Organisations in Southeast Asia, where the landscape is increasingly dynamic and diverse, are navigating the growing complexities of leadership development. With shifting expectations, evolving market demands, and rapidly changing technological landscapes, the traditional methods of leadership training are being reassessed.

In particular, the debate between coaching and training is gaining traction. So, what’s more effective for cultivating the leaders of tomorrow?

The Shifting Landscape of Leadership

Leadership in 2025 is not just about managing teams or hitting financial targets. It’s about navigating complexity, embracing ambiguity, and leading in environments that are constantly shifting.

Leadership is no longer about ticking boxes on a checklist of competencies. The workplace is more volatile, complex, and ambiguous than ever before, and leaders need to possess a mix of hard skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to adapt quickly to unforeseen challenges.

A key concern, as highlighted in Gartner’s 2025 HR Survey, is the growing sense of overwhelm among managers. The survey reveals that 75% of HR leaders believe that managers are struggling with the weight of their expanding workloads and responsibilities.

Despite this, 70% of HR leaders feel that their current leadership programs aren't adequately preparing managers for the challenges ahead. This gap in leadership preparedness is something we can’t ignore—it’s a signal that companies need to take a fresh look at their training and development strategies. Managers today are expected to balance strategic oversight, lead teams, embrace technological advancements, and effectively manage people.

As Forbes points out, the rapid evolution of AI means leaders not only need to be familiar with these technologies but also capable of integrating them into their decision-making processes. AI is no longer just a trend—it’s a fundamental challenge that companies must address when developing their leadership programs.

The need for leaders who can confidently steer their teams through technological change highlights the importance of specialised coaching and training. This training should focus not just on technical skills, but also on nurturing a strong strategic vision.

The rise of AI, the increasing importance of cultural sensitivity, and the globalisation of markets are making leadership more multifaceted. In this context, the question of whether coaching or training is more effective for leadership development is one that deserves careful consideration.

Training: The Foundation You Need

Training offers a crucial starting point. It equips leaders with the foundational knowledge they need to excel in their roles — from learning the ins and outs of a specific industry to mastering techniques in strategic decision-making or conflict resolution.

Particularly in a region as diverse as Southeast Asia, where industries vary significantly from market to market, training offers the essential skills that every leader must possess. It’s about giving leaders the toolbox to manage and thrive in their roles.

Traditionally, leadership training has focused on imparting specific skills – from strategic thinking and communication to financial acumen and conflict resolution. This approach works well for roles where competencies can be easily measured and applied in structured environments. However, as the workplace becomes more fluid, this one-size-fits-all approach is no longer enough.

Training can teach leaders essential job-specific skills, but in the fast-moving business world, these skills alone may not be sufficient. It’s not just about what you know, but how you adapt that knowledge to the ever-changing situations you face.

In Southeast Asia, where the business landscape varies from city to city, leaders must be able to think on their feet, respond to unforeseen challenges, and adapt to diverse cultural contexts. Training, while necessary, doesn't always account for these nuances.

However, as valuable as training is, it often only prepares leaders for the known. In today’s rapidly changing world, the tools and frameworks acquired through training alone are insufficient. Leaders need to go beyond the technical and into the realm of strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. Here is where coaching comes in.

Coaching: Navigating Complexity

Enter coaching. Coaching, on the other hand, provides the space for leaders to reflect on their experiences, develop emotional intelligence, and hone their leadership style in real-time.

It is about helping leaders see beyond the immediate challenges and empowering them to navigate ambiguity, think critically, and make decisions that are aligned with their personal strengths and the organisation’s values.

Both training and coaching play a crucial role in helping leaders grow by equipping them with valuable knowledge, skills, and wisdom. Nicole, the Regional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lead for APAC at McCann Worldgroup, shares her perspective on how these two approaches differ:

Both coaching and training are designed to help leaders gain valuable knowledge, skills, and insights. But there’s a key difference between them.Training tends to be more structured – kind of like a lecture, where you’re delivering specific knowledge in a set framework. It’s focused on equipping leaders with competencies that are necessary for their role, and there’s usually a standard approach that applies to everyone.

