Integrating a coaching mindset

Leaders use several styles to get the most out of their organizations and people.  Leadership styles include visionary, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and coaching.  The coaching style, or mindset, is a powerful yet underdeveloped leadership skill.  

What is the coaching mindset?

The coaching mindset is where leaders take a proactive approach to understanding their people and creating an environment that fosters growth and development.   Coaches help people identify their unique strengths, tying those to their personal and career aspirations.  It involves setting time aside to meet with your best people to understand them by actively listening, asking powerful questions, and fostering development through empathy and accountability.   Coaching conversations focus on the present and lead to improved communication, collaboration, and performance.  These sessions should be approached and feel different from standard check-ins or quarterly development meetings.  In these meetings, you are there to listen, be curious, support, and help hold accountable.  Your team members are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole.  In this session, you help top people chart their course to improve performance, collaboration, and job satisfaction.  

Why is it important for senior leaders?

Coaching is about working with your best people to increase their performance.  This coaching commitment will have a transformative impact on you and your organization.  

Benefits of a coaching mindset:

• Improved goal-setting and achievement

• Improved communication

• Improve collaboration

• Increased trust and rapport 

• Improve problem-solving skills

• Increased job satisfaction and retention of top performers

A unique gift from adopting a coaching mindset is the personal growth you will see as you help others grow.  

How to add the coaching mindset to your leadership skillset

1. Don’t overthink it, just get started

Pick one or two of your top performers, and commit to spending more time with them, understanding them better, and learning what is important to them.  This can be as simple as a monthly meeting.  When was the last time you went into a meeting with one of your best people with a laser focus on listening and asking them excellent questions?  Be present, listen, and ask good questions, and you will be well on your way to increasing this aspect of your leadership. 

1. Focus on skill building and understand you will get better.

There are a handful of skills that underlie the coaching mindset.  At the top are listening, empathy, and asking great questions.  It is incredible how fast you can increase these skills and the impact it will have.  Set time aside before and after your coaching sessions to think about these skills.  As you grow, you will improve your ability to reframe perspectives, challenge assumptions, and explore alternative solutions.  You will be appreciated as a leader who understands and appreciates your team.  This skill-building will also help other aspects of your leadership and authenticity.

1. Feedback, Adjustment, Measurement

Like all aspects of your leadership development, feedback, measurement, and adjustment are crucial.  There are simple ways to ensure you are developing your coaching mindset.  First, set aside some time to reflect on your coaching interactions.  Try to gauge how well you are listening, asking open-ended questions, and displaying empathy.  Ask yourself what self-awareness means and how it can increase your emotional intelligence.  You can get insights by self-reflection.  At the right time, ask your team for input on how you are doing with your coaching. You can also discuss this with your executive coach.  Eventually, you can incorporate the coaching mindset into your leadership development programs.  The ROI of coaching is well-documented and transformative.  

Conclusion

Developing your coaching mindset will benefit you and your organization through improved trust, collaboration, communication, and goal-setting.  You will be viewed as a leader committed to understanding your people, caring about their development, being open to ideas, and focused on performance.   We must consistently improve our skills and enhance our coaching mindset as leaders.  Set aside time in the next few weeks to meet with a valued member, be present, be curious, and be yourself.