The Impact of Coaching on Leadership
Oftentimes, leaders think that it’s their role to give solutions to problems, and sometimes this is true. But that is only part of the story. Leadership is about inspiring, influencing, and enabling a team to reach its full potential. Itโs about helping people to find their own solutions and to help them grow and develop.
We spoke to some of our alumni and consensus is the same. Many come to coaching believing that providing quick solutions while remaining affirmative, decisive, and assertive is the most effective leadership skill. But theyโve soon understood that this approach can yield immediate results, but it’s not sustainable. Over time, we often see tangible benefits such as employee loyalty, satisfaction, and empowerment decline when this style is overused.ย
As leadership demands evolve, the need for personal development and deeper self-awareness becomes crucial for both leaders and employees. One of the most effective tools for enhancing leadership capabilities is coaching. Whether you’re an aspiring leader or a seasoned executive, learning to coachย can transform how you lead, making a lasting impact on both you and your team.ย
In this blog, we’ll explore the impact coaching has on leadership and how it shapes leaders to be more effective, empathetic, and adaptable in todayโs complex world.
Jump to each section:ย
- Coaching Enhances Self-Awareness
- Coaching Improves Emotional Intelligence
- Coaching Fosters a Growth Mindset
- Coaching Strengthens Communication Skills
- Coaching Enhances Decision-Making and Problem-Solving
- Coaching Builds Resilience and Manage Stress
Six types of impact you will see from coaching
1. Coaching Enhances Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is a game-changer for leaders, especially under pressure and when leading teams. Coaching helps leaders become more self-aware by encouraging reflection on their behaviours, decision-making, and emotional responses.
In the context of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) competencies, self-awareness is a key component of effective coaching and leadership. Self-awareness enables leaders to understand their own values, beliefs, and emotional triggers, which, in turn, enhances their ability to lead others authentically and effectively.
For instance, a leader who realises through coaching that they micromanage can work on delegating more effectively, boosting team trust and morale. This reflective process not only enhances individual leadership but also positively impacts team performance and dynamics.
As leaders, you can coach your team or coach yourself to become more self-aware.
1. Developing self-awareness in a team: You can coach your team in exploring their self-awareness through deep questioning and reflective practices. This process allows your team to gain insights into their behaviours, strengths, blind spots, and areas for development.
In our ICF coach certification programme, we teach coaches how to foster self-awareness with clients. You can download our free guide here on how to facilitate meaningful growth and change in conversations.
2. Developing self-awareness for effective leadership: For leaders, self-awareness is crucial when navigating challenging situations and making decisions aligned with your values. It helps leaders recognise their impact on others, understand their leadership style, and address any blind spots.
ย This insight enables leaders to communicate more effectively, build stronger relationships, and inspire their teams. You can download our leadership audit to identify areas for improvement in your leadership/ย
To sum up: Leaders who develop self-awareness through coaching are better equipped to manage their reactions, adapt their strategies, and lead with integrity. They will also be able to identify and adjust unfavourable behaviours that may hinder their effectiveness, while focusing on strengths that contribute to their success and that of their team.
2. Coaching Improves Emotional Intelligence
Emotions โ everyone has them, but not many can control them well. Relatability is another key skill that everyone assumes they have, but it needs to be learned and refined.
To create the best environment for high performing teams, creating psychological safety is key. Creating a safe space for your team to express their thoughts requires emotional intelligence (EQ). The ICF defines emotional intelligence as the ability to recognise, understand, and manage oneโs own emotions, as well as those of others.
Leaders with high EQ are better equipped to handle interpersonal relationships, foster trust, create a safe space, navigate conflict, and build a positive work environment. Coaching provides leaders with tools to develop emotional intelligence by encouraging empathy, active listening, and emotional regulation. By becoming more attuned to their own emotions and those of their team members, leaders can build stronger, more cohesive teams.
For example, a leader who practices empathy in their interactions will create a more supportive and trusting work environment. When team members feel understood and valued, they are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and productive.
We cover much of this in our free masterclass on improving emotional intelligence. Check it out!
Key aspects of emotional intelligence in teams:
1. Self-awareness: Leaders are able to manage their responses while remaining objective in discussions with their teams. Emotions, strengths, and limitations are kept in check. As shared above, leaders can also help team with their own awareness.ย
2. Self-regulation: Leaders help their team and themselves manage emotions in a healthy way. This helps the team remain calm, focused, and solution-driven, even in challenging situations.
