Table of Contents
Introduction to Coaching With Fire!
Why? Well, a select few attended the offsite. Did you invite a few high-potential junior leaders? A carefully written letter blasted out to everyone won’t resonate not resonate much less be read. Yet, senior leaders are shocked by comments such as “we have no vision” and more.
You Must Do Better as a Coach
Sorry, but senior leaders need to do more than conspicuously make your fancy brochures visible on your conference room table. Senior leaders need to follow through. Consistent messaging, adapted for specific audiences in a variety of communication channels submitted over time is a start. Constantly align opening and closing remarks in meetings, presentations, speeches, press releases, social media posts, and talking points with the mission, vision, and three important goals.
Place the mission and vision at the bottom of your signature block! You must be willing to make bold decisions while being great active listeners, asking the right questions, and being a champion of diversity and inclusivity while helping everyone catch the buzz from your offsite.
The truth is, that most vision and strategy statements are celestial. To succeed in the post-pandemic era, leaders must be communicators, coaches, and facilitators. Coaching teams of leaders to align their ideas and initiatives with the strategies at all levels of the organization enables the message to stick as well as the “awe” you were expecting in the email everyone deleted.
Do You Have What it Takes to Be a Coach?
Senior leaders must be comfortable with listening, coaching, and empowering others to push extremely disruptive innovation. Leading by example with decisions and actions aligned with the mission, vision, and especially your core values reinforces commitment. Allowing team members to agree to disagree with the vision and direction is ok.
Consider it a therapeutic moment. Then, get back into your coaching mode.
Change is hard. Speaking of change, no matter how large or small, change is disruptive. Building trust through communication, coaching, and empowerment followed by action on how the change will be beneficial will answer the “now what, coach” question.
Deep Dive Questions On Becoming a Coach
- Beyond glossy brochures: How can leaders move beyond superficial communication of vision and values to actively engage all levels of the organization in achieving strategic goals? What specific coaching techniques can be employed to facilitate this engagement?
- Decoding the buzz: What are the underlying reasons why some team members don’t resonate with strategic plans, even after intensive offsites? How can coaches effectively identify and address these concerns during the implementation phase?
- Leading by listening: How can senior leaders shift their mindset from directive control to empowering coaching, actively listening to diverse perspectives, and fostering open communication channels? What coaching tools can be used to create safe spaces for disagreement and constructive dialogue?
- Aligning actions with values: How can leaders translate abstract mission and vision statements into concrete decisions and actions that demonstrably reflect the organization’s core values? What coaching strategies can help team members bridge the gap between strategy and everyday work?
- Navigating disruptive change: Given the inherent difficulties of change, how can coaches effectively manage anxiety and inspire buy-in for new initiatives? What communication and trust-building techniques can be utilized to ease transitions and maximize the potential of disruptive innovation?
Learning Activities For Aspiring Coaches
- Role-playing scenarios: Simulate situations where team members express confusion or dissatisfaction with strategic plans. Leaders can practice active listening, asking open-ended questions, and providing supportive coaching to navigate these challenges.
- Vision alignment workshop: Facilitate an interactive session where participants revisit the organization’s vision and values. Through group discussions and brainstorming, teams can develop concrete action plans that translate these ideals into tangible steps for individual and team contributions.
- Coach-the-coach program: Pair senior leaders with less experienced colleagues for peer coaching sessions. This provides an opportunity for both parties to practice coaching skills, receive feedback, and share best practices in fostering a culture of coaching within the organization.
These questions and activities are designed to encourage deeper reflection and practical application of coaching principles within leadership practices. By actively engaging with these prompts and exercises, leaders can develop the skills and strategies needed to effectively support and empower their teams, navigate disruptive change, and transform aspirations into achievable outcomes.
5 Publications on Developing Coaching Skills:
- “Co-Active Coaching” by Karen Kimsey-House, Henry Kimsey-House, and Phillip Sandford: This classic text introduces the Co-Active Coaching model, based on four basic principles: partnership, self-awareness, presence, and wholeness. The book provides practical tools and exercises for developing essential coaching skills like active listening, powerful questioning, and fostering self-discovery in others.
- “The Coach’s Way” by Louis E. Gossett: This book emphasizes the importance of self-coaching as a foundation for effective coaching others. Gossett outlines a seven-stage coaching model that focuses on building trust, setting goals, identifying values, overcoming obstacles, and achieving lasting change. The book’s strength lies in its practical and insightful approach, making it readily applicable to various coaching scenarios.
- “The Coaching Handbook” by James M. Kauffman: This comprehensive handbook offers a practical framework for developing and implementing coaching skills across diverse contexts. Kauffman presents over 100 coaching tools and techniques, covering areas like building rapport, asking powerful questions, giving feedback, and managing difficult conversations. The book’s strength lies in its accessible format and abundance of resources, making it a valuable guide for both novice and experienced coaches.
- “The Inner Game of Coaching” by Timothy Gallwey and Michael Greenleaf: This book draws on the principles of Inner Game coaching, originally developed in the field of sports psychology. It encourages coaches to focus on helping individuals unlock their own potential rather than providing solutions or directives. The book offers specific techniques for enhancing awareness, overcoming self-limiting beliefs, and achieving peak performance. Its strength lies in its unique approach to coaching, encouraging introspection and intrinsic motivation in coachees.
- “The Leader’s Guide to Coaching” by Peter T. Dawson: This book specifically addresses the needs of leaders who want to incorporate coaching into their leadership style. Dawson outlines a practical framework for building coaching skills within an organizational context. The book covers topics like setting expectations, giving feedback, delegating effectively, and developing high-performing teams. Its strength lies in its clear focus on applying coaching principles to everyday leadership challenges.
These are just a few of the many excellent publications available on developing coaching skills. The best resource for you will depend on your specific needs and learning preferences. I recommend exploring and comparing these different options to find the one that best resonates with you.
About the Author
I am passionate about making health a national strategic imperative, transforming and integrating health and human services sectors to be more responsive, and leveraging the social drivers and determinants of health (SDOH) to create healthier, wealthier, and resilient individuals, families, and communities. I specialize in coaching managers and leaders on initial development, continuously improving, or sustaining their Strategic Health Leadership (SHELDR) competencies to thrive in an era to solve wicked health problems and artificial intelligence (AI).
Visit https://SHELDR.COM or contact me for more BLIP-ZIP SHELDR advice, coaching, and consulting. Check out my publications: Health Systems Thinking: A Primer and Systems Thinking for Health Organizations, Leadership, and Policy: Think Globally, Act Locally. You can follow his thoughts on LinkedIn and X Twitter: @Doug_Anderson57 and Flipboard E-Mag: Strategic Health Leadership (SHELDR)
Disclosure and Disclaimer: Douglas E. Anderson has no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose. The author’s opinions are his own and do not represent an official position of any organization including those he consulted. Any publications, commercial products, or services mentioned in his publications are for recommendations only and do not indicate an endorsement. All non-disclosure agreements (NDA) apply.
References: All references or citations will be provided upon request. Not responsible for broken or outdated links, however, report broken links to [email protected]
Copyright: Strategic Health Leadership (SHELDR) ©
