective perspective on one’s own subjective experience, role
playing new ways of being and acting, and deep experiences in nature. In almost all these cases
there is some element of coaching, either from peers or a professional. 70
Figure 11 Triple Loop Learning

Figure 8 is one way of presenting a commonly-used model for understanding the process of
inquiring into one’s own deepest assumptions as a developmental practice. Coaching for simply
improving knowledge, skills and performance will focus on ‘single-loop learning’ where there is no
need for insights or reflections, just the ability to determine whether the actions taken have lead to
the desired results, and are in line with the pre-existing strategy.
Double-loop learning means individuals or members of an organisation are able to reflect on
whether the “rules” themselves should be changed, not just whether behaviours or outcomes are
different from expectations. This is where coaching skills are invaluable to facilitate the
conversations about whether the strategies employed were the right ones, and whether the activity
was the right one to be doing, rather than just if it was done well or not.
Triple-loop learning is where transformation occurs. This is where individuals or organisations don’t
just review behaviours, outcomes and strategies. In addition to those, they develop the capability to
review whether or not their own intentions, attention, awareness and perspective are appropriate
for the context. This can mean surfacing and questioning the assumptions and stories that underlie
individuals’ and organisations’ identity.
Triple-loop learning is about learning to tell a new story about who you are, which is difficult to do
on your own, but easier with the support of a coach. This deep questioning of who we are as
individuals and organisations, the conscious the creation of new stories, and the questioning of
assumptions that are no longer useful, are exactly the types of changes that need to occur in
organisations moving towards sustainability. While these frameworks and the stages of leadership
development are described in most detail at the individual level, the same practices and dynamics
could also be applied at team and organisational levels to facilitate transformational change.
6.1.2 Group and many-to-many

Again, while one-on-one coaching is undoubtedly powerful, there is great power in a wider
collective exploration of challenges that starts to create new norms and cultures in the process.
“[Collaborative inquiry, co-counselling, action research and action learning] each in different
ways seem to me to be the best ways of exploring and progressively allowing organisations
to change towards sustainability, but both processes hate domination and isolation – they are
50
both social and dialogical, so – for me – the coaching relationship is, at worst, a dangerous
form of exceptionalism and, at best a parallel checking-in process. A bit like an individual
turning in her chair from a circle to consult an independent observer, while keeping her feet
pointing firmly towards the group.” T
We can place some of the approaches described by interviewees under this title: groups formally
and informally coaching each other around personal, organisational and systemic challenges, or
about skills development in a particular area. Examples include breakfast clubs, action-learning
groups, eco-teams, and cross-departmental task-forces, and or carbon clubs.
In these group contexts, the coach as a person may be less important or completely absent. But,
the coaching role still exists; it is just distributed amongst the participants. In many forms of this
type of coaching, any one of the people in the room is able to take the role of coach by inquiring,
reframing or shifting the attention of the group to a deeper or higher level. This requires some
awareness of the process on behalf of the participants, but in practice could be facilitated by
providing simple guiding principles or ground-rules for the conversation.
Agreement on ground-rules or principles, and making commitments to other individuals can

enhance the sense of support and engage the sense of mutuality or reciprocity amongst members.
For example, the Pioneers of Change principles (‘be yourself, never stop asking questions etc) that
apply to an open process of expressing needs and offers at their monthly ‘connect’ meetings 71 .
This sense of mutuality becomes a powerful force in groups, as individuals make commitments to
actions to each other, and know that all the others will be able to hold them to account in
subsequent sessions.
To focus on another dimension of the group processes, Interviewee W describes the way the
breakfast club he is involved in serves the coaching role, but is a group process:
“…Breakfast club environment that is informal but excites individuals and they can reflect on
what they are learning and starting to practice what they are learning…..Diverse, disruptive
bunch who are not afraid to shake things up or do things differently. I run one of the work
streams in that club that focuses on collaboration. Two of the things rolled up in that are
corporate responsibility and personal development.” W
There are also online platforms for many-to-many forms of coaching emerging, especially those
that connect people wanting to focus on the same specific action e.g. reduce their carbon
footprint. 72
All these group or many-to-many processes are relevant to sustainability in that they can support
the new common, shared values and behaviours, leading towards a culture of sustainability.
6.1.3 Global Focus

