Leaders as Coaches in Today’s Business Culture

At ALCN we are often asked to go into organizations and help management and leadership teams embrace the importance of coaching within their role as a top-level executive. As we have spent time within these organizations, we are beginning to see emerging trends regarding the role of coaching within today’s top organizations.

While many individuals in C-level leadership roles believe in the power of coaching, they are ill-equipped to actually take on the role of the coach in an effective manner. They are expected to coach as well as manage their team members, often with very little formal coach training or support. This can set them up for frustration at the very least and in the worst cases complete leadership failure.

In order to successfully implement a coaching culture as leader, it is crucial to utilize the right tools and have the proper understanding of the role of the coach within the organization. Coach training blended with coaching assessments can provide a way to build the trust among team member. Coaching also builds confidence among team members. A successful coach-leader encourages individuals to share their unique talents and vision with the team. This is an excellent way to help employees feel their concerns and input are being heard and that they are a respected and valued team member.

Developing a coaching culture as a leader can be challenging, especially when it requires “changing the way things have been done around here,” to embrace a completely new and unique leadership style. Here are some things coach-leaders should consider when using coaching as part of their role.

• Coaching requires the leader to adopt an “ask” rather than “tell” posture. Coach-leaders don’t instruct employees on what they should do, but instead they ask leading questions that help the individual create the appropriate solution. Not only does this encourage them team member to come up with their own ideas, it also tends to be a more success-driven solution because it was the employee’s idea.
• A coaching leader pays attention to the people, not the job. The goal of coaching is employee development. When team members are allowed to reach their full potential, the work flow naturally progresses.
• A leader who understands the value of coach is not trying to fix people. Again the power of coaching is that the employee comes up with the solutions. It is about guiding them as they determine the best path for the most beneficial outcome.
• Coaches hold team members accountable for their pre-determined outcomes. Coming up with a goal is pointless if there is no follow through to ensure that the goal is being met. A leader who is embracing the power of a coaching culture ensures that they are meeting with team members on a regular basis to determine progress.
• Coaching is not just about pre-scheduled meetings. A leader who has adopted a coaching philosophy seeks out coachable moments. Often these are the best way for learning to occur and help reinforce previous goal setting discussions.
• A leader understands that sometimes their team members are not seeking coaching, they are seeking direct feedback or mentoring and are able to easily and effortlessly switch roles from one of coach to mentor or manager as needed.

Helping Team Members Find Their Passion
It is also important to remember that today’s C-level executives are called to lead across a wide variety of ages and cultures. They are expected to understand the nuances associated with the coaching millennial generation as well as the cultural differences of doing business globally.

One tool that can be used to help in this effort is called the Passion Pyramid designed by Keith Ayers of the Integro Institute . It demonstrates what employees need to feel valued and the leadership skills required to help them reach their full potential with regard to passion. At the very basic level, every employee must feel respected. This requires a leader to gain their trust. Once that trust is developed, both leader and employee can move to the next step in the pyramid which is to learn and grow. It is important to realize that coaching cannot begin in an effective manner, until the team members feel respected.

Another very important thing to keep in mind is that each step in the process builds upon the next. If one section of the pyramid begins to erode, the rest of the pyramid will at the very least be unstable, but could eventually crumble and need rebuilding. This is why on-going coaching is crucial to not only creating employee passion, but also maintaining it.

So how can a manager behave more like a coach?
1.Ask effective questions – A key part of gaining the trust and respect of team members is showing them that you have genuine interest in them. Ask questions that will create beneficial dialogue, not only in a business sense, but also as a way to gain perspective regarding who the employee is as a person.

2.Don’t go ahead of the employee – It is important to remember that not every team member will be at the same place. It is crucial to assess their current position and then create an appropriate plan to move them to the next level.

3.Guide the conversation – As the coach-leader, it is your job to ask questions that will move the conversation forward. This does not mean that as the leader you tell the employee what to do and how to do it, unless specifically requested, but rather they create a dialogue that will help determine the logical next steps to reach the appropriate outcome.

4.Discuss and agree upon feedback – Critique is only effective if it is heard, understood and agreed upon. Ask clarifying questions that will ensure that the team member has bought into to the discussion.

5.Do your part to support the employee – As a coach-leader it is important to ensure team members are bolstered during times of struggle. However, it is also important to remember that these times of struggle can also be powerful teaching tools to help them develop and reach the next level. Be there and offer encouragement as they work through tough times.

Coaching for Coach-Leadersr
Good coach-leaders are consistently seeking make the people around them successful. They are passionate and committed, authentic, courageous, honest and reliable. But in today's high-pressure business environment, leaders need a confidante, a mentor or someone they can trust to tell the truth about their behavior. They rarely get that from employees or other team members.

While it is important to develop and promote internal talent as coaches, it is also beneficial to look outside the organization for the executive coaching competencies to help guide the C-Level executive as he or she serves as coach and mentor for other team members. Additionally, the flat organizational structure of today’s business culture can mean that leadership roles are thrust upon individuals who are not prepared for the demands of the job. An external executive coach helps fill the development gap.

Coaches help the executive-level leader understand what is required to be successful in organizational terms, develop their own leadership template and create a goal oriented development plan that will increase the probability that they will move the organization to the next level. In essence, a leader who coaches must also be a coachable leader. Recognizing this need will not only help the leader grow, but will also serve as an example for other team members. In essence, the coaching culture starts with executive level leader who believe in the importance of coaching, not only for junior team members, but more importantly for themselves.

For more information on how to develop a leadership coaching culture within your organization, please feel free to contact the team at Academy of Leadership Coaching & NLP.