As the name suggests, the coaching leadership style is a style in which leaders assume the role of coach. Under this type of leadership, the leader invests their time and energy in developing individual team members. They also show them how their role plays a role in the strategy of a larger team. Leadership coaching is characterized by collaboration, support and guidance.
Coaching leaders focus on getting the best out of their teams by guiding them through goals and obstacles. This leadership style is very opposite to autocratic leadership, which focuses on top-down decision-making. Leadership coaching incorporates the mindsets and behaviors of coaching, synthesizing them to create the highest-performing type of leadership. It does this by unlocking and enabling potential.
This is different from the traditional command and control management style, which can often stifle potential. This training style is recognizable by its commitment to partnership and collaboration. Leaders behave like coaches, communicate well, allow creativity and motivate and allow staff the autonomy necessary to make decisions and do good work. Short-term firefighting is being replaced by longer-term strategic thinking (Berg & Karlsen, 201).
However, in the 21st century workplace, this strict leadership management style does not really align with the priorities of most organizations, so leadership coaching is becoming more widespread. It's based on the leader you train having good social and communication skills (since constructive feedback is important in this leadership style), but the most successful coach will also ask their employees questions to encourage brainstorming and problem solving. A coaching management style creates a collaboration between the leader and team members that empowers everyone. The coaching leadership style is about inspiring your team, building their confidence and teaching them the skills they need to develop and work together successfully, while ensuring that they feel supported by the coaching leader along the way.