3. Empathy: Empathy is a powerful tool in leadership. Itโs about recognising and understanding others’ emotions.ย Leaders can use empathy to connect with their team and build a safe and trusted environment. Itโs a place where the team feels psychologically safe to share their thoughts, improving loyalty and satisfaction.
4. Political savvy: Building and maintaining positive relationships within an organisation can help you as a leader navigate workplace politics in an emotionally intelligent way. This skill can also be shared with your team when they need help managing interdepartmental relationships.
To sum up: Leaders who develop their emotional intelligence can enhance their decision-making, improve team collaboration, and build a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture. This results in better team performance and increased organisational success.
Hear more from our alumni on the impact she found through coaching! Vandana Ahuja is a Global CHRO and Executive Coach with over 30 years of experience and she is also an experienced exectuive coach who trained with us.ย
3. Coaching Fosters a Growth Mindset
ICF coaches often encourage a growth mindset, the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, learning, and persistence.In a world where many come from backgrounds shaped by fixed mindsets, it is a leader’s responsibility to cultivate openness and curiosity within teams, encouraging them to view challenges as opportunities that can be overcome through perseverance and learning.
Often, teams approach problems with self-doubt or feelings of inferiority, but life isnโt just about seeing the limitations. Leaders can adopt a coaching approach to foster a growth mindset, helping teams become high-performing and break free from limiting beliefs ingrained from a young age.
This mindset is integral to the coaching process because it:
1. Promotes resilience: Teams with a growth mindset are more likely to embrace challenges and persevere through setbacks, leading to growth.
2. Fosters continuous learning: Leaders can help their teams adopt a mindset that values learning from experiences and seeking opportunities for development.
3. Encourages openness to feedback: A growth mindset helps coaching clients view feedback as a tool for improvement rather than criticism, which enhances their development.
Leaders will find their teams adopting these beliefs when they embrace a growth mindset:
1. Belief in development: Embracing the idea that skills and intelligence can be cultivated through dedication and hard work.
2. Embracing challenges: Viewing obstacles as opportunities for growth rather than threats.
3. Learning from criticism: Using feedback constructively to improve performance and achieve goals.
4. Perseverance: Maintaining effort and resilience in the face of difficulties.
Growth Mindset for Leaders: Leaders also need to learn how to have a growth mindset. There are many times when leaders may feel theyโre putting in enough effort or feel like a failure. Leaders who embrace a growth mindset enhance their effectiveness by continuously seeking development opportunities, fostering a positive and proactive team culture, and maintaining resilience in the face of setbacks.
In summary, a growth mindset is closely aligned with ICF competencies, as it supports the development of resilience, adaptability, and continuous improvement in both coaching and leadership contexts. Check out our blog on growth mindset here.ย
Join our masterclass and learn from our alumni who are leaders in organisations. They will share how they lead through obstacles and how to develop a coaching mindset among their teams!
4. Coaching Strengthens Communication Skills
Effective communication is at the heart of leadership, yet many leaders struggle with it. Whether itโs providing clear instructions, giving feedback, or navigating difficult conversations, communication can make or break a leaderโs effectiveness.
Coaching helps leaders develop the communication skills they need to build strong relationships and lead with clarity. Coaches often work with leaders to refine their listening skills, develop more impactful messaging, and tailor their communication style to different audiences.
Here are a few ways leaders can practice powerful communication:
1. Active listening: Leaders can listen deeply and attentively to understand their teamโs perspectives and needs. This involves not only hearing the words but also interpreting the underlying emotions and intentions.
2. Powerful questioning: Leaders can use open-ended, thought-provoking questions to help clients explore their goals, challenges, and solutions. This encourages self-reflection and deeper insights, empowering team members to find their own solutions. As a result, they will feel more capable of handling their own challenges and continue developing their competence.
3. Feedback delivery: Feedback can be challenging to receive, but when it is delivered clearly, concisely, and honestly, it becomes more constructive and actionable. By communicating with empathy and clarity, you help team members view feedback as a tool for growth rather than criticism. This approach encourages them to embrace the feedback and take meaningful action.
