The Coaching Leadership Style

Imagine this scenario. You go to your manager or supervisor at work because you have a problem. This is no ordinary day-to-day sort of problem. You go there for his or her help because it’s perplexing. You get one of two responses. The first is a ‘pat’ response suggesting a course of action and so you leave very quickly with ‘the answer’; the second response is a querying interaction where your supervisor listens to understand then asks some thought-provoking, challenging, probing questions. You leave challenged even perhaps a little uncomfortable.

Given the choice, how would you rather be led in the workplace? To be told what to do as per the first response or to be asked what we should do as per the second? The coaching leadership style is characterised by the second method of asking and is much more akin to contemporary leadership. The former method is a more directive style, and is not favoured for a bunch of reasons, mainly because it is a form of telling.

Coaching: Problem Solver or Merely Helper?

The coaching style of leadership helps people solve their own problems through astute and targeted questions, driving them to push themselves regarding 1) motivation, and 2) direction as most problems emanate from poor prioritisation, lethargy or procrastination, or from a lack of insight or creativity.

Telling Usually Doesn’t Work

It’s quite often linked with simplistic answers to complex problems. Most mature adults (and younger people for that matter) appreciate a more affiliative or collaborative approach. The very nature of coaching is asking more and more targeted questions the longer the interaction goes; the coach must therefore achieve understanding before he or she can help the person being coached.

Coaching Challenges Sensitive Issues In Safe Ways

For the leader who coaches there are less issues of courage required. Sure, the questions we might ask might perhaps skate the thin ice and probe issues that are difficult to discuss, but whilst we have a questioning mindset and approach the employee can’t really feel intruded upon. Therefore, sensitive issues can be approached from a position of relative safety.

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A Threat With The More Directive Style Of Leadership

One of the threats with direct leadership is the response we get if we give an untenable answer; consider that it is easy to get it wrong if we don’t understand the core issues. We won’t have helped the person who came to us; they could leave even more frustrated.

The coaching leadership style is perhaps best for the fact that it assists without taking any of the ownership of the problem. There’s no better outcome in leadership than for the subordinate to come up with their own answers. That’s an inspiring outcome. They will love us for it!

Think about this. How many genuine coaching styled leaders have you seen? And how good are your coaching/questioning skills? Remember that in some respects, skill equals application. What we use we develop.

Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.