Leadership And Coaching: Enhance Your Leadership Skills
What is the relationship between leadership and coaching? Coaching, originated more than five decades ago with the initial purpose of enhancing sports performance, has transcended the business field with a similar focus: driving professionals and teams towards better performance.
The director of Innerkey, AgustÃn Piedrabuena had the privilege of training with John Whitmore, one of the founders of coaching, who maintained that the choice of the term “coaching”, which literally means ‘to train’, was a mistake. According to him, a coach, at least in its traditional meaning, is a leader by definition However, a coach should never assume the role of leader for his or her coachees (coaching clients).
A professional coach accompanies his clients so that they become aware for themselves of the obstacles, especially internal, that limit their performance and discover what they lack or have left over in their profession to develop greater passion and enthusiasm. From this awareness, the coach invites his coachees to assume responsibility for the desired change and take action.
Therefore, it is crucial to highlight that the coach cannot and should not be the leader of his coachees; They are incompatible roles.
However, It is perfectly compatible and even highly effective to incorporate attitudes, techniques and coaching tools into the leadership style, becoming an authentic leader-coach To achieve this, it is necessary to abandon other leadership styles.
In this style, managers “direct” their teams, setting directions, giving guidelines and organizing processes. Although it can be effective and efficient, this approach is far from leadership based on coaching
2. Protective style
Similar to the role of mom/dad duck, this style seeks to maintain harmony and avoid conflict within the team. However, Too much protection can impede team growth since leaders directly solve problems.
3. Democratic style
This style seeks to reach consensus on important decisions within the team. Although it can be effective with mature and enthusiastic teams, can become slow and tedious when maturity and enthusiasm are low
4. Leader-coach style
The purpose of this style is to empower the team to make the most of their potential. It is based on the combination of trust and expectations, trusting the team, but also expecting more than the members believe possible. Being led by a leader-coach is a unique opportunity, but it also requires effort and commitment.
What does it mean to lead through coaching?
Leading through coaching is taking an indirect approach to guiding a team. Instead of dictating what to do, how and when to do it, this style seeks to awaken the intrinsic desire in each team member to achieve goals with passion and enthusiasm. The leader-coach activates the team’s will to succeed instead of imposing success, encouraging them to find their own way to achieve goals without imposing a “how” This indirect approach sets high expectations for the team.
This style involves adapting to the individual needs of each team member. The leader-coach uses challenging language with some and more empathetic with others. His goal is to get the team out of the comfort zone and into that of constant learning, avoiding getting too close to the panic zone. The leader-coach focuses less on solving the team’s problems and more on encouraging the team to solve them themselves, promoting transparency and honesty to manage conflicts without fear.
The benefits of leading through coaching are evident in the growth and development of the team This style enhances individual and collective development, allowing each member to acquire skills, courage and serenity. When this development is achieved, the team achieves exceptional performance, challenging even the leader. In the co-creation of a mature and developed team, each member contributes to the success of the team without constantly depending on the leader.
The leader-coach is not only necessary in critical situations, but also encourages team autonomy. He invites himself to reflect on individual responsibility and emotional commitment to work. The key question is: How many bosses would be left if we assumed our responsibility and committed ourselves emotionally to our work?
To lead from coaching, professional training in coaching is recommended. This does not mean becoming the team coach, but rather acquiring the coaching skills and tools to lead in this way. Changing towards leadership from coaching requires a profound transformation and a practical coaching course or master’s degree can be the catalyst to change subconscious patterns and sustain the change over time.
Do you want to know more about coaching and leadership?
If you want to know more about coaching and leadership, I encourage you to contact us. In Innerkey we are experts in transpersonal, executive and team coaching, so we will accompany you in your selection process so that you can find the program that interests you most and that fits your needs and preferences.