Coaching, on the other hand, takes a more personalised, intentional approach. It’s about adapting to the individual leader’s situation, environment, and even the market they’re in.Coaching is more introspective – it helps leaders deepen their self-awareness, and it supports them in finding sustainable strategies that work for them. It’s all about tapping into their unique strengths while navigating challenges in their leadership journey.

In recent years, many organisations have shifted their focus from traditional training to coaching as a way to develop future leaders. While coaching may not teach specific skills, it builds a mindset of continuous learning and adaptability — critical qualities for navigating the unpredictable, complex environments leaders face in the modern workplace.

In Southeast Asia, where cultural nuances and rapid market shifts are the norm, coaching is invaluable. It helps leaders develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence, which allows them to respond to challenges with empathy, flexibility, and creativity. In this sense, coaching isn’t just a tool for self-improvement; it’s an essential strategy for leaders to thrive in an ever-changing world.

A key advantage of coaching is its personalisation. It’s not a generic programme; rather, it’s tailored to the individual’s needs, challenges, and aspirations. This bespoke approach allows leaders to work on their specific weaknesses, make better decisions, and understand the impact of their actions in real-time.

Coaching encourages leaders to think critically, ask the right questions, and evaluate their decisions from different angles. In a region like Southeast Asia, where business contexts and cultural dynamics vary so widely, this ability to adapt and evolve is crucial.

In leadership development, Nicole defines self-awareness as one of the most powerful tools for growth is self-awareness:

Self-awareness is critical in all aspects of life—not just leadership. It's important to understand not only your strengths and weaknesses, but also your tendencies, biases, problem-solving approaches, and conflict resolution styles. Self-awareness truly forms the foundation of effective leadership.

Coaching as Training: The Best of Both Worlds?

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you need to choose between coaching and training. But what if the lines between coaching and training are not so distinct?

In fact, coaching can be seen as an evolution of traditional training, where the development of leadership capabilities is driven by both structured learning and personal reflection. In this sense, coaching is not a replacement for training, but rather an enhancement.

Leadership development is a continuous journey, not a one-off event, and both coaching and training are complementary parts of the whole. Leaders need the hard skills, but they also need the capacity to lead with flexibility, resilience, and empathy.

Training provides the hard skills, the techniques, the knowledge. It gives leaders the tools they need to understand their role and perform it well. But it is coaching that prepares leaders to wield those tools with wisdom and insight. It’s the difference between having a hammer and knowing when to use it, and being able to use it to build something meaningful and sustainable.

When it comes to measuring the impact of coaching, Nicole highlights that it is more complex than training:

Measuring the impact of coaching is more complex than training since coaching is highly personalised and varies by individual. While some leaders show noticeable improvements after just a few brief coaching sessions, the most significant benefits emerge over time.

You can assess these changes through 360-degree feedback from colleagues. Or, in a feedback-rich workplace culture, you can track leadership effectiveness and trust levels for quantifiable data, alongside business outcomes and the quality of leadership decisions.

Rather than seeing them as opposing methods, think of coaching and training as two sides of the same coin. Together, they offer a holistic approach to leadership development — one that gives not only the skills needed to succeed in a given role but also the ability to lead with authenticity, empathy, and vision.

Reflection Questions: The Future of Leadership Development

In the end, it’s not about choosing one or the other — it’s about integrating them into a comprehensive strategy that addresses the full spectrum of leadership development.

The future of leadership in Southeast Asia will be shaped by leaders who can not only make informed, strategic decisions but also inspire, motivate, and adapt in a world that is anything but predictable.

• Are we equipping leaders with the skills they need for today’s world, or are we preparing them for the world of yesterday?
• Can we afford to prioritise coaching over training, or do both hold equal value in today’s fast-paced world?
• What happens when leaders are self-aware but lack the right technical skills to execute their vision?

About the Authors

NewCampus Contributor is a group of HR specialists across Southeast Asia with deep expertise in fostering collaborations between people to inspire conversations and drive impactful people journeys.

• Nicole Quiogue Golloso, Director of HR & Corp. Communications (SG & HK) and Regional DEI Lead (APAC) at McCann Worldgroup

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