Is Online Coaching as Effective as In-Person Coaching?
For most of the work I do, yes.
The quality of coaching is far more dependent on the conversation, the relationship and what you do with the work than whether we are sitting in the same physical room.
Online coaching also removes one fairly arbitrary limitation: geography.
You can choose the coach who fits the work, rather than the coach who happens to live closest to you.
What online coaching does well
It removes the travel
This sounds small until you’re trying to fit coaching around a job, a team, a family or a business.
A one-hour session stays much closer to one hour.
You can work with the right person
Online coaching means I work with clients across the UK, Europe, the US and beyond.
You don’t need to choose between coaches based on who is within driving distance.
You’re usually in your own environment
For some people, talking from home or their own office makes the conversation easier.
There’s less formality and less transition in and out of the session.
You finish the call and go straight back into the life or role we’ve just been talking about.
We can still have a proper conversation
Video gives us enough of what matters: expression, tone, hesitation, energy and the moments where what you’re saying and what you’re feeling don’t quite match.
I’ve never found the screen to be the part that determines whether the work is useful.
Is there anything in-person coaching does better?
Sometimes.
Some people simply think better when they’re physically in a room with someone.
There can also be value in getting away from your usual environment, particularly for longer sessions, team work or retreats.
So I wouldn’t argue that online is always better.
I’d argue that for regular one-to-one coaching, it rarely makes sense to choose a less suitable coach simply because they are local.
How my online coaching works
My regular one-to-one coaching takes place on Zoom.
We meet fortnightly, and the work is built around what is actually happening in your life, leadership or business.
Every programme includes support between sessions, and clients on The Year also have WhatsApp access throughout.
There isn’t a separate “online version” of the coaching.
This is the coaching.
So, is online coaching as effective as in-person coaching?
For most people, yes.
If the coaching relationship is right and the work is useful, being on Zoom doesn’t make the conversation less meaningful.
What matters much more is whether you trust the person you’re working with, whether they understand what you’re actually dealing with and whether the conversation changes what happens outside the session.
Want to see whether working together feels right?
You don’t need to decide based on a webpage.
The discovery call is free, online and gives us both a chance to see whether the conversation feels useful before you commit to anything.
Want to stay in the conversation?
Shift. Lead. Commit. is my monthly newsletter for people who want to think better, lead better and make changes that last.
Once a month, I share questions, observations and lessons from the coaching work — things you can actually use.
No daily emails. No generic motivation.
“In our first two hours you gave me so much confidence to face my fears. You gave me courage to believe in my dream again and persue it - and most important of all - You made me feel like you understood me the whole time. Thank you.”