Leadership Coaching and Transformation in the South African Mining Sector

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Introduction/Main Objectives:
This study investigates the role of leadership coaching in addressing transformation challenges in South Africa's mining sector.Given the slow pace of transformation, it is critical to understand how coaching can help.Background Problems: The study focuses on leadership coaching and its impact on Historically Disadvantaged South Africans (HDSA) being developed for transformation roles.The central research question is how long-term transformation in the mining industry is facilitated by leadership coaching.Novelty: Prior studies on transformation and coaching have generally been broad and not specific to the mining sector, our research fills a critical gap.The study provides a unique perspective by investigating coaching's impact on mining industry transformation.Research Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with mining industry human resources managers, coaches, and coaches.The data was analysed using thematic analysis, ensuring a robust and data-driven approach.Finding/Results: The results of the study revealed that leadership coaching effectively supports the development of HDSA individuals in transformation vacancies.However, it is critical to recognise that coaching is only one component of successful transformation; other factors are also important.Within the mining industry, there are also barriers to transformation and coaching.Conclusion: Leadership coaching emerges as a dynamic force, propelling transformative change in the mining sector.Beyond racial transformation, participants reveal its strategic use for legal compliance, social responsibility, and financial optimisation.A holistic approach, emphasising coaching's multifaceted impact on organisational goals.This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of coaching's transformative role in technical industrial environments.

Introduction
The South African mining sector contributes almost 8% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and directly employs approximately 500 000 workers and another 500 000 workers indirectly (Maleke, 2023).The mining sector is a significant consumer of goods and services, thereby, contributing economically towards other industries (StatsSA, 2012), even though, over the years, the sector's input to the Gross Domestic Product has fallen from 21% in 1980 to 8% in 2016 (StatsSA, 2019).
Due to the legacy of apartheid, the mining industry has historically had gender and racial imbalances.The government has attempted to correct historical imbalances through the Mining Charter of 2003 and the Employment Equity Act of 1998, among other instruments.However, Moraka and Jansen van Rensburg (2015) show that black people continue to believe that they are incompetent for employment in the mining sector by other groups.The inability of mining companies to select and manage a talent pool has been identified as a barrier to transformation in the sector (Esterhuyse, 2003).According to Thobatsi (2014), the sector is also under pressure from employees, particularly organised labour.According to the Mining Sector Skills Plan MQA (2018), a seven-year analysis of the sector indicates the following about the mining sector: i.It is male-dominated, with males making up 84.9% of labour, decreasing from 89% in 2012.The average annual growth rate of females employed within the sector is 1.1%.ii.Blacks make up 86% of the total workforce, but Whites make up 52% of the representation at the managerial level.The average yearly growth rate of Blacks in management over the seven years from 2012 to 2019 is 0.2%.iii.Over the seven years, the representation of disabled employees over the seven years indicates an average growth rate of -1%.Management levels Compliance levels In 2015, when the then Mining Sector Minister, Ngoako Ramathlodi, released a media statement on the assessment of transformation in the sector (RSA, 2015), the figures of Mining Right holders that had managed to comply with the 40% target for each of the categories, expressed as a percentage, are shown in  (Myres, 2013;Le Sueur & Tapela, 2018).This research seeks to explore and understand the role of leadership coaching in driving transformation and succession planning within South Africa's mining industry, acknowledging that while coaching is a growing profession, its specific application within this sector remains largely unexplored (Kahn, 2011).
The research's overarching goal is "to investigate the use of leadership coaching in transforming and developing leaders in the South African mining sector.", aiming to bridge the gap in research specifically focused on coaching within this sector (Cunningham, 2017).Prior research on transformation and coaching has predominantly encompassed various industries, overlooking the unique dynamics and needs of the mining sector.The anticipated findings of this study hold promise for a wide array of stakeholders, ranging from governmental bodies, organizations, investors, regulators, trade unions, to individual employees.
These findings are expected to shed light on the efficacy and relevance of coaching as an intervention within transformation endeavours, providing valuable insights that can enhance ongoing discussions about the sector's challenges and solutions (Prinsloo, 2017).Additionally, the research aims to assist entities such as the Mining Qualifications Authority in identifying potential opportunities for grant funding aligned with the sector's strategic objectives (Barclay et al., 2011).It also seeks to empower organizations and historically disadvantaged South African leaders, enabling them to make informed decisions about interventions based on identified risks and impacts within succession plans (Vettori, 2018).Moreover, this study hopes to offer insights to other sectors on how coaching can effectively contribute to achieving transformation objectives, aligning with the Department of Labour's reporting requirements on Employment Equity (Vettori, 2018).Finally, the research aims to contribute to the broader fight against societal inequality, facilitating the transformation process within South African society (World Bank, 2018).

