Leadership is a combination of tangible and intangible qualities. It involves understanding the impact you have on others, your influence, and the ability to know, apply, and teach effectively. To be an effective leader, you need to be able to listen, question, and plan for action. Coaching is a powerful tool that can help you develop these skills and create positive outcomes for yourself and your organization. Listening is an essential skill for any leader.
It involves more than just hearing what someone has to say; it requires empathy and creating a space for the other person to share their perspective. To truly listen, you must put aside your desire to find a solution or get to the point quickly. Listening is also a two-way street; you should actively reiterate what the other person is saying to make sure they understand your message without adding your own judgment, suggestions, or beliefs. Leaders can also benefit from learning coaching skills. This allows them to collaborate with their team members to design improvement plans, increase their participation, and drive positive actions for better performance.
Coaching also takes time, but focusing on results promotes progress and reduces the time both parties spend analyzing problems. When it comes to motivating and inspiring employees, leaders can benefit from learning coaching leadership skills. It will help them understand when their employees would benefit from coaching or mentoring leadership styles. The detachment involved in coaching leadership—being fully emotionally engaged while remaining completely non-judgmental and objective—is the most powerful training skill any leader can master. If you are interested in learning more about coaching leadership and how it relates to various coaching styles, consider taking the PCC Coaching course. It will compare coaching leadership to mentoring and mentoring leadership styles, and help you understand when your employees would benefit from each style. Great managers have the essential training skills to create belonging and influence the motivation of their teams.
By approaching listening, questioning, and action planning skills with a coaching perspective, leaders can build impactful relationships with their team members, allowing them to lead and make clear decisions for themselves, benefiting everyone involved. So what do you think? Coaches already have a lot of these qualities that make you a leader. With around 58% of managers reporting no formal training for their roles, how much does the average leader really know about coaching? According to the International Federation of Coaches, employees receiving training report significant increases in engagement, retention, and collaboration.
