Powerful Leadership Through Coaching

1Why Every Leader and Manager Should Be a Great Coach

Fulfillment is a right and not a privilege. Every single one of us is entitled to feel fulfilled by the work we do, to wake up feeling inspired to go to work, to feel safe when we’re there and to return home with a sense that we contributed to something larger than ourselves.

—Simon Sinek, British American author,keynote speaker, and organizational consultant

What’s the difference between a good leader and a great leader?

All leaders are expected to improve performance and achieve great business results. Some leaders are lucky and succeed in spite of themselves. Some get mediocre results. Others succeed in the short term but in ways that don’t build trust or sustain results.

I submit that the difference between good and great leaders is the ability to coach and develop people.

Damon was a vice president of operations within his organization, a firm plagued by low levels of trust. He knew that to move forward in this firm, he should make a serious effort to build trust with his boss and colleagues. I was asked to coach him.

But I found that Damon was unwilling to put in the work to actualize that goal. He was disorganized, an inefficient planner, and poor at prioritizing tasks. Though he worked very hard and was quite brilliant, he was also a chronic micromanager and often got lost in the weeds, taking his team with him. Essentially, Damon “got a lot done,” but he was a horrible leader. He failed to define a clear strategy, ...