Research Gap
Transformation efforts without the added support of proven interventions, such as coaching, may be to the detriment of the sector as well as the talent, as they are not likely to be sustainable.
As demonstrated above, the existing plethora of interventions introduced by the government and mining companies do not seem to adequately address the required pace of transformation.South African companies are struggling to meet their Employment Equity targets (Le Sueur & Tapela, 2018;Roche & Passmore, 2023).Thus, there was a need to explore the use of proven interventions, such as, leadership coaching for transformation and succession planning in the mining sector as coaching is a useful tool for leadership development (Kahn, 2011).
It is against the backdrop of the relatively slow pace of transformation in the South African mining sector that this study was set.The research sought to investigate the role that has been played by coaching as an intervention in the highlighted context.There is a gap in understanding the role coaching can potentially play in assisting the mining sector to overcome transformation challenges.

Background Discussion
Transformation has been a topical issue in South Africa since the dawn of democracy in 1994.The mining sector has faced transformation challenges, given the legacy of apartheid.Empirical evidence has demonstrated that racial discrimination, as was the case during apartheid, causes loss of self-esteem, stress, and anxiety (Hocoy, 1998;Hocoy, 2020).This has led to feelings of incompleteness and inferiority post-1994.There are skills gaps in the sector, which the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) (MQA, 2018) attributes to the following, amongst others, some of which coaching can be a good intervention, such as the lack of management skills.

Coaching
The modern workplace requires leadership development that accentuates coaching, amongst other interventions (Mmaditla & Ndlovu-Hlatshwayo, 2022).Coaching has been conceptualised in multiple ways by different authors.Cox et al., (2014) defined coaching as a structured and focused human development process wherein suitable strategies, tools and techniques are used to encourage sustainable transition for the benefit of the client and other relevant parties.Kilburg (2000) as well as De Haan and Gannon (2017) states that a coaching agreement bond is formed between a coach and a coachee with managerial authority and accountability.Palmer and Whybrow (2018) define coaching as "holding psychology within" and argue that coaching psychology enhances well-being and performance in personal and professional domains based on coaching models grounded in established andragogy or psychological approaches.Coaching is used in organisational settings to help shorten the learning curve in a new organisation, role, succession management, and leadership and management skills, among other things, (Aridi, 2023;Grover & Furnham, 2016;Zuñiga-Collazos et al., 2020).The coach employs various methods and behavioural techniques to help coaches achieve predetermined goals to improve professional performance and personal satisfaction, which benefits the organisation.Cox et al. (2014) give further insight into coaching by elucidating that adult learning theory is the heart and foundational theory of coaching practice.

Adult Learning Theories
Cox emphasizes the importance of understanding adult learning theories for effective coaching practice.According to Cox (2006), adult learning theories relevant to coaching are andragogy, transformative learning theory, reflective practice, experiential learning, learning styles, life course development, values and motivation, and self-efficacy.According to Cox et al. (2014), in later research, adult learning theories are the core and foundation of coaching.Transformative learning theory and andragogy were the two most relevant theories to this research.Knowles (1977) defines andragogy as "methods or techniques for teaching adults."He defined andragogy as a fundamental component of coaching that describes the distinct adult learning experience relevant to coaching.

