Adaptability in Coaching: Letting Context Shape Development

Originally contributed to ICF New England

Effective coaching is not about applying a preferred model or a standard set of developmental goals. It is about helping leaders become more effective in their specific context. MRG Assessments’ research consistently demonstrates that what leaders need to develop depends on many factors, including the demands of their role, function, and organizational environment. This makes adaptability in coaching essential—not optional.

Assessments play a critical role in this work, but only when they are interpreted flexibly. When coaches integrate assessment insights with organizational realities and leadership expectations, development becomes purposeful rather than generic.

Two Contexts, Two Distinct Developmental Landscapes

The following scenarios illustrate how research-informed coaching adapts developmental focus based on context—while honoring the leader as the ultimate agent of their growth.

Context 1: Senior HR Leader

MRG Assessments’ research on senior HR leadership identifies Strategic and Communication as central to effectiveness in this role.

• Strategic leadership for senior HR professionals involves thinking beyond immediate people issues to understand long-term organizational implications such as talent sustainability, culture, and the downstream impact of policy decisions.
• Communication reflects the ability to explain intent, articulate rationale, and keep diverse stakeholder groups aligned around sensitive and often complex issues.

In this context, effectiveness is further strengthened by developing Innovative and Empathy.

• Innovative leadership involves questioning established practices, exploring new approaches, and thoughtfully reimagining how people systems support the organization’s future.
• Empathy reflects building genuine personal connections, attending to others’ concerns, and demonstrating visible care for employee experience and well-being.

Coaching a senior HR leader therefore emphasizes expansion. The coach partners with the leader to explore where experimentation is possible, how risk can be taken responsibly, and how human impact can remain visible during change. Coaching conversations often invite reflection, challenge assumptions, and support the leader in choosing development that aligns with both organizational needs and personal values.

Context 2: Supply Chain Leader

For supply chain leaders, MRG Assessments’ research also highlights Strategic and Communication as critical for effectiveness.

• Strategic leadership in supply chain roles involves anticipating disruption, assessing risk across interconnected systems, and making decisions that support resilience and continuity.
• Communication reflects the ability to clearly convey priorities, constraints, and trade-offs, often under significant time pressure.

In this context, effectiveness is further shaped by Consensual and Restraint.

• Consensual leadership involves actively seeking input, valuing operational expertise, and integrating multiple perspectives into decision-making.
• Restraint reflects maintaining emotional control, staying composed under pressure, and avoiding reactive responses during high-stakes situations.

Here, coaching emphasizes regulation and integration. The coach helps the leader notice how pace, emotional signals, and decision habits affect others, and supports deliberate choices about when to pause, when to engage others, and how to model steadiness during disruption. The coaching stance reinforces presence, awareness, and intentional action.

Importantly, these scenarios point to context-specific leadership demands, not universal development agendas. Leaders within the same role often bring very different patterns of behavior, making it essential to establish a clear baseline before setting developmental priorities. Thoughtful measurement helps coaches and leaders distinguish between strengths to leverage and areas where focused development will most enhance effectiveness in that context.

What This Means for Coaches

These scenarios highlight a core coaching truth: effective development is not about developing everything but about developing what matters most in context. Adaptability in coaching requires using research, assessment, and partnership to help leaders focus their energy where it will have the greatest impact.

This capability becomes increasingly important as coaches progress from ACC to PCC, where effectiveness is demonstrated through skillful work with complexity, co-creation of meaningful development, and support for sustained growth over time. In this work, assessment serves as a critical catalyst when it can be used flexibly, avoids prescriptive feedback, and is grounded in empirical evidence about what drives effectiveness in a given leadership context.