What Is the 70:20:10 Rule — and How Does It Apply to Executive and Career Coaching?

In leadership and talent development, few models have had the staying power of the 70:20:10 learning framework. Frequently referenced in leadership development, executive coaching, and career coaching, the model offers a simple but powerful lens on how adults actually learn at work.

But what does 70:20:10 really mean? Where did it come from? What does the research say? And why is coaching uniquely aligned to this way of learning?

This article unpacks the evidence, the debates, and the implications for modern executive and career coaching.

What Is the 70:20:10 Rule?

The 70:20:10 model proposes that workplace learning occurs through three primary channels:

• 70% – Experiential learning
  Learning through stretch assignments, problem-solving, mistakes, and real work challenges.
• 20% – Social learning
  Learning through relationships: feedback, mentoring, coaching, peer dialogue, and role modelling.
• 10% – Formal learning
  Structured learning such as courses, workshops, qualifications, and training programs.

Importantly, this is not a prescription or formula, but a descriptive framework highlighting where learning tends to happen most effectively in adult working lives.

A Brief History of 70:20:10

The model originated from research conducted in the 1980s at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). Researchers Morgan McCall, Michael Lombardo, and Robert Eichinger analysed how successful executives described their development journeys.

Their findings, later popularised in The Career Architect Development Planner (Lombardo & Eichinger, 1996), showed that leaders overwhelmingly attributed their growth to:

• Challenging job experiences
• Developmental relationships
• Formal education (to a lesser extent)

The numbers (70:20:10) were never intended as exact ratios, but as a heuristic to shift organisational attention away from over-reliance on classroom learning.

Is There an Evidence Base for 70:20:10?

Critics rightly point out that 70:20:10 is not a statistically precise model. However, its core principles align strongly with decades of research in:

1. Experiential Learning

Kolb’s experiential learning theory (1984) demonstrates that learning is most powerful when individuals cycle through:

• Concrete experience
• Reflection
• Conceptualisation
• Experimentation

Coaching plays a critical role in slowing down experience to extract learning from action.

2. Adult Learning Theory (Andragogy)

Knowles’ theory of adult learning emphasises that adults learn best when learning is:

• Self-directed
• Problem-centred
• Relevant to real-life challenges

Executive and career coaching directly activates these conditions.

3. Workplace Coaching Psychology

Meta-analyses show that coaching improves:

• Goal attainment
• Self-awareness
• Psychological capital
• Performance and wellbeing

(Grant et al., 2010; Theeboom et al., 2014)

These outcomes emerge not from abstract teaching, but from reflection on lived experience—the heart of the 70 and 20.

Arguments Against the 70:20:10 Model

Despite its popularity, there are valid critiques:

Over-simplification

The neat ratios can give a false sense of precision. Learning does not fit neatly into percentages, and individuals vary widely.

Context matters

Certain domains (e.g. safety-critical roles, technical skills, regulated professions) require more than 10% formal learning.

Poor implementation

Some organisations misuse 70:20:10 as an excuse to cut training budgets without investing in coaching, feedback, or developmental job design.

Experience ≠ learning

Experience alone does not guarantee development. Without reflection, feedback, and sense-making, people may simply reinforce ineffective habits.

This is where coaching becomes essential.

Why Coaching Is Uniquely Aligned to 70:20:10

Coaching acts as the integrator of the 70:20:10 system.

Coaching strengthens the 70

• Helps leaders extract learning from complex, ambiguous experiences
• Turns “doing” into deliberate development
• Supports adaptive experimentation rather than reactive behaviour

Coaching amplifies the 20

• Provides high-quality reflective dialogue
• Builds psychological safety for honest feedback
• Accelerates learning from relationships, not just tasks

Coaching activates the 10

• Translates theory into application
• Bridges formal learning into day-to-day leadership and career decisions

In this sense, coaching is not an “extra” — it is the mechanism that makes 70:20:10 work.

70:20:10 and Adult Development Theory

From a developmental perspective, coaching supports vertical development, not just horizontal skill acquisition.

Adult development theorists such as Kegan suggest that growth occurs when individuals:

• Encounter complexity they cannot solve with existing mindsets
• Are supported to reflect, reframe, and evolve how they make meaning

Executive and career coaching provide:

• Structured reflection on complexity
• A holding environment for developmental challenge
• Support for identity shifts (e.g. from expert → leader, or role → career portfolio)

This aligns strongly with the 70 (complex experience) + 20 (developmental relationships) components of the model.

Implications for Executive and Career Coaching

For organisations and individuals, the takeaway is clear:

• Development is not primarily delivered in classrooms
• Learning must be embedded in real work and real careers
• Coaching is a developmental multiplier, not a peripheral intervention

At BOLDLY, we see executive coaching and career coaching as the bridge between experience, insight, and intentional growth — ensuring that learning happens where it matters most: in the flow of work and life.

References (Selected)

• Grant, A. M., Passmore, J., Cavanagh, M., & Parker, H. (2010). The state of play in coaching today: A comprehensive review of the field. International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
• Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall.
• Lombardo, M. M., & Eichinger, R. W. (1996). The Career Architect Development Planner. Lominger.
• Theeboom, T., Beersma, B., & van Vianen, A. E. M. (2014). Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual level outcomes. Journal of Positive Psychology.
• Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The Adult Learner. Routledge.

Interested in how executive coaching or career coaching can be embedded into your organisation’s learning strategy? At BOLDLY, we design coaching ecosystems that turn on-the-job experience into sustained leadership and career impact.