Transformative learning theory
Transformative learning is a profound structural shift in the fundamentals of a thinking process, emotions, and actions (Mezirow, 1991;Kitchenham, 2008).The theory was postulated by Jack Mezirow and founded on Paulo Freire's emancipatory philosophy of transformation.The theory argues that people learn by deriving meaning from their experiences (Mezirow, 1991).Transformative learning draws the closest parallels with the coaching processes and goals (Sammut, 2014;Terblanche, 2022).Concerning coaching, a disorienting event can be a coaching dialogue that forces critical self-reflection, leading to the development and adoption of a new worldview.This is relevant for this study regarding supporting HDSA as they transition into more senior roles and succession planning.According to Terblanche (2022) to achieve transformation, organizations must provide transition coaching based on transformative learning to support leaders as they move up the corporate ladder.

Leadership Coaching for transformation in the South African Mining Sector.
The priority listed in the Mining Sector Skills Plan, MQA (2018), is facilitating sector transformation through skill development.
Coaching is regarded as one of the top five most effective human resource development tools (Fernández-Llano, Bernardo Vilamitjana & Kasperskaya Riabenko, 2023).Coaching is a relatively new discipline in South Africa, so academic research on coaching in South Africa is limited (Stevens, 2013).A fundamental question is whether the mining industry recognises the perceived effectiveness of coaching for leadership development and sector transformation.According to the Mining Sector Skills Plan MQA ( 2018), the Mining Qualifications Authority placed 53 coaches within the mining companies to reduce the burden on employers to mentor learners.The report's loose interchangeability of the terms mentoring and coaching indicates a lack of understanding at the Mining Qualifications Authority regarding the distinction between the two interventions.According to Coller-Peter and Cronjé (2020), these two are parallel but complementary, making the feedback on coaching in the mining sector report imprecise.

Factors influencing Transformation in the South African Mining Sector
Several factors influence the need for transformation and leadership development.The main factor is legislation, union demands and competitiveness.The Minerals and Petroleum Development (MPRDA) Act of 2002, revised in 2010, the Employment Equity Act of 1998, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act of 2003, the Skills Development Act of 1998, and the Mining Charter govern transformation in the mining sector.Because none of these pieces of legislation prescribes the use of coaching for transformation purposes, mining companies are not required to report on the use of coaching for transformation and leadership development.According to Prinsloo (2017), there needs to be more evidence on how organisations facilitate employee transformation.
Labour unrest consistently impacts the mining industry (Mitchell, 2013).Lester (2014) argued that the dominance of organised labour in the mining sector is unavoidable, given that the National Union of Mineworkers is affiliated with COSATU, which has a tripartite relationship with the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), and the South African Communist Party (SACP).Concerns for organised labour include skill development, career advancement, mentorship, internships and bursaries, and employment equity (Madolo, 2014;Gqubele, 2018).During apartheid, white males wielded political, economic, managerial, and social power, which only cascaded to white females through association, according to Mayer et al (2019).
In this regard, it can be argued that the talent pool for organisations was limited during apartheid, as research has shown a link between diversity in management teams and an organisation's financial performance (Catalyst, 2004;Cheng & Groysberg, 2020).On the other hand, Catalyst's research was not conducted in a South African context and may have limitations when applied to the local mining sector.

