“Leadership is something you earn, something you’re chosen for. You can’t come in yelling, ‘I’m your leader!’ If it happens, it’s because the other guys respect you.” — Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback
Leaders are measured by their ability to inspire and influence others and the ability to develop talent for future leadership roles.
Effective leaders are less concerned with telling others what, how and when to complete a task and, instead, focus on empowering their team members.
Incorporating a coaching methodology into the management style of your leaders can be key to your success.
In recent years, “coaching” has become a catchword in the business environment. Professionals hire coaches of all stripes to provide guidance and support for overcoming workplace challenges. These folks utilize a wealth of techniques and strategies aimed at bringing out the best in their clients.
Business leaders can certainly benefit from honing the same skills employed by business and sports coaches alike. Here, we outline 4 in particular.
1. Showing empathy
Someone in a leadership role who does not have the ability to empathize will never be a leader. Empathy is about connecting with others without judgment or personal agenda. By growing this skill, leaders can make difficult or even unpopular decisions that their teams will support because they are trusted for their ability to lead to greater destinations for the common good.
2. Powerful questioning
Coaches are extremely proficient at the art of questioning. They have a natural curiosity and know-how to probe in a way that is both respectful and inviting. While many business leaders have become more accustomed to answering questions rather than asking them, coaches do not shy away from open dialogue. They push their team members to develop and articulate their own point-of-view with questions like:
- “What do you think?”
- “How would you resolve this?”
- “What do you recommend?”
In doing so, the coach engenders a sense of inclusion and contribution amongst his team members.
3. Planning action
With a coaching mindset, the goal is not to give the other person actions or tasks to perform but, instead, to partner with them to define those actions based on their own abilities and knowledge.
The coach’s role is to support the team progress, celebrate their wins with them and encourage them to find new paths if their original plan of action does not work out as expected.
4. Having the capacity to recognize strengths
An incredible leader will help their team members locate their spark and light it up. The ordinary method for driving, which lets us know we should discover and settle our shortcomings, is obsolete and separating.
Today’s leaders must grasp and gain by the uniqueness and qualities of each of their colleagues keeping in mind the end goal to guarantee that they succeed uncontrollably at work.
To conclude…
Keep in mind that an incredible leader utilizes their group’s aptitudes to adjust their own. A better than average training leader can build up a very talented group and this is an indication of great strength. All things considered, a group ought to be more prominent than the whole of its parts.
Build a world-class team, in a fraction of the time!
