The Leader as Coach
The Leader as Coach
What’s In
It For The Leader To Become A Coach
- Partnering and collaboration are more gratifying than directing and
controlling
- Shared responsibility means less that the leader has to shoulder
alone
- Coaching evokes much more of people’s creativity and talent for their
benefit and the benefit of the organization
- People are less dependent on the leader for direction which frees the
leader up to expand external networks, study market trends, pursue new
alliances and the like
- The leader’s sphere of "influence" can be much broader when the leader
doesn’t have to "micromanage" others
- The leader has more time to develop new areas of expertise which can add
value to the organization and further his or her own career
- Breakthrough performance replaces incremental improvements, leading to new
or sustained competitive advantage
What
The Leader Can Do To "Set The Stage"For Coaching In The
Organization
- Read books and articles on coaching in the corporate setting and share
what you are learning
Network with others who have implemented coaching in their
organizations
Attend an introductory seminar
Hire a coach to strengthen personal leadership and communication
skills
Enlist a willing and enthusiastic team within the organization to
implement coaching as a way of demonstrating the benefits to the rest of the
organization
Create a compelling context—talk about the changes in the marketplace, and
the need for agility with technology and for new knowledge
Incorporate language which is coaching-related into the culture
Begin to reduce redundant layers of management oversight and decision
making
Practice unconditionally constructive communication
Endorse others who constructively challenge the organization’s existing
paradigms and systems
Tell others how you are shifting personally; this is intriguing and
stimulates curiosity
- Pass books and articles on coaching around for others to read
Invite others to attend the introductory seminar
Arrange for an "executive briefing" for senior management on corporate
coaching
Clearly identify what new performance is needed in the
organization
- Engage organizational members in discussion about what skills and
behaviors are needed to reach new levels of performance
Characteristics Of Effective Organizational Leader
Coaches
Perspective
Leader coaches are able to sort out the range of issues in a given situation,
to see how they relate to each other and to the big picture. They provide
clarity and context for meaningful discussions to occur among individuals and
organizational teams.
Unconditionally Honest
Leader coaches are able to tell the truth while remaining completely
constructive. They have a high level of awareness of themselves and of their
impact on others. Their honesty enables them to "get to the heart of the
matter", quickly, and to influence others to fully participate in finding
creative responses to organizational challenges. Leader coaches practice
"committed speaking"; that is, their messages reflect their deeply held beliefs
about individuals and their unique potential.
Excellent Listening and Evoking Skills
Leader coaches listen with the intention to fully understand others rather
than to direct or coerce. They believe that others have abundant knowledge and
wisdom to make meaningful contributions to the work of the organization. They
know how to ask the penetrating questions which enable others to surface their
underlying assumptions about themselves, their work, and their teams which
either contribute to or impede their performance.
Expansive Sphere of Trust
Leader coaches are trusting of others, and they are trustworthy. Leader
coaches develop trust by letting other see them for who they really are, being
unconditionally constructive in their communications, admitting their own
mistakes, accepting the mistakes of others, and demonstrating genuine interest
in other people.
Commitment to Interdevelopmental Partnerships
Leader coaches invest themselves in relationships that are based on mutual
understanding and mutual benefit. They share responsibility for results as well
as the recognition for success. They balance the need to advocate their own
positions with inquiring into others' views. Leader coaches are themselves
willing to be coached and developed by others.
Balance the Need for Learning with the Need for Results
Leader coaches recognize the relationship between the learning that results
from risk taking and the achievement of breakthrough results. They recognize
that fostering an environment which supports deep personal learning makes
possible radical shifts in thinking, valuing and behaving which lead to
breakthrough improvements in products and services.
Anticipation of Opportunities
Effective leader coaches are proactive rather than reactive. They seek
opportunities for growth in themselves and others, and they inspire the
commitment of those in their organizations through their words and their
actions. They take advantage of people’s existing readiness for change, create a
sense of urgency, and help to eliminate organizational and personal obstacles
that impede action.
Accountability
Leader coaches accept full responsibility for everything that occurs in their
environment. In taking responsibility, they are able to make themselves a part
of solutions as well as actively engage others to seek solutions to problems
rather then assign blame.
Affirm and Acknowledge
Leader coaches affirm with their words and actions the natural desire that
others have to develop and grow, to control their own work, and to be recognized
for their contributions. They see that everyone, regardless of organizational
status or position, has the potential to develop beyond current skills and
responsibilities.
Promote Constructive Conflict
Effective leader coaches value disagreement and the powerful opportunities it
presents for organizational teams to reach new levels of mutual understanding
not accessible to individuals in isolation.