The Impact of Transformation
Business leaders in the mining sector are challenged by the seemingly paradoxical situation of having to place transformation as a priority strategic objective at par with cost, production, and safety (Schoeman, 2011).This is complicated by employment figures in the sector which have been steadily declining over the years (StatsSA, 2019).However, a common thread in the literature shows that the need for transformation is indicated as an imperative (Booysen, 2020).Horwitz and Jain (2011) as well as Mayer et al. (2019) opine that to identify effective processes for assisting managers in leading and institutionalising the more rigorous and difficult process of transformation, there is a need for a qualitative study.There needs to be more evidence in the literature on using coaching in the mining sector.However, transformation is still an imperative component for the minerals sector due to legislative demands, union pressure and the need to be competitive.Significantly, the literature review has led to the following proposition: Leadership coaching is successfully used as a support structure for HDSA candidates who have been identified for transformational roles in the South African mining sector.
Because the framework is in place, regarding legislation and literature available to assist organisations in setting this up, there is room for leadership coaching in the South African mining sector for transformation.There needs to be more evidence that leadership coaching is currently being used for transformation in the South African mining sector.

Method, Data, and Analysis
The study used a qualitative research methodology to gain a deeper understanding of the participants.Semi-structured one-onone interviews were the selected research design for the study to delve deeply into individual perspectives while allowing flexibility to explore emerging themes during the study.The data collection was done through online platforms (MS Teams and Zoom).The extensive notes taken during the interview also helped frame follow-up questions, and the research journal assisted in reflections on the interviews.Human resources personnel in the mining sector, coachees who are also historically disadvantaged South Africans in the mining sector, and leadership coaches who have coached in the mining sector comprised the population.Given their respective roles in transformation initiatives in the mining sector, the chosen population was expected to describe their experiences relevant to the research.Human resource managers are the guardians of organisational transformation and recruitment and thus, were relevant for this study.Coaches were expected to provide an outside perspective based on their observations of mining organisations while coaching.
Due to the sensitive nature of the transformation topic and the level of trust required, purposive judgment sampling was used for two candidates, and snowballing was used for the other two.The researcher's existing professional network was expected to provide the sample.One assumption in this regard is that the researcher's experience was sufficient to make an informed personal judgment about the participants (Zikmund et al., 2013).Eight interviews were conducted until saturation was perceived to have been reached.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the interviews were conducted via video conferencing (MS Teams and Zoom).Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

Results and Discussion
To protect the identity of the interview participants, they are described as Participant 1 to Participant 8 in the interview transcripts.The English language errors were not edited, even though it was not the first language of some participants, to ensure accuracy.

Theme 1: Motivation for the Use of Leadership Coaching
This theme describes the responses of participants to how coaching is used in the mining industry.Participants' insights revealed that coaching is widely used in career progression support, leadership development, and performance improvement.It is used to achieve legal compliance goals, manage anxiety, learn new behaviours, and aid in self-management.Based on participant responses, career progression support emerged as the most important motivation for using leadership coaching.
