Learning to become a leader coach

By: Gregg Thompson

Management futurists are fond of predicting a “War for Talent.” They foresee a time in the near future when organizations will be battling for their very survival in the competition for top performers. Organizations will increasingly face debilitating shortages of talent; however, I believe that this war can be fought and won primarily within the organization itself.
Look around your organization right now – in cubicles, meeting rooms, labs, the factory floor – and you will find enormous, untapped potential waiting to be developed. Unleashing this potential is the job of the Leader Coach. This is your job.
Coaching has received a great deal of attention over the last several years. As today’s fastest growing human development process, it is quickly becoming an essential competency for leaders at every organizational level. Why? Quite simply because coaching produces such impressive results. Yet, despite the growing popularity of coaching, there are precious few managers who actually make it a significant part of their day-to-day activities. In fact, many organization leaders are unable to distinguish true coaching from ordinary conversations. As a result, they find themselves ill-equipped to do what is now being asked.
It’s not that they lack the requisite interpersonal and leadership capabilities. It’s simply that high-performance coaching demands more than relating well to others and providing constructive feedback.
Remember your own coaches
We can all recognize great coaching because, without giving it a name, we have each been the recipient of it at some point in our careers. Consider for a moment your own career successes. Who were those few special people instrumental in you becoming the person you are today? Perhaps your mother, your high school math teacher or your first boss come to mind. These people were your coaches.
As you reflect upon these unique individuals, can you identify what it was that earned them the title of coach in your life? I have asked this question of hundreds of senior managers and I routinely hear the following in response. My best coach: • Was honest and straight-forward (Authenticity) • Was fully aware of and confident in his/her unique gifts and talents (Self-esteem) • Had a genuine interest in me and my success (Noble Intention) When I ask these managers what their coaches did to help them reach significantly higher levels of performance, I usually hear at least one of the following responses: • They expressed a belief in my gifts, talents and potential (Appreciation) • They challenged me to find or create opportunities to more significantly deploy my gifts and talents (Confrontation) • They expected great things from me and held me responsible for living up to my own highest standards (Accountability)
The two things I never hear? Gave me advice or told me their war stories. Incidentally, these are the two things we most often do and label as “coaching” in organizations.
Coaching is not simply giving that great piece of advice or telling another how we did it. It is a way of interacting with others that sees them at their very best; confronts them with all their gifts, talent and potential; and then holds them accountable in becoming the very best version of themselves.
The truth is we already know what great coaching is; we know it because we have at one time been the recipient of it (or have experienced its opposite and so know what is ineffective). Managers do not need to learn coaching skills as much as they need to be more intentional about being the kind of person their own best coaches were, and discipline themselves to be that person more frequently in the lives of others.
Dangerous conversations
Leaders at all organizational levels are being asked to be more coach-like with their team members, colleagues, and even their customers. Unfortunately, many leaders find themselves ill-equipped to provide such coaching. It’s not that they lack the requisite interpersonal and leadership competencies, but that coaching requires more. It challenges us to engage in ‘dangerous conversations’ – conversations that confront real topics of performance discrepancies, aspirations, values, disappointments, and passions – topics that are often uncertain, uncomfortable and emotionally charged.
When we engage in a dangerous conversation we walk away empty; everything that needed to be said was said directly and honestly. We know immediately when we have done this because we feel a release. The burden we carried is transformed into a gift for another. Even if the message was difficult for the other person to hear, we can take comfort in knowing that it was delivered with that person’s interests at heart. We did not hold back; we cared enough about the person’s success to take the risk and be uncomfortable for his benefit.
We also know immediately when we haven’t given everything to a conversation. We held back, not wanting to hurt, challenge or even affirm the other person, believing that our words would be too much for him to handle. We lacked the courage to share our unvarnished perspective. As a result, we leave the interaction feeling unsettled, still filled with our real concerns. Sometimes we even seek out a third party with whom to confide the truth. Communication experts call this “triangulation”, but to most of us it’s simply gossip.
Are you a Leader Coach? Are you willing to have the dangerous conversation? Try this: think of someone in your organization that you believe is very talented but underachieving. Then ask yourself, “What is the dangerous conversation I need to have with this person?” Make a promise to have that conversation today.
After the conversation, notice how you feel. Do you feel empty? Did you say everything that needed to be said? If you felt you held back, notice what you held back and why.
As the baby boomers increasingly leave our organizations, the need for qualified leaders who can attract and develop talent will continue to grow significantly. The war for talent will be fought and won by those unique and special individuals who can coach others to their highest level of performance. It is a war that can be won by you, the Leader Coach.

