Why Leaders Need a Human Coach Who Will Challenge Their Thinking
One of the most important contributions an executive coach can make is helping a leader see and understand something they were not seeing clearly or were underestimating its impact.
Leaders are surrounded by people who often hesitate to disagree with them. The more senior the leader, the more likely direct feedback is to be filtered, watered down, or even misleading. Many leaders now use artificial intelligence to think through difficult conversations, employee problems, and decisions. AI can be extremely useful, but recent research identifies an issue coaches should understand: AI systems can be overly agreeable with the person asking the question — and that's a problem.
A 2026 study published in Science evaluated 11 leading AI models and found that the models affirmed users' actions 49% more often than human respondents. In three additional experiments involving 2,405 people, participants who received more agreeable AI responses became more convinced they were right and less willing to take responsibility or repair an interpersonal conflict. Interestingly, people also tended to trust and prefer the more agreeable AI. (Cheng et al., 2026)
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For executive coaches, those findings warrant our attention. One of our responsibilities is not simply to support a client's current interpretation of a situation. At times, our greatest value is helping the client consider a perspective they may initially resist. This is a capability that a masterful human coach — as opposed to AI — may excel at through sensitive, insightful and empathetic reading of the client and adjusting their communication approach in real time while watching and feeling the client's reaction.
Consider the Example of Paulette
Paulette, a senior vice president, tells her coach that one of her directors became defensive after she gave him very direct feedback in a team meeting.
"He needs to be less sensitive," she says. "At his level, he should be able to take straightforward feedback."
A coach could easily stay with the leader's interpretation and ask how she wants to handle the director next. A more useful coaching conversation might slow the situation down, prompting reflection.
The coach remembers that two months earlier the executive described another employee as becoming defensive after receiving feedback. The coach might say:
"I'm noticing that this is the second time you've described someone becoming defensive after receiving feedback from you. What do you think might be useful to examine about how the feedback is being delivered?"
Or the coach might ask:
"If there were 10% of your director's reaction that contained useful information for you, what might it be?"
Neither question assumes that the executive is wrong, but both invite her to examine something she may not have considered.
Challenge Is Part of Effective Coaching
Recent research in Consulting Psychology Journal provides support for the role of challenge in professional coaching. Brown and Reitmeier (2026) studied 182 clients who worked individually with professional, credentialed leadership coaches. They found that coach support, coach challenge, client engagement, and clarity about the kind of leader clients wanted to become were associated with greater goal progress, particularly when coaching resulted in specific, actionable plans. These factors were associated with progress particularly when the coaching helped clients turn their learning into concrete plans for action. (Brown & Reitmeier, 2026)
In my experience coaching leaders for more than 30 years, the most useful challenge usually occurs after the coach has established trust. Clients need to know that the coach is curious rather than judgmental and is committed to helping them succeed. Then a coach can hold up a mirror without telling the client what the reflection is supposed to mean.
Questions for Coaches to Consider
Think about your own coaching:
- When was the last time you respectfully challenged an executive's interpretation of a situation?
- Are there patterns you notice in a client that the client does not yet seem to recognize?
- Do you delay too long asking an important question because you are concerned that it could temporarily disrupt rapport?
- How do you challenge a client without moving into advising, judging, or imposing your own point of view?
- Have you created enough trust that your client knows a challenging observation is offered in service of their goals?
As AI becomes increasingly available to leaders, professional coaches have an important opportunity. They need skilled thinking partners who listen carefully, notice patterns over time, understand the human context, and are willing to effectively reflect or ask questions that may be difficult but useful.
A masterful human coach can provide both support and challenge. Sometimes the most valuable coaching question is the one the leader would never have thought to ask themselves.
College of Executive Coaching's Online Coach Training is designed for professionals seeking proven coaching tools, a strong ethical foundation, and a clear path to ICF-accredited coach training and potential ICF credentialing. It is an excellent way to begin building the skills that leaders and organizations increasingly value.
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Sources
- Cheng, M., Lee, C., Khadpe, P., Yu, S., Han, D., & Jurafsky, D. (2026). Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence. Science, 391(6792), eaec8352. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aec8352
- Brown, R. P., & Reitmeier, R. O. (2026). The role of actionable planning in facilitating goal progress through professional coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal, 78(1), 49–65. https://doi.org/10.1037/cpb0000283
