1 Leading and Coaching What Needs to Change

When faced with ambitious and challenging goals, people may experience high levels of stress. In my work in leadership development for over thirty years, I have observed that corporate messages often express that employee well-being is a top priority. Nonetheless, many times leaders’ behaviors and expectations around performance are not aligned with these messages. Managers may be sending mixed messages by highlighting the importance of well-being and at the same time providing multiple tasks to be implemented in a short time. This work pressure is not unique to companies but is also present in nonprofit, governmental, and educational organizations.

What do we expect from these “new normal” leaders? They need to be more emotionally and socially intelligent, more supportive, and less authoritative. They need to develop higher levels of sensitivity to work with people from different cultures and provide higher levels of autonomy.

While organizations have been investing in leadership development through coaching for years, more people are realizing that hiring external coaches is not enough. Leaders need to develop coaching skills to take responsibility for the development of their direct reports rather than delegating this task solely to professional coaches.

Additionally, leaders who neglect investing in their coaching skills and do not pay attention to team development may not only fail to attract talent but also risk falling behind with outdated management strategies, especially if they insist on using hierarchy as a ramrod of influence.

Recently, I was hired by a leader to coach her on developing her coaching skills. Lorena shared that she interviewed a project manager to work on her team. She was impressed with the candidate’s credentials, experience, demeanor, and emotional intelligence demonstrated during the interview process. When my client finally offered the job, she was surprised to learn the candidate declined the offer. When my client asked why the candidate decided to work at a different company, she was told she had not positioned herself as a coach or someone invested in developing her staff. My client was shocked. She decided she had to develop her own coaching skills since that was a blind spot for her.

What does this suggest to you? Does this mean more employees and job seekers are assuming that a coaching environment is becoming common? Does it indicate some managers are not changing with the times and are thus surprised by new expectations?

I am far from the first to see the connection between coaching and leading. For example, in their book It’s the Manager: Moving from Boss to Coach, Jim Clifton and Jim Harter write that bosses need to become coaches, and coaching must set expectations, be offered continuously, and create accountability for employee success.2 New generations at work seek partners, not bosses. They desire clarity in expectations, purposes, assigned responsibilities, and regular feedback. A Gallup study reveals that employees engage in their jobs when in the following situations:

• They have bosses who involve them in the development of their annual goals. In such cases, they are four times more engaged than when bosses do not involve them.
• They have bosses who provide strengths-focused feedback weekly instead of once a year.
• Performance evaluation is linked to their professional development.3

In this study, Gallup’s largest global research study regarding employees’ experience, the focus was on how employees feel when considering their life and work so as to predict resilience and organizational performance. The researchers concluded the following:

• Six out of ten employees have “quietly quit,” meaning they stopped engaging fully. They completed their work but didn’t go beyond what is necessary, likely due to feeling disconnected and stressed.
• Only 22 percent of employees felt engaged at work.
• The low level of participation and engagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion.
• A total of 44 percent of the respondents felt stress in their jobs the day before and 51 percent were actively seeking new employment.

When asked “What would you change to make work a better place?” 41 percent responded with culture, meaning how work is done. They value recognition, autonomy, growth opportunities, respect, and the opportunity to receive coaching. Only 28 percent indicated they would appreciate higher pay and benefits, demonstrating that the latter is not the most crucial factor for employees.

One of the most interesting results of the research showed that stress reduction is linked to the level of enthusiasm and work engagement. While the possibility to choose where to work is essential for stress reduction, the organizational culture that either promotes or hinders individual engagement is correlated with stress reduction. This finding is significant because leaders, by creating healthy organizational cultures, can promote this involvement.

The Gallup study suggests that developing coaching-minded leaders is crucial for team success and employee retention. A leader who provides coaching inspires engagement and retains employees who feel valued. This goal is particularly relevant now, when increasing the level of commitment, involvement, and participation has become more crucial.

It is important to differentiate coaching and leading. A leader with a coaching mindset differs from a professional coach who has been formally trained and obtained credentials to support clients to maximize their potential.

The word coach, which has been used in a business context for over thirty years, was borrowed from the world of sports but originally comes from a Hungarian word meaning carriage. The word coach is also used for the economy section of trains and airplanes. It is also the word used in the United Kingdom for bus.

