When OCBC's outgoing CEO, Helen Wong, recently declared that coaching skills are now a top priority for organizational growth, it wasn't just another HR headline; it was a signal of how leadership in Singapore is evolving.
OCBC's investment aims to train 100 senior leaders to attain the International Coaching Federation Associate Certified Coach (ICF-ACC) accreditation by the end of 2027.
This investment in leadership coaching during complex times isn't just about coaching. It's about performance and culture.
Let's face it. Nobody wants coaching for the sake of it. It reminds me of the adage, which is actually a marketing philosophy attributed to Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt, who said, "People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole".
Why It Matters
For decades, banks and large corporations have built performance cultures centered on technical excellence, compliance, and execution. But as volatility, automation, and hybrid work reshape the world of work, the real performance differentiator has shifted from knowledge to self-awareness, from authority to empathy.
It can be no coincidence that while we witness headlines about the future of work being dominated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), leaders and teams need to focus on their unique differentiation: being Human.
Coaching is no longer a luxury for executives. It's becoming a strategic skill for managers, one that enables better listening, sharper decisions, and more empowered teams.
It builds the internal capacity to think, reflect, and adapt skills that no AI tool or playbook can replicate.
A Broader Shift Across Singapore
OCBC's move isn't happening in isolation. DBS invested in leadership development grounded in AI-enabled coaching.
At a time when global conversations are encouraging professionals to lean into uniquely human skills such as empathy, judgment, creativity, and presence, developing those very abilities through an AI coaching platform feels contradictory.
DBS's iCoach is an innovative step, but it risks missing the essence of coaching itself as well as being counter to current thinking.
Artificial intelligence can prompt reflection and offer feedback, yet it cannot genuinely listen, challenge assumptions, or read the subtleties of tone and silence that define meaningful growth.
Actual coaching depends on human connection, not algorithms. It requires awareness, emotional intelligence, and the ability to hold space for discomfort and insight.
Privacy is another concern. Even when platforms claim to safeguard data, sharing personal reflections with an AI system introduces risk, particularly in corporate environments where psychological safety is crucial.
As Sam Altman noted earlier this year, "we don't have [privilege] yet for AI systems, and yet people are using it similarly". For banks and employees alike, the risk is real.
Technology can support human development, but it should not replace it.
The real opportunity lies in using AI as an enhancement, a supplement that strengthens human coaching rather than substitutes it. Leadership clarity and transformation still happen through conversation, not computation.
For banks, where precision and risk discipline are non-negotiable, developing coaching skills may seem like a soft approach.
But the real edge lies in leaders who can balance logic with presence, who can navigate ambiguity while keeping people aligned.
What This Means for the Rest of Us
At The Clarity Practice, we see this shift every day. Senior leaders come to coaching not because something is broken, but because the old playbook has stopped working.
They're seeking a new kind of clarity: how to remain centered amid complexity, how to think strategically without losing empathy, and how to lead without burning out.
Coaching, when done well, doesn't just develop people. It transforms how decisions are made. It replaces reactive leadership with reflective leadership — one conversation at a time.
The Bigger Picture
OCBC's move is not just about internal training; it's about shaping a national culture of leadership. Singapore has long invested in digital upskilling. Now, the next frontier is emotional and cognitive upskilling, developing leaders who can think clearly, listen deeply, and act decisively.
If Singapore's largest banks are turning to coaching as a growth multiplier, the signal to other organizations is unmistakable: clarity, empathy, and adaptability are now the proper drivers of performance.
