Purpose Team coaching is a promising way to advance a shift from the classical leader to a coach who leads his/her interprofessional colleagues. It is acknowledged as an effective instrument to reinforce leaders’ roles but is rarely used in the health-care sector. This paper aims to present the team leader coaching programme (TLCP), designed to strengthen team leaders by implementing coaching tools into their work routine. Design/methodology/approach The TLCP was designed based on the evaluated intervention on patient-centred team development, an expert workshop and a literature search. It addresses leadership styles, self-reflection, role clarity, attitude, moderation techniques and coaching tools with a focus on systemic questions. It was implemented as a train-the-trainer concept, in two training groups including 27 participants from 12 clinics (“multi-clinic” group) and another in-house training group (“single-clinic” group) including 15 participants from one clinic. Findings There were differences in the evaluation of the training between the group that received an inhouse training (“single-clinic” group) and the group that received a workshop in a group of professions from different clinics (“multi-clinic” group) with a tendency for a more positive evaluation by the “multi-clinic” group. Originality/value The TLCP is a promising programme to potentially improve teamwork in rehabilitation clinics, as it provides team leaders with coaching tools they can use in their work routine without being dependent on external coaches. It is characterized by a reflective stance, which seems to be highly necessary to optimally fulfil the role of a team leader.