Why More Coaching Isn’t the Answer and What Quality Actually Looks Like
When coaching fails to deliver results, the instinctive response is predictable: increase volume.
More check-ins.
More coaching guides.
More manager training.
But as outlined in Why Coaching Efforts Stall—and What Actually Moves Performance, coaching volume does not equal coaching effectiveness.
In fact, increasing volume without addressing quality often makes the problem worse.
The Myth of “More Is Better”
Many Unboxed partners—especially in life sciences and commercial organizations—have invested heavily in structured coaching rhythms. And still, leaders struggle to see consistent performance gains.
Why?
Because quality coaching is cognitively demanding. Managers are balancing priorities, leading dispersed teams, and making fast decisions. Even when they believe in coaching, executing it well—consistently—is hard.
Coaching breaks down when:
- Feedback is vague or subjective
- Action items are unclear
- Follow-up never happens
- Coaching varies dramatically by manager
This creates inequity. Some employees receive excellent coaching. Others get little—or only receive feedback when something goes wrong.
Coaching Without Reinforcement Isn’t Coaching
The article makes a critical distinction: a coaching rhythm that doesn’t result in changed behavior is just a conversation.
Learning science backs this up. Training introduces knowledge, but coaching plus practice plus reinforcement is what drives sustained behavior change. Without reinforcement, feedback fades quickly.
This is where many coaching models stop short. They focus on the moment—but not the system that surrounds it.
Scaling Quality, Not Just Activity
As organizations grow, inconsistency becomes unavoidable unless coaching is anchored to shared standards.
That means:
- Clear expectations for what “good” looks like
- Defined behaviors and skills
- Feedback tied directly to those expectations
Without this structure, coaching becomes opinion-based. And opinion doesn’t scale.
Research cited in the article shows that structured, goal-directed coaching produces stronger outcomes than informal advice (Theeboom et al., 2013; Cannon et al., 2023). Structure isn’t bureaucracy—it’s what makes coaching fair, actionable, and repeatable.
Where Technology Fits (and Where It Doesn’t)
Technology doesn’t replace coaching. But it can make quality coaching possible at scale.
As noted in the article, the right systems help by:
- Making commitments visible
- Supporting practice between conversations
- Tracking progress over time
This “in-between” is where performance actually changes.
How Unboxed Can Help
Unboxed helps organizations shift from coaching activity to coaching effectiveness.
We support quality coaching by:
- Anchoring feedback to clear expectations and rubrics
- Enabling practice through tools like AI Roleplay with Mentor
- Capturing commitments and progress over time
Our approach reduces friction for managers while increasing consistency for employees—so coaching quality doesn’t depend on who your manager is or how busy they are.
Because performance improves when coaching is designed to scale.
