Coach Development across 100+ Finnish Organisations: A Ten-Year Landscape Story

This chapter details the decade-long evolution of a Finnish community of practice (CoP) for coach developers involving over 100 organisations. Led by Kirsi Hämäläinen, the CoP transitioned the culture of coach development in Finland from fragmented organisational silos to a unified self-sustaining entity focused on reforming the national coaching culture. Kirsi and Maiju Kokkonen illustrate how mutual engagement and joint enterprise were cultivated through a ‘party hostess’ approach to social learning leadership. This approach prioritised enabling value by building familiarity and trust via creative interventions like ‘The Apprentice’ tasks and school-outing style bus trips. These activities generated immediate value by reducing practitioner isolation and potential value by preparing the ground for significant shifts in Finnish coach development practice. This chapter also addresses the dilemma of integrating newcomers, detailing some of the frustrations of old-timers as they sought to welcome new people into what became a close-knit community. Ultimately, the story demonstrates significant realised value through a profound shift in the practice of Finnish coach developers across the country.