LEADER AS COACH
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A LEADER?
Leadership has different connotations but some of the most used and known are:
Peter Drucker: "The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers."
Warren Bennis: "Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”
Bill Gates: "As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."
John Maxwell: "Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less."
?HOW CAN A LEADER FOCUS ON THEIR OWN DEVELOPMENT?
Leaders should be open to learn new ideas, create new initiatives and should welcome positive feedback from their superiors.
Their learning and development should be focused on a continuous level; to identify what needs to evolve there are plenty of tools that can be used to identify your management style and learn how to improve any deficiencies that may be ongoing. It is also recommended to use these assessments as a preventative measure and not a reactive one.
The 9 best leadership assessment tools to look out are:
?????i.????????DISC.
????ii.????????Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
???iii.????????Gallups Strengths Finder.
??iv.????????Saville Assessment.
???v.????????Enneagram.
??vi.????????USC's Leadership Style Self-Assessment.
?vii.????????The IHHP Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
?viii.????????MindTools Leadership Skills Assessment.
This learning and development focused is recommended to reevaluate on at least an annual basis, or when the leadership is experiencing change management in the business.
WHAT ARE THE CURRENT COMMONLY KNOWN LEADERSHIP STYLES?
There are various leadership style theories, but the most useful is the one established by Daniel Goleman on his Emotional intelligence book,
Goleman distributes the six leadership styles based on emotional intelligence into two different categories:
Leadership Styles that create resonance and increase performance: Affiliative leadership, Coaching leadership, Democratic leadership, and Visionary leadership.
Leadership Styles that create dissonance if used the wrong way: Commanding leadership and Pacesetting leadership.
As Daniel Goleman explains: “The best leaders don’t know just one style of leadership – they’re skilled at several and have the flexibility to switch between styles as the circumstances dictate.”
Leaders are expected to possess the following qualities: self-awareness, confidence, the ability to focus on themselves and others, self-control, empathy, build trust and relationships, focus on strategy, innovation, etc.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE THE LEADER AS COACH?
This is when a leader takes the role to coach team members to develop themselves in the long term to become better individuals and professionals. Using this type of approach can bring as a result a lot a positive outcome, such as more tenured employees, team members seeking for growth opportunities or prefer to laterally move into other roles for their own personal and professional growth and promote team member engagement.
Becoming a leader as coach will create a meaningful impact in the person itself, improve performance and productivity.
Giving this type of approach may provide the opportunity to inspire them to become coaches as well sooner than later. ?
Organizations want to move forward and create a coaching environment where team members feel they can explore within and identify what personal traits are their strongest and which ones need to be improved, doing this through curiosity and discovery along with their leaders; working along with creativity and innovation, and learning how to solve obstacles on their own.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BECOMING ONE.
As previously shown the main goal is to develop knowledge, skills and competencies that can be applied towards all the leadership styles and be able to adapt to each situation as needed.
The importance of the coaching leadership style relies on providing that space to have an open conversation with your peers and get to know them and understand what they are feeling and what are they projecting themselves, it also facilitates them to find a clear vision and purpose.
This style builds resonance by creating links between the organization’s goals and personal goals.
An effective manager as coach will ask powerful questions instead of giving instructions, this will stimulate developing autonomy on its team members.
领英推荐
DIFFERENT TYPES OF COACHING’S & WHICH ONE’S ARE THE MOST APPLICABLE FOR THE ORGANIZATIONS.
Performance coaching: this type of coaching can help support the team members on what they need to identify as paradigms and how to move away from them, an excel in their team, they can emphasis on new skills and how to grow within.
Executive coaching: this type of coaching is one of the mostly known & used, this supports high level leaders to work through key transitions and enables them to change behaviors that may be blocking their performance to its highest potential.
Personalities such as the following use it:
Team coaching: is a great advantage to implement at all levels of the organization, it will develop all individuals to find a common goal, move away from working in silos, and communicate effectively, they can foster a team building relationship and create a more cohesive team.
Career coaching: focuses on aligning a coachee’s passions, skills, and values with their work. This type of coaching helps them discover their calling, strengths, values, and desired contribution.
Life Coaching: helps you maximize your full potential and reach your desired goals or discover them. It brings new beginnings and new intentions to your life.
Business coaching: coaching of individuals within an organization to support organizational change.
Skills coaching: sometimes organizations are in need of directing team member to acquire specific new skills for the roles, the coach will find the suitable tools to bring afloat those skills.
Employee coaching: a process where an employee is guided on how to improve their performance through consistent and systematic feedback, support, and development. Employee coaching helps the individual meet or exceed the expectations of their role and contribute positively to the workplace.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF LEADING AS A COACH.
The advantages of being the leader as coach are:
Empowerment: coaching empowers leaders & team members to excel in their roles. It brings out the best values of the individual.
New insights: Leaders enable & transform with new points of view on everyday responsibilities. Collectively there is a sense of discovery.
Brainstorming: having the ability of bringing new ideas to the table and put them into action, implement new programs, projects that help the business become successful.
Curiosity: when a leader pays close attention to their staff and takes the time to listen and ask the right questions, the team members will be able to discover where the areas of improvement are and what can be done to develop themselves creating measurable goals using tools like GROW MODEL, SMART Goals, etc.
Improved performance: team members develop a sense of purpose and have the commitment of performing at their highest-level standards.
CONCLUSION
The study represents a cumulative of the overall leadership styles, and it highlights on how nowadays the Leader as coach has gained a major protagonism in the organizations; becoming one adds value to any organization.
Mid-level managers and executives should review this form of leadership and consider adapting this style, which will provide them the appropriate tools to bring out the best out of their teams, they will learn together and create a stronger bond between each other, because the level of communication and understanding will coexist amongst them.
It is not viable to just focus on results and give directions in an authoritative way, leading as a coach will evoke transformation and will help create a clear vision of the future, and create positive connections.
A coaching style is mostly valued when an organization values long-term staff development.
?Resources & References:
The Leader as Coach. (2021, November 17). Harvard Business Review. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2019/11/the-leader-as-coachDennison, K. (2021, September 20). Why Leaders Should Consider Shifting To A Coaching Leadership Style Now More Than Ever. Forbes. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/karadennison/2021/09/20/why-leaders-should-consider-shifting-to-a-coaching-leadership-style-now-more-than-ever/?sh=432b300e2f81
Coaching for Change. (2020, November 30). Harvard Business Review. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2019/09/coaching-for-change
Noted., W. (2021, January 20).?Here’s How the Modern Manager Is Changing. WSJ. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from?https://www.wsj.com/articles/heres-how-the-modern-manager-is-changing-11611176412
TEDx Talks. (2018, September 18).?Leaders who coach are creating better workplaces, and so can you. | Saba Imru-Mathieu | TEDxLausanne. YouTube. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypKRJ0IPP-k
TEDx Talks. (2018b, October 1).?Millennial Leadership: Stop Complaining, Start Coaching | Danita Bye | TEDxBismarck. YouTube. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WwL5q7mMRA
Harvard Business School Executive Education. (2016, March 28).?The Qualities That Define a Leader. YouTube. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QKY1sXP0rg
Google Books. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://books.google.com/?hl=en
Coaching questions: a coach's guide to powerful asking skills
Stoltzfus - Tony Stoltzfus - 2008