How to Transform your Company Culture

Coaching has become more mainstream in recent years as businesses recognise it as a valuable way to support their people. 

In a global study by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) from 2009, three-quarters of respondents said coaching boosted their confidence, improved relationships, communication, and interpersonal skills, and increased work performance.

I’ve been Taxi Studio’s in-house coach for over several years—a role that, in my experience, is extraordinary within the design industry. In fact, it’s still rare in any industry. Despite the clear benefits of coaching for employees at all levels, a 2023 ICF study found that 76% of coaching clients are managers, leaders, and senior executives—and just 18% of them are under 35. At Taxi Studio, we offer coaching to everyone in the business, from brand-new junior recruits to the management team.

Provide a Valuable Outlet for All

We started offering coaching one day a week in November 2019, following a challenging period for the design sector. After Brexit, many budgets were on hold, the financial situation in the industry was unstable, and there was a lot of change. I was brought on board at Taxi Studio to give people support as the studio looked to the next chapter.

Little did we know, the next chapter would be the COVID-19 pandemic. As it turned out, coaching was an incredible resource to have already put in place. As the business worked harder just to keep things moving, coaching gave individuals an outlet to connect with someone, express how they were feeling, and gain perspective.

My role is to be objective. I don’t give advice. I listen to individuals and help them work through their situation so they can leave a session with a plan that works for them. Some people I coach regularly; others come to see me to work on a specific challenge over three or four sessions, and then I may not work with them for a year. Each person’s experience of coaching is different depending on what’s going on for them.

“Better-quality interactions make for a better working environment.”

Strengthen Internal Relationships

Coaching is not about hard metrics; you can’t definitively say that it makes people more successful or the business more profitable. The softer stuff can be tricky to measure, but the bottom line is that better-quality interactions make for a better working environment. One of Taxi Studio’s founding values is ‘Form Real Relationships,’ and I believe coaching can help strengthen those relationships inside a business.

People often come to a session to think through a conversation they need to have. They might find a situation difficult or feel they aren’t able to have the impact they want. We’ll work through it to gain more clarity. They can then have that conversation in a direct, honest, and open manner, focusing on solutions rather than what’s not working for them. 

Coaching helps them be more objective without emotions getting in the way. Coaching can help people articulate themselves more clearly, but it also helps them listen. That’s an essential part of the design process too. When people genuinely work together to problem-solve effectively, they move things forward as a team, and both the work and the business benefit.

Foster a Healthier Culture

Coaching is about helping individuals understand themselves better: gaining clarity on where they’re at, identifying their blind spots, and building confidence in themselves and what they bring. When people feel recognised for their strengths and feel their voice is heard, it creates a calmer, more self-assured environment. That’s easy to say but hard to do in a meaningful way within a business.

When you extend coaching to the entire business and truly commit to it, over time you start to see positive change. People feel comfortable raising their hand when something doesn’t feel right or when they need help. At Taxi Studio, coaching has enabled us to establish and implement values and behaviours that the entire organisation has committed to, fostering and sustaining a psychologically safe environment.

In a design studio, subjectivity plays a significant role, so it’s crucial to promote an environment that encourages people to express their thoughts. At Taxi Studio, we value the idea that great ideas can come from anyone, anywhere. When people feel able to voice their opinions and bring constructive challenges, it creates more open discussions and encourages creativity.

Encourage Open Career Conversations

Team members within a studio can also start to take charge of their own careers. Businesses might say they encourage this, but without the right support, people can feel lost. They need the resources to think things through and then have a clear conversation with their manager about what they want next in their career and the support they need.

At Taxi Studio, coaching has helped head of teams have more meaningful discussions about people’s growth. Individuals come prepared for their quarterly catchups, ready to have open conversations about their future. This leads to a more proactive, entrepreneurial approach to personal development, which impacts how the business evolves too.

“I’ve seen people leave companies because they’re frustrated—without ever having the right conversations.”

That combination of having a voice and knowing what you need is very empowering. And because it’s a safe environment, those underlying issues and emotions that exist in every business are out in the open and talked about.

In my 10+ years as a coach, I’ve seen people leave companies because they’re frustrated—without ever having the right conversations. You can talk about anything you want in my sessions, so it’s not unusual for someone to say, “I’m thinking about leaving,” or, “This isn’t working for me.” It’s never my agenda to keep someone in the business, but I am there to give them the opportunity to think through all their options.

By working through the issue and finding another way to fix the ‘thing’ causing the problem, people tend to stay more often than they don’t. It often leads to a really good conversation about their role.

Invest in a Long-Term Vision

My advice to any design business looking to integrate coaching into its culture is to find the model that works for you and commit to it. Consistency and longevity are key to seeing the benefits; otherwise, it’s just a drop in the ocean. The team at Taxi Studio is currently 50-ish people, which I think is an ideal size for in-house coaching—large enough to manage consistent demand across the team, and we can scale as the studio grows.

If you can’t afford to implement it in the same way we have—with a dedicated in-house coach—other approaches include subscription models and on-demand digital coaching. Larger organisations may call on a roster of external coaches to cater to specific needs or train existing employees to coach their teams alongside their main roles.

Keep It Confidential

If you’re planning to bring a coach on board to help your business, bear in mind that confidentiality is everything. At no point could I ever pass on anything I’ve heard in a coaching session. Even if I had good intentions—thinking, “This person’s having a hard time and they need some help”—it would break that trust, and it wouldn’t work.

That means you’re investing in a coach without knowing exactly what your team is talking to them about. You need to trust the people that work for you and the coach to make this a quality experience. If you try to control it or put restrictions on it, it doesn’t work.

Make it Visible

Finally, make coaching visible. It should be perfectly normal to see people going into a coaching session, whether they’re a new starter or one of the management team. Make it clear that it’s a good use of their time in a busy day, and never challenge that. But remember, people must choose for themselves. You can’t make anyone want to be coached.

Read the Design Week feature here.