The definition of coaching that we started with emerged in a cultural context that is very
individualistic, and focused on independence, freedom and self-actualisation. While this type of
culture is important in the individual and collective developmental process, such a heavy focus on
the individual has not always been the norm; even now it is not the norm across all cultures, and
may not be the culture that best serves us in the face of sustainability challenges. The shift from
this individualistic focus to a stronger focus on the collective, on collaboration and on the reality of
our interdependence is a common theme in sustainability.
There are ways to coach teams, communities or the organisation itself, through individuals but not
focused on the individuals. In these cases, individual’s development and enhanced performance is
contextualised as a means to higher-performing or transformed teams or organisations. Examples
include team coaching, whole-of-business coaching, or hosting communities of practice.
51
The implications of this for the detail of the coaching practice are that the focus of the inquiries,
plans and dialogues would be the collective or the whole, rather than the individual. Instead, the
individual would be seen as a means by which the whole could become healthy. In practice this
might mean that instead of inquiring into ‘What do you want?’ ‘What motivates and attracts you?’ or
‘What are you grateful for, and want more of?’, then the individuals are invited to ask, for example,
‘What does the earth want?’, ‘What motivates and attracts this community?’, or ‘What is the
organisation grateful more, and want more of?’
This type of perspective requires the individual to let go of their ego and in some cases
anthropomorphise something they may consider to be inanimate. But, the exercise of doing this is
likely to be invaluable in terms of reflecting on how individual priorities do or don’t support the
health of the whole. The appeal of this sort of self-transcendent perspective is already evident in
many of the sustainability definitions and concepts, and is one of the things that attracts people to
this work. 73
Specific practices that facilitate the emergence of such perspectives may include:
- Council of All Beings 74 where participants are invited to speak on behalf of the earth;
- Presencing and the U Process 75 where the process explicitly seeks to ‘connect to source’;
- World Café, Open Space Technology and ‘Dialogues with the City’ which are large-scale,
group processes that can be introduced as a means by which we can listen to the voices
and priorities that are emerging as representative of the whole; 76
- ‘Enlightened Communication’ 77 and Dialogue
In the organisational context, this may mean simply shifting the lines of inquiry to ask ‘What does
the customer/stakeholder/organisation/team/community value/aspire to/need to be healthy?’ This
starts the dialogue from a level in the system that may facilitate greater consensus amongst
individual participants, and start an inquiry into any dissonance between individuals’ needs and
wants and what appear to be the needs of the whole. This can only be positive for sustainability.
6.1.4 Amateur
Coaching in an organisational context has become increasingly professionalised. Accreditation,
training and patented tools and methods are employed to maximise the benefits to the coachee
and guarantee quality. At the same time, there are many tools and methods from the world of
coaching that don’t need to be as exclusive, and if more widely distributed may have great benefit.
Many of these tools and methods can be easily explained as a series of steps. These methods
may focus on leadership development, but are more commonly about skills and knowledge in a
particular area.
Tools like we-coach 78 are being used in prisons by entrepreneurs and in organisations to provide
the basic information individuals need to coach each other without any prior experience. In the
specific case of we-coach, the one-on-one dynamic is maintained, but in each session the two
people take turns to coach each other, guided by the instructions on the cards that come with the
kit. The same tools and techniques (e.g. reframing, guided meditations, expressing gratitude,
setting weekly missions to complete, setting SMART long-term goals) could be used to support
different outcomes.
For sustainability they could be used by members of an organisation at any level, and could
complement other training programmes by providing a means for the individuals to set goals and
have dialogues in relation to what they had learned e.g. about ethical procurement practices.
These sorts of tools could then also be combined with web-based technologies to connect
individuals in different places and provide them with a more interactive and evolving experience.
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6.1.5 Performance Management