This association is simple: a coach accompanies a person on their journey from one place to another. This is supported by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), which defines the activity as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”4

In this definition, two words require special attention. The word partnering is important because it emphasizes the act of cocreating the conversation as opposed to being the expert and providing direction and consultation. The philosophy of the ICF is that the coach-client relationship needs to remain a collaborative process to the greatest extent possible. This symmetry is crucial in the present era, with its increasingly remote-work environments. Collaboration is key, given the nature of the challenges and assuming an authoritative stance can be an obstacle to team engagement and loyalty.

Professional coaches inspire their clients and view them as whole beings with resources to find their own solutions rather than needing to be fixed. The clients are experts in their lives, and the coach provides a safe space for reflection and designs new ways of being and doing, leading them to become a new observer of reality with new possibilities of action.

Another key word in the definition is potential, as the focus is on developing what is latent to create higher levels of awareness, possibilities for action, and results that would not be achieved without that new awareness, learning, and support.

According to a study conducted in 2020 by the ICF and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), coaching is one of the fastest-growing professional practices.5 Researchers declared coaching to be one of the activities that experienced the most significant growth worldwide in 2019, generating approximately $2.85 billion in revenue.

The ICF and PwC study shows that the growth of the activity is related to not only the number of certified professional coaches but also to more leaders and managers adopting coaching practices.

Coaching is considered a suitable means for adaptation and positive change in organizations as it includes valuable tools for crisis management, optimizing emotional intelligence, and leadership development.

Leaders that demonstrate coaching skills are committed to the development of their team members. Such leaders understand the importance of their staff’s personal and professional growth and invest time and resources to help them achieve it. The leaders’ results depend on how well those under their supervision meet their objectives. They use coaching as a means to reach goals and as a methodology to inspire and motivate their team members.

Coaching leaders invest time in deeply understanding their staff, personally and professionally. Such leaders inquire into the staff’s unique needs, challenges, and expectations regarding the social, economic, health, and political reality of the context in which they find themselves. Additionally, such leaders engage in conversations focused on developing the skills of their staff and colleagues, both for their current effectiveness and readiness for future jobs and events involving new challenges. They also dedicate energy to identifying strengths and weaknesses in their direct reports, allowing them to create plans to leverage strengths and address areas with improvement opportunities.

Khalil Dirani and colleagues in 2020 researched the leadership competencies and the role of human resource development in times of crisis, a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.6 They found out that essential leadership competencies in such times include supporting individuals and organizations in overcoming limitations and fears. This support needs to translate into offering and demonstrating flexibility, communicating frequently, acting with transparency, showing empathy, reinforcing positive feedback, acknowledging the difficulties being faced, and sharing appreciation for work.

A case study that fits the description of a leader demonstrating key competencies during a crisis is Jacinda Ardern, the former prime minister of New Zealand, and her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.7 Here’s a breakdown of how her leadership aligns with the competencies described.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was faced with the critical task of leading the country through the COVID pandemic, protecting public health, and minimizing economic impact. Here’s how her unique approach saved lives.

1. Go hard early—Ardern focused on protecting the health and well-being of the population by quickly implementing strict lockdown measures. Her “go hard, go early” strategy emphasized the importance of swift action to mitigate the virus’s spread. She acknowledged the psychological strain on citizens and promoted mental health resources, encouraging people to seek help if needed. She also took these steps:
   • She regularly adjusted policies based on the evolving situation and scientific data.
   • She ensured the government’s response plan was dynamic, shifting from a strict lockdown to a phased reopening based on real-time infection rates.
   • She held daily press conferences and communicated directly with the public through various platforms, including social media.
   • She built trust with her approach, as people felt they were getting honest and up-to-date information.
   • She frequently acknowledged the hardships faced by citizens. She showed genuine concern for families separated by lockdowns, businesses struggling to survive, and essential workers risking their safety.
   • She shared messages of solidarity, stressing the importance of working together as a “team of five million” to combat the crisis.
   • She celebrated the efforts of frontline workers, health-care professionals, and the general public for their resilience and commitment during lockdowns.
   • She praised New Zealand’s collective efforts, boosting morale and reinforcing the importance of shared responsibility in overcoming the crisis.
2. Acknowledge difficulties and show appreciation—Ardern openly discussed the economic hardships, the toll on mental health, and the disruptions to daily life. Her appreciation extended to thanking citizens for following guidelines and making sacrifices to protect the vulnerable, which helped maintain public cooperation.

