Over the last months, I have facilitated on several different leadership development programmes and coached leaders. On several occasions, I’ve reflected on high performance and leadership and the connection to coaching style leadership, and how we sometimes as leaders get in the way of our high potentials and high performing talents in organizations.

This blog article, therefore, will shortly reflect on how to be a more coaching leader.

In his great book Coaching for Performance from 1992, Sir John Whitmore, introduced the world to performance coaching and the GROW model of coaching: Goal, Reality, Options and Will or Way Forward[1].

He introduces coaching as a key enabler of high performance, and highlights that building a coaching culture lays the foundation for success[1].

Adopting a coaching leadership style, therefore, drives better performance and results.

In fact, he mentions how the greatest influencers of an organization’s culture are its leaders, referencing research from the Hay Group and others that show how leadership behavior affects bottom-line performance by up to 30%[1].

So, leaders are the gatekeepers to performance[1] and shifting the mindset towards coaching style leadership is critical to continued development, growth and high performance.

However, coachability, an individual’s willingness and ability to proactively seek, be receptive to, and act on constructive feedback to drive individual development and elevate performance, is a key part of the equation to building a coaching culture[2,3].

Research shows that highly coachable individuals perform at a 9% higher level, are 28% more adaptable, and are 30% more promotable when they receive the same feedback and coaching as individuals, with lower coachability[2].

So, not only the coaching, also how coachable you are, matters when it comes to elevating performance.

I couldn’t agree more.

You see this not only in organizations but also in sports—where coaching and being coachable help unfold potential, growth and achievement.

However, in organizations, leaders often fall into a more directive style, usually driven by the pressures of leadership transitions; transitioning into new roles, a desire for control, or the fear of looking bad, because they want to do well (ego).

When leaders revert to this directive style, it can lead to frustration and finger-pointing.

This often causes teams to fall into what Peter Hawkins calls BMWing[4]:

→ Blame
→ Moan
→ Whine

We’ve all seen it, right? When things go wrong, it’s easy to fall into the trap of finding someone or something to blame.

It often happens in teams and organizations where pressures, challenges and complex problems mount up, then we may begin feeling like victims, looking for someone to blame[4].

And it shapes the energy of teamwork.

That can lead to a “culture of blame”, which organizations need to get rid off[1].

Because this mindset can derail learning, harm relationships, and lower performance.

Curiosity is the antidote according to Sir John Whitmore[1]. As he notes, the coaching skill of curiosity shifts the focus from blame and judgment to opportunities for improvement[1].

I personally see so much hidden potential being unlocked from being curious; intently listening with curiosity and empathy, asking open and curious questions, and fostering peer learning (social learning).

“Just as great athletes seek out great coaches, the best people want to work for leaders who coach them to reach their full potential and who will help them become better coaches themselves”
Bill George and Zach Clayton

In their brilliant Harvard Business Review article from 2022: Successful Leaders Are Great Coaches, Bill George and Zach Clayton argues that as new emerging leaders from Gen X, Millenials, and Gen Z generations take charge, it creates changing leadership styles, from leaders as capable managers to leaders as great coaches of people[5].

We have over the last decade, and even in the few years since this HBR article, witnessed a change towards more humanistic leadership; empowering, empathetic, compassionate, coaching-like, and more authentic leadership.

This article touches on many of these key aspects of coaching style leadership, involving better listening, being present and genuinely interested while being authentic.

Bill George and Zach Clayton developed the acronym COACH for how leaders should work with people[5]:

  • C → Care for team members: Building understanding and trust by being open with more depth
  • O → Organize work in their sweet spot: Know their strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and aspirations
  • A → Align around purpose, values and direction: Uniting the team on WHAT to achieve and WHY
  • C → Challenge your team to reach their full potential: Stretching people outside their comfort zone
  • H → Help your team reach individual/team objectives (goals): engage with team and celebrate success

You may have noticed it already, but this acronym requires for leaders to be curious about their team members; who they are as human beings (their wants and needs, where they thrive and can bring their strengths to the team) and how they can best support and contribute (in their role and beyond).

It entails curiosity about where the team can be stretched (individually and as a team) by utilizing their strengths, empowering them for such opportunities and moving out of their way to excel, find their own solutions and way together with others (and offering your support if needed).

Furthermore, being curious about what can help make them become even better.

In his book The inner Game of Tennis from 1974, Timothy Gallwey, who was a Tennis coach, described exactly this approach about removing interference to unlock athletes’ potential and performance through reducing their inner obstacles[1]:

Performance = Potential - Interference
(P = p - i)

Coaching to improve performance (P) by growing potential (p) and by decreasing interference (i)[1].

So, coaching is about helping others to think and learn. Coaching style leadership is to help your team learn and grow, and from that become better and better.

How have you used curiosity to shift your own or your team’s mindset?

…to be a more coaching leader and fostering a coaching culture…

Drop a comment or send me a message—I’d love to hear your stories 🙂

P.S. In leadership, like in sports, adapting your mindset is key to success—something I’ve experienced in both organizations and extreme endurance challenges in the desert.

By staying curious about my own mindset and emotional states, as well as those of others, I’ve been able to adapt more effectively.

References.
[1]Whitmore, S. J. (2017) Coaching for Performance, 5th ed., London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing: pp. 11-36.
[2]Weiss, J. (2022) What is Coachability? Available at: Coachability Consultants, Inc (coachabilityconsultants.com). (Accessed 26 October 2024).
[3]Hewes, J. (2024) The Missing 1/2 to Building a Feedback + Coaching Culture: (Coachability). Available at: Linkedin (linkedin.com). (Accessed 26 October 2024).
[4]Hawkins, P. (2023) From Grumble to Gratitude – four steps to align with life’s agenda. Available at: Renewal Associates (renewalassociates.co.uk). (Accessed 26 October 2024).
[5]George, B. and Clayton Z. (2022) Successful Leaders Are Great Coaches. Available at: Harvard Business Review (hbr.org). Accessed 26 October 2024).