Creating a Coaching Culture - Peter Hawkins

Peter Hawkins’ Creating a Coaching Culture: Developing a Coaching Strategy for Your Organisation is a must-read for leaders, HR professionals, and coaches aiming to embed coaching into the DNA of their organisation. This book offers a practical roadmap to transform coaching from a standalone activity into a strategic, organisation-wide capability.

Why This Book Matters

Hawkins argues that a true coaching culture exists when coaching becomes the default way people lead, manage, and collaborate. It’s not just about offering coaching sessions—it’s about making coaching a core part of how your organisation thinks, behaves, and grows.

The book is packed with real-world case studies and a seven-step model that guides organisations through the process of embedding coaching at every level. It’s not just theory—it’s a toolkit for action.

The Seven Steps to a Coaching Culture

Hawkins lays out a clear, progressive framework:

Develop a panel of external coaches to bring fresh perspectives.
Build internal coaching and mentoring capacity to sustain growth.
Secure leadership buy-in so coaching aligns with culture change.
Expand coaching beyond individuals to include teams and organisational learning.
Integrate coaching into HR and performance management systems.
Adopt coaching as the dominant management style across the organisation.
Extend coaching to all stakeholders, making it a way of doing business

This model ensures coaching isn’t siloed—it becomes a strategic lever for transformation.

Key Takeaways

Strategic Alignment: Coaching should be tied to business goals, not treated as a separate initiative.
Leadership Involvement: Leaders must model coaching behaviours to drive cultural change.
Sustainable Practices: Embedding coaching into systems and processes ensures longevity.
Measurable Impact: Evaluating coaching’s return on investment is crucial for ongoing support.

Hawkins provides actionable insights for organisations at any stage of their coaching journey.

Final Thoughts

Creating a Coaching Culture is more than a guide—it’s a call to action. Hawkins challenges organisations to move beyond ad-hoc coaching and towards a culture where coaching is integral to leadership and collaboration.

If you’re ready to transform your organisation through coaching, this book offers the roadmap to get there.