Under Ardern’s leadership, New Zealand initially managed to control the spread of COVID-19 effectively, becoming one of the few countries to achieve periods of zero community transmission. Her response was widely praised for its decisive action, clear communication, and empathetic approach. Though challenges persisted with subsequent waves, her early actions helped reduce the overall impact of the pandemic on public health and the economy.

Her ability to connect with the public on a human level, combined with data-driven decision-making, played a significant role in New Zealand’s initial success in managing the crisis.

This case study highlights how a leader can support individuals and organizations in overcoming limitations and fears during times of uncertainty by fostering a sense of community and resilience.

In times of crisis, leaders must have a full awareness of the situation, both for themselves and their direct reports and other colleagues. Particularly, they need to be aware of the stress and anxiety levels experienced by the team. Therefore, leaders need to remain visible and accessible, maintain calm, and, more than ever, model behaviors in the organization that prioritize the emotional stability of each person.

Leaders need to acknowledge the fear that impacts people, assign clear roles and purposes, and focus on learning and the emotions of everyone involved. Marcel Schwantes, a business writer and coach, emphasizes the particular value of being flexible, paying attention to responses that reveal emotions to work on, staying fully involved by actively participating, and listening to the opinions of employees.8

Among the most common challenges faced in crisis situations are uncertainty, the absence of reliable information, and unclear and changing objectives. People respond differently under pressure in critical times. Some accept change, while others resist it either openly or subtly. The need to deal with the complexity of situations and the ability to adapt to new realities require emotional support.

Dana Brownlee is a project management expert who has extensively considered the psychological skills effective leaders need to guide today’s teams.9 She argues that leaders in the post-pandemic era need to demonstrate these seven competencies:

• Candor and unambiguous honesty
• Consistent, reliable, and fact-based communication
• Empathy, born out of understanding the emotional challenges of grief and anxiety
• Management of hybrid teams
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Humility, including knowing how to ask for help
• Active listening

Note that Brownlee bypasses some historical skills, such as creating metrics, setting agreed goals, and measuring performance.

Fernando Perla, technology manager at Banco Santander, says, “The leaders with a coaching mindset understand that everyone has their potential, and not everyone is developable in every aspect. They focus on developing the potential of the individuals on their team, maximizing their talent, [and] prioritizing the impact they can have on organizational results and the clearly defined actions required to produce results.”

When leaders receive coaching training, they are better prepared to develop their team members.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Globex International was hit hard.10 It had to deal with remote working, lockdowns, employees facing severe family compromises, and considerable stress. The firm’s international supply chain was taking a hit. Management had to support its strained staff as much as possible to keep the business moving. Flexible work arrangements were clearly needed, which meant top management had to make sure all managers recognized reality and would not fall back on the old definitions of the workplace. Employee burnout was not an option.

Constant communication with employees—every one of them—was absolute. Managers had to lead with empathy and, what’s more, show it. Managers had to share their own stories of vulnerability, to enhance management’s credibility. Everyone was vulnerable, and the potential loss of key employees had to be kept uppermost in mind.

The results showed that employees were not just surviving. They were overwhelmingly positive about the support and understanding management showed. Such a sentiment went a long way for employee retention and recruitment. Leading with a coaching mindset includes showing your own concerns and anxieties to be credible and trusted.

Who benefits when a leader effectively demonstrates coaching skills?

The leader—Leaders become a magnet for talent. Those seeking personal and professional growth choose to work with leaders who invest time and effort in developing their team members. They are aware that they will receive learning and growth opportunities, making the work more appealing. The coaching-minded leader understands that the results achieved by the people under their charge directly influence corporate outcomes and enjoys the satisfaction of seeing team members grow and reach new positions within the organization. If their teams grow, opportunities for the leader’s own growth also expand.

