Principles of leadership coaching

Is a leader born or made?

Quick answer” mostly made.”

We all have inherent characteristics that define our skill set and aptitude. One’s agility in learning and adapting sets one apart from the rest. Leadership Coaching helps hone the natural ability while helping one understand what needs fixing to take the most challenging of battles head-on.

The endless dedication, persistence, and hard work are all worth it when one becomes an inspiration for one’s subordinates and associates.

What skills and abilities do all leaders – born or made – imbibe?

What does it take to make a successful leader and business?

Do you know of any successful athlete who made it to the top without a good coach behind him?

Of course not!

Athletes use coaching to enhance their game – sharpen their skills and techniques, and learn teamwork. They require coaching to maintain performance and thrive in a dynamic and competitive environment, even when they are at their best.

For the same reasons, executives and function leaders need coaching.

Successful businesses and strong leaders go hand in hand. But, an effective leader is also a coach! In other words, leadership coaching is the art and science of empowering individuals to acquire the qualities and competencies required to become influential leaders.

Executive Coaching services in India have become an essential requirement of executive leadership development training with most growing businesses.

When it comes to leadership style, it is not one size fits all. It varies from individual to job function. Therefore, customized training modules are offered for leadership training, post weighing the trainee’s strengths and weaknesses against the job requirement.

Nonetheless, there are a few basic tenets that each business leader should exemplify.

Let’s understand what those tenets are:

It takes a team to make a leader.

The first step for a leader is to create a team, which involves

open and effective communication, connecting with each team member, identifying their roles and responsibilities, chalking out their development plans, enabling and empowering them and final the most important remember, A leader is one, who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.

Be decisive

Do not be a victim of “analysis-paralysis” – the inherent fear of making a mistake that makes one averse to taking risks.

A coach, too, needs a coach.

Everyone needs a helping hand. Why should leaders be any different? While experience teaches you often being too close to the subject, myopia develops, blurring the lines. Training or coaching can help clear the cobwebs and lend new insights on areas of improvement.

Be Pivotal.

Transformation must be the heart of every leadership plan.

Communicate the change and need for change clearly to the employees. Get their buy- by addressing queries and concerns honestly. If there is a grey area that one is not clear about, acknowledge, seek clarity and share back with the team.

Once the direction and implication of change are clear, they will be instrumental in making the transformation successful.

Balance the EQ and IQ

Human understanding can be broadly segregated into two categories: intellectual and emotional. The intellectual level is achieved when you comprehend what your peers are saying with ease; the emotional level is achieved when you comprehend how they are feeling while saying it. A successful leader must embrace both.

Live the Values.

Employees emulate the behaviour rather than words. Hence, for a company to build its culture around its core values, its leaders must walk the talk. The Leaders’ behaviors should always reflect the organization’s value system, and the same needs to be reinforced repeatedly. May they be informal conversation and coaching, reviews, or formal feedback.

Be resilient to challenges.

Resilience means not allowing the negativity of what is happening to get the better of you. It’s a known fact that each business has a time when the going gets tough. Great leadership coaching enables one to maintain focus and remain calm amid chaos. It means having the fortitude and the inner strength to wade the troubled waters.

Encourage inclusion & diversity.

The more, the merrier

Getting together a diverse team is the way to bring in new ideas, fresh perspectives, and out-of-the-box thinking and innovation. Different people from different backgrounds bring with them unique perspectives. For a leader, it adds a new dimension to leadership, learning to and getting his team to respect diversity and be inclusive.

Summing it up

One of the biggest folly we are prey to is that if one is a business owner, the businessperson is naturally a great leader. I am sure you will agree that it is not as simple a math as two plus two equals a 4. It takes a lot to be a leader, which means honing some skills and acquiring a few new ones. Executive Coaching services help companies with this exercise for their leadership teams.

So, I have a question for you – How many of the above-defined principles you are following?

Do share your response in the comment box. If you would like to take this conversation forward, I am reachable at [email protected]