Coaching leadership style is a style of management that brings out the best in people by guiding them through goals and obstacles. This type of leadership is very different from autocratic leaders who make decisions for their teams without explanation or help.
Democratic coaching
The coaching leadership style can be very effective, as the onus is put back onto teams to work together and explore solutions. Many experts agree that this technique allows for more freedom than other approaches while still being able to hold people accountable in an efficient manner.
Authoritarian coaching
This approach is often used on inexperienced teams because it’s fast and gets results. It also instills discipline in the team, but can be tough to adapt when there are communication issues or a lack of clarity for what success should look like.
The benefit of this approach is that it creates a sense of unity and also encourages thinking on one’s own, but can seem intimidating to those who are inexperienced in their field or new members.
Holistic coaching
If you’re looking for a coach that will empower your overall wellbeing, holistic coaching should be at the top of your list. This approach’s belief in everything being connected means it encourages growth and balance across all aspects of life to make employees feel like they matter.
The coach is a necessary component of the success story because in order to reach one’s full potential, it can be difficult or impossible without professional guidance. For example, if you’re not comfortable speaking up during meetings and find yourself getting intimidated by your peers who are more vocal than you are then coaching might just help break down those barriers that hold back your voice!
Autocratic coaching
The autocratic coach is in control yet creates a sense of freedom. This approach tells individuals what to do while asking, which restricts some aspects but inspires others. Under the leadership of an autocratic coach, employees are disciplined and committed with rigid structures in place that make it easier for them to succeed – though sometimes those strict rules can feel stifling at times.
Vision coaching
This style of management is like a personal trainer for your employees. It’s intensive and short-term, but it can be the perfect solution when you need to motivate people fast or get them working on specific projects quickly.
Five characteristics of great coaching leadership style
- Balance
Great coaching happens when there’s a balance in exchange. One thing to focus on is the speaking/listening balance: it may be that you do most of the initiating and questioning, or your conversational counterpart might take up more space with their questions and ideas, but either way there should always be an equality between who does what within this interaction.
- Being concerete
Someone using the coaching leadership style would be most likely to use concrete language to provide the coachee with a clear and specific goal. They know what success looks like, so they can be very descriptive about how it is achieved.
- Shared responsibility
When coaching, the coach and coachee share responsibility to make a conversation with each other as useful as possible. They both work together for continuous improvement following this discussion.
- Respect
The tone of voice you use in coaching should be professional and not condescending. Respect the person you are coaching by showing them that their abilities and intentions matter to you, rather than treating them as if they lack something or cannot do anything well.
Conclusion
In a generation where the word ‘mentor’ has come to define many leaders, it is important to also remember that leadership can be multifaceted. Leaders may use different styles depending on what they are surrounded by in their environment at any given time.
Mahatma Gandhi was a great coach and led his people to believe in themselves. He did this by empowering them with the right mindset through coaching styles of leadership that have been used even recently, including Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Steve Jobs from Apple.