Many large organisations have systems of regular formal reviews of staff performance
against targets. These processes are, in some ways, a form of coaching in that there is a
dynamic of conversation with another person, reflection on goals and targets, and may also
include use of 360 degree reviews where peers contribute their assessments and feedback.
“I always have monthly ones with every one of the individuals I’m responsible for.
Sometimes it is a bit of a chat; sometimes it is a bit more formal and something written down.
Yes, you do focus on looking up A,B,C etc have you done it...but you also focus on ‘What
else’...and ‘How are you getting on in the world?’. And that is encouraged. In my experience
some of that naturally enables development… [related to topics and interests that falls under
‘sustainability]” V
One interviewee described how these performance assessments are generally negative, stressful
and not conducive to people thinking freshly and innovating. His suggestion was that coaching
could replace performance assessments. As a less formal and rigorous process, it has the potential
to deliver the same or better outcomes as a performance assessment, but in a more supportive
way.
Assuming coaching does not replace performance management systems; there are a few ways
that sustainability could be related to performance management systems. One way is that
sustainability and leadership for sustainability start to be topic areas where staff set targets e.g. for
carbon reduction performance. This means partially or fully integrating sustainability into
performance management: adding social and ecological goals to the development plans for
individuals. None of the interviewees’ organisations had integrated any sustainability targets or
criteria into their systems so far. Some wanted it to happen, others thought it was unlikely to
happen, and others thought it was undesirable:
“I’m personally trying to work on getting sustainability criteria into individual’s objectives
scorecards. So that is included in performance reviews. At very top of business, there are
Directors who would have this in their scorecard. This totally shifts what is remunerated,
incentives. Trying to work with guys in CSR re: what would it look like, and how could it be
scaled across the organisation.” W
“This is not likely, but perhaps as an area in which individuals could demonstrate their
competency….It would be very easy to say that the way I have demonstrated impact and
influence is by persuading individuals that they need to do this [sustainability] in their work. Z
“It [integrating sustainability into formal performance management systems] would ruin it,
and it won’t happen…. The value that comes from the taskforce here is that individuals come
from all across the business, they all have different experiences to bring, but we meet
around the topic of sustainability which can emerge in any part of the business.” V
While some see the value such an explicit approach might have, there are some factors that may
prevent it being worth the effort. In organisations where sustainability is more integrated into the
mission and everyday operations, it may not need to be made explicit. In other organisations, it
may be a useful exercise in raising awareness to have those sorts of questions asked in the
context of a performance review. It may serve to highlight how this is an area of responsibility for
everyone, no matter what their position.
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Summary – Options for coaching for sustainability
 There are many types of coaching, but there are a limited number of characteristics. These
characteristics can be used to make distinctions between types of coaching, and what
purpose / context they are most appropriate for e.g. external or internal coaches; specific or
open focus; one-on-one or many-to-many; global or individual focus.
 The purpose and context for coaching are the most critical deciding factors when
considering its appropriateness or the specific form it should take. The relevant question in
relation to sustainability is: “Are the most valued outcomes of the coaching process at the
individual, team, organisational, societal or global level?”
 Sustainability provides a very compelling context for coaching. The development of
individuals and overcoming of personal and professional challenges can be put in a bigger
perspective, adding a wider sense of purpose and urgency.
 Five types of coaching were examined in more detail:
- Coaching for leadership development and personal transformation. This form of coaching
integrates the personal and professional, often supporting a major change in performance,
values and even identity. This is most common with senior executives, emerging leaders
and sustainability champions, and includes forms such as executive coaching;
- Groups formally and informally coaching each other around personal, organisational and
systemic challenges, or about skills development in a particular area e.g. breakfast clubs,
action-learning groups, or carbon clubs;
- Coaching teams, communities or the organisation itself, through individuals but not focused
on the individuals. In this case, individual’s development and enhanced performance is
contextualised as a means to higher-performing or transformed teams or organisations.
Examples include team coaching, whole-of-business coaching, or hosting communities of
practice;
- Amateurs coaching each other one-on-one using toolkits. This may focus on leadership
development, but is more commonly about skills and knowledge in a particular area. This
method costs less, is able to be distributed more widely. Examples include “we-coach”, and
social entrepreneurs and sustainability practitioners coaching each other;
- Integrating sustainability into performance management. This means adding social and
ecological goals to the development plans for individuals.
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7 Conclusions
7.1 Re-evaluating hypotheses and questions

