How a Coach Approach Makes Life Easier for the Leader

This month’s theme is all about the Coach Approach –

HOW a Coach Approach makes life easier

Just to recap what coaching is-

partnering with clients to maximize their personal and professional potential we don’t act as a subject matter expert -mentoring consulting or advising we are equals working towards the client’s goal

Imagine your role as a leader today. You probably feel a great deal of responsibility to be the first among equals- the best marketer, engineer, hr partner, etc. To have all the answers. To always know what to do.
With that approach it never allows you to be curious- because you already know it all To allow others to come up with new ways of doing things – because your way must be right To be vulnerable and share- because you must be perfect

Doesn’t that sound exhausting? In fact, it is- the levels of burnout in the workforce are at an all-time high. Between adjusting to the pandemic, the great resignation, and the silver tsunami of retirement there has never been more work with less manpower.

Now contrast that with the coach approach:

You’re still in charge of the vision – what the team is going to do- and probably a bit of connecting the dots between that vision and their daily work. But now you don’t have to tell your team how to do their work – they get to leverage their skills, networks, and experience to come up with new forms of innovation You don’t have to ‘cheer’ your team into submission- because with a coach approach the true motivators of autonomy, mastery, and purpose reign Your role becomes more managing up and outward- and being there to remove obstacles and being available to your team for questions, partnering and approving

Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to have all the answers? Wouldn’t it be nice not to force your team to be motivated through fear and anxiety? Wouldn’t it be nice for the team to naturally be excited about developing their mastery? Getting creative with new methods and ideas? Being connected to the ‘why’ we do what we do? Choosing when they do the work they do- as long as it meets project deadlines?

Are you feeling your shoulders relax a little? Maybe your gut too?

These are the benefits of a coach approach- more engagement from your team because they aren’t complying with demands and dictates- and get to grow -

In my own organization, I led coaching initiatives that grew engagement 400% - and as a Prism Judge for the ICF, I have seen returns on expectation in the 1000% range.

Organizations from Gallup to the Human Capital Institute show that employees value a relationship approach – that allows them to grow – and the number one way to achieve this is a coaching culture.

How do you get started? Work with a coach – experience true professional coaching by a credentialed individual. Now, you may think I coach my people all the time – but that is likely analogous to a sports coach – advising and mentoring – providing your subject matter expertise. A true professional coach doesn’t need to be a subject matter expert. They ask the questions so the client comes up with their own answers. What will work for them – in their context, habits, and behaviors. Once you really experience this – then you can begin to learn the skills. And you’ll have your own experience of being coached to relate back to.

Are you ready to get started? To Experience coaching so you can learn the skills to use with your own team? Schedule a sample session by emailing: shawna@shawnacorden.com

What might this look like? Generally, clients meet with their coaches twice a month for an hour. The client brings the topic they want to work on and the Coach goes through a model – like the GROW model to help their client get to their desired outcome. Towards the end of the session, the coach will ask the client to recap what they’ve learned and what they want to commit to. Then at the beginning of the next session, the coach may ask for an update on how their committed actions contributed to their goal achievement – or if they need to tweak their approach. If the client is missing something or needs to hear about an observed blind spot – we call that messaging – and the coach will tell that truth for the client to hear. The duration of the engagement varies by level of leader – anywhere from 6 to 18 months.

This brings us to our tool of the week: Messaging

Messaging is a number of different things – I almost think of it as the omniscient narrator in a book. They can see things the protagonist cannot- and they fill in the blanks of how things may have arrived at their current state. It is a form of truth-telling – it may be holding people accountable to their values- but it can also be about the anticipated future state- and holding the vision for the outcome that all of the current hard work may produce.

What is the big picture reality that is present that your client, partner, or colleague may not be seeing? What is the potential of what your colleague or employee could achieve? Sometimes our message is not what someone wants to hear but needs to hear- and sometimes it is exactly what they needed to keep them going.

SO HERE’S YOUR fieldwork –because COACHING WITHOUT ACTION ISN’T COACHIng – IT’S JUST ENTERTAINMENT

Consider your current business plan – objectives or projects. How are things progressing? What is holding them back? What might they be if they could overcome a hurdle? What is the message your team could hear that would redirect to success?

I can provide a webinar for your team teaching Messaging and other core Coaching Skills For Leaders email me shawna@shawnacorden.com