top of page

A coaching approach: the secret skill to leadership in 2024. Part 2

Writer's picture: Beth O'NeillBeth O'Neill

Want to level up your leadership in 2024 and lead a team (or learn how to lead a team) working to its full potential? We know it can feel overwhelming so this series of blogs will give you the foundational tools you need to transform your leadership using a coaching approach - for you, your team and your organisation. 


Two women stood at the front of a room smiling at a group of people
Beth O'Neill using a coaching approach to facilitate a team meeting

In part 1 of this blog we explored what coaching is, and the benefits of a coaching approach. In this blog, we’ll cover the foundational pillars of building a coaching approach to leadership.


 The power of a coaching approach 


In a pivotal moment during my CORE Leadership development programme, I witnessed a senior leader's tears of joy as she shared how coaching had transformed every facet of her work, life and relationships. It was a profound affirmation of the incredible impact of coaching – a skill I firmly believe every leader should cultivate.


As we explored in Part 1, every conversation can benefit from a coaching approach. Feedback conversations, in particular, are transformed through coaching, enabling you to proactively and confidently support and challenge your teams. 


I never that that I would have the confidence to freely share constructive feedback at work... let alone in front of a room full of clients.

Yet, as part of my training programmes I do this regularly. I demonstrate core skills, including feedback, with one of my co-coaches. Giving feedback, with a coaching approach, removes the sting and turns into into positive and trust building experience for everyone involved. I'm excited to share more with you around this (my favourite) topic in the weeks to come!


Self-leadership


In order to lead others with a coaching approach, you need to be able to lead yourself first.


Leadership starts with self-leadership

Leaders with strong self-leadership use self-reflection and continual learning to develop themselves in the following 5 areas:


  1. Self-awareness

  2. Self-efficacy

  3. Self-motivation

  4. Self discipline

  5. and self-care...


As a leader, you set the example, so the more open to growth you are, the more willing your team will be to do the same.


Through one-on-one coaching and regular self-reflection you can experience your own personal and professional growth by gaining clarity and confidence on your strengths, areas of development and create a clearer vision and roadmap for your and your team’s development. A big part of my programmes is self-leadership and self-development. You will set clear goals at the start, share new learning/insights throughout and create your action plan with methods of accountability at the end.


Programme pillars


Through the work I’ve done with organisations and individuals over the past 7 years, I’ve seen first-hand how paying attention to the following 5 core pillars can transform your leadership capabilities.


1) Unlocking potential


Building trust, coaching skills and mindset and strength-based approach to leadership to facilitate self, team and organisational development.


2) Communicating effectively


Understanding yourself and others, celebrating diversity and learning tools to confidently lead, influence and collaborate.


3) Facilitating impactful meetings


Increasing engagement, collaboration and decision making in your meetings in alignment with your organisational objectives. 


4) Managing difficult conversations


Managing stress, building resilience and sharing constructive feedback that transforms difficult conversations into positive, proactive and trust building exercises. 


5) Leading with clarity and care


Creating clear objectives, delivering impactful annual appraisals and achieving success through effective prioritisation, delegation and self-care strategies for yourself and those you lead.


Through this blog, over the next 6 weeks, I’ll share more about self-leadership and the programme pillars to help you adopt a coaching approach to your leadership and management style.


What is a coaching approach?


I use the phrase 'coaching approach' as an approach that leaders and managers take to develop their people by applying a coaching mindset and coaching skills to different contexts. You don't have to be a qualified coach to do this. But you do need training.


In some cases this may look and feel like 'pure coaching' that a qualified coach would offer. Pure coaching is fully focused on the coachee (person being coached) determining the goal, direction of travel and discovering answers for themselves. In other cases, you may use a coaching approach to co-create a strategy, facilitate a meeting, or have a feedback conversation for example.


In all instances, employees will feel more valued and fulfilled in what they do and performance will soar.


Still not convinced?


A coaching approach isn't just a trend – it's a proven strategy for driving cultural behavioural breakthrough and achieving sustainable success. 


Through learning and adopting a coaching approach and receiving ongoing support, you can transform your leadership capabilities into an empowering coaching culture.


"Expect to see workplaces, and leaders, shift to a more holistic approach... We’re going to start hearing the phrase “coaching culture” a lot more frequently and will see it much more widely embedded into businesses” - 12 HR Trends for 2023 by Sanctus.io with research from McKinsey, Gallup, Gartner, and more.

Ready to unlock your and your team's potential?


If you feel ready to explore how a coaching approach can transform your leadership effectiveness email me today at hello@bethoneillcoaching.com


Let's embark on this journey of growth and transformation together. Read more about my programmes here.

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page