Demystifying ‘Leadership Coaching’ is actually harder than you might think, mostly because the subject of leadership itself is so expansive and diverse. So let’s consider one simple description of a leader.
A leader is someone who sets direction in an organisation and gets things done through others by motivating them to willingly pursue a common vision and work in harmony toward common goals. In other words, leadership is not something a leader does. It is a delicate dance of cooperation between a leader and his or her followers. To be a really good leader, a person must develop masterful people skills.
The problem is that too often leaders derail their own leadership because of things like blind spots, low self-awareness, low emotional intelligence (EQ), low cultural intelligence (CQ), poor stress management, and too much ‘inside the box’ thinking. And my experience as an executive coach has taught me that very few leaders can address such challenges on their own.
What is Leadership Coaching?
Enter leadership coaching. A leadership coach is certified professional who, through guided conversations, empowers a leader to change positively in ways that boost self-awareness, people skills, influence, productivity, and success in leading others to achieve desirable goals.
What Coaches Do (and Don’t Do)
A competent leadership coach never tells a leader what to do. That valuable role is the purview consultants and mentors.
Coaches don’t provide answers because coaching isn’t about teaching a client what the coach knows. Coaches rarely offer ideas for solving a leader’s challenges because they are so busy asking thought-provoking questions. Coaches don’t give recommendations; they guide the client to generate his or her own ideas.
Leadership coaches empower clients to ideate and then to choose specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-oriented short-term goals. It’s about helping a leader move beyond present assumptions and ways of working to discover powerful insights from within and then set effective action steps that drive behavioral change.
A leadership coach exudes a strong coaching presence that creates a tangible bond of trust. The coach is guided by optimism—an unshakeable confidence in the high potential of each client to generate creative solutions to things that are getting in the way of his or her growth as a leader. That potential is unleashed when the coach asks powerful questions and listens empathically.
Professional leadership coaching is optimal for leaders who genuinely want to improve their leadership and are willing and ready to embrace healthy change. Some simply want to grow their leadership capabilities so as to increase productivity in their present roles. Others are stuck or plateaued and need to change fundamentally in certain areas to be ready for higher roles in the organisation.
How Leadership Coaching Transforms
Good coaching is unequaled in its ability to help a leader change long-held assumptions, habits, and behaviors that are getting in the way of developmental progress. How? By empowering a leader to expand self-awareness, clarify passions, think of creative solutions, and take developmental action—all without ever telling the leader what he or she must do.
There are many powerful benefits of leadership coaching, but here are just a few: expanding self-awareness (addressing blind spots), overcoming self-talk and dysfunctional beliefs that limit development, ideating fresh ways to address problems, increasing the leader’s capacity to empathise with others, dismantling roadblocks in the way of better personal performance, and learning to coach others by unleashing the power of asking open-ended questions.
A competent leadership coach maintains strict confidentiality, builds trust, listens actively and empathically, controls the structure of each conversation to achieve outcomes the client has chosen, manages time well, expands awareness by asking open-ended (and sometimes powerful) questions, and holds the client responsible for following through on his or her short-term action steps. The coach strives to speak sparingly and listen for at least 80 percent of the time allotted for each coaching session. From time to time a coach will provide direct feedback, but only after asking for the leader’s permission and only after making it clear that the leader can feel free to accept or reject the coach’s observations.
Coaching the Person, Not the Problem
An overarching principle in leadership coaching is to coach the person, not the problem. The leader is fully responsible for addressing and solving his or her challenges. The coach focuses on a different question, “What about this leader is getting in the way of the leadership dance?”
When it comes to helping leaders to change in ways that will transform their leadership, I know of no other modality as powerful as leadership coaching.
The Transformative Value of Leadership Coaching
Leadership coaching is a transformative tool that empowers leaders to unlock their full potential and overcome challenges that may hinder their growth. By focusing on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and cultural adaptability, coaching enables leaders to develop creative solutions, enhance their people skills, and drive organisational success.
Unlike other forms of guidance, coaching is not about providing answers but about fostering the insights and actions that come from within the leader. With a strong emphasis on trust, empathy, and guided exploration, leadership coaching creates a foundation for lasting change.
Whether a leader is looking to refine their current skills or prepare for greater responsibilities, coaching offers an unparalleled pathway to personal and professional transformation. It doesn’t just solve problems; it shapes better leaders who inspire progress, collaboration, and growth—unlocking a future of limitless potential for individuals and organisations alike.
