A Leadership Practice That’s Incredibly Important But You Never Hear Much About

LEADERSHIP ISN’T EASY, and anyone who has been a leader knows that.

I’ve worked as a journalist, editor, and writer for a number of years, yet what I REALLY know and excel at is … management.

I’ve managed people and worked in leadership roles for the greater part of my adult life. That means that I know something about leadership and all that comes with it — the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Those are all things I’m going to write about in the near future, but they’re insights for another day.

Today I want to dig into a critical area of leadership that is highly important but doesn’t get talked about very much. And, it’s an essential part of being a good leader.

It’s coaching.

Coaching insights worth digging into

THIS POPPED INTO my head last week when reading Dan Rockwell’s Leadership Freak blog. He’s one of the people I look to for leadership insights, and if you’re also looking for that in a very brief and easy to read format, Dan’s blog is a good place to start.

The blog post that caught my attention was titled 10 Practices for The Leader as Coach, and he listed smart practices for a leader who also wants to excel as a coach.

You can read the Leadership Freak blog to get these 10 good coaching practices, but as with all lists like this, not every one of the 10 on the list are a great insight into coaching.

Here are the best ones on Dan Rockwell’s list that jumped out at me …

• Learn and grow — Dan’s insight: “Know-it-alls make lousy coaches. Self-development is the first development.” My take: Coaching is all about growing more as you learn. If you don’t grow — both as a coach and a leader — you aren’t getting anywhere at all.
• Ask more than tell — Dan’s insight: “Curiosity drives coaching. Knowing gets in the way. Even if you think you know, ask questions like you don’t.” My take: This is one of Dan’s best insights that cuts to the heart of what coaching is all about.
• Provide space for response — Dan’s insight: “Silence is the space where change begins. Don’t interrupt a person who is thinking.” My take: I like this insight, but it’s a little vague. A good one to ponder moving ahead.
• Challenge BS —  Dan’s insight: “Challenge one-sided perceptions, inconsistencies, and helplessness.” My take: This is GREAT advice for anyone, because there is too much BS in too much of our workplace world.
• Move conversations from aspiration to action — Dan’s insight: “Success distills into simple behaviors that produce desired results. Talking about results is easy. Describing behaviors leads to action.” My take: Dan’s better coaching/leadership insights are helpful when he describes them a little more. This is a good example of that.
• Feel optimistic — Dan’s insight: “Coaches believe growth is probable. You can’t coach someone you don’t believe in.” My take: Amen to that, because optimism is the essence of great leadership coaching.

HERE’S MY TAKE: You should read 10 Practices for The Leader as Coach yourself and read all 10 insights about coaching on Dan Rockwell’s list. His blog posts have been popping up in my mailbox for a couple of years now, and like so many people who write, he misses a lot more then he hits. I know all about that, because I do that too.

But, when Dan hits with a really good one, it jumps out at you with some great leadership and coaching wisdom. Take a read of 10 Practices for The Leader as Coach and see if you agree. It may make you want to sign up for his blog as well.

As Dan puts it:

“Leaders who tell people what to do can’t coach. The use of authority creates conformity. The leader as coach ignites vitality.”

He’s right on that, and if you agree, take a good look at his Leadership Freak blog.

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Other trends and insights 

And your latest dose of AI news … 

• AI Can Cut Costs, But at What Cost to the Workforce Experience? (From DeloitteDigital.com)
• Big Tech is on a generative AI hiring spree (From FastCompany.com)
• Here Come the Anti-Woke AIs — and they come with a host of pitfalls (From WSJ.com)
• Employers say they struggle to find talent for AI-related roles (From HRDive.com)
• How robots are taking over warehouse work (From BBC.com)
• Artificial Intelligence’s “Insatiable” Energy Needs Not Sustainable, CEO Says (From WSJ.com)
• What is a chief AI officer — and do you really need one? (From ManufacturingDive.com]
• The Smartest Way to Use AI at Work (From WSJ.com)
• Nine in 10 employees are confident they can adapt to AI at work (From Unleash.ai)

ALSO: Chief Executive magazine is targeted to, well, CEOs and other C-suite execs. I don’t read it much, but their newsletters always remind me of what great topics they get into. Here’s one example, a recent article titled Climate Tantrums: Protests Need More Than Soup To Stir Change. The gist of it is this — “Climate change is indeed a gravely serious existential threat, but these protests amount to little more than a toddler’s tantrum. … It’s undeniable that throwing soup (or paint, or whatever else has been hurled at famous works of art in recent months) is an effective way to get the attention of media outlets … But childish antics will get us nowhere. Activists would do better to follow the example of business leaders and creative thinkers if they actually want to make a difference in the climate debate.”

Loyal Readers: I’ve been writing this weekly wrap-up for 20 years — from Workforce.com to TLNT.com to Fuel50 and now here on The Skeptical Guy. I’d love to hear what you think, so email me at  johnhollon@yahoo.com.