Do You Need the Vulnerability Toolkit? Of Course you Do!

The benefits of outsourcing leadership coaching

As a business reflecting on how to deliver coaching, first consider your overall goal. Whether you want to increase productivity or improve accountability, in essence, you’re looking for a change in behavior.?

The chances are that internal coaches are already blindsided and part of the culture you want to change. It isn’t easy staying independent of a corporate culture we’re immersed in. That’s not to say that internal coaches can’t support a culture change.?

Nevertheless,?one of the key benefits of outsourcing a coaching vendor is that external coaches bring a wide array of current experiences.?With these, they can more effectively spot your blind spots and provide strategic insight. Remember also that they’re constantly exposed to a multitude of businesses and industries. This alone gives external coaches a unique viewpoint that you can’t cultivate internally.?

Alongside this access to expertise,?companies enjoy decreased labor costs while leaders save time.?

Learning to speak the language of leadership?

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” Nelson Mandela knew that language goes far beyond words. All languages represent the culture, history, and beliefs of a community. It’s the same with the language of leadership.

What is the common language of leadership?

Do you remember the last time you were in a foreign country and tried to find your hotel or closest restaurant? When you were misunderstood or faced with blank faces, did you panic and get frustrated? Perhaps you laughed at yourself trying to explain things as if you were playing charades??

Effective communication means knowing how to use words. It also means understanding all the assumptions and beliefs behind those words. The business world is just like any foreign country. Every organization develops its own set of formal and informal ways of doing things, including how it uses the language of leadership. Moreover, every organization has a specific set of values, processes, and demographics. These together create a culture that demands particular leadership characteristics.

No matter what type of leader you are, it’s important to build a framework to create a common language of leadership for your organization. Here are three steps to get started:?

• Step 1 – Determine your key business goals and what competencies you need to achieve.?For example, you might need a language of leadership around?focus?and a?willingness to fail if you want to implement a lean or agile culture .?
• Step 2 – Tie your business goals to your company values.?Values such as helping each other and being creative go much further if the leaders are talking about them and acting on them. In this case, the language of leadership means being vulnerable to failure and asking for help from other teams.
• Step 3 – Reward the right behaviors.?Successful leaders don’t just focus on the end result. Their language of leadership also includes highlighting the positive steps taken to get those results.

How does vulnerability in leadership leverage an attitude to win hearts and minds?

• Ethos or building credibility –?Effective leadership starts by building trusting relationships and motivating your followers. The best leaders do this well with empathy and vulnerability. They also know when to share stories and metaphors that make people feel connected.
• Pathos or connecting emotionally –?The words leaders prioritize people and relationships rather than tasks and processes. On top of this, emotionally intelligent leaders build communities and bind people to their vision.?
• Logos or presenting a logical message –?Regardless of emotions, messages still need to be effectively communicated with a clear structure. This often works best with simple but powerful techniques. For example,?presenting information in 3s, repeating sections, and using the power of rhetorical questions. The mind likes patterns and it loves feeling included when listening to the language of leadership.??

Through deep connection, managers build engagement and motivation and get the following benefits:

Building of trust and rapport?– With interpersonal leadership skills, managers can connect with people to motivate them. They drive for going above and beyond.

Enabling personal change?–?When people are coached, they feel supported. Possibilities open up to them and they find joy in their work. This triggers the search for personal growth and self-discovery.

Encouraging a supportive culture?– Managers need to think beyond goal setting to inspire others. In this world of uncertainty and complexity, people’s anxieties have only increased. With a supportive coaching-style manager, employees can build the confidence and strength they need to keep moving forwards.

Managers further encourage insight and exploration with the following traits:The ability to ask open questions while active listening. A good coaching approach involves asking questions that go beyond a simple yes or no answer and inspires people to disrupt their current reality.

Develop curiosity about the other person’s reality.?If leaders can’t effectively manage different viewpoints, they miss out on diversity. Learning to ask questions with curiosity is a skill that enables people to open up because they won’t be stuck in self-doubt.?

Accept that others have the answers. Managers need coaching skills to enable team members to work out their own solutions. If leaders always have the answer, it demotivates people and hinders curiosity.?

Empathy. This isn’t just about seeing ourselves in someone else’s shoes. It’s about imagining what it feels like to be that other person with their beliefs and fears. Only then can managers enable people to feel heard, valued and motivated to explore other options and ways of being.?

Why do leaders need coaching skills?

To enable transformation for ultimate performance form those that they lead. This is why you need the Vulnerability Toolkit.

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This newsletter is curated by???Carl Shawn Watkins ?? ?, CEO Carl Shawn Watkins Consulting who is a DEI culture consultant.?Be Vulnerable…Leadership Needs an Example.?

Clients and Corporations hire me to transform their Diversity, Equity & Inclusion culture and their leaders by empowering them to overcome their fear of vulnerability, self-limiting beliefs and to strengthen their ability to influence, motivate and lead. If you are seeking guidance and consultation around diversity, equity, and inclusion and vulnerability leadership in your workplace, visit the?website ?to learn more about services that can be tailored to your specific needs.?