When such a coaching approach is applied, teams will leave the conversation feeling heard, acknowledged, and valued.ย
Hear from our latest alumni on the impact coaching has had on his leadership! Hear from Richard Que, Marketing Leader with 20 years of expertise across FMCG, Tech, and Hospitality industries.
5. Coaching Enhances Decision-Making and Problem-Solving
When your team approaches you with a problem, itโs tempting to solve it for them. However, this moment presents an opportunity for coaching. Instead of offering an immediate solution, guide your team through the problem-solving process.
Under ICF competencies, viewing teams as resourceful and whole is fundamental to effective coaching. Leaders empower their teams by facilitating self-discovery and leveraging their strengths rather than imposing solutions.
This approach builds team confidence and commitment to personal development. Leaders who embrace this method help their teams set actionable goals and strategies based on their insights and strengths.
Here are coaching techniques aligned with ICF teachings that leaders can use to enhance decision-making and problem-solving:
1. Powerful questioning: Instead of providing a solution, ask questions that stimulate critical thinking. Questions like, โWhat options have you considered?โ or โWhat resources can you draw upon to address this challenge?โ empower the team to reflect and arrive at their own solutions.
2. Encouraging reflection: Promote reflective practices where the team can analyse what theyโve done in the past, decisions and outcomes they want for the future. This coaching technique helps team members to draw lessons from the past and apply them to future decision-making, enhancing their overall problem-solving capabilities. You can check out our blog on the ladder of inference coaching methodology for more resources!
3. Promoting autonomy: Encourage team members to take responsibility for their decisions by asking them to set measures and be their accountability partner.
By trusting their ability to resolve issues, leaders foster confidence and self-reliance within the team! You can read more on how to coach for action and accountability.ย
By using these ICF-aligned coaching techniques, leaders enhance their teamโs ability to make decisions and solve problems independently, fostering a culture of empowerment and resourcefulness.
6. Coaching Builds Resilience and Manage Stress
Leadership can be stressful, and managing stress and bouncing back from setbacks is crucial for long-term success. Coaching teaches leaders strategies for staying grounded, maintaining work-life balance, and managing energy effectively. This not only benefits the leaderโs well-being but also sets an example for the team.
Resilient leaders inspire confidence, persevere through tough times, and maintain a sense of calm under pressure. Leaders who coach can create a safe environment for teams to express challenges and recharge, fostering high performance.
Here are ICF-aligned coaching techniques to build resilience and manage stress:
1. Emotional regulation: As mentioned above under EQ, leaders can help their team manage their stressors using coaching techniques and tools such as journaling, grounding practices and mindfulness practices to help their teams regulate. Coaching also helps leaders to facilitate conversation teams are aware of their own triggers and how they can work around them.
2. Mindfulness and presence: Cultivating presence is a key ICF competency. Leaders can use mindfulness to remain fully engaged in the moment and help their teams stay focused and grounded in stressful situations. This practice also helps teams stay resilient by reducing reactivity and promoting thoughtful responses to challenges.
3. Creating a safe environment: A crucial aspect of resilience is the ability to openly express challenges without fear. Leaders can create a psychologically safe space for their teams to share when theyโre struggling, thus promoting honesty and transparency. Asking questions such as, โWhat support would help you manage this situation better?โ fosters a trusting environment where resilience can thrive.
4. Reflection and learning from adversity: Leaders can guide their teams in reflective practices after overcoming challenges. This involves reflecting on what was learned from the adversity and how the experience can build future resilience.
By using these ICF coaching techniques, leaders can enhance their own and their teamโs ability to manage stress and develop resilience. This ultimately creates a team that can handle challenges with confidence and maintain a positive outlook under pressure.
We share more tools on how to manage being overwhelmed in these blogs: Overcoming Burnout: Leveraging the Power of Glimmers andย Navigating Overwhelm: Understanding the 10 Root Causes.ย
Hear from our alumni on why leaders should train as a coach! Chen-en Tsuar is a Global Sales Leader with more than 22 years of experience and trained with us. She is an amazing, competent coach to learn from.ย
To sum upโฆย
The impact of coaching on leadership is undeniable. From enhancing self-awareness and emotional intelligence to fostering a growth mindset and improving communication, coaching equips leaders with the tools they need to navigