Why a great leader should be a great coach

Andreas von der HeydtSenior Executive, Marketing Expert, Leadership & Executive Coach, LinkedIn Influencer, Author, Speaker linkedin.com/in/avonderheydt But today there is a need for coa

Why Every Great

Leader Should Be

A Great Coach

by Andreas von der Heydt

Coaching is one of the most

powerful communication

and leadership instruments,

and is extremely effective in

working with change

Unfortunately it’s not really

practiced by many

managers and leaders, and

although there are a lot of

different kinds of coaching,

there’s that stereotype in

the corporate world that it

belongs to a more exclusive

domain of top executives

and a few chosen ones

Andreas von der Heydt

Senior Executive, Marketing Expert, Leadership & Executive Coach, LinkedIn Influencer, Author, Speaker

linkedin.com/in/avonderheydt

But today there is a need for

coaching of current and future

leaders to be a part of

organizations and assist

executives, managers, and

employees in their personal and

professional development

This presentation aims at

assisting managers and leaders

to apply a so-called “coach

approach“ with the objective to

help their employees to achieve

the results that matter, to live

accordingly to their values, to

develop their own vision and

objectives, and ultimately to

lead a fulfilled life

Definition And Understanding Of

Successful Coaching

“Coaching is a model, a set of skills and a technique

as well as a relationship and communication approach

which aims at accompanying a coachee (or

client) to realize his defined wish for change and

self-development.”

“Coaching is not about solving

problems in the first place

(although eventually they will be

solved) It´s about actively

listening, asking the client

powerful questions, stimulating

his awareness and curiosity,

helping him to obtain new

perspectives and options,

encouraging the client to find

his own solutions and

answers, supporting him

on his path of change,

Assumptions

Of Successful

Coaching

The coach fully trusts in the know-how, competencies and capabilities of the coachee A coach may propose a course of action, but the coachee himself will need to make decisions in the end.

The Coachee is capable, resourceful, and already has the Answers

Since the coach assumes that the

coachee is resourceful, capable, and

creative she´s a fan of the coachee

As a catalyst the coach is a main

piece in the coaching process by

assisting in speeding up the

The Coach lends a hand by creating a framework and process for the coachee Like building a wooden

frame for a painting However, the coachee

himself needs to take the brushes in his hands

and needs to start drawing the picture he´d like

to paint of himself and his life

The Coachee is the one working and being accountable within the Coaching Process

The coach loves to live and to display passion,

commitment, and sincere interest for the coachee By doing so it´s not only a job for her, but a mission

The Coach enjoys assisting the Client in

achieving his higher Purpose

The whole Coaching Process is built on Trust and Confidentiality

To hold all coaching conversations confidential certainly is a main criteria for successful coaching Trust is also expanded by respectful, open-minded and honest exchanges among coach and coachee

Coaching is about what

the Coachee creates

As such the coachee requires

sufficient space for himself to

think, feel, experiment, dream,

visualize, and to be able to

embrace different thinking

patterns, models of the

world, and perspectives

to possibly come up

with new ideas

and/or solutions

Characteristics

Of A Successful

Coach

A coach understands that coaching is not just a form of good communication with the

coachee/client Instead coaching is seen as moving to

a deeper level of human interaction and connection

The coach considers

herself as a peer-to-peer

communicator, i.e she´s not

following an authoritarian

communication style, but

a cooperative communication pattern

concentrating on opportunities and new ways

of thinking and feeling

The coach respects being only in charge of the process and the structure Not setting the agenda nor leading the discussions He would only take charge, if it were to serve the client´s agenda; e.g if the coachee were getting side-tracked by non-relevant topics.

Two Key Qualities

Of A Good Coach

Active Listening

Asking Powerful

Questions

If the coach asks a Powerful

Question she would phrase an

open-ended question (versus a

yes-no-question) to stimulate clarity and to

receive new insights by having

followed the client´s lead

Active Listening

means that the coach

is very present, asks

questions to clarify

when she has not fully

understood, listens in

search for direct and indirect

information about the

coachee´s vision, values,

attitudes, and objectives

She tries to get the story behind

the words and demeanor while

not thinking of her own agenda

The two techniques want to invite the coachee to see his issue, life, objectives from different angles

to present new perspectives and to possibly arrive at new conclusions The

coach could further elaborate on it by applying a reframing statement (by taking the original

information of the client and interpreting

it in a different way)

During the first stage of the coaching process, the clarification and discovery stage, the coach might need to assist the coachee

in clarifying his situation, topic, and desired outcome by using powerful questions, reframing, etc Coaching goals should be set and possible actions and timings should be discussed to keep the coachee focused during the

whole coaching process

An effective coach should also

be emotionally detached from situations described by the coachee (in order of not becoming an active participant

in the coachee´s plot), she should be honest and

respectfully direct (e.g if the coachee were to start kidding himself), and she should request the coachee – based on his

agenda - to take care of certain tasks in order to forward the coachee´s action (e.g asking him to write a coaching diary that might include homework, observations, etc.)

A successful coach would enable the coachee not only to achieve his originally defined objective, but in addition enabling him to put it into a broader context She would have realized the inter-connectivity and inter-

dependency with other aspects

of the coachee´s life She would encourage and induce

transformation

Final Considerations For Leaders As

Coaches

As a leader and

line manager you´re always

wearing multiple hats You need

to be aware of it and to be clear with your coachee As a line manager you´re having the right – if the situation demands it – to impose your agenda on the employee As coach you are following, however, the coachee´s

agenda Full stop You would need to change your hat and your attitude in many situations,

if you are a more directive leader and if you were serious about applying a coach-driven leadership style

Still it´s acceptable, if you possess valuable and relevant expertise and information which would help the coachee to accelerate his development process, that you share these with the coachee

even when you are wearing your coach hat In such an instance you would act as a "consultant“ and you would need to ask the coachee for permission in order to be sure that he really wants to hear it Be also clear offering it without any strings attached

Most importantly, as a coaching-driven leader you will need to be able to build trust with your employee to accept

your coaching leadership style

Creating a safe and highly confidential coaching environment

is key The coachee must feel

respected, reassured, and being in good and trustworthy

hands to talk freely and to

open up

Coaching is a complex and at the same time very rewarding exciting communication medium with specific rules and techniques It´s built around mutual respect, listening, asking, clarity, relying fully upon the coachee´s own resources, opening up new

perspectives, and the absolute willingness to address challenging conversations and situations Coaching assists people to achieve the results which truly matter living a successful and fulfilled life

Characteristics Of A Great Coach Who Assists You To Grow

Is a peer-to-peer communicator

Is a catalyst

Clarifies the situation and reframes

Helps to achieve transformation

Is an active listener

You Might Also Enjoy My Latest Book on Leadership and Life Management

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Andreas von der Heydt

Senior Executive, Marketing Expert,

Leadership & Executive Coach,

LinkedIn Influencer, Author, Speaker

youtube.com/user/BlondJames007 soundcloud.com/andreas-700932257 iTunes Podcast – Leadership XXL

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