Executive coaching widens as firms look to keep talent

After corner suites, employers bring coaching to high-potential managers too

- Devina Sengupta

The shift reflects how leadership expectations have evolved since the pandemic.

(ISTOCKPHOTOI)

India's largest companies are pushing executive coaching beyond the corner office to retain high-potential managers amid slower salary growth, rising leadership demands, and rapid technological change.

The shift reflects how leadership expectations have changed since the pandemic. Boards and shareholders now want leaders who navigate uncertainty, manage younger and multi-generational teams, and adapt quickly to rapid changes that artificial intelligence and digital disruption bring in.

At Hinduja group, over 100 senior executives will be trained by external executive coaches starting this month, with an eye on strategic impact, according to Amit Chincholikar, group president-HR at Hinduja Group.

"The emphasis has shifted from purely number-driven and outcomes-based leadership to leaders who are self aware, authentic, open to vulnerability, and able to bring empathy and even humour into their leadership style," noted Chincholikar.

For years, coaching was largely a CXO privilege. That is changing.