The organisations and individuals we engaged with have been very interested in taking a more
conscious approach to the integration of their approaches to CSR and HR, planet and people,
sustainable development and personal development in a way that has benefits for many areas of
their individual and organisational performance. They support our assertion that inner (e.g. mental)
and outer (e.g. behavioural), individual (e.g. ‘My’) and collective (e.g., ‘Our’) development and
growth towards more complexity and competency are linked. So in terms of our guiding question
regarding ‘current attitudes to coaching and sustainability’ we can say that there is an openness to
this line of inquiry and practice, with more information and cases likely to create a more and more
positive attitude within organisations.
We hypothesised that stronger recognition of that link and how organisations can support
development in both areas would lead to changes in what activities organisations prioritised when
moving towards sustainability. And we thought coaching could be used more effectively to support
development in both areas, and that doing so would result in increased innovation and faster
movement towards integrating sustainability in organisations. So, regarding our question of ‘Is
coaching an appropriate tool for dealing with the challenges organisations will face in the next
decade?’, the research we have done suggests it is. It has the flexibility of form and content to suit
the diverse contexts of organisations, while having an important orientation towards positivity,
development, increasing awareness and responsibility, and focus on impact in the real world.
The small sample size and limited number of organisations we worked with suggests that this
linkage, and coaching, does not currently get much attention, inform strategies or guide practices
within organisations moving towards sustainability. But, we got very strong indications that the
intersection of personal development and sustainable development would be an area of growing
interest. We think, in ten years time it will be unthinkable to have an organisational sustainability
strategy that does not make explicit reference to the importance of ’internal’ personal, team and
cultural development.
In our research questions we asked:
o What drives organisations to resource coaching as a priority activity for moving towards
sustainability?
o Is coaching an effective tool for taking organisations towards greater innovation, using
sustainability issues as an opportunity?
In response, we have documented a range of benefits at the individual, organisational and societal
level that provide sounds reasoning for prioritising coaching as an activity to support integration of
sustainability. And, we have many citations and cases of organisations already seeing the coaching
dynamic as one which supports the sorts of shifts in perspective that lead to real innovation and
transformation, rather than just incremental change.
It is this link between transformation, and the shift to new phases of individual and organisational
development that offer the most compelling answer to our question of ‘How can coaching and
sustainability be linked for significant impact?’. What we have shown in this report is, with all other
external factors being equal, the capability, culture and leadership development of individuals and
teams in the organisations can be the difference that makes a difference to an organisation’s
integration of sustainability. In terms of innovation, we cited several examples where coaching can
play a role in shifting the identity and culture of an organisation such that incremental changes in
processes and systems (the ‘what’ of technologies) are overtaken by more fundamental changes in
the value that is created, for whom, why and how.
55
Leading transformational change towards sustainability is not about engineering and right-quadrant
technology. While technologies are important, the ability to widely apply them, or even create them
depends on organisations looking for opportunities for innovation in the changing external context.
The capability to think in this way, to question the assumptions prevalent in a sector, take new
perspectives, think long-term and ‘change the game’ are characteristics that leaders and leading
organisations can develop. They are characteristics that are identified in the later phases of both
the individual and organisational development models (Figure 7 and 4), and they are shifts that are
both most effectively driven through engagement in inter-subjective, reflective, developmental
processes like coaching.
Through our interviews and the survey, we found broad support for our work and agreement on the
benefits of sustainability.
Figure 12 Benefits of coaching at different levels