Personal Leadership

A few thoughts of my own on personal leadership...

we hear all the time that we are living through a period of furious pace of change. One take on this can be seen in the (technology-centric) 'shift happens' video, see http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q

Clearly, we can't stop change happening, nor slow it's pace...

Change is not a bad thing. It is inevitable, and it is fast.



Some things change and some things don't...



For me, personal leadership is about knowing who you are and what you are for, having a beacon to guide you through the storm of change. Many people today are clear what they are against... many people today find purpose and fulfilment from being against something, whether it be wind farms, nuclear energy or the prospect of an eco-town being built near their home. Another perspective is to decide what you are for in this world.



The good news is, we needn't be like a cork bobbing on the tide of popular opinion and ever-changing (not always for the better) societal values. Indeed, there is little virtue in just 'going along with the others'. As philosopher Edmund Burke is reputed to have said: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".



We have the option to decide who we are, who we will be, what we are for, what difference we will make in this world. This is effortful work, requiring much contemplation and deep personal honesty (it comes from within). However, deciding our purpose and reason for being is the first step to discovering a level of passion and inspiration within ourselves that can lead to an extraordinary quality of life.



And, guess what, change begins with ourselves, as Gandhi memorably remarked: "Be the change you want to see in the world".



How much more fulfilling such a life is than living the life of a grazing cow...



Personal opinion! Paul

Leadership Challenge

The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® resulted from an intensive research project to determine the leadership competencies that are essential to getting extraordinary things done in organizations. To conduct the research, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner collected thousands of "Personal Best" stories—the experiences people recalled when asked to think of a peak leadership experience.
Despite differences in people's individual stories, their Personal-Best Leadership Experiences revealed similar patterns of behavior. The study found that when leaders are at their personal best, they:
Model the Way Leaders establish principles concerning the way people (constituents, peers, colleagues, and customers alike) should be treated and the way goals should be pursued. They create standards of excellence and then set an example for others to follow. Because the prospect of complex change can overwhelm people and stifle action, they set interim goals so that people can achieve small wins as they work toward larger objectives. They unravel bureaucracy when it impedes action; they put up signposts when people are unsure of where to go or how to get there; and they create opportunities for victory.
Inspire a Shared Vision Leaders passionately believe that they can make a difference. They envision the future, creating an ideal and unique image of what the organization can become. Through their magnetism and quiet persuasion, leaders enlist others in their dreams. They breathe life into their visions and get people to see exciting possibilities for the future.
Challenge the Process Leaders search for opportunities to change the status quo. They look for innovative ways to improve the organization. In doing so, they experiment and take risks. And because leaders know that risk taking involves mistakes and failures, they accept the inevitable disappointments as learning opportunities.
Enable Others to Act Leaders foster collaboration and build spirited teams. They actively involve others. Leaders understand that mutual respect is what sustains extraordinary efforts; they strive to create an atmosphere of trust and human dignity. They strengthen others, making each person feel capable and powerful.
Encourage the Heart Accomplishing extraordinary things in organizations is hard work. To keep hope and determination alive, leaders recognize contributions that individuals make. In every winning team, the members need to share in the rewards of their efforts, so leaders celebrate accomplishments. They make people feel like heroes.