The team member—Team members feel heard and valued, discover growth opportunities, and are prepared for future challenges. They, in turn, become inspired and generate a higher level of loyalty and commitment.

The team—A profound sense of shared responsibility and belonging emerges among the team.

The organization—Organizations achieve greater commitment and results from their employees. According to the ICF study mentioned before, companies that invest in coaching cultures attain superior economic results and engagement. When a leader takes on the role of providing coaching, it fosters collaboration, loyalty, creativity, and the development of new ideas.11

Just as I’ve defined coaching, it is important to define what leadership is. Leadership means the ability to lead, and to lead, we need to inspire and influence.

Warren Bennis believed that “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”12 John Maxwell stated, “Leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less.”13 Similarly, Tim Stevenson suggested, “You are a leader if you know where you are going and are able to persuade others to go along with you.”14 All these definitions align with the idea of the leader designing a desired future and inspiring people to build it.

But leadership in organizations needs to be based on principles and values, aiming toward goals that are honorable and good for all. No selfish hidden agendas. We will discuss this in chapter 2 on ethics. We also believe that leadership needs to be based on honest communication and not manipulation or deception.

Research about exceptional leaders found that they of course are all unique, but what they have in common is that they know themselves.15 They have intentionally identified their strengths and areas for more opportunity, and they work on them.

Leadership scholars such as Daniel Goleman, known for his work on emotional intelligence, emphasize the importance of self-awareness for effective leadership.16 Additionally, leadership models such as transformational leadership, servant leadership, and authentic leadership all highlight the significance of self-awareness as a foundational trait for successful leadership.

The latest research on leadership focuses on several emerging trends that are shaping the field:17

Agile leadership—Agile principles are increasingly important, emphasizing flexibility, adaptability, empowerment, collaboration, and a strong customer-centric focus. Leaders are encouraged to develop these traits to effectively respond to rapid market changes and foster innovation within their teams.

Personalized leadership development—A trend is growing toward personalizing leadership development programs to better align with individual leaders’ unique needs and career aspirations. This approach includes individual assessments, tailored learning plans, and personalized coaching, aiming to enhance engagement and effectiveness.

Skill expansion and continuous learning—As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to influence the workplace, leadership skills must evolve. Leaders are expected to continuously expand their skills, embracing AI and fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation within their organizations.

Ethical use of AI—With the increasing deployment of AI in various business functions, leaders need to address the ethical implications and maintain trust by being transparent and responsible in how AI technologies are implemented and used.

Hybrid work and flexibility—The transition to more hybrid work environments requires leaders to balance the needs for in-person collaboration with the benefits of remote work. Flexibility in work arrangements is becoming crucial for employee retention and engagement. Not everyone is returning to the office, and scientists are nervous about other pandemics popping up around the world.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)—People are supporting the integration of DEI into all aspects of leadership and organizational practices. Effective leaders are expected to actively support and implement DEI initiatives to foster an inclusive workplace culture.

These trends highlight the complex and dynamic nature of leadership development, focusing on both personal adaptability and the ethical use of technology, all within the context of changing workplace dynamics.

Daniel Goleman considers that organizational climate is influenced by leadership style, specifically by how managers motivate their direct reports, make decisions, and handle changes and crises.18 The author identifies six leadership styles, explaining that all are required in different situations. As you learn about each style, consider which one you may use more frequently:

• Coercive style
  • Involves giving orders
  • Works well in crisis situations or with employees facing difficulties
  • May limit motivation
  • Is considered outdated and resisted by new generations
• Authoritative style (with authority, not authoritarian)
  • States objectives but allows space to choose how to achieve them
  • Better adapted to current demands than the coercive style
  • In times of uncertainty, employees require clear guidelines to develop their creativity in the workplace
• Pacesetting or innovative style
  • Sets the pace with high objectives
  • May lead to resentment with excessive demands
  • Post-COVID, new virtual work strategies and a changed relationship between workers and their job and connections with all parties, including clients, colleagues, and superiors, require the leader to be innovative and sensitive to the needs of their collaborators
• Affiliative style
  • Focuses on relationships, creates harmony, and boosts morale
  • Does not correct errors that lead to underperformance
  • Appropriate for the post-pandemic era but risks neglecting processes and results if energy is solely invested in relationships
• Democratic style
  • Involves everyone in almost all decisions
  • Very flexible and relies on individual responsibility
  • May create confusion
  • Still appropriate in the current era but requires the development of new skills to navigate situations where individual responsibility is absent
• Coaching style
  • Focuses on developing collaborators
  • Works well with employees who recognize their own opportunities for improvement and are willing to work on them
  • Less effective when there is resistance to change
  • Note: This is the style proposed in this book because it is considered key to the effectiveness of leaders in this era

