In the late 1960s, Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey initially came up with a definition for the coaching leadership style. They described is as being one of four leadership styles which can be adopted by a leader based on a particular situation, current attitude and the maturity of the employees of a company.
In today’s workplace, this leadership style is especially useful since they typically have a much flatter structure. With hot-desking, remote working and diverse work hours, a more fertile and flexible culture tends to grow. In this environment the approach of ‘I say, you do’ is both impractical and outdated because of the way individuals now get together and work.
This style of leadership incorporates and enables the engagement of individuals by drawing out, understanding and empathizing with their particular and individual motivations. In exchange, the technique provides a much more superior and closer insight into the challenges of an organization and some concepts on how these issues might be best resolved.
Attributes of Coaching Leadership
Characteristics of this leadership style facilitate a lot of 360 degree feedback is provided by both management and each employees within the organization. Therefore, coaching leaders are effective communicators and they are so experienced in delegation as well. They also give others the opportunity to undertake new challenges. While these leaders are capable of helping individuals with visualizing a plan for the achievement of particular goals, they have to also be willing to let go and undertake the role of observer to look at how individuals flourish when there is something challenging or different to do.
As a result, coaching leaders must cultivate the capacity to step back and resist the urge to not micro-manage but allow individuals to be self-motivated by helping others to succeed and attain their own goals. This can be done by centering on others, drawing on self-awareness and an active sense of empathy.
To embrace this style of leadership requires the capacity to acknowledge it is impossible to be right at all times. Additionally, feedback is needed from individuals around you to grow yourself and by extension, your organization. Essentially, coaching leadership style goes hand-in-hand with the notion of humility. The leadership style embraces concepts from its environment and individuals and goes beyond the tried and tested. This approach must involve all and be collaborative. This type of leadership can enable the required feedback required to move, adapt and thrive.
No Comments