A culture where coaching is normalized for everyone takes some pressure off the coach to be the only source of knowledge and experience, while also allowing others to grow into their coaching capabilities.
Tessman-Keys sees the role of business leaders, as with Olympic coaches, as similar to that of a conductor of orchestra. “They should not only catalyze individual performance but also construct a team that utilizes the individual capabilities of the team members in the best way,” he says.
Marks of an effective coach
There are as many different coaching styles as there are coaches, so I wanted to drill down to the common denominators that define a great coach. Tessman-Keys pointed to three core characteristics:
- Curiosity. “They ask open-ended and forward-looking questions such as, ‘How do you envision this project panning out?’,” he says. “Through this approach, leaders can coach their teams toward a vision without coming across as judgmental or critical of past efforts.”
- Growth mindset. “Effective coaches are also flexible and have a growth mindset,” says Tessman-Keys. “They understand that even the most senior leaders have room to grow and are able to see this potential.”
- Big-picture view. “Coaches understand the ‘context’ to which an individual must apply their experience and skills—whether that be the corporate strategy to be executed or the external conditions such as competitor makeup,” says Tessman-Keys. “The coach must first ‘select’ the best player for the play/leader for the strategy and then create the best environment for their team members to apply their skillset.”
“By becoming an effective coach, leaders are also building their empathy, vulnerability and critical thinking skills,” says Tessman-Keys. “When leaders approach coaching with curiosity and open-mindedness, they can learn a great deal from considering the perspectives of those they are coaching.”
The cost of poor coaching
While great coaching is what makes victory possible, poor or inadequate coaching can have an equally potent effect. “Without effective coaching, employees feel disempowered and stagnant in their career,” says Tessman-Keys.
This is especially true for high-potential employees who, according to DDI’s research, are twice as likely to depart if their manager isn’t an effective coach.
“This takes a toll on an organizations’ bench strength in an era where there’s already a significant shortage of leaders to fill critical roles,” says Tessman-Keys. “Alarmingly, only 12% of companies report confidence in the strength of their leadership bench—that’s a 33% decrease since 2011.
Becoming a better coach
While coaching should not be an exclusively top-down endeavor, an organization’s coaching tone is set by the C-suite. “It’s critical that executives clearly communicate the value of coaching across the organization and model effective coaching behaviors for frontline managers,” says Tessman-Keys. “Because a coaching culture should be bi-directional rather than top-down, it’s important for the C-suite to be vulnerable and invite peer coaching on their leadership as well.”
He believes that leaders should use assessments to get objective feedback on their coaching skills and identify opportunities for growth. “As with professional sports, excelling at coaching requires a daily commitment to practicing the skill and asking for feedback,” says Tessman-Keys. “Just as the Olympic Committees of countries heavily invest in their coaches’ skills, organizations must see building an active coaching culture as an ‘investment’ of equal importance to product and infrastructure investments.”
But what if there’s pushback? “The most common objections to coaching from individual contributors and leaders are that they don’t have the time, the opportunity or the know-how for coaching,” says Tessman-Keys. “So, when encouraging coaching, it’s important to show teams it’s not another thing to add to their to-do list. Coaching is a behavior people can build into their existing routines, and it will ultimately free up leaders’ time by making them more capable delegators and empowering teams to be more self-sufficient.”
Coaching matters
Next week, we’ll see the results of world-class coaching on display in the Olympic Games. The world will witness career-defining moments of triumph and heartbreak, victory and defeat for the athletes who have worked so hard to reach this point. While their performance will be riveting, leaders would do well to watch the coaches, too.
“Successful coaching essentially ‘unlocks potential’—organizational potential via human potential,” says Tessman-Keys.
While your team may not be engaged in a contest for Olympic gold, the coaching they both give and receive is still pivotal to their success. Great coaches stay curious, foster a growth mindset and see the big picture—all to help their teams deliver a world-class performance.
