Seven Disciplines of A Leader

14Practice 3: Understand the Value of Coaching

Coaching plays a crucial role in keeping people engaged and committed. It brings out the best in them and helps remove obstacles to their success. Coaching is not about telling people what to do or how to do it; rather, you help people discover their own paths by encouraging and questioning. Help eliminate their roadblocks by asking questions like: With which past projects did you struggle? What steps will you take to achieve your goals? What excuses are you making? What's holding you back? What have you tried since the last time we talked? Open-ended questions make people think through obstacles. And coaching shows that you care and are willing to share yourself with them.

We include coaching in all of our LD programs because we're trying to change behavior. People attend training programs and learn many new ideas and skills. But as soon as they return to their offices, they're hit from all sides with client issues, personnel problems, and the dozens of other daily matters of urgency. As a result, they have no time to fully digest and practice what they learned, and they frequently lay aside leadership program content.

We seek to accomplish two goals in every LD program: change participants' behavior and make newly learned skills part of their everyday work habits. Changing an old habit and developing a new one takes time. Coaching reinforces training by working one-on-one with each person to abandon bad habits and adopt the more ...