Leadership Executive Coaching Tools That Every NZ Business Owner Should Use

by Sean Foster | September 25, 2025 | Strategy, Coaching

Who Is This Article For?

For business owners, executives and those looking to inspire higher performance across their organisations. While the term "executive coaching" might suggest it’s only for larger businesses (corporations), research and years of case study evidence shows executive coaching is equally transformative for small and medium sized businesses (SME’s), emerging leaders, or any professional, driving for change and impact.

Whether you are running a tight-knit team from a Hawke’s Bay orchard, scaling a manufacturing company out of Wellington, or steering a national corporate towards new heights, coaching frameworks offer the discipline, clarity, and developmental edge that the world’s best-performing organisations rely on. And you don’t need to be a qualified executive coach to benefit from using them.

The Benefits: Why Executive Coaching Works in Every NZ Business

When morale drops or turnover rises, leaders often try new systems or incentives, yet often, little changes. Numerous studies, including those cited by Harvard Business Review support the link between empathy, emotional intelligence, and higher team engagement. Common management tactics often fail to reach the heart of the problem because they don’t capture what staff are actually experiencing day to day.

Why This Impacts Your Business

Independent studies consistently show that coaching delivers outcomes that matter to owners and leaders alike:

• Measurable productivity lifts: According to a Metrix Global LLC study, executive coaching resulted in a median 788% ROI for businesses, citing productivity, quality, and organizational strength as key factors.
• Increased engagement and retention: International Coaching Federation (ICF) global studies have shown that 80% of people who receive coaching report greater self-confidence, and over 70% benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and communication skills.
• Stronger leadership pipeline: Harvard Business Review highlights coaching as not just remedial, but proactive, developing talent for succession and managing disruptive change.
• Tangible business results: Organisations with a strong coaching culture cite boosted morale, higher innovation, and better commercial outcomes.

These benefits hold just as true for SME business owners and leaders as for larger corporations. In fact, smaller organisations can often pivot and benefit from coaching quicker, seeing compounding gains in performance and satisfaction.

The message here: Executive coaching is for the person, business size is irrelevant.

The Five Leading Coaching Models Every Leader Should Become Familiar With

Each coaching model provides a structured, conversation-based roadmap, but can also be flexibly applied by anyone, not just trained coaches. In real-world practice, these models become backbone frameworks, not strict scripts, for powerful, purpose-driven conversations.

1. GROW Model

Widely regarded in the coaching world, the GROW model propels progress by breaking conversations into four focused stages:

• Goal: Clearly define what’s to be achieved.
• Reality: Explore the current situation and obstacles.
• Options: Generate possible strategies and solutions.
• Will: Clarify action steps and accountability.

Research finds that the GROW model has helped to drive results by shifting attention from problems to solutions. It’s equally effective in team meetings, one-to-ones, or informal “catch-ups” where a bit more structure is needed.

The take-away: The GROW model is refreshingly simple and logical, so much so that it often feels like common sense. While many believe they already use this approach, the reality is that everyday pressures can easily pull our focus toward immediate issues. This distracts us from guiding those who matter most toward lasting, long-term solutions. The structured GROW framework helps maintain focus on these meaningful objectives rather than being sidetracked by urgent but less important problems.

2. CLEAR Model

Developed as an update to some of the classic models, CLEAR is revered for its emphasis on trust, deep empathy, and reflective problem-solving. Its stages focus on:

• Contracting: Clarifying session purposes and outcomes.
• Listening: Attentive, judgment-free engagement.
• Exploring: Surfacing issues and discovering root causes.
• Action: Agreeing on clear, measurable next steps.
• Review: Reflecting on learning and results.

ICF research finds this model especially useful when long-term behavioural change and team buy-in are essential.

The take-away: The CLEAR model is similar to the GROW model, but comes with the benefit of focusing your self-attention onto some of the critical ‘coaching’ habits that you should be dialling into, such as actively listening, and exploring options.

3. FUEL Model

Popular for its clarity, the FUEL model moves quickly from framing the conversation to actionable plans:

• Frame: Set expectations and the agenda.
• Understand: Capture all dimensions of the current situation.
• Explore: Develop many possible options together.
• Layout: Pin down an actionable plan, with roles and timelines.

Use the FUEL model in performance management discussions, strategic planning, or navigating complex organisational change.

The take-away: Personally I find this model to be too similar to the CLEAR model. It’s technically all correct, but reduces some of the focus areas which you as an effective ‘executive coach’ should be paying attention to.

