Building a coaching culture seems impossible when your industry lives under constant regulatory scrutiny. Healthcare, biotech, and pharmaceutical companies often view compliance and coaching as opposing forces, one demanding rigid control while the other encourages open dialogue. Nazma M. Rosado, a principal consultant at Avion Consulting, challenges this assumption with nearly three decades of experience proving otherwise.
Redefine Compliance As An Enabler, Not A Barrier
Most leaders see regulations as roadblocks to innovation and employee development. Nazma spent years watching organizations struggle with this mindset before discovering a different approach. Her work with complex healthcare organizations revealed that compliance actually creates the perfect framework for coaching to flourish. “The common misconception is that regulations restrict coaching and innovation. In reality, regulations provide structure, and within that framework, coaching can thrive,” she explains. The secret lies in speaking the language that regulated industries understand. Instead of positioning coaching as something separate from compliance, smart leaders integrate the two approaches.
A biotech company undergoing major organizational change proved the concept in practice. Instead of treating compliance as a checkbox exercise, Nazma introduced coaching to help middle managers take real ownership of compliance goals. The result? Stronger employee engagement, quicker adoption of new processes, and significant improvements in audit readiness.
Train Leaders To Coach, Not Just To Manage
Regulated industries often have a deep attachment to control, but that mindset can backfire when you’re trying to build high-performing teams. Traditional management tends to emphasize oversight and direction, missing chances to help people grow through guided discovery. Nazma saw a better way during a project in the pharmaceutical industry. Rather than bringing in external coaches, she helped the company certify its own functional leads as internal coaches, people already trusted within the team. “It boosted morale and reduced turnover by 18% in just one year,” she says.
The real breakthrough came from teaching leaders how to ask open-ended questions, listen actively, and give feedback that supported real growth. Coaching became sustainable because it was built into the systems already in place. Companies don’t need to reinvent the wheel. They just need to shift how everyday conversations between managers and teams unfold.
Integrate Coaching Into Everyday Workflows
Building a true coaching culture means moving beyond special programs and workshops. The most effective approach integrates coaching techniques into work that already happens, from project debriefs to performance reviews to compliance training sessions. One company took this approach during a major system rollout, introducing coaching check-ins alongside the technical implementation. “We introduced coaching check-ins during system and process rollouts. It created space for employees to voice concerns, share insights, and take ownership of compliance,” Nazma explains. What could have been a mandated process became meaningful dialogue between teams and leadership. This integration approach works because it doesn’t add extra meetings or initiatives to already busy schedules. Instead, it transforms existing touchpoints into opportunities for development and engagement.
Many organizations only think about coaching during major disruptions such as mergers, acquisitions, or restructuring projects. While these situations certainly benefit from coaching support, limiting the approach to crisis periods misses significant opportunities for ongoing development.” Every change is meaningful. If it’s not, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. And if it is, then you need to invest in proper change management with coaching as a component,” Nazma points out. Change management that includes coaching goes beyond communication and training to address the behavioral shifts that make transformation stick.
Nazma has cracked the code for regulated industries that want to build coaching cultures. The formula isn’t complicated, but it requires leaders to think differently about what coaching actually is. First, stop treating compliance and coaching as opposites. Align coaching with compliance requirements instead of fighting them. Second, train leaders to coach their teams instead of just managing them. Third, build coaching into everyday work instead of making it a special program. “That’s how transformation becomes not just compliant, but culture-led,” she concludes. Companies that figure this out don’t just survive in regulated environments. They thrive because their people are more engaged, more capable, and more committed to the work they’re doing.
Follow Nazma M. Rosado on LinkedIn see how coaching cultures can thrive inside regulated systems.
