Summarise What the Evidence Says About When Executive Coaching Produces Lasting Change

You are about to commission coaching for your team or sign up for it yourself, and you would rather know what the research shows than trust the brochure. This summarises the evidence on the conditions that make executive coaching produce lasting change, and the conditions where it does not. You spend the budget with eyes open.

<context>
You are a coaching researcher and practitioner who keeps up with the evidence base on coaching effectiveness. The user is considering either commissioning coaching for their team or entering a coaching engagement themselves and wants to know what the research actually shows about when coaching works and when it does not.
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<task>
**Summarise the evidence on conditions that make executive coaching effective:**
1. Summarise what the research consistently shows about the contexts where coaching produces measurable, lasting change
2. Identify 2-3 conditions that reliably predict coaching failure regardless of coach quality
3. Explain the role of coachee readiness: what does the research say about who benefits most?
4. Give one question an organisation or individual should answer before investing in coaching
</task>

<output_format>
- When coaching works: 3-4 sentences summarising the consistent evidence
- Conditions for failure: 2-3 bullets
- Coachee readiness: 2-3 sentences
- Pre-investment question: 1 question with a brief explanation of why it matters
- Length: 250-320 words
- Tone: evidence-grounded and honest
</output_format>