Factors Which Predict Success For The Organizational Leader
Coach
- Shares personal experience, learning and wisdom freely with others
- Uses inquiry and dialogue to elicit others' experiences, learning and
wisdom
- Has high personal standards and continually "raises the bar" for his or
her own learning and performance
- Is committed to continual learning and personal renewal-is not complacent
- Embraces diversity within the organization
- Is well known in the organization and is approachable
- Has an extensive network inside and outside of the organization which can
be a resource to others
- Is results oriented
- Is an optimist; sees possibilities and connections others miss
- Has a personal vision and inspires others to have a vision
- Helps others align their personal vision with that of the organization
- Is continually developing own knowledge and skills
- Uses 360 degree feedback to enhance effectiveness
- Has a gift for language which fosters the creation of meaning and context
in the organization
- Sees unrealized potential in others and helps them to see it for
themselves
- Has exceptional diagnostic and assessment skills
- Uses intuition and imagination to extend and enhance communication
- Can challenge others without making them feel criticized
- Is passionate about helping others succeed
- Is able to coach for both performance (present results) as well as
development (future job, career change, etc.)
- Is known for seeking win-win solutions
- Is a great collaborator
- Has exceptional communication skills
Organizational Factors Which Impede
Coaching
- Tightly controlled plans, standards and practices which discourage
questioning or change
- Training and supervision approaches which emphasize teaching of prescribed
information, techniques and practices
- Lack of recognition of people’s differences in motivation, commitment and
awareness.
- Focus on short-term performance and results
- Performance management systems which place limits on the creation and
performance of work
Individual
Factors Which Impede Coaching
- Fear of judgment by others
- Fear of exposing incompetence
- Difficulty establishing close relationships based on trust
- Lack of self-confidence in one's abilities
- Comfort with current knowledge and performance
- Difficulty tolerating ambiguity
- Ingrained beliefs and patterns of behavior based on old management
paradigms
- Need for security and direction from others, or need to control
others
Personal
Obstacles New Leader Coaches Must Overcome
- Impatience with other people’s reluctance about change
- Thinking reluctance and resistance are the same thing (they’re
not)
Feeling that you have to be the expert and have all the answers to be a
coach
- Thinking you can "do coaching" (you must "be" a coach)
- Fear of making yourself vulnerable to others
- Reticence to give up "managerial control" over others
- Viewing people as "human resources" rather than partners
- Thinking you don’t have to change yourself in order to coach
others
- Underestimation of other peoples’ potential
- Underestimation of your own potential
- Viewing the shift to becoming a coaching based organization as only
structural (it’s also personal)
- Expecting a lot to happen as a result of your good intentions and
declarations about change (it takes clearly identified performance goals,
sustained commitment, and daily actions)
- Expecting coaching to provide a "quick fix" to organizational or
individual performance problems
- Not linking coaching to personal and organizational vision
- Not linking coaching to performance results
The Most Common
Mistakes New Leader Coaches Make
- Practicing the technology of coaching without having made the deep
personal shifts in attitudes, beliefs and assumptions which establish
credibility
- Assuming everyone is coachable
- Overestimating the short term results from coaching
- Assuming every situation provides the opportunity for coaching
- Failing to establish rapport which creates the trusting space for coaching
to occur
- Failing to get others’ permission to coach them
- Not recognizing the impact of communication style differences in the
coaching relationship
- Not recognizing or valuing cultural, racial, gender or other diversity
issues in the coaching relationship
- Coaching from the leader coach’s own agenda
- Coaching only individuals while ignoring teams or vice versa
- Confusing coaching with training or supervision
- Confusing coaching with performance correction or discipline resulting
from sub-standard performance
- Coaching only for step wise (linear) improvements
- Failing to set sufficiently ambitious stretch goals
- Failing to coach for both performance and personal growth
- Failing to get 360° feedback in order to improve
coaching effectiveness
Behaviors
Which Result In Lost Credibility For Leader Coaches
- Holding others to higher standards than they hold themselves
- Engaging in behavior that is incongruent with messages about
organizational vision and personal empowerment
- Failing to admit their shortcomings or learn from their mistakes
- Not sharing important information or being selective about the sharing of
information
- Trying to use coaching to "fix" other people
- Putting personal success/career advancement ahead of the needs of others
in the organization
- Failing to acknowledge and endorse others; failing to share credit for
results with others
- Failing to honor the "human side of the business" (endorsing, respecting,
empowering)
- Failing to ask for or use constituent feedback in personal leadership
development and organizational planning
- Failing to communicate a clear message about performance expectations or
performance results
- Not demanding the best of themselves and others
Personal Shifts
Organizational Leader Coaches Make
|
From |
To |
|
Reactive to circumstances or other people’s behavior |
Proactive, anticipates, causes, envisions |
|
Focus on efficiency, linear improvements |
Focus on effectiveness, quality, breakthrough improvements |
|