Participant 1: "…we have used executive coaching as a tool to support a leader who has been identified, for career progression within the organisation.And even those leaders who have not been identified for career progression, but leaders who are showing potential for growth within the organisation." According to research, executives use coaching when transitioning or facing challenges (Cox et al., 2014).They say executives use coaching as a sounding board to learn and adapt their behaviours.This is consistent with the contention that learning new behaviours emerged as a motivation for participants to use leadership coaching.Participant 5 shared the following feedback from employees who had received leadership coaching: "…I actually learned this through executive coaching it really taught me out.I could not do this I must do it this way…." According to Grover and Furnham (2016), coaching is used in organisational settings to help shorten a learning curve in a new organisation, role, succession management, and leadership development.These are consistent with the participants' insights.While this was the case for most participants, some participants stated that mining companies use coaching to meet legal obligations in social and labour plans and just to obtain tax rebates from the South African Revenue Service (SARS).The majority of participants agreed that coaching is underutilised in the mining industry.This is consistent with the Mining Sector Skills Plan's relatively loose interchangeable use of the terms mentoring and coaching (MQA, 2018).
According to the alignment between participant responses and literature on motivation for using leadership coaching, the main motivations for coaching in the sector include career progression support, leadership development, performance improvement, anxiety management, learning new behaviours, and assisting in selfmanagement.Some of the participants' quotes are as follows: Participant 1 "…we have used executive coaching as a tool to support leaders who have been identified for career progression within the organisation.And even those leaders who have not been identified for career progression, but leaders who are showing potential for growth within the organisation…I have found that people who were not coached fail to adjust.First of all, before the adjusting process, were not ready enough emotionally, to go into the next level.So that is where I bring coaching, I don't believe in bringing in a coach for a person only because they are already in a leadership role." Participant 2 "…they have someone to talk to you about the anxieties accompanying their transition." Participant 5 "…to lead different and diverse workforces and then the other one is just around supporting people." Participant 7 "Yeah so this one client in Limpopo was purely doing it for rebates…" Participant 3 "…so it is twofold in the terms of the work that I've done from a transformation perspective.It is in terms of diversity and inclusion and how people are able to Lead different and diverse workforces and then the other one is just around supporting people.I'm thinking one, specifically the MD that I coached was transitioning from a junior level position to a new position so just supporting in terms of that leadership and leadership skills, I guess."Participant 6 "...I know it ranges from, uhm it as different as the people themselves.And I suppose that probably also has something to do with.The way I think as a coach because I don't necessarily think you can coach an organization, you can coach people.Which means some people might not necessarily be ready to be coached.And some people may not be good to be coached by you and.Some people may just not be ready to learn at all, regardless of whether it's coaching or any other modality of learning.So, they vary I think so far in terms of the mines, where I have worked, it is the.Executive coaching particularly leader transitions so when they're transitioning…" Participant 7 "Yeah so this one client in Limpopo was purely doing it for rebates…"

