Leadership development happens for different reasons. Sometimes it’s part of a planned learning and development strategy. Other times it’s a response to something that’s happening, or a trend that’s emerged, that the organization wants to address.
Either way, a practical decision follows: team training (usually a leadership workshop), leadership coaching for one leader, or both? They do different things, and the right choice depends on what you want to be different six months from now, whether that’s a planned goal or a response to something specific.
When a Leadership Workshop Is the Right Investment
Most workshops are an investment in people. Everyone in the room gets a chance to learn and grow, and the team leaves with a shared language for how they work together.
People also learn about themselves and about the people they work with. That understanding builds better relationships, and strong working relationships support accountability, collaboration and results across the organization.
They also help build a culture of learning and growth. When an organization keeps investing in its people, learning becomes part of how the team works, and that supports stronger, higher-performing teams and organizations.
A leadership workshop fits well when:
A group needs the same skills at the same time
A leadership team is new, or has been restructured
A team is working well and the organization wants to build on that strength
You want to strengthen ownership and accountability at every level, from the front line up
A team wants to get clear on its shared values and lead from them
You want to show people they’re worth investing in
Leadership training workshops can take different forms. Coaching for Accountability builds ownership and accountability from the front line upward. Values work with the Pursuit Values System helps teams build values-based leadership. Assessment-based sessions like DiSC and The Five Behaviors give a team a common language. You can see how I run these on the workshops page.
When Executive Coaching Is the Better Investment
Coaching is built around one leader and their real situation. A promotion, a difficult team, a decision they’re stuck on, or simply a desire to lead at a higher level. It moves at their pace and stays with them over months, not one day.
It’s also where a leader gets space to think about how they’re showing up. One question I often ask is: what are the hard conversations you haven’t had yet? The answer often shows a leader where their attention can make the biggest difference.
Sometimes a workshop is requested for something specific, like trust, conflict, accountability or communication. In my work with leaders and organizations, a different question can come up alongside it: would supporting the leader help too? A team takes its cues from how it’s being led, so helping the leader grow can shift how the whole team works.
Leading is hard, and many leaders were never taught how. The pressure often shows up quietly, which I wrote about in Your Top Performers Are Burning Out. That’s where executive coaching can make the difference.
When the Answer Is Both
A workshop gives a team shared language and skills. Coaching helps the leader apply them day to day and keep them going after the room empties. For many organizations, the strongest result comes from using each where it fits.
How We Work Out What Fits
This is the kind of thing that comes out in conversation. Before a workshop, I’ll often hold a few discovery calls, sometimes with one person, sometimes with several key stakeholders, to understand what the organization is hoping for and what’s going on. Afterward, we debrief, so what people learned has a better chance of carrying into the work.
Questions to Ask Before You Decide
These are a good starting point for HR leaders, founders and senior leaders:
What do we hope will be different in three to six months?
Is this a skill everyone on the team needs, or is it about one leader’s situation?
Who needs to work differently for this to last?
Is the leader involved in shaping what we’re investing in?
How will we know it’s working?
If the answers point to the whole team, start with a workshop. If they point to one leader, start with coaching. If they point to both, you’re not alone. It’s common.
Start With a Conversation
If you’re weighing a workshop, coaching, or both, a short discovery call is a good place to start. We’ll talk through what you’re hoping to build or address, and what support would help most.
Tom Newton is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and has over 20 years of executive leadership experience. Published October 2026.
Find your rhythm. Lead with clarity.
