Digital coaching: Understanding its impact on leadership development

Digital coaching is the next evolution of traditional leadership development programs. As the world of work has rapidly underdone digital transformation, coaching is now online to help leaders develop their skills anytime, anywhere.

When done right, leadership development programs have the opportunity to transition good leaders into authentic, empathic and successful leaders. Digital coaching plays a significant role here with proven results to improve performance, engagement, job satisfaction, and retention.

What is digital coaching?

Many will be familiar with traditional one-to-one coaching sessions, in which an organisation nominates a select few to participate in a leadership development program comprising of face-to-face workshops and in-person coaching sessions.

To help more people reap the rewards of coaching, digital platforms unleash the power of coaching at scale. Similar to face-to-face delivery, digital coaching offers the same aspects of speaking directly to a qualified leadership coach for tailored professional development support. However, it comes with proven added benefits such as increased learning outcomes, stronger participant engagement, real-time progress updates, and greater accessibility for all.

How does digital coaching work?

Digital coaching platforms, like Hellomonday, are a fusion of live online coaching sessions, on-demand learning resources, and a hub to track your learning journey.

It’s simple – to get started you log into the Hellomonday platform and will complete your onboarding. Here you will be asked about the areas of development you’d like to focus on. You’ll then have an opportunity to select a coach from Hellomonday’s pool of expert coaches and book in your first one-to-one session. You’ll also have access to our Learning Hub filled with industry-leading resources for you to uncover leadership and development insights anytime, anywhere.

After each session, you can access your coach’s notes on the Hellomonday platform so the “nuggets of gold” can be easily found. Here your coach will also share actions from your session including resources to read and activities to complete. Beyond this, you’ll be able to track your progress towards your development goals, share feedback, and self-reflect on your learning journey.

Why traditional coaching doesn’t cut it anymore

Within 24 hours of learning new information, we forget almost half of it. That’s why once-a-year leadership development sessions are easily forgotten.

We know this from the Forgetting Curve, which shows how quickly we forget new information if we make little effort to retain it. Coupled with the Spacing Effect which highlights how long-term habit formation occurs when learning opportunities are spaced out.

To make leadership development stick, we need engaging, ongoing, and personalised opportunities tailored to our individual needs. Just like the old adage – no one size fits all.

Beyond this, there are several barriers to traditional coaching including; the time it takes participants and coaches to travel to a session, additional resourcing requirements on-site programs require, and the impracticalities of coaches taking physical notes during the sessions while actively listening to what participants have to say.

All while with digital coaching, there is flexibility and individuals can attend coaching sessions from the convenience of their homes, workplaces or preferred locations at any time.

Impact of digital coaching on leadership development

Digital coaching isn’t just a fancy new term for an online meeting. It’s an evolution of how leadership coaching can be delivered across your organisation, with a more on-demand and specialised approach

1. Greater accessibility to all

Why should only top-tier executives get all the learning opportunities? With digital coaching, even emerging leaders can benefit. From first-time leaders, middle managers, high-performers and those needing more support, digital coaching enables them to receive one-to-one support backed by behavioural science and organisational psychology.

And with that, digital coaching has revolutionised the way coaching is accessed, making it more convenient and accessible than ever before. Gone are the days of being limited by geographical barriers.

Now anyone can connect with their and access industry-leading expertise no matter their location, making it the perfect solution for remote workers seeking to advance their careers.

2. Customised and cost-effective

Everyone learns differently. Digital coaching platforms, like Hellomonday, allow for a tailored experience. Whether it’s on-demand learning or live workshops, there’s something for everyone. And here’s the kicker: it’s often more affordable than traditional methods.

When it comes to coaching – no one size fits all. With digital platforms, coaches can adapt sessions to the unique needs of each person, share specific information relating their unique development goals and help tack their progress in a way that works for them.

3. Made for the hybrid world

With more teams going remote or adopting hybrid working models, isn’t it time our coaching methods caught up? Digital coaching fits seamlessly into our new way of working, bridging distances and ensuring continuity.

Individuals can access coaching sessions at their convenience, eliminating the need to book appointments at specific times. This means fitting coaching sessions into their schedules without disrupting their work or personal lives. This is particularly beneficial for those who may have mobility issues, live in remote areas or have schedules that make it difficult to attend in-person appointments.

It also provides individuals with the opportunity to access coaching sessions at their own pace. They can take the time to reflect on their progress, set goals, and work on self-improvement without feeling rushed or pressured.

4. Scalable across your entire organisation

Think about the logistical nightmare of scheduling face-to-face sessions for every leader in your organisation. Digital coaching doesn’t just reduce this hassle; it eradicates it. Whether you’re a team of 50 or 5,000, everyone can be catered to.

Unlike typical leadership development programs, digital coaching can be rapidly implemented across an organisation with participants being able to easy access the platform.

5. Measure impact

Organisations that invest in coaching typically see a 6x return.

How do you know if traditional coaching is effective? Gut feeling? With digital platforms, the impact of leadership development is visible, trackable, and measurable. Who’s engaging? What topics resonate most? The answers are just a click away.

How are organisations embracing digital coaching?

When we speak with many organisations about digital coaching platforms and ask them how they’re using them inside of their organisation, these are the most common answers we get:

Springboard first time leaders and set them up for success as they transition into leadership roles
Fast track high potentials and prepare the future pipeline of leaders
Retain and prepare critical successors who are armed and ready to take over key roles
Support employees returning to work in a smooth and successful transition
Accelerate and support women leaders to perform at their best
Provide career development and support talent in taking the next step forward

From nurturing newcomers to advancing seasoned professionals, Hellomonday’s platform meets the diverse needs of today’s workforce.

Bringing digital coaching into your organisation

When you are considering implementing a digital coaching platform here is a high-level approach to ensuring you find the right fit for your business:

Identify the need: What are the leadership challenges in your organisation? Is it decision-making? Team management? Tailor your digital coaching initiatives to address these
Onboard with care: Rolling out a new initiative? Make sure everyone understands the benefits. Perhaps start with a pilot group, gather feedback, and then expand
Measure and iterate: One of digital coaching’s strengths is measurability. Use the data. Understand the trends. And continuously improve.
Promote continual learning: Encourage leaders at all levels to make learning and ongoing process. After all, the best leaders are always students at heart.

Why wait?

So, next time you consider leadership coaching for your organisation, ask yourself: are you just ticking a box or are you truly investing in your leaders’ growth? The answer could reshape your organisation’s future. Why wait? Dive into the digital coaching world and see the change for yourself.

Discover digital coaching with hellomonday today.