Coaching Forward
State of Executive Coaching in South and Southeast Asia — Trends 2025–26
Get the Full Research PaperAbout the research
What do organisations expect from executive coaching? What do clients value? And how can coaches demonstrate the difference their work makes?
Coaching Forward explores these questions through a study of 397 respondents across eight countries. It brings together the experiences of professional coaches, individual coaching clients and organisational sponsors to examine the present and future of executive coaching in the region.
Supported by participating ICF chapters, with Pune as the lead chapter, the research offers insights for coaches, HR and talent leaders, organisational decision-makers and people interested in coaching.
The study at a glance
397 respondents
306 coaches, 54 coaching clients and 37 organisational sponsors
8 countries
India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
3 stakeholder groups
Coaches, coaching clients and organisational sponsors
Survey responses were collected between 15 August and 11 November 2025. Most respondents were based in India; the findings reflect the study sample and should be read in that context.
Selected findings
19%
Making impact measurable
Only 19% of coaches in the study reported conducting business impact analysis, highlighting an opportunity to strengthen how coaching outcomes are evaluated.
81%
Understanding sponsor expectations
81% of organisational sponsors cited performance as a reason for introducing coaching.
73%
Combining internal and external coaching
73% of organisational sponsors reported using both internal and external coaches as required by the business.
These highlights are drawn from the executive summary. Explore the full paper for the findings, interpretation and wider context.
What you will explore
- How coaches, clients and sponsors understand coaching value and impact.
- The relationship between individual development goals and organisational expectations.
- What sponsors consider when selecting coaches.
- The growing role of AI and technology in coaching.
- How internal and external coaching can work together.
- The N-MEAL framework: Networking, Measurable, Expertise, Acceleration and Leveraging Technology.
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