What is the Coaching Style of Leadership?
The coaching style of leadership is centred around high performance and increased productivity.
Leaders who take a coaching approach know how to identify employees’ strengths and weaknesses. They can also harness this information and use it to motivate individual team members to achieve their goals and get more done.
Those who embrace the coaching leadership style also encourage collaboration and teamwork. They believe that the whole is stronger than the sum of its parts, and they aim for everyone to work together as a cohesive unit.
It’s a leadership style that we always cover in our Management Training and Management Development Programmes because it’s a very popular topic.
Types Of Coaching Styles
The above leadership definition explains generally how a coaching leadership style works. However, leaders can coach their teams using many approaches. The following are some of the most well-known and influential types of coaching styles:
Democratic Coaching Styles
Democratic coaches don’t dictate to their team members. Instead, they encourage employees to contribute to the decision-making and goal-setting process. Then, they offer ongoing guidance and support to help employees achieve those goals.
Autocratic Coaching Styles
Autocratic coaches (also known as authoritarian coaches) are on the opposite end of the spectrum from democratic coaches. Those who practise this style make the decisions (usually with no input from employees), establish expectations, and tell team members what they must do. Coaches who use style aren’t really coaching at all.
Laissez-Faire Coaching Styles
A laissez-faire approach is all about letting people make their own decisions without interfering. These coaches give employees a great deal of autonomy and don’t care much for the conventions of a traditional office.
Laissez-faire coaching is also known as holistic coaching.
Bureaucratic Coaching Styles
A bureaucratic coaching style is like an autocratic style. It is rigid and adheres to specific, strict rules. It follows a clear model for decision-making, too, and works very well in highly regulated environments.
Mindful Coaching Styles
Mindful coaching is centred around mindfulness practises, which encourage non-judgmental awareness of a person’s feelings and thoughts. Mindful coaches are open-minded and accepting. They strive to create a calm, low-stress work environment.
Developmental Coaching Styles
The developmental coaching style involves a coach identifying learning opportunities for team members and supporting their ongoing growth. Developmental coaches act as thought partners, and they work alongside employees to help them develop new skills and attain goals.
Vision Coaching Styles
As the name suggests, the vision coaching style involves a clear vision and a detailed plan to achieve it. Vision coaches know what they want to accomplish, and they work with their employees to figure out how to get there – like a visionary leadership style.
Group Coaching Styles
The group coaching style is built around the idea that two heads are better than one.
One or more coaches work with two or more team members in group coaching. The group dynamic encourages better interpersonal relationships and allows everyone to build a stronger rapport with one another.
Transformational Coaching Styles
Transformational coaches have a strong alliance with their team members. They and their team agree on specific goals and processes they must follow to achieve them. They act collaboratively, offering genuine support and feedback along the way.
Intuitive Coaching Styles
Intuitive coaching involves supporting team members and encouraging them to trust their own ideas and believe in their own perspectives. Intuitive coaches believe in the power of one’s intuition, and they help their team members develop their own intuitive senses.
Transactional Coaching Styles
Transactional coaching operates based on exchange-focused relationships. It is task-driven and time-based, and coaches strive to encourage performance improvements while mitigating stumbling blocks as much as possible.
Transactional coaches might use rewards or punishments in transactional coaching. They may be passive — only stepping in when problems escalate — or active, meaning they offer ongoing guidance and support.
How to be a Great Coaching Leader
Whether you prefer autocratic coaching, transactional coaching, or anything in between, you must follow some general principles to become a great coaching leader. Here are some key strategies every coaching leader can implement:
Determine areas of concern
To be an effective coaching leader, you must first identify areas in which the team — and individual members — can improve. This information will guide future decisions. The GROW coaching model can help you with this.
Balance praise and criticism
The best coaching leaders know how to balance praise and constructive criticism. They offer both, depending on the situation, to encourage ongoing improvement and productivity.
Consider one-on-one sessions
There are times when you’ll need to work with employees one-on-one. One-on-one sessions give you more time to discuss each individual team member’s strengths and weaknesses, help them set goals, address potential concerns, etc. Look at the difference between coaching and mentoring.
Research thought leadership
A thought leader is an individual who is considered an authority in a particular field. Research and learn from thought leaders in your industry so you can share that information with your team.
Make time to reflect and prepare
Regular reflection allows you to assess what aspects of your coaching style are working and which elements need to improve. Use what you’ve gathered from your assessments as you prepare for the coming week and plan to be a better leader to your team.
Connect with employees
Solid connections with your employees help you develop stronger relationships. It encourages them to see a leader as coach instead of a boss. One-on-one sessions are helpful for this, as are team-building activities.
Follow up with designated tasks
After assigning tasks, follow up with your team members and find out how they’re doing. Offer advice or guidance if they need it.
Live a purposeful life
Strive to build and maintain meaningful relationships outside of the office, too. Live your life with purpose in all areas.
Look for Teaching Moments
The best coaches always look for teaching moments. Be an engaged team leader and pay attention to your employees. When you see an opportunity for a lesson, jump on it.
Coaching Leadership Style Pros and Cons
Like any leadership style, coaching leadership comes with pros and cons. Learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of this approach below:
Pros
- Improves communication
- Improves collaboration
- Encourages constructive feedback
- Encourages personal and professional development for team members
- Emphasises support rather than judgment
- Creates more opportunities for growth and creativity
Cons
- May require more time and resources than other leadership styles
- May take longer to yield significant results
- May not be practical in time-sensitive or high-pressure situations
Right Time To Use The Coaching Style of Leadership
Not every situation calls for a coaching approach. Sometimes, you may need to use a different leadership style to get your point across and achieve a particular goal.
Here are some signs that indicate the coaching style of leadership is the right fit for a situation:
People’s perception of control
Coaching leadership is effective in situations when individuals believe they have the power to change a situation. They’ll be more open to coaching if they perceive themselves as empowered and in control.
People’s mindset
People with a growth mindset are also more receptive to coaching. They believe they can develop and grow, and they want to work with their coach to make those things happen.
Thinking traps
A common thinking trap people fall into is an all-or-nothing mindset. Coaches can help employees shift from this thought pattern to a more productive one.
Differences in departmental cultures
Before coaches can effectively lead their teams, they must understand the culture of the department and the company where they work.
Projects under pressure
Coaching leaders know how to work well under pressure, and they teach their employees to do so as well. They plan, utilise their resources, and set realistic goals to ensure team members don’t cave in high-pressure situations.
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