4. OSKAR Model

Built on a solution-focused coaching tradition, OSKAR helps teams or individuals move quickly to high-value wins:

• Outcome: What does success look like here?
• Scaling: Where are we now (on a scale of 1-10)?
• Know-how: What skills, strengths, or resources exist?
• Affirm & Action: Celebrate what works and define clear actions.
• Review: Check-in and refine progress.

Especially practical for fast-paced environments, project reviews, or settings where time is at a premium.

The take-away: I really like the scaling element. But potentially there is a missing piece in this model, can you guess where this is?

Are you familiar with the quote, "A problem well stated is a problem half-solved," (Charles F. Kettering, the head of research at General Motors from 1920 to 1947.) So instead of just asking for a scale or rating on each outcome, also rate the priority of these outcomes. Then when you get to the Know-how, ensure that these points are directly related to improving these outcomes.

5. STEPPA Model

STEPPA is distinct for weaving emotional intelligence into the model. Emotions are surfaced, discussed, and managed throughout the process:

• Subject: Define the focal issue or topic.
• Target: Pin down a precise goal or outcome.
• Emotion: Recognize and process emotional drivers.
• Perception: Address beliefs and “filters.”
• Plan: Chart the best course of action.
• Pace: Set timelines and milestones.
• Action: Commit to the very next step.

Ideal for conflict resolution, leadership development, and navigating change.

Take-away: This is a very coach-centric model, so unless you are comfortable in discussing and reading emotions and unbiasedly recognizing perceptions, I would steer away using it. As you develop your own self-awareness and coaching skills, then revisit this model as it is a strong framework.

How Each Model Is Best Used

Any model is only as strong as your comfort and authenticity as a leader in using it. If one framework feels more natural, use it as your base, results come from fluent, human conversations more than following a formula to the letter.

Practical Reality: Coaching Models as Backbones, Not Scripts

In real coaching and leadership, models are rarely followed in strict, linear steps. A skilled coach, mentor, or manager will blend stages, adapting to the mood, energy, or emerging needs of the conversation. These frameworks serve as “anti-drift anchors,” ensuring discussions are purposeful rather than reactive.

For NZ business owners and team leaders, printing these models prior to your next team meeting or 1-on-1 is recommended. Over weeks and months, the compound effect of regular, structured coaching conversations can transform your team’s performance, culture, and ultimately business value.

Harvard Business Review reports that companies embedding coaching into their routine practices see tangible gains in resilience, innovation, and staff retention, even through periods of disruption.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Executive Coaching in New Zealand

1. Is executive coaching just for corporate boards or C-suite leaders?
No; executive coaching accelerates growth, clarity, and resilience for all individuals and teams. We are making change at the personal level, so any human.

2. How does executive coaching create measurable ROI for businesses?
Coaching has been linked to improved productivity, retention, employee engagement, and innovation, often with ROI exceeding six times the initial investment. If you require more exacting ROI measures in your business then identify this at the start of the coaching journey.

3. Which credentials matter for you in being more effective as a coach in your current role?
Your credentials don’t matter at all. If you are in a position to influence others, then delivering results is really all that matters. But your delivery of results should be through those that you influence, as opposed to you becoming the ‘bearer’ and ‘doer’ of everything.

4. Are coaching models rigid scripts?
No; they’re structured guides, helping ensure focused, impactful conversations.

5. How long does a coaching engagement typically last?
Professional executive coaching engagements range from a handful of sessions to 12 months or more, depending on and needs. So don’t expect turnaround results from just a few conversations with your reportees. Behaviour change takes repetition, commitment and time.

6. Can managers or owners use these models informally?
Absolutely! They’re equally effective in formal sessions and everyday leadership conversations.

7. Do these models work in Kiwi SMEs?
Yes, the frameworks are flexible, evidence-based, and proven across diverse New Zealand organisations, from start-ups to established companies. It may come as a surprise, but these models are used internationally across a diverse range of cultures. NZ is no exception.

8. What’s the main difference between coaching and consulting?
A coach facilitates thinking and commitment to action; consultants typically provide expert solutions or advice.

9. Where can I find more research about executive coaching?
Explore independent sources such as the International Coaching Federation Research, Harvard Business Review, and peer-reviewed psychology journals.

10. I am not a coach, I run a business or work in a corporate office, how do I get started with improving my own executive coaching?
Book an introduction call with an experienced coach. Contact Sean Foster for a personal conversation about your needs.

For open, evidence-based executive coaching tailored to New Zealand business realities, book a confidential conversation with Sean Foster: Sean Foster Calendly