Some of the clear benefits of using coaching for sustainability include;
o Enhancing the ability of leaders to transform, handle complexity and work with diverse
people, contexts and challenges;
o Greater alignment of personal and business priorities, and the focus of personal
development with global priorities for sustainability;
o A coaching culture and peer-to-peer coaching through formal or informal groups has the
capacity to increase innovation;
o Re-connecting individuals with their core values, or with higher aspirations. And supporting
expression of those highest aspirations and natural passions in organisational contexts;
o Supporting cultural change and adopting of new behaviours across large organisations
using a more appropriate and engaging method than training, or top-down policies.
Although these benefits primarily relate to individuals, if organisations and sustainability is the
context, then this informs the content and measures of success of the coaching. Because of this,
we do feel confident that both a) coaching will become a more and more popular tool in future
years, and b) that the sustainability challenge will be more and more influential on the world of
coaching, and the centre of attention will move towards development of the group and the whole
56
rather than the individual.

In response to our question of ‘Which kinds of coaching (i.e. models and practices) are being
used?’ we have generated a substantial list of coaching methodologies with different
characteristics. This documenting of the range of coaching practices can be used as a menu for
practitioners and organisations to choose which form for integrating coaching and sustainability
that is appropriate for their context (e.g. What size of organisations? In what sector? For what
purpose?). Based on this analysis, and given the nature of the sustainability challenge, it seems
the more team-oriented and collective coaching processes are where there is the greatest
opportunity for growth in coaching’s role. Even for key individuals, their development and
leadership is always likely to be part of a team, and the complexity and trans-disciplinary nature of
organisations and the sustainability challenges means that collaboration and leading as part of a
team are likely to be more critical to have the maximum positive impact in the world.
7.2 Appropriate recommendations

Coaching is on the rise as a tool used within organisations. The research shows that coaching has
a role to play in integrating sustainability in organisations. There is a clear need to deal consciously
with the interior dimensions of sustainability when a shift in mindset, collaboration or breadth of
perspectives can have a wide effect. Other research shows that there is a strong desire amongst
coaches to ensure their work makes a contribution to a broader collective (organisational,
community, societal goals). Both these conclusions need qualification. Different forms of coaching
are appropriate for different organisations and individuals at different stages of development.
We have created a short list of the types and characteristics of coaching that may be appropriate
for organisations at different stages of their approach to sustainability. Although brief, this
information, models and ideas are sufficiently documented such that practitioners can identify what
may be the most appropriate form of coaching for their own organisational context.
We know that as a result of this report organisations will consider how they could use coaching for
sustainability. As they review the different types of coaching based on our characterisations, and
consider what sort of transformation of translation is appropriate to their organisations, we think
reviewing these questions and suggestions are useful to consider:
 Have you considered coaching for yourself: are you an agent of change whose
effectiveness and focus may be increased through coaching? Are there likely to be benefits
from you offering to coach or mentor critical individuals in your team or organisation?
 How might your organisation look different if individuals were consciously engaged in
supporting each other to achieve through peer leaning groups or amateur coaching?
 How much time do you spend looking through the respective lenses of the quadrants? And
does this represent a balanced view? Are you or your organisation aware of your own
assumptions, and strategies? How could you become more aware of them, and how would
that help facilitate a more sustainable organisation?
 If there is coaching already occurring in your organisation, what is its context? Is it personal
development, professional development, organisational development, or sustainable
development? Which framing and context is the most appropriate for your organisation, and
which framing is going to be the most likely to ensure your organisation has a net positive
impact on ecosystems and communities in the future?
7.3 Validity
The sample size for this survey, the number of interviewees and the volume of literature reviewed
was not large. The individuals who we engaged with already self-selected by showing they were
57
aware of and interested in the role and relationship of coaching to sustainability. As a result they
shared great ideas and insights into the reality of coaching and sustainability in organisations.
This also means these responses are likely to overestimate the general level of understanding of
the roles and relationships in the target audience. But, it also means it may give us a good sense
of where some of the more progressive organisations and individuals are in their thinking about the
linkages and opportunities. So, while not the most wide-ranging and rigorous assessment, the
information is very useful as a practical basis for individuals and organisations to act.
7.4 Questions for further research

