What is the Coaching Leadership Style, and How to Become a Coaching Leader
Something I’ve been discussing a lot with clients recently is the power of being a “coaching leader,” as well as what they can do to shift their leadership style to embody this empowering approach. It’s been such a hot topic that I wanted to share this information with you as well, on the off chance that you’re also interested in learning more about how to adopt a coaching leadership style.
What is The Coaching Leadership Style?
The coaching leadership style is defined by the leader’s ability to see the individual strengths and weaknesses of each team member so that the leader can help each team member grow and succeed. Said simply, it’s where the leader takes on the role of a coach. These leaders focus their time and energy on developing individual team members, helping individual contributors understand how their role plays a part in the greater strategy and empowers individuals to take full ownership and accountability for their success, failures and growth.
Coaching leaders are often seen as being compassionate, encouraging, communicative, collaborative, confident, mindful and having deep levels of self-awareness. They partner with their associates to solve problems, place high value on professional development, feedback, and growth mindsets.
What are the Benefits of Coaching Leadership?
Candidly speaking, the benefits are innumerable. There are benefits for the leader, the team, and the entire organization. Coaching leaders have a certain presence and energy about them, approaching situations from a place of confidence and curiosity, and taking a more mindful approach to pretty much everything they do.
As a result, Coaching Leaders…
Help elevate each individual on the team, which in turn elevates the team and the organization as a whole.
Empower their team to navigate and solve their own problems, which means more time back in the leader’s pocket to do all those “leadership tasks” that often get pushed to the backburner or end up needing to be completed after hours.
Encourage their teams to think deeper, and more strategically, bringing a solution oriented mindset to challenges. This helps bring a fresh perspective and often leads to increased confidence of individual team members.
Focus on the human behind the work which allows them to cultivate deeper levels of trust, be more empathetic, and tap into more effective tools & strategies that increase engagement and motivate their team to deliver exceptional results on a consistent basis.
How do I become a Coaching Leader?
With all the benefits of becoming a coaching leader, it’s no surprise that many of my clients ask some version of the “how do I…” question. And, as most of my clients are go-getters who want tangible answers and results, they focus on the skills required to become a coaching leader, which is what I’ll focus on in a second.
As for the “how” question - well, that’s going to look different for everyone. Becoming a coach requires more than just learning how to ask better questions, it requires you to develop a deep understanding of yourself, and your truth. That way, when your team members come to you with situations or challenges to navigate, you can keep yourself “out of the box,” and hold space for them to explore, learn and navigate the situation themselves. Partnering with a Certified Mindful Leadership Coach can help you develop the self-awareness, mindful presence, and time, stress & energy management tools required to maximize your impact as a coaching leader.
What Skills Should I Develop to Become A Coaching Leader?
The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership. To that end, Coaching Leaders should…
Skill #1: Ask Really Good Questions
This is a biggie! So often, when employees come to us with a question or a problem, we want to just give them the answer or solve the problem for them. But that’s incredibly dis-empowering, and often, we end up answering the wrong question or solving the wrong problem. By practicing restraint and instead asking open-ended and thought provoking questions, we can empower our employee to think deeper, identify the root challenge, and often realize they had the answer all along.
Before you roll your eyes and say, “it’s just faster to answer it for them.” You’re absolutely correct. But our actions teach people how they are allowed to act. So even though it might be faster for you to send them a document that they could have found themself, by doing so you are teaching them to come to you instead of going to that shared folder. Their reliance on you will ultimately slow them down if they need to find a similar document or answer while you’re in a meeting, or on vacation.
My favorite book to recommend for those looking to improve their question asking skills is the Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier.
Skill #2: Trust Themselves and Others
This is a toughy. Trust requires us–as leaders–to let go of the idea that we are the only person who can solve a problem. It also requires us to trust our team members to do what they were hired to do.
In order to become a true Coaching Leader, you must be willing to let go of the idea that leaders are supposed to have the answers and solutions, and instead embody the idea that those closest to the work likely know the best solution for the situation at hand. Harder yet, learning to trust means that you trust your team members to navigate missteps or failure, and trust yourself to navigate these set-backs as well.
While deep inner work is required to trust ourselves and others, Brene Brown’s Anatomy of Trust is a great resource for cultivating a culture of trust on your team. I also love this snippet of Navy Seal David Marquet’s commencement speech, which provides an excellent perspective on the role of a leader.
Skill #3: Set and Communicate Clear & Realistic Expectations
Coaching Leaders have incredibly strong communication skills. To set their team up for success, Coaching Leaders are able to clearly articulate “what good looks like”, set clear and realistic expectations, and help their team balance conflicting priorities. This skill gives their team members the direction required to help them move forward, boundaries to operate within, and freedom to operate within the provided framework.
A supporting skill is empathy. Coming from a place of understanding when expectations aren’t met, and asking powerful questions (see skill #1) to gain clarity on what happened that ultimately led to the undesirable result. This includes asking questions about what went well, what could have gone better, and what was learned from the experience.
Skill #4: Manage Their Time, Stress and Energy
These tools look different for everyone, but Coaching Leaders understand that in order to show up fully for their teams, they must have a strong handle on their time, stress and energy. This means developing positive habits that help them stay grounded in the task at hand, regulate their emotions, create space as needed, and tap into higher levels of energy as needed to motivate and inspire their teams.
By understanding how stress and energy management ‘play together,’ Coaching Leaders are able to help their teams navigate challenging situations, change or uncertainty with ease. Coaching Leaders are also able to utilize the concepts of energy leadership to encourage deeper levels of engagement and thoughtfulness, leading to high quality results on a more regular basis.
Skill #5: Lead from a place of authenticity
Coaching Leaders understand who they are. They understand their strengths, their weaknesses, and the things that motivate or drain them. And, while many leaders may be embarrassed or ashamed to admit that they have weaknesses (the horror!), or don’t love every aspect of their job, coaching leaders understand that being authentic is what will cultivate strong relationships and trust among their team members.
As explained by Brene Brown on Oprah.com, “Authenticity is not a default behavior: It can seem easier just to be what others want us to be, whether that means nodding in agreement when our boss says something we don't actually believe or choosing ridiculously uncomfortable shoes to impress a new group of friends (guilty!). There are so many messages telling us how to look and behave; to tune them out, we may need to take action.
To be authentic, we must cultivate the courage to be imperfect—and vulnerable. We have to believe that we are fundamentally worthy of love and acceptance, just as we are. I've learned that there is no better way to invite more grace, gratitude and joy into our lives than by mindfully practicing authenticity. Even when it's hard, and even when we're wrestling with the shame and fear of not being good enough. And especially when the joy is so intense that we're afraid to let ourselves feel it. It's these moments in life that demand us to show up in which we let go of who we think we're supposed to be and embrace who we really are.
In my opinion, the first step to discovering and being who you are, at your authentic core, is to complete a values assessment. Once you’ve identified your non-negotiable core values, you can use those as your guiding compass, your “true north,” and as a framework for decision making. If you’re interested in or need help discovering your core values, you can find a free assessment on my free resources page.
Final Thoughts
Adopting a coaching leadership style is a great way to encourage team & individual growth because you give each team member autonomy and encourage them to think more strategically about how their work impacts the organization as a whole.
As a Certified Mindful Leadership Coach, I focus on providing helpful tips and resources to my clients and network on a regular basis. These resources and tips are often focused on the skills and mindset required to become a coaching leader. For regular updates, please consider subscribing to my newsletter, or connecting with me on social media: LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.