Traditionally, leadership coaching was delivered in person. A leader would meet with a coach on a regular basis to help improve their skills and guide them toward future career goals. Over the years, however, digital coaching has emerged as a popular way for organizations to deliver personalized leadership development at scale.

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions, digital coaching is advancing even further, leveraging immersive practice to improve leadership training efforts.

Here, we’ll consider how global consultancy BTS’s acquisition of Sounding Board, a technology-based coaching solutions provider, is positioned to deliver personalized and scalable coaching.

Seeking a Partner to Meet Increased Demand

The coaching industry is broad, with many companies offering coaching for a wide range of purposes, from wellness and mental health to professional development. With a focus specifically on leadership development, Sounding Board’s platform delivers personalized, digital coaching aligned with an organization’s culture and existing frameworks, says Christine Tao, Sounding Board’s co-founder and CEO.

“We also provide software,” Tao says. “We’re the only company that also licenses our software to our clients so that they can also utilize the same technology we’ve been using to scale our coaching to stand up internal coaching programs or even mentoring programs.” This allows businesses to personalize coaching to different leadership levels, which is part of Sounding Board’s core vision.

BTS recognized Sounding Board’s technology as a key differentiator amid rising demand for coaching. “We partner with [organizations] when they evolve, and when the individuals in the organizations evolve with it,” says Katrin Mulford, senior vice president and partner, global head of coaching at BTS.

BTS supports clients in areas like talent development, strategy, culture, sales and marketing and more, and has found that coaching is a powerful tool for accelerating individual growth and change within these broader areas. With an increase in requests for proposals (RFPs) in the past 12-18 months, along with multiple clients revisiting their coaching strategies, BTS recognized the need for better technology to support this growth, Mulford shares.

BTS considered various options, including improving its own tech, licensing a solution or completing an acquisition. Ultimately, because the coaching quality and standards were strong and their methodologies were aligned, an acquisition made sense. “Sounding Board has this elegant tech that actually allows for scale,” Mulford says. It “became the perfect partner for us.”

Advancing With AI and Innovative Tech

A key driver behind the acquisition is the potential to leverage Sounding Board’s advanced technology and licensing options to enhance coaching effectiveness and scalability. BTS’s older coaching platform will be phased out to integrate Sounding Board’s technology, while other systems will remain in place with the potential for future integrations.

Another recent development worth noting is BTS’s recent acquisition of Wonderway, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered assistant for sales and leadership performance coaching on specific conversations critical to the company’s strategy and culture. Both BTS and Sounding Board are looking forward to scaling personalized coaching by combining human efforts with AI support.

Future Goals and Priorities

Looking ahead, BTS and Sounding Board’s long-term goals include:

• An expanded network and global presence: BTS operates in 25 countries and this acquisition has doubled the coaching network from 350 to 700 coaches, expanding services to 37 languages.
• Greater market share: BTS and Sounding Board have been rapidly taking share for coaching from the CEO to the frontlines as large Enterprise Coaching Provider of Choice. Together, they plan to double the business in a few years serving their global clients. “We know that together we can capture a lot of market share because we have a very differentiated solution,” Tao says.
• Enhanced customization and insights: By tailoring coaching to fit a client’s values, culture and strategic priorities, BTS and Sounding Board can streamline integration while delivering more valuable insights and measurement.
• A scalable SaaS offering: The ability for clients to license the platform is a “huge factor for us,” Mulford says, addressing the increasing demand for “one platform” to serve all of the companies coaching and mentoring needs, with manager involvement.

Ultimately, this acquisition strengthens BTS’s ability to deliver on its “strategy made personal” tagline, equipping leaders at all levels with coaching that’s tailored to not only their individual challenges but also to their organization’s culture and goals.