Power base is positional, authoritative |
Power base is personal attraction centered, influential,
collaborative |
|
Responds to and manages change through increasing structures and
control |
Responds to and manages change through increased flexibility and
perspective |
|
Complacency with status quo |
Visioning, seeing what’s next, opportunity sensing |
|
Uses facts, data, acquired information to solve problems |
Uses intuition and imagination as an adjunct to facts, data and
acquired information to solve problems |
|
Asks what policy is needed in a given situation |
Asks how partners would handle a situation |
|
Provides solutions, direction |
Provides questions which promote collaborative discovery of solutions
and direction |
|
Is satisfied with performance that meets expectations |
Asks for more than is expected from others’ performance |
|
Uses existing knowledge and skills |
Continually renews knowledge and skills |
The Elements
Of Rapport
Great organizational leader coaches are masterful at building rapport with
those they coach. Rapport is essential to a process of self discovery, growth
and change. The elements of rapport which leader coaches foster are:
- Unconditionally constructive communications
- Body language which telegraphs endorsement, openness and trust
- Willingness to influence and be influenced
- Safety to share personal vulnerabilities
- Minimization of differences in power and status
- Expressed and demonstrated personal interest in the success of the other
person
- Empathy for the individual's challenges, fears, personal obstacles
- Absence of posturing and defensiveness
- Full attention to how the other person is being as well as what he or she
is doing
- Positive intention to bring one's best self fully to the relationship and
to help the other person do and be his/her best
- Space to see, hear and say truth
Strategies
The Leader Coach Can Employ To Improve Listening
Skills
- Resolve to be a better listener: This moves the leader coach beyond
awareness of the need to be a better listener to a new level-that of
commitment. Without full commitment, behavior change is not possible.
- Tell others of the intent: Telling others of one's overall intent as well
as what aspects of listening he/she is committed to improving accomplishes two
things. It strengthens one's personal commitment, and it raises others'
awareness of both the intent and the specific areas to be improved. Others are
likely to tolerate mistakes when they know something is being worked on, and
they are also more likely to share their observations and feedback in a
helpful, developmental way.
- Create the space within which to listen: This is really about eliminating
personal obstacles, distractions, or attitudes which get in the way of
listening, such as physical separateness, overbooked schedule, physical or
emotional fatigue, and critical attitudes or judgments. Identifying what gets
in the way may require the help of a coach or other supportive person, and is
absolutely essential to the process of becoming an excellent listener.
- Eliminate environmental distractions and interruptions: This means going
beyond creating space within oneself to ensuring that the immediate
environment is conducive to being able to be fully present with someone else.
Extraneous noise, clutter and interruptions by others need to be eliminated to
provide the best "listening space."
- Establish or confirm that rapport is present: Even if rapport has been
established in the past, it cannot be assumed in the present. Rapport is
really situation specific, and it can be interrupted or negated during an
interchange at any time. Good listening is enhanced by rapport.
- Set aside assumptions and analysis: This can be thought of as "presuming
innocence"; that is, making no assumptions about the speaker or the message
ahead of time. It is also important to suspend the tendency to evaluate or
analyze the content of the message while the message is being delivered. Going
into an analytical mode interrupts good listening.
- Monitor body language: The good listener monitors his/her own body
language to ensure that it telegraphs openness, acceptance of the speaker and
the message without judgment.
- Listen for the whole message: This means listening for not only what is
said, but also what is implied by the speaker's message, what does his/her
body language reveal about his or her underlying feelings, and what is the
request behind the message.
- Check for complete understanding: The good listener does this by asking
clarifying questions or by paraphrasing what he or she understands the speaker
to have said.
- Ask for feedback: The leader coach may think he or she is doing an
excellent job of listening, but this needs to be confirmed by asking for
feedback. People are generally able to be quite clear about whether or not
they felt fully listened to.
The Types of
Questions Leader Coaches Ask
- Clarifying Questions: Questions which elucidate the current situation,
problem, need, challenge or goal or which reveal personal feelings, concerns,
questions, or anxieties, such as "What do the performance data reveal about
our current situation?", "What market trends should we be addressing right
now?", "What is your personal feeling about this?"
- Discovery Questions: Questions designed to promote self discovery , such
as "What's new or different?", "What the gap is?", "What's the current
reality?", "What's the unspoken truth?", "What's possible?", "Where are the
gaps in knowledge, skills, relationships, attitudes and behaviors?", "What are
the unintended results of present attitudes and behaviors?"
- Questions about Vision and Strategy: questions such as "What is the
individual's or team's vision which can be aligned with that of the
organization?", "What are the possible strategies to meet the current business
challenge?", "How has our past strategy been/not been effective?", "What is
the next level for us?", "If you could design a response with no constraints
whatsoever, what would it be?"
- Open Ended Questions: Questions that invite participation, disclosure and
commitment, such as "Tell me more about…", "How does this situation, problem,
opportunity seem to you?", "What are you going to do next?"
- Evocative Questions: Questions that seize upon the inherent opportunity
available now, foster a search for shared meaning, or create a new or changed
context, such as "What is the opportunity underlying this challenge?", "What
are we not doing/paying attention to that would altogether shift this
situation?", "What are we not talking about that we should be talking about to
solve this problem/seize this opportunity?", "If we were to take a radically
different approach to this, what would it be?", "If all constraints were
removed, what courses of action would be available to you or the
team?"
- Questions to Gauge Awareness/Understanding: Questions which reveal an
individual's or team's understanding of current reality, challenges which lie
ahead, as well as current performance strengths and gaps, such as "What is
your perception of the current situation?", "What do you see as the biggest
challenge?", "What will it take to address the challenge?", "What are our
performance strengths?", "Where are the gaps in skills, attitudes or
behaviors?"
- Forwarding Action Questions: Questions which move the individual or team
into forward action, such as "What steps are necessary to move the project
forward?", What steps will you or the team assume responsibility for", "What
is the best way to bridge the current gap?", "Who else needs to be involved to
ensure the project's success?", "What obstacles to success need to be
eliminated?"
- Support Questions: Questions which inform the leader coach what he or she
can do or cause to happen which increases the likelihood of success, such as
"What would make the biggest impact and help to ensure your success?", "What
resources are you missing that would make a difference?", "Do you need help
with making networking contacts?"
- Questions to Determine Readiness, Motivation and Commitment: Questions
which reveal the current state of "GO" as well as any obstacles which still
need to be overcome, such as "Are you ready?", "When will you be ready?", "How
committed are you to the project?", "How optimistic are you about the
outcome?", "What possibilities are you most excited about?", "What's holding
you back now?", "What's your uncertainty about, and how could we turn that
into readiness?"
- Questions about Standards: Questions which are designed to build a shared
understanding of and commitment to standards, such as "What are your personal
standards for this project?", "Are they high enough given the current business
environment?", "How do our standards compare with the competition?", "How will
we get everyone's full effort to maintain or exceed these standards?", "How
will performance against standards be measured?"
Overcoming
Others' Reluctance About Coaching
- Enlist those who are ready, willing and enthusiastic to lead the way and
to inspire and support their more reluctant peers
- Clearly communicate the expectations for new skills and behaviors as well
as the results of individual and organizational change
- Create a safe environment for people to "try on" and practice new
behaviors and skills without fear of judgement or reprisal
- Use the "language of coaching" when interacting with others in the
organization to increase others' familiarity with its principles
- Demonstrate one's personal commitment to coaching by having a coach and by
being willing to be coached by others in the organization
- Jointly establish performance goals which require application of new
behaviors and skills
- Anticipate questions, concerns and fears and address them openly and
completely
- Collaboratively establish a compelling vision which pulls people
forward
- Establish rewards for risk taking
- Ensure that organizational structures and reward systems are aligned with
expectations for new skills and behaviors
- "Raise the bar" on what constitutes acceptable performance in the changing
organizational environment
- Challenge people to identify their assumptions and conclusions which lead
to less than optimal results
- Assist individuals to break down the actions needed for change into
manageable steps
- Get commitment for specific daily, weekly, monthly actions
- Have people partner up for mutual learning and support
Coaching
Strategies Which Promote Adult Learning And Growth
- Individually determined objectives
- Collaborative conversations
- Comfortable and emotionally "safe" learning environment
- Activities which promote creative expression and self discovery
- Encouragement of personal values and standards
- Endorsing of stylistic and other differences
- Opportunity to practice and adapt learning to every day situations
- Building upon the individual's experience and knowledge
- Freedom to risk and make mistakes
- Multiple options, more than one "right way"
- Appeal to individual's creativity and desire to grow personally
- Unconditionally constructive feedback
- Discussion of case scenarios or hypothetical situations
- Modeling of new skills and behaviors
- Open ended questions which promote discovery of new possibilities
- Mutual sharing of personal experiences
Ways That Leader
Coaches Add Value To Their Organizations
- Simplify the organizational environment by eliminating needless, redundant
and inefficient policies, procedures and layers of decision making
- Respond fully to everything in their environment by observing and making
connections others may miss, providing complete information, and sensing
opportunities for individuals and the organization
- Practice inclusiveness by involving everyone at the outset who has
something to create or contribute towards solving a particular
challenge
- Have a vision for themselves and the organization which inspires their
work and which encourage others’ vision
- Assist organizational members to identify and systematically remove
obstacles to the delivery of outstanding customer service, including
technology, skills and attitudes
- Demonstrate commitment to their own learning and renewal
- Use new knowledge to help move individuals and the organization
forward
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