How Can Leaders Become Coaches

24 March 2023

How Can Leaders Become Coaches?
Or at the very least, adopt a coaching-leadership style in their day to day conversations?

In 2005, Daniel Goleman, psychologist & journalist, wrote in HBR article Leadership That Get Results suggesting that there are six essential leadership styles.
COACHING is one of them and it was shown to have a markedly positive impact on performance, culture and the bottom line.

Question?
With all this positive impact, why do leaders rank Coaching as the least favorite style?  From “it just doesn’t work here!” “I’m too busy”, “This isn’t the best use of my time!” Or even this “The people I’m saddled with aren’t coachable!”

My experience as an Executive Coach coaching 600 Leaders & delivering 150+ Coaching for Leaders workshops, my view is that Leaders do not have the skills to coach so they decided to take the command and control method or just provide advice coz it’s the easiest thing to do. In addition, they can “show off” their knowledge.
They think they need to know more than their direct reports.

The good news is that all is not lost.
Leaders who have humility, courage, discipline to change and having the mindset that “diamond lies in ordinary rocks”, can certainly seek to equip themselves with simple coaching skills to be better at leading people..

Let’s explore some of the key skills that Leaders can acquire to be great Coaching Leaders.

– Trust and Rapport – the foundation of Coaching
– Listening – to what you do not want to hear.
– Silence & Pause – meant to be uncomfortable
– Powerful Questions – that can transform your life
– Feedback – not just giving but receiving as well
– Validation – the easiest thing you can do as a Boss
– Self Awareness – know thyself
– Learn – with a beginners mindset
– Empathy – putting yourself in other people’s shoes

All these will be covered in The Leader As Coach workshop which I deliver over 7 – 8 months for People Managers.

Here is one Organization that put through 22 of their People Managers into this Program. And Coaching is part of their KPI’s.
I can see that a Coaching Culture is going to happen soon.

Thank You Swis Resources Sdn Bhd & Wan Zainuddin Wan Muda for the opportunity