\n\n\n<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
How many hats are you wearing right now?\u00a0 No, I don\u2019t mean literally. You may be reading this on the tube. Wearing lots of hats would be weird.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
But what about when you\u2019re at work? You wear multiple hats every day – and as a leader, you whip them on and off with remarkable frequency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
One minute you\u2019re an expert, the next you\u2019re a leader and later that same day, you put on a mentor hat. Then you\u2019re a manager – still the expert, but managing other experts at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Expert > leader> mentor> manager. All are important, although you may have noticed that I\u2019ve left one out: coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Are your leaders skilled coaches? In this article, I\u2019ll explore 3 reasons why a coaching leadership style benefits your organisation\u2019s people, processes and ultimately, its bottom line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I write, `The Great Resignation\u2019 is in full swing. In our post-pandemic world, people over 30 years old are resigning en masse – a 22% increase compared to last year. For those over 40, it\u2019s an alarming 25.1%.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
In short, talented staff are leaving their jobs faster than you can say `I quit\u2019. The traditional command-and-control management style no longer cuts it. They\u2019re seeking more enlightened employers – organisations which do the following:<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Coaching leaders deliver what today\u2019s talent needs and expects. It\u2019s the polar opposite of command-and-control. Rather than telling, your leaders promote independence by helping people find solutions for themselves. For employees, this is inspirational.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Once a leader has developed coaching skills, there\u2019s a ripple effect as the style is passed to leadership colleagues. Your organisation quickly becomes a go-to employer – a workplace which supports, develops and invests in its people.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Coaching is more than simply a nice conversation. It\u2019s practical, bottom-line efficiency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s imagine that a team member has started missing deadlines. They\u2019ve begun to shirk responsibility, they avoid challenging tasks and blame others for mistakes. They are failing the team and ultimately, the organisation as a whole.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
What do you do?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Coach them. Ask open questions, listen actively and mindfully, and open up the issue from a fresh angle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
With time and space to explore the question, your team member will discover that they already have the answer. They take ownership of the obstacle and the means to overcome it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Micro-managing won\u2019t be necessary. The solution belongs to them, so there is automatic buy-in. They will take responsibility for committing to their own action points.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
<\/b>It\u2019s not surprising that management resignations have been rampant over the last 18 months. We\u2019re all suffering quite enough stress. Why add work to the disaster movie mix?<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Leadership is hard. Everyone comes to you for the answers. It\u2019s like carrying a monkey around on your back, all day every day. Through coaching, you get that pesky monkey off your back.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Let me explain:<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
As a traditional leader, you give people instructions for solving problems. When those instructions fail to work (as they\u2019re bound to occasionally), the buck stops with you and the monkey gets even heavier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Put simply, most leaders are doing too much `doing\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
As a coaching leader, you hand over the monkey. Your team members gladly take on the `doing\u2019 responsibility because they\u2019ve been empowered to make their own decisions and learn from their mistakes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
The end result? Your organisation develops its employees to be the best they can be. Goals are achieved, targets are consistently met and the company\u2019s profits rise in tandem with its reputation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/p>\n
Being a coaching leader isn\u2019t simply a question of how<\/em>. It\u2019s also about knowing when<\/em> to coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\n\n<\/p>\n The coaching hat is not always appropriate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\n\n<\/p>\n Sometimes, the manager must be firmly and decisively in charge. At other times, you\u2019ll be the go-to expert or an advice-giving mentor and then later, the inspirational leader with a clear vision and strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\n\n<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the important thing:<\/p>\n \n\n\n<\/p>\n Today\u2019s leaders need to be effective coaches. On the numerous occasions when coaching leadership is necessary, these skills will be crucial to the growth, accountability and practical efficiency of your workforce.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\n\n<\/p>\n As a coach with more than 20 years\u2019 commercial experience, I\u2019ve designed my Coaching Skills for Leaders course\u00a0 to pass on these essential coaching skills to your front-line leaders. They will leave with all the tools necessary to become insightful, empowering coaches.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\n\n<\/p>\n