Figure 1. Illustration of the themes and codes showing the motivations for coaching
According to the study's findings, the primary motivations for using leadership coaching in the mining sector are career progression support, leadership development, performance improvement, anxiety management, learning new behaviours, and self-management assistance.This is consistent with the literature, which established that coaching is used in organisational settings to aid in shortening the learning curve in a new organisation, new role, succession management, and leadership development, among other things (Grover & Furnham, 2016).The majority of participants agreed that coaching is underutilised in the mining industry.This is consistent with the Mining Sector Skills Plan, MQA (2018)'s the relatively loose interchangeable use of the terms mentoring and coaching.According to research, executives use coaching when transitioning or facing challenges (Cox et al., 2014).According to them, executives use coaching as an independent sounding board to learn and adapt their behaviours.Unique findings indicate that some participants stated that mining companies use coaching to meet legal obligations in social and labour plans and obtain tax rebates from the South African Revenue Service.This is not mentioned in existing literature and appears to be unique to the South African context.According to the agreement between participant responses and the literature on motivation for using leadership coaching, the main reasons for using coaching in the sector are career progression support, leadership development, performance improvement, anxiety management, learning new behaviours, and self-management assistance.

Theme 2: Barriers to Coaching and Transformation
This theme describes the participant's responses to the reasons for the slow pace of transformation and the perceived lack of coaching growth in the sector.Below are some of the remarks that were proffered by the participants: Participant 1 "…a hindrance to transformation is that when an organisation is not growing, so when an organisation is not growing, it means the opportunities are not growing, either.So, you may want to bring in fresh blood, you may want to transform.Transformation -it's not just about moving the right kind of people into the next levels, but it's also bringing external people into the organisation.So when the organisation is not growing, then it affects transformation as well…" Participant 7 "…and transformation in mining operations tend to I would say transformation is as big as the incumbent leader of the operation..." Participant 5 "…with the years that I have, I've come to note that the end user, the African end user is not conversant with Psychometrics and therefore that their use is actually a low light in terms of transformation, we really do struggle to find candidates…" Participant 6 "The resistance of Multinational senior executive teams to transformation especially if they have a mine in Africa anywhere on the country or continent, they will continuously resist and act as if the transformation mandate is not useful to their organisational development..." Participant 8 "…there isn't a structure structured approach in terms of assisting you know transitioning, you know and, and, this is one of the things that I picked up during my, you know coaching…" Participant 2 "…I can say the company was, in a transition getting, you know, moving from where they were, it was not a comfortable thing for them.And also, being told by a woman to do what you're supposed to do.It wasn't easy…" Participant 3 "…coaching can be used to really impact more in terms of the speed or the agility of the transformation process and how we're able to really Influence change and whatever needs to happen , because often people see it as a as a remedial Initiative as opposed to a support initiative that enhances the practice, as opposed to people feeling that there's something wrong with them so that so that would be the only additional thing…" Participant 4 "…it took the organization very long time to start even looking at it through legislation and so on..." Previously, industry reports described evidence on the extent of transformation in the South African mining sector as unreliable (Mitchell, 2013), owing to a lack of systematic surveys using an agreed-upon baseline and a lack of trust among the stakeholders involved -government, individual mining houses, and the Chamber of Mines, now known as the Minerals Council of South Africa.According to Moraka and Jansen van Rensburg (2015), one of the contributing factors to the failure to meet transformation targets in the mining sector was a need for more collaboration among stakeholders.Participants cited a need for knowledge about transformation, misconceptions about coaching, low staff turnover, organisational restructure, remuneration strategy, expatriate use, and general resistance to transformation initiatives as barriers.
Fear and uncertainty among white males, resulting in a negative transformation spirit, a lack of skills among HDSA, and mistrust and antagonism between mines and communities were also listed as barriers to transformation.These barriers were mostly distinct from those mentioned in the existing literature.Based on participants' responses, this does not indicate a contradiction but could be interpreted as new barriers to coaching and transformation emerging from the research.

Theme 3: Success factors for transformation and coaching success in the mining sector
The theme represents the responses given by the participants on success factors that enhance the success of transformation and coaching success in the mining sector.The participants highlighted the following factors: legislative compliance, leadership drive and support, remuneration strategy, and performance incentives for transformation, amongst other conditions.Some participants mentioned talent pipelines and workforce planning as additional conditions favourable for transformation and coaching success.Kahn (2018) noted the coaching success factors as the systemic environment in which a coachee operates.This is divided into the organisation's mission, values, and phenomena, such as the business model, strategy, structure, and underlying basic assumptions.
Legislation, compliance monitoring, skills development, partnerships with other stakeholders, career awareness, and an adequate incentive structure to motivate and retain human resources are among the critical success factors for transformation (Musonda et al., 2019).Here, there was alignment between the literature and participants' responses.
The diagram (Figure 3) illustrates the collated findings concerning the theme: Previous research suggested that the critical success factors for transformation are legislation, compliance monitoring, skill development, partnerships with other stakeholders, career awareness, and adequate incentive structures to motivate and retain human resources (Musonda et al., 2019).The systemic environment in which a coachee operates, according to Kahn (2018), is one of the coaching success factors.This is divided into the organization's mission, values, and phenomena, such as the business model, strategy, structure, and basic assumptions underpinning them.The literature and the majority of the participant's responses are consistent.However, as some of the responses indicated, there is a need for more literature that demonstrates that coaching and transformation are used for tax rebates and incentives.

Theme 4: Complementary Interventions also used in Leadership Development and Transformation
The