While each of the styles is required in different circumstances, I believe that leaders often miss opportunities to apply the coaching style. Leaders need to be able to adapt their style to different situations and consider each of the six styles to apply them at the appropriate moment. The global study conducted in 2020 by the ICF in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers determined that leaders are increasingly training in coaching skills to enhance their effectiveness and create the highest levels of productivity, satisfaction, and loyalty.

Research on organizational cultures conducted by the ICF in 2014 found that organizations with a strong coaching culture work with internal and external coaches and train their managers to acquire coaching skills.19 According to the study, these organizations receive a higher degree of engagement from their employees, translating into superior economic results compared to competitors that do not foster this type of culture.

Promoting the development of coaching skills in managers often results in significant gains for the organization, with a multiplier effect, as trained employees develop their colleagues much more effectively.

In this book, we will adapt the ICF framework, which guides the activity of professional coaches and includes eight competencies, to the work of the coaching-minded leader:

• Foundation (the two competencies related to ways of being)
  • Demonstrates ethical practice
  • Embodies a coaching mindset
• Cocreating the relationship
  • Establishes and maintains agreements
  • Cultivates trust and safety
  • Maintains presence
• Communicating effectively
  • Listens actively
  • Evokes awareness
• Cultivating learning and growth
  • Facilitates client growth

The ICF prefers not to use the term leader coach and chooses to refer to the “leader applying coaching competencies” to distinguish them from the professional coach. In this book, we will use the words colleagues, direct reports, and team members when we refer to the person working with the leader during coaching conversations.

The importance of leaders developing coaching skills is identified by abundant research, as this chapter outlines. But what about what motivates a leader, including a leader with a coaching mindset? We have all seen managers or leaders who make the right calls regardless of personal issues, motivations, and incentives. But what about the other kind of leader? The kind whose agenda gets in the way of a basic foundation of recognizing right versus wrong?

The current times pose multiple challenges, requiring leaders to demonstrate resilience and adaptability. It’s an era of different work environments that are not likely to return to the old days of offices up and down the aisle.

A psychologist leader provides empathetic motivation, promotes mental health at work, and fosters closeness and support, transcending hierarchies for maximum person-to-person connection.

The ICF framework emphasizes that coaching inspires clients to maximize their potential, viewing them as whole beings with the resources to find their own solutions, creating new possibilities by becoming new observers of reality.

Coaching-minded leaders are managers dedicated to the professional growth of their team, investing time and resources to do so.

The distinction between coaching-minded leaders and mentors lies in the latter providing information and direction, while the former invites their team to find their own answers and solutions.

Being a coaching-minded leader has four main benefits: (1) the leader becomes a talent magnet, (2) the team members find growth opportunities, (3) the team experiences a deep sense of shared responsibility, and (4) the organization gains increased commitment and results.

Promoting managerial development in coaching skills yields significant gains for organizations, fostering a coaching culture with a multiplying effect.

Leaders need to demonstrate flexibility, empathy, and transparent communication; reinforce feedback; recognize work; and acknowledge challenges. That includes recognizing fear in times of crisis, assigning clear roles and purposes, and focusing on learning, energy, and emotions. It includes emotion-revealing responses, engagement, and active listening.

Here are the seven key competencies for today’s leaders: (1) candor and unambiguous honesty, (2) consistent, reliable, and fact-based communication, (3) empathy, (4) management of hybrid teams, (5) flexibility and adaptability, (6) humility, and (7) active listening.

The Goleman six leadership styles are coercive, authoritative, pacesetting, affiliative, democratic, and coaching.

The trend is increasing among leaders to receive training in coaching skills, aiming to enhance effectiveness, productivity, satisfaction, and loyalty in their teams.