We identified some immediate priorities for further research:
o Collecting, documenting and sharing case studies of coaching and sustainability being
integrated. Evaluate the impact that coaching made to compared to other interventions.
o Take a deeper look into models of coaching that may be appropriate for particular phases of
the sustainability. The developmental models identify consistent dynamics between stages
or strategies of development, so particular forms of coaching may support those shifts.
o Piloting the model for sustainability coaching of individuals and groups we have developed.
This means considering of the individual / team / organisational / global focus for the
coaching, and phases of development, and testing what that means in practice.
o Determine the most effective form of online/offline, peer-to-peer coaching methodologies to
ensure everyone gets the benefit of the coaching without the cost.
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8 Glossary
8.1 Coaching
“Coaching is a means of bringing about individual performance improvement so that each
individual might move towards his or her full potential. Whilst coaching shares many characteristics
and requisite skills with interventions such as mentoring and counselling, it differs in its emphasis
on raising awareness and consequently not requiring experience/expertise in the underlying
issue” 79
“Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them
to maximize their personal and professional potential. Coaching is an ongoing relationship which
focuses on clients taking action toward the realization of their visions, goals or desires. Coaching
uses a process of inquiry and personal discovery to build the client's level of awareness and
responsibility and provides the client with structure, support and feedback. The coaching process
helps clients both define and achieve professional and personal goals faster and with more ease
than would be possible otherwise.” 80
8.2 Sustainability
Most broadly, sustainable development (development towards sustainability) is stated as
“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs” 81
To put that high-level definition into practice, it is useful to focus on sustainability as a desired state
– the minimum required state for the system to continue indefinitely. Sustainable development is
the process of moving towards that state. The Natural Step brings scientific consensus to a whole-
systems definition for sustainable development:
“The ultimate objectives for moving towards sustainability are to eliminate our (individual,
organisational, societal…) contribution to…
… systematic increases in concentrations of substances from the Earth's crust.
… systematic increases in concentrations of substances produced by society.
… systematic physical degradation of nature.
… conditions that systematically undermine individuals’ capacity to meet their needs” 82
8.3 Corporate Sustainability

In contrast to the scientific consensus definition, sustainability in the organisational context is often
treated as a more ambiguous concept: “corporate sustainability as a values-laden umbrella
concept, which refers to the way in which the interface between business, society and the
environment is managed.” 83
Similarly, it may be useful to think of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) or CR (Corporate
Responsibility) umbrella terms for a variety of views and practices which recognise the following:
 That companies have a responsibility for their impact on society and the natural
environment, sometimes beyond legal compliance and liability of individuals;
 That companies have a responsibility for the behaviour of others with whom they do
business (e.g. suppliers);
59
 That business needs to manage its relationship with wider society, whether for reasons of
commercial viability or to add value to society.”
8.4 Innovation
“The act of introducing something new” 84 or ““… the successful exploitation of new ideas” 85 As
noted in the source, this definition of innovation defines success in the context of the market. What
constitutes an innovation in the sustainability context refers to a much broader definition of success
(e.g. of the innovation successfully eliminating un-sustainable impacts of a service / product /
activity).
8.5 Transformation
“A marked change, as in appearance or character, usually for the better” 86
8.6 Cultural Change

A working definition of cultural change: “Lasting structural and social changes (within an
organisation or set of linked organisations), plus lasting changes to the shared ways of thinking,
beliefs, values, procedures and relationships of the stakeholders.” 87
“Culture change differs from other types of organizational change. The shared beliefs, values, and
behaviours of organizational members become the target of the change process rather than solely
focusing on the structures and systems within which individuals work. What is sought is an
alignment between human resource capabilities, systems and organizational structure so as to
better achieve strategic organizational objectives.” 88
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9 Methodology
The results and conclusions in this report are based on qualitative research methods designed to
answer three primary research questions. The goal of the report was to explore the role of
coaching for sustainability, and specifically to see how it was and could be used in large
organisations. Prior to the research starting, we had different conceptual frameworks that we used
to organise information. Through the research, new concepts were added, and some particular
frameworks emerged as being the most relevant and useful.
The relationship between these parts of the systemic, integrated research design and methods are
illustrated below.
Figure 13 Maxwell’s Qualitative Research Design (2005).

