The Leader As Coach

In the not too distant past, developing expertise in a technical, functional or professional domain was the way you progressed in your career. As a manager, you knew what had to be done, how to do it and how to evaluate those who reported to you. Often the way you learned and mastered your role as a manager was to mirror the behaviour of others in similar roles.  

However, in our VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world, the behaviours that enabled achievement in the past no longer guarantee success. Managers, rather than issuing instructions, must now engage their teams, providing support and guidance.   

The role of the manager has in many organisations, rapidly evolved to that of a coach, “…asking questions instead of providing answers, supporting employees instead of judging them and facilitating their -development instead of dictating what has to be done.” HBR -The Leader As Coach. Dec 2019

While many managers see themselves as pretty good at coaching, the reality is that they are trying to achieve agreement for the solution they’ve decided on. Not surprisingly this often doesn’t achieve the result they’re looking for. Successful coaching sparks insights and drives behavioural change; it helps to broaden thinking and perspectives, uncover new ideas and options and results in improved performance.

With the rapid changes forced on businesses this year, the benefits of a coaching style of leadership have been brought into focus.  Leveraging your team, their ideas, skills and experience has been, and will continue to be critical in understanding priorities, finding solutions, helping team members find a new way to engage and operate.

Are you interested in the benefits that the “Leader as Coach” can deliver? Please contact me at cathyt@latentcapability.com.au to discuss further.

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