Leaders as Coaches – The Shift Away from Dogmatic Styles

In the age of Artificial Intelligence and with the potential threat of machines taking over from humans in many spheres of life, the human touch will become even more relevant. True-blue coaching is one area where human ability cannot be replaced. If you’re an experienced professional, you probably think coaching is just another name for what you’ve already been doing for years—helping your employees increase their capability and knowledge in their current roles and empowering them for future roles. If you feel this way, I would encourage you to think again.

While most of us are aware of our abilities, we rarely push the limits of what we can achieve. For example, we generally understand that physical exercise is good for our health and general wellbeing. But, many of us don’t proactively get into it unless prodded by a loved one or a well-wisher. Coaching works in exactly the same manner in a professional setup. An authentic approach to coaching moves away from dogmatic preaching and towards nudging someone to explore the outer boundaries of their potential.

Organizations have moved to ‘adhocracy’ from autocracy. This paradigm shift has resulted in organizations focusing on transformational leadership rather than transactional leadership. Coaching should be incorporated as a practice in a leader’s style to meet the organization’s as well as employees’ goals. A pre-requisite for a leader to be a successful coach is for them to be coached themselves. In several instances, coaching extends beyond the organization and into the larger industry ecosystem. Think of the great leaders who have effusively spoken about the strong influence that someone else from the industry – even a competitor – had in their evolution and growth. The well-documented story of Steve Jobs and Larry Page comes to mind.

In a later article, I will cover the tools and models available to put coaching into practice, as well as insights into the traits that make for a good coach. Till then, happy to hear your thoughts and feedback.