The actual process of conducting the research affected our own perceptions of what was going on.
We engaged in dialogue, workshops (e.g. on the role of writing in individual and organisational
development) and started new professional and personal practices (e.g. Action Inquiry). This
supporting work was done with each other, but also with peers and networks outside the process.
We mention this because we recognise the findings in the report and our conclusions were not
purely a result of the designed research process. If someone were to try and replicate the work, it’s
likely they would have to engage in the same personal journey to get similar results.
This sort of systemic approach recognises that both the ‘subject’ and ‘object’ of the research are
affected in the process of inquiry. This acknowledges that our hypotheses and understanding have
evolved through interacting with the system in question: “…the questions we ask set the stage for
what we find and what we find becomes the knowledge out of which the future is conceived,
conversed about and constructed.” (Ludema et al 2001).
To answer the primary and secondary research questions, we chose several methods for data
analysis and collection. The methods and their relationship to the research questions are outlined
below.
61
Below are further details of each of the main methods of research:

Method Detail
Example a. Objective, Rationale, Participants
b. Information collected
c. Analysis
a. Understand what research has already been done through a thorough review of sites
and resources available on-line.
b. Reports, text from websites, articles, statistics. The research stopped short of detailed
research into academic journals. Thirty websites from organisations or associations
Literature / Web
were reviewed in detail, and 30 specific articles and reports around the topic of
sustainability. Leadership and personal development.
c. Read and noted relevant information, and used that to complement or contrast the
existing conceptual framework and to aid in interpretation of results.
a. To understand current perceptions amongst sustainability practitioners of coaching
and sustainability. Also, to get a profile of what sorts of individuals are interested in this
topic. A web survey distributed to individuals and relevant networks and email lists were
chosen as the most time-effective means of collecting this information.
Survey
b. Participants perceptions, information about current practices and understanding,
details of their role, age etc. Twenty three individuals responded to the ten question
survey (some questions had multiple parts).
c. Quantitative and qualitative analysis, depending on the format of each question.
a. Gain insights into current and future practices and models within organisations. To
test our assumptions about trends, benefits, models. We interviewed some coaches, but
Interviews
primarily Directors within private corporations with responsibility for sustainability or
corporate responsibility.
b. Responses to a set of structured questions, and notes and quotes from the less
structured dialogue that followed. We formally interviewed five individuals from five
62
different organisations.
c. Qualitative analysis, using their responses to reinforce, complement or change our
assumptions and to directly answer the research questions.
9.1 Scope
The scope of this work was limited by available time, contacts and networks, geography, and our
self-imposed constraints on particular terms, and perspectives.
Initially, we focused our research, interview and surveys on:
 Coaching in the workplace;
 Coaching of individuals by external coaches;
 Coaching of key individuals and teams who were in some way capable of making a
significant difference to the development and implementation of the sustainability agenda in
organisations.
Neither specific types nor approaches to coaching or sustainability were researched in depth, as
we have extensive prior knowledge of both and did not feel revisiting that was the focus of this
work. We found a very limited amount of work had been done on the intersection of these two
areas of work, and that is where we focused.
As the research developed, we incorporated information from these additional perspectives:
 Coaching for leadership development where there was some explicit expectation that
sustainability would be a major driver of the need for leadership;
 Coaching of teams and organisations;
 Use of internal coaches, peer coaches and other means of working towards a similar
outcome.
This is Phase 1 of a larger process to understand and address the interior barriers to integration of
sustainability and the role of inter-subjective processes like coaching in overcoming those barriers.
This first part has been qualitative research, more aimed at developing the thinking and analysing
practice in this area, rather than any definitive quantitative assessment of the trends of market, or
actual impact of coaching on sustainability performance of organisations.
9.2 Validity of the survey

