The Art of Coaching Leadership Style

THE SHIFT SPOT

Your leadership style affects your communication, how your team perceives you, and ultimately how successful those working alongside you perform in their roles. Choosing a leadership coaching style is very personal and specific to your team. Because leadership is truly an art, it can positively impact the entire business and add to its success when done appropriately. 

UNDERSTANDING THE COACHING LEADERSHIP APPROACH

Leadership styles often vary, but when choosing the beach leadership style for your organization, it's crucial to look at how your team thrives. What environment allows your staff to do their best work? What communication style reaches them best and will enable them to understand their roles and responsibilities clearly and concisely? What leadership style allows your organization to run most effectively? Coaching leadership style is just one of many ways to lead a team. A coaching style allows the leader to focus on the individual, highlight their strengths and weaknesses and help them grow on a singular level to bring those strengths to the team eventually and benefit the organization.

As with any leadership style, coaching leadership style hosts a unique set of skills to create an ideal atmosphere for your organization. Some of the skills and characteristics found in coaching leadership include clear communication, empathy, emotional intelligence, and inclusive management to name a few. Incorporating all these characteristics into your leadership style creates a safe, trusting culture for your staff to thrive in.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COACHING AND MENTORING

While coaching and mentoring can sometimes seem like a blurred line, there is a stark difference in these crucial roles. A mentor is a more experienced individual who supports and guides someone in their success. Often a mentor will help someone be the best version of themselves in all areas of life or business. On the other hand, coach-style leadership gives more direction, designs plans and goals, and is often looked up to as an example.

THE ROLE OF A COACHING LEADER IN FOSTERING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN TEAMS

When deciding what type of leader you want to be, listening to your team and understanding what makes them productive, motivated, and eager to reach their goals is essential. If you've realized the coaching leadership style will work best for your staff, you may have noticed that your team thrives in safe, trusted environments where your staff likes to be heard and appreciated. So how does this help foster growth and development? Allowing your team to be open about their needs, be held accountable in a productive way, and build trust with leadership and their colleagues boosts how everyone works and therefore boosts productivity. Being a coaching leader is all about being empathetic and human while leading the team to success. 

IMPLEMENTING A COACHING LEADERSHIP STYLE IN YOUR BUSINESS

So you know a coaching leadership style will suit your best in reaching and communicating with your team but you need help figuring out where to start. Here are some steps to incorporate coaching leadership in your organization:

Offer Feedback and Resources

Giving your team feedback on what they are doing well or what needs improvement constructively is a massive part of the coaching leadership style. Along with giving feedback, it's crucial to supply resources to support your feedback. Allow your team to know you are there to help and offer support.

Celebrate Big and Small Wins

Suppose your team had a significant win – it's time to celebrate! Just as any coach would, it's important to shout your successes and victories from the rooftops, no matter how big or small. Your team will be elated to share their success and be eager to succeed in the future.

Adjust Your Strategy - Evolve

It's crucial in coaching leadership to allow your strategy to change and evolve when you realize something isn't working. Coaching leadership style is a long-term process and takes time to fix. However, knowing strategy will change for the greater good of the team and meeting goals will allow you to keep everything flowing.

Make Yourself Available

Meeting with your staff often is crucial with a coaching leadership style. Being able to get progress updates, survey how the team is feeling and open up the lines of communication in person will help you gain a positive advantage in leading them to success. 

EXAMPLES OF COACHING LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

Coaching leadership styles are at the forefront of some of the world's most successful businesses and companies you use daily. Some famous leaders that use the coaching style of leadership include the management teams in Microsoft, Meta, with famous writer Dale Carnegie also using the coaching leadership style.

COACHING LEADERSHIP STYLE TO LEAD TO SUCCESS

Each team and work environment can vary, so finding which coaching style speaks best to your team is essential. Being able to bring a positive outlook to all situations and encouraging your team can motivate them and boost productivity. Are you looking to improve your leadership style? Need guidance on how to help your business thrive starting at the top? The Shift Spot community is here to help. Contact us today.