The Defence Forces Team Coaching Story: Building a Culture of Collective Leadership

In this session we will explore the Irish Defence Forces’ multi-year journey of embedding one to one and team coaching as a strategic capability across the organisation. Brigadier General Brendan McGuinness will share the story of how a coaching mindset was seeded and took shape inside a highly complex, fast-moving, and mission-critical environment - where hierarchical structures, operational demands, and constant change required a renewed approach to leadership, collaboration and recent transformation.

Grounded in real experience, the talk will illuminate the conditions that enabled the work to take root: time, intentional effort, sustained leadership sponsorship, and a clear collective vision. Brendan will outline the design principles behind the initiative, what helped teams meaningfully engage with the process, and how coaching interventions were adapted for different contexts across the organisation.

Participants will be invited to reflect on how large-scale cultural shifts can happen—not through one-off interventions, but through consistent relational practice, shared ownership, clear consistent messaging, example from senior leadership and a commitment to learning together.

The session will offer practical insights for team coaches, leaders, and practitioners seeking to scale coaching approaches in their own systems. It aims to spark conversation, inspire reflection, and highlight what becomes possible when over time an entire organisation leans into collective development. 

About the Speaker

Brigadier General Brendan McGuinness | General Officer Commanding the Defence Forces Training Centre

Brigadier General Brendan McGuinness is the General Officer Commanding the Defence Forces Training Centre and has served in the Defence Forces for over 40 years. His leadership roles include Commander Joint Task Force, Director of Operations and Plans, and multiple senior command appointments at home and overseas with the UN, EU, NATO PfP and OSCE. He is a key enabler of organisational change, particularly in advancing coaching and mentoring within Defence Forces leadership practice. Brig Gen Mc Guinness holds an MSc in Executive Coaching (UCD Smurfit) and an MA in Management, Leadership and Defence Studies.