Twenty four individuals completed the survey. The individuals who responded already self-selected
by showing they were aware of and interested in the role and relationship of coaching to
sustainability, and were on the relevant mailing lists, or members of relevant networks and
professional associations. Because of this, these responses are likely to overestimate the general
level of understanding of the roles and relationships in the target audience. This means the
percentages we quote are not likely to be meaningful in a broader context.
And, it also means it may give us a good sense of where some of the more progressive
organisations and individuals are in their thinking about the linkages and opportunities. So, while
not a rigorous assessment, the information is very useful as a reference point for expanding the
perspectives included in this early investigation.
The diversity of the organisations represented in the sample is encouraging regarding the
audience there is for further dialogue in these areas, across sectors, sizes etc.
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Two additional contextual notes about the survey are relevant. First, we did not define what we
meant by coaching, but did cite examples of the types of behaviours or practices that might be
normally associated with coaching. We did not define it, partially because we were interested to get
a sense of what respondents themselves classed as coaching.
The survey also focused on coaching for the most part, only asking specific questions about its
relationship to sustainability in the last few questions. This was designed to provide us with a
baseline response about coaching, and we could go into more depth in interviews regarding the
role of sustainability and coaching. This was deemed appropriate because of the emerging and
broadly-defined nature of both concepts and our time constraints.
We hope that this preliminary study and its early conclusions will provide the starting point for a
broader discourse that will enrich our understanding and guide the next phase of the work.
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Sustainability Inside-Out

Andrew Outhwaite and Neela Bettridge

Article 13 Ltd 71a The Grove, London, W5 5LL

Registered in the United Kingdom No. 03624247

© 2008 Article 13 Limited. Not to be reproduced without permission

Figure 1 Phases of transformation in an organisation’s attitudes to sustainability

Figure 3 Reported benefits of coaching at different levels

7.3 Validity ............................................................................................................................. 57

1 Purpose and context

1.2 Our hypothesis

increased innovation and faster movement towards integrating sustainability.

1.3.1 Nested systems

1.3.2 Integral Quadrants

1.3.3 Developmental stages

Summary – Purpose and context

2.1 Implications for organisations

3.1 Use of coaching

3.2 Benefits of coaching

o Development and leadership o Awareness especially regarding the needs of

o (Team) Performance and development o Expanding sense of what’s possible

o Greater positive impact and social mission o Transformation

From these responses about the benefits of coaching, we interpreted:

 Coaching’s characteristics include:

4 Coaching and sustainability

4.1 Coaching’s use for sustainability

4.2 Coaching topics

Summary – The current reality of coaching and sustainability

5 Drivers for Integration

5.1.1 Creating a new Identity

5.1.2 Supporting cultural change

5.2.1 Collaboration and collective action

5.3.1 Developing leaders

5.3.1.1 Increasing knowledge, skills and competency – ‘horizontal’ development

5.3.1.2 Taking it to the next level – ‘vertical’ development

5.3.2 Supporting champions

5.3.3 Coaches are ready

5.4 Barriers to use of coaching

5.4.1 Culture or mindsets are not the primary constraint

5.4.2 Coaching is not value in that culture

5.4.3 Perception of excessive focus on the individual

5.4.4 When sustainability expertise is not available

5.4.5 Insufficient infrastructure and support

Summary – Drivers for integration of coaching and sustainability

6 Options for coaching for sustainability

1) An individual from outside (external) the organisation with no background in sustainability

6.1 Context for coaching

6.1.1 Leadership development and transformation

Figure 11 Triple Loop Learning

6.1.2 Group and many-to-many

Agreement on ground-rules or principles, and making commitments to other individuals can

6.1.3 Global Focus

6.1.5 Performance Management

Summary – Options for coaching for sustainability

7.1 Re-evaluating hypotheses and questions

Figure 12 Benefits of coaching at different levels

rather than the individual.

7.2 Appropriate recommendations

7.4 Questions for further research

8.3 Corporate Sustainability

8.6 Cultural Change

Figure 13 Maxwell’s Qualitative Research Design (2005).

Below are further details of each of the main methods of research: