Coaching leadership does what it says on the tin. Exactly as a sports coach would, a leader will leverage each individual’s strengths, foster strong relationships and cultivate a collaborative team to push towards a clearly defined goal. In sports it’s winning a game, in business it’s winning opportunities.  

What skills are needed to coach effectively?

There are some core skills for coaching that leaders employ in this style of leadership: 

Leveraging Strengths Of A Team

A coach firmly believes in their team’s ability to reach the performance potential. This belief acts as fuel to propel them forwards. Recognising and leveraging the strengths of a team is a core ability to a successful coach. By enabling each person to play to their own strengths, results are improved which in turn boosts motivation. This united approach is in contrast to a more traditional approach of top-down management, which is more authoritarian. 

Goal Setting

Exactly like the sporting world, defining goals is key to keeping everyone motivated in business. Coaching leadership is very much goal-oriented, but looks further in to the future with long-term objectives. By establishing clear objectives it sets a lucid expectation, informing people’s priorities and maintaining their focus. Taking a collective approach to achieving goals using each member’s strengths means they are better able to see the value in their individual contribution and feel inspired to push harder.  

Constructive Feedback

Giving constructive feedback is a key element to coach leadership. By observing the team and analysing performance, coaches are able to spot gaps. Expert at building strong relationships and fostering a culture of mutual trust and respect – these qualities enable coaches to have tricky conversations. By providing performance feedback, everyone understands what needs to change in order to succeed. As part of this process, asking impactful questions that give genuine insights to the knowledge, skills and dynamics of a team can be invaluable.  

Supportive Management

Creating a supportive environment is another staple of coaching. People need to know that they will not only be heard, but actively listened to, met with empathy and given compassionate guidance. A coach’s emotional intelligence has a direct impact on their ability to support, so it’s vital that this awareness of self and others is developed in order to nurture talent to success. By supporting and encouraging their team, coaches empower them with the confidence they need to pursue their own development and flourish in their role.  

Enhancing Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is enhanced by fostering a human-centric culture in which people are able to form strong relationships. These connections exist cross-functionally as well as internally, which tightly knits the whole business together. When working in such a cooperative and supportive culture, people are more actively engaged because they care. They become invested in the business, its success and their colleagues, which sparks their motivation. A high level of engagement will secure longer employee retention, also.  

What are the benefits of coaching leadership in the workplace? 

Certain management styles can be more beneficial to particular circumstances than others. Coach leadership has a very supportive, nurturing undertone that might not work in certain scenarios. Where it might be particularly effective is: 

• Where there is a lack of trust in SLT that stems from an undesirable company culture  
• When employees’ own objectives are misaligned with the business objectives and silos have been created 
• If employees have big ambition but are disengaged at work  

Coaching can resolve these issues by recalibrating a team to focus on collective goals and build a healthy environment in which they can succeed. 

The biggest problem that critics see with coaching employees is that it requires so much time and effort. Its focus on long-term objectives requires continuous input and mentorship from a leader. In comparison to other management styles that are much less hands-on, this approach can detract from other elements of leadership that require attention. However, it could be argued that by taking such a people-centric approach that prioritises well-being and fosters strong connections allows everything else to fall in to place. Furthermore, there is coaching technology available to help with resource management.

To conclude, while a coach leadership style does require more resource input from managers, it also cultivates a highly desirable culture. Built on trust and meaningful connection, the environment is supportive, collaborative and relies on individual strengths to drive team success. Alchemist can support you to nurture coaching skills in your leaders with a tailored leadership development programme.