Conclusion and Suggestion
The purpose of the study was to determine how the mining sector in South Africa uses coaching as a development intervention to resolve the reported transformation challenges within the sector.(Terblanche et al., 2018).This is recommended for employees in succession plans and developmental pools.This assists employers in complying with transformation targets.Based on the research findings, leadership coaching can contribute towards supporting candidates identified in alleviating transformation challenges with the Mining Sector Skills Plan seven-year analysis (MQA, 2018).It is recommended that discretionary grant allocations be made for leadership coaching to address the noted transformation challenges.This can be recommended as well for other sectors facing similar challenges.
This study concludes by demonstrating the leadership coaching's transformative potential as a change-catalyst within the South African context.Even though most participants highlighted the effectiveness of coaching in quickening racial transformation, a unique feature surfaced, broadening the transformative narrative beyond its original parameters.Notably, some participants disclosed that mining companies strategically use coaching as a potent tool to comply with legal requirements in social and labour plans and obtain tax refunds from the South African Revenue Service (SARS), in addition to using it to promote racial transformation.This expanded understanding of coaching's transformative power highlights both its adaptability and strategic significance beyond racial transformation.It presents coaching as an all-encompassing strategy that can handle a variety of opportunities and challenges in the mining industry as well as, possibly, in other industries.The distinctive results reported here suggest that coaching influences a wider range of organisational goals, including financial optimisation, social responsibility, and legal compliance, in addition to transformational goals.Leadership coaching can be a comprehensive instrument for the growth and sustainability of organisations.Stakeholders in South Africa and elsewhere can use coaching as a strategic tool to achieve more comprehensive and long-lasting change across a range of organisational aspects, in addition to racial transformation, by recognising its transformative impact in multiple dimensions.By doing this, the study advances a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of coaching's function in promoting constructive change in intricate industrial environments such as mining.The study recommends that mining organisations who aim to advance the transformation agenda not just for compliance but for overall integration of diversity initiatives should explore integrating coaching awareness in their management forums.Furthermore, these organisations should facilitate collaboration among mining industry associations, governmental bodies, and coaching organizations to develop industry-wide coaching standards and best practices.This collaborative approach can improve the overall effectiveness of coaching in addressing various organisational dimensions.
A notable implication of this study is that leadership coaching, which was initially identified and recognised for its effectiveness in facilitating racial transformation in the South African mining sector, has expanded beyond this narrow focus.The revelation that mining companies strategically use coaching as a powerful tool to comply with legal requirements, particularly in social and labour plans, and secure tax refunds from the South African Revenue Service (SARS), suggests a broader and more versatile impact.According to the study, coaching can be used not only for transformational goals, but also as a comprehensive strategy that influences various organisational aspects such as financial optimization, social responsibility, and legal compliance.
growth in the sector because coaching and other interventions support career progression.Participants cited a need for knowledge about transformation, misconceptions about coaching, low staff turnover, organisational restructure, remuneration strategy, use of expatriates, and general resistance to transformation initiatives as barriers.Participants identified global organisation expectations and the use of psychometrics as barriers to transformation.Previously, industry reports described evidence of the extent of transformation in the South African mining sector as untrustworthy.Mitchell (2013) attributed this to a need for systematic surveys using an agreed-upon baseline and a lack of trust among stakeholders (government, individual mining companies, and the Chamber of Mines).Moraka and Jansen van Rensburg (2015) cited a need for more collaboration among mining sector stakeholders as one of the contributing factors to the mining sector's failure to meet transformation targets.Other factors cited included fear and uncertainty among white males, resulting in a negative transformation spirit, a lack of skills among HDSA, and mistrust and antagonism between mines and communities.The majority of the barriers to transformation and coaching revealed by participants differ from those cited in the literature.Based on participant responses, this does not indicate a contradiction but could be interpreted as additional barriers emerging from the research.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Illustration of the relations between the codes and the barriers to coaching and transformation themeBelow are some of the remarks that were proffered by the participants:

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Success factors for leadership coaching and transformation theme explains the participants' responses, demonstrating the interventions used by the mining industry to develop leaders in addition to leadership coaching.The main interventions used by participants were mentorship, training, peer support programs, and women in mining initiatives.Information sharing, regular meetings and engagements with supervisors, community and youth development initiatives, and diversity and inclusion programs were also mentioned as interventions.Figure 4 depicts this.

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Illustrating the relationship between the theme for Interventions complimenting leadership coaching and the codes.Below are some of the participants' quotations related to the complementary interventions used in leadership development and transformation: Participant 1