The Alternative to Coaching Up or Coaching Out: Coaching Within

Coaching Within

When someone struggles in a role, leaders often default to two options: coach them up - help them perform better - or coach them out - help them transition to a different role.

But what if there’s another path - one that doesn’t start with changing the person or the position, but instead begins with greater self-understanding?

What if we tried coaching within?

Beyond “Up” or “Out”

Traditional coaching often assumes the issue lies in skills or fit. But many times, the real gap is self-awareness for both the employee and the employer.

We focus so much on performance improvement that we forget about alignment. Are this person’s strengths, motivations, and values truly matched to what the role - and the organization - needs?

And here’s the hard truth:
Even the best coaching won’t stick if there’s a misalignment between who someone is and what their job demands.

The Alignment Gap

But how do we even know if alignment exists?

Too often, we can’t because:

1. The organization lacks clarity about the role. Expectations are vague, evolving, or interpreted differently across leaders.
2. The employee lacks clarity about themselves. They may not fully understand their own strengths, blind spots, values, or what truly brings them energy.

When both sides are unclear, it’s like trying to fit puzzle pieces together without seeing the full picture.
That’s where coaching within becomes invaluable.

What Coaching Within Looks Like

Coaching within helps individuals deepen their understanding of themselves - their strengths, blind spots, triggers, and energy drivers.

It starts with curiosity and reflection:

• What parts of the role bring you alive?
• Where do you feel drained or disengaged and why?
• How might your strengths, when overused, create unintended friction?

The goal isn’t to “fix” the person. It’s to illuminate patterns so they, and their leaders, can see whether they’re truly set up for success.

The Mutual Match

Successful employment is never a one-sided equation.

• Employers need people who can deliver what the role demands, but also have a responsibility to define that role clearly and design it in a way that sets people up for success.
• Employees need the self-awareness to recognize where their strengths can shine, and where they might struggle.

It’s not to say that role clarity and self-clarity are the only factors that determine a good match, but they are foundational. At the very least, the person’s natural strengths must align with the core demands of the role for any other success factor to take root.

When both sides do this work - role clarity and self-clarity - true alignment becomes possible.

It’s not about shaping people to fit roles, or roles to fit people. It’s about discovering where the natural overlap lies.

In Practice

In practice, coaching within looks less like a performance review and more like an inquiry. It’s a dialogue that helps both sides see what’s really happening beneath the surface.

It’s where a leader learns what gives someone energy and what quietly drains it. It’s where an employee discovers how their strengths might be colliding with the system around them.

And it’s where both begin to realize that development isn’t about correction; it’s about connection.

The Outcome

When organizations embrace coaching within, they unlock a different kind of growth.

People become more self-directed, intentional, and engaged. Leaders gain insight into how to align roles more effectively. And the organization evolves from managing performance to cultivating potential.

Because at its core, coaching within isn’t about moving people up or out - it’s about helping them see where they truly fit.