Intervening Factors Affecting the Implementation of Coaching Leadership with a Professional Competency Development Approach in the Branches of Kosar Insurance Company in Iran

Abstract

This study aimed to identify and explain the intervening factors affecting the implementation of coaching leadership with an emphasis on developing the professional competencies of employees in the branches of Kosar Insurance Company in Iran. This applied qualitative study was conducted using grounded theory based on Strauss and Corbin’s systematic approach. The study population comprised academic experts in Mazandaran Province who held the academic rank of associate professor or higher, had more than 10 years of teaching experience, and possessed expertise in human resource management, organizational behavior, leadership, or competency development. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling, and data saturation was achieved after conducting interviews with 14 experts. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 60–90 minutes. The interview transcripts were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding. Member checking, peer review, external auditing, and inter-coder agreement were employed to enhance the credibility and dependability of the findings. The thematic relationships among the identified categories were also examined using MAXQDA 2022. The analysis identified five axial categories of intervening factors: senior management support, human resistance, employees’ professional maturity, financial resources, and the functional nature of intervening factors. Practical senior management support, reflected in the modification of evaluation and reward systems, formal organizational endorsement, and allocation of sufficient time for coaching activities, emerged as the most important facilitator. Resistance among middle managers and experienced employees, particularly because of their reliance on directive leadership styles and concerns about losing authority, was identified as a major implementation barrier. Employees’ psychological readiness, professional maturity, and understanding of the benefits of coaching substantially affected their acceptance of the model. Financial resources were also required for coach training, incentive systems, and technological infrastructures for monitoring coaching progress. The findings further demonstrated that these factors operate interactively and synergistically, meaning that weakness in one factor may undermine the influence of the others and disrupt the entire implementation process. The successful implementation of coaching leadership in Kosar Insurance branches requires genuine senior management commitment, systematic management of human resistance, enhancement of employees’ professional maturity, and adequate financial and educational infrastructures to support sustainable professional competency development.