The Broken State Of Coaching And Mentoring: Talent Retention Hinges On Rebuilding Here’s the solution to the declining coaching culture

By Stephanie Neal, DDI

Coaching and mentoring opportunities are among the most sought-after development experiences by leaders early in their careers, but their usage by companies is on the decline.

New data from 13,695 leaders and 1,827 human resources (HR) professionals responding to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast (GLF) 2023 revealed that, although leaders are asking for more coaching and mentoring to develop their skills, fewer companies are delivering these experiences.

In fact, the percentage of leaders who said they have had a formal mentor is down by more than 50% from just five years ago. And it is not because coaching and mentoring have become less crucial to developing talent – an overwhelming majority (85%) of HR respondents indicated that coaching is one of the most critical skills for leaders to develop over the next three years. Rather, there seems to be a commitment problem, as fewer organizations are implementing coaching and mentoring as a core part of their leadership development strategy.

Here are five findings that shed light on the broken state of coaching and mentoring in organizations today:

1. Most leaders have not had a mentor. Only 24% of the 13,695 leaders in our study indicated that they have had a formal mentor. This is a jaw-dropping 50% decline in the number of leaders who indicated they would have this key development experience just five years ago.

2. Even fewer early-career leaders have access to mentors. Organizations will often focus mentorship programs on new leaders early in their careers. However, these efforts seem to have fallen off over the past several years, with only 22% of current first-level leaders saying they have been assigned a formal mentor by their organization. This leaves an overwhelming majority (78%) of first-level leaders not having had the opportunity to receive formal mentorship.

3. Too few senior leaders are mentoring others. Although a slight majority of senior leaders (57%) have been mentors, this leaves a large portion not passing on their experience or knowledge to others in their organizations. Forty-three percent of senior leaders reported they have not formally mentored anyone.

The Broken State Of Coaching And Mentoring: Talent Retention Hinges On Rebuilding

4. Opportunities for coaching have decreased by 15% over the past five years. Although the number of leaders seeking coaching has been on the rise over the past several years, fewer companies have been offering it as a core component of their development programs. Only 52% of HR pros said their organization employs regular coaching to proactively develop leaders.

5. Leaders want more coaching. Leaders who said they get effective coaching from their managers were twice as likely to want more of it. They were also more likely to feel positive about their company’s development approach and culture.

Why Investing in Coaching and Mentoring Pays Off

Developing future leaders is a top priority for organizations, as is retaining top talent. Yet, too often they do not prioritize career growth opportunities that can help nurture and retain their talent for the long run. According to findings from this year’s GLF, there are many reasons why developing a coaching and mentoring culture pays off.

Top-performing companies implement coaching and formal mentoring. Although there has been a drop in the percentage of companies relying heavily on coaching and mentoring to develop their leaders, those that are developing leaders’ skills through these methods see substantial returns.

Our research showed there is a significant connection to business performance, with more than 60% of top financially performing organizations offering formal mentoring, compared to only 33% of organizations that rate below average in financial performance. Additionally, 48% more organizations in the top 10% for financial performance relied heavily on coaching to develop their leaders.

Leaders see the impact of coaching on their overall effectiveness. Coaching is a core skill that impacts a leader’s effectiveness across all areas of their role. We found a strong correlation between leaders’ rankings of their coaching skills and their perception of their overall effectiveness as a leader.

Specifically, 47% of leaders who think they are above average in leadership effectiveness feel they are effective in coaching and developing others. Meanwhile, only 18% of leaders who feel they are average or below in leader effectiveness reported being effective in coaching others. As companies focus on building their leaders’ coaching skills, they should emphasize the impact it will have on overall leadership performance.