How would you complete this sentence?
Leader is someone who can ___________________
If you thought of words like inspire, influence, engage, show de path, give direction, share the vision, motivate, conduct, recognize, nurture, organize, educate… you are on the right direction. And now reflect on the word “coaching” for a moment. What is “coaching”?
There are several definitions, I know. But after 30 years coaching various sorts of individuals (frontline employees, managers, directors, senior executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, professional speakers, martial artists, therapists, and even professional dancers), I took the liberty of creating my very own definition:
“Coaching is the process of challenging and helping others to achieve better results, by their own means, with their own resources, through evolution and growth.”
If we then combine what we know about effective inspiring leaders, the definition of coaching, and the dynamics of the corporate world, we can explore what is the main role of a true Leader Coach inside an organization:
“The main role of a Leader Coach is to Inspire, Engage, Educate, Train and Develop Talents to achieve High Performance as individuals and as a Team.”
Leaders don’t need to be perfect, don’t need to be heroes, don’t need to be the best, don’t even need to be certified as “coach” by any special institute (although they might be). They just need to be Leaders who Coach, with the sincere desire to help people grow, evolve, and succeed in what they do. By exercising the art of effective coaching, leaders will earn respect and admiration, and will have better conditions to guide their teams towards excellence!
Let me give you some tips of how to become a true Leader Coach:
Always preserve the self-esteem of a human being. When giving feedback about bad attitude, bad behavior or bad results, don’t ever critique the person. On the contrary, help people see that they are special and capable of improving. If you attack their self-esteem, you diminish their power to overcome their challenges.
Be careful with your communication. Be aware of the impact that your words, your tone of voice, and your body language have on how people perceive your message.
Practice Active Listening. As corny as it sounds, it is imperative to practice mindfulness when talking to the people you lead, being really focused, listening, observing, showing interest, and giving proof of listening (repeating, asking follow-up questions, praising when appropriate).
Ask intelligent open-ended specific questions. Questions that encourage people to think about the desired results, the steps to get there, the resources they will need, the process they must follow or create, and the lessons they can extract from their achievements and also from their failures, helping them realize that failure is only negative if no lessons are learned.
Apply those tips and see your team achieve the top through your leadership.
