top of page
Writer's pictureBeth O'Neill

Leadership in 2024: the secret skill you cannot live without! Part 1.

Updated: Feb 27

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


A woman sat opposite another woman listening and smiling
Beth O'Neill coaching a member of her team

Recently a client shared with me how she was promoted to a leadership role and was expected to manage a team of 7 without any training. She was a technical expert but felt she didn’t have the knowledge or confidence to lead a team. This is a story I hear all too often. 


She was, however, driven, curious and empowering and applied her instincts to lead her team. Some leaders aren’t so lucky and don’t have these natural skills and so their teams and organisations suffer the consequences. 


The call for a coaching approach in management 


Hands up if you’ve been on the receiving end of bad management? No doubt a face or a name springs to mind, if not several. 


Many managers lack essential coaching skills leading to disengagement, dissatisfaction and high staff turnover. 


Research shows that employees crave meaningful development opportunities, a sense of purpose and supportive leadership. A coaching approach to leadership addresses these needs and as a result, employees work according to their strengths, they feel excited about the direction of travel and understand their contributions to making it happen. 


‘The role of a manager is that of becoming a coach’ - Harvard Business Review

What is coaching? 


Coaching is a person-centred helping approach that digs deep to unearth greater thinking and drive towards action. Coaching fosters trust, engagement and forward focused energy. At its core, the skill of coaching is active listening and asking powerful questions that unlock a person's potential and spark positive change. 


'Coaching is partnering with [clients/colleagues] in a creative and thought-provoking process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential' - International Coaching Federation 

Sounds easy right? In reality, coaching takes lots of practice. You are turning a life’s worth of conversational habits into a brand new skill. My mission is to create a unique training experience for you to explore, discuss and practise coaching skills with other leaders and apply a coaching approach to all elements of your role.


Every interaction - from performance reviews to all team meetings – can benefit from a coaching approach. A client recently shared how she was excited about annual appraisals for the first time in her career as she now had the confidence and skills to empower her team to set effective objectives, create and deliver a development roadmap for the year and give constructive feedback in a positive way.


Learning a coaching approach 


You can learn a coaching approach through practical training programmes with commitment and alignment from you and your senior leadership team.


My programmes are immersive, creative and thought-provoking experiences designed to help you get you out of your comfort zone and into the stretch zone, through coaching practice which unlocks new levels of performance for you, your team and organisation. They are built upon the International Coaching Federation Core Competencies and delivered by credentialed coaches so you can be assured that you're receiving the gold standard in coaching.


“Thanks to Beth’s practical insights and concrete tips and techniques, the team is now enabled, empowered and chomping at the bit to get stuck into the next level of growth.” - Sinead, Senior Director - see the full recommendation on LinkedIn

In part 2 of this blog, I'll share more about what I believe to be the 5 fundamental pillars of a coaching approach to leadership. In the next few months on this blog, I’ll then go into detail about each of these crucial building blocks in the hope that you can start to embed a coaching approach in your day-to-day leadership and management style.


Coaching leadership incorporates coaching mindsets and behaviours, synthesising them to create the highest performing type of leadership. It does this by unlocking and enabling potential. This is distinct from traditional management style of command and control which can often stifle potential.” Performanceconsultants.com

If you're ready to explore how a coaching approach can unlock your potential and the potential of your team, get in touch today. Email: hello@bethoneillcoaching.com








Comentarios


bottom of page