Leaders Who Coach are the Key to Driving Better Engagement

I enjoy reflecting on the numerous conversations I have had over the years with clients and friends from my business network. One of the topics that has frequently been popping up is growing concern about how to help team members feel more engaged at work. The May 2024 Gallup survey on workplace engagement indicated that only 30% of employees were actively engaged in their work, which is a slight decrease from the end of 2023 survey results. One interesting note about the survey is clear data indicating the teams with the best engagement were led by “coaching managers”.

This idea of leaders needing to be good coaches is not new. We all likely know leaders who are excellent coaches and admire them for their humility, empathy, dedication, patience and passion for helping their colleagues thrive. The most effective leaders I know also feel a serious responsibility for creating positive engagement on their teams and in the larger organization. There are countless well-intended company programs in place to drive better employee engagement and many of them have merit, but they can sometimes impose layers between leaders and their teams. Coaching oriented leaders feel an obligation to personally own fostering positive engagement and seek direct interaction with their teams at every opportunity. Coaching leaders who lead other people managers also hold them accountable for the same behavior.

I would like to share five of the specific best practices I have observed in leaders who are excellent coaches in an effort to make their “secret sauce” efforts more accessible and practical learning opportunities for all leaders. One consistent theme you will observe in these best practices is coaching focused leaders care more for team members’ growth and well being over the long-term, not just their ability to produce short-term results.

Five Best Practices of Coaching-Focused Leaders

1. They prioritize coaching and mentoring in their approach to time management. Time is a finite resource and we have to be careful where we invest it. Great coaching leaders are very efficient with their time and know when to say NO to time-wasting meetings or other drains on their schedule. They are well organized, focused on what is truly important and delegate well. This allows adequate time each week for investing in their people. For more insights on time management, read my post Living Life in Real Time .
2. Leaders who are great coaches focus on the right outcomes. Instead of being frustrated with the time required for 1:1 meetings with team members or rescheduling them frequently because of other priorities, they sincerely look forward to these conversations to catch up personally and professionally, discuss progress on various work goals and offer guidance where needed. This time investment during a typically busy day is a top priority because the outcome they focus on that justifies the time investment is ensuring their teammate feels listened to, valued, and invested in…leading to greater engagement. This also leads to better individual performance and overall better business results.
3. They create an environment of psychological safety and trust where candid conversations thrive. It is the responsibility of every leader to consistently create a psychologically safe place for open, honest and direct conversations to occur. The best coaching leaders I know create environments of trust where colleagues are comfortable speaking their minds, even if their comments or feedback are negative and critical towards the leader or the organization. These leaders know they can only effectively deal with candid conversations brought into the light, not whispers or assumptions that primarily exist in the shadows.
4. They ask the right questions and listen more than they talk. They frequently look for opportunities to ask insightful questions and listen carefully to what is shared. Good coaching leaders not only actively listen, but they typically only talk 20-30% of the time in 1:1 conversations. Instead of asking generic, closed and low-value questions like, “You doing OK?” or “Everything on track?”, they are more likely asking specific questions that open the aperture of the conversation such as, “What are you working on right now that has you excited?”, What is one specific area you want to improve in before the end of the year?”, "What is the biggest obstacle you see between you and your desire to achieve your goals?" or “What are specific things I can do to support you better in achieving your goals?” Specific questions will likely earn a substantive response that enriches these conversations and makes them much more valuable. For more insights on asking the right questions, read my post on curiosity here . NOTE: Sometimes prompting questions are not always necessary as the team member is eager and willing to share or the conversation is flowing in a natural way that touches on personal and business topics.
5. They challenge their team members to be responsible for their own development. I work with two senior level clients right now who excel at having their teams take responsibility for their own development. My clients don’t see this as a “check the box exercise.” They act as trusted counselors who help their team members find their own solutions and manage their own professional growth. These coaching leaders don’t dictate development plans with little input or force reluctant team members to follow a generic road map for improvement. Instead, they challenge their team members to have clear short- and long-term goals for their careers which are frequently discussed in their 1:1 sessions, candidly identify the obstacles between the team member and the future success they desire and require them to develop a clear and actionable plan to address these obstacles. These thoughtful coaching leaders offer resources where applicable, clear guidance and candid feedback, but the individual team members drive their own their development. The high engagement scores and excellent performance of these teams speaks to the wisdom of self-driven development that is nurtured by leaders who care about their growth.

Improving employee engagement is a large and complicated subject and this post only addresses one important aspect of this complex topic. But, if you are a leader concerned about positively moving the needle on employee engagement in your company, I encourage you to start by looking in the mirror. How can you adjust your style to be more of a coaching leader? How open are you to integrating the five best practices I shared into your own leadership approach? What is holding you back? How can you begin to take small steps in this direction, starting today?

I am excited to share that my newest book, Becoming a More Thoughtful Leader, is now available. This book and the two challenges I give the reader in the Introduction to thoughtfully invest in themselves and invest in others can greatly aid what I hope is your desire to become a better coaching leader. The most successful leaders I know enthusiastically embrace this approach and I firmly believe inside every leader is a great coaching leader.

Thanks and good luck.

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I am excited to announce my newest book, Becoming a More Thoughtful Leader, is now available from Amazon! If you would like to learn more about the book or purchase a copy, click here .

Randy Hain is the president of Serviam Partners , the award-winning author of 11 books, an executive coach, leadership consultant and thought leader on candor, clarity, time management and business relationships. He is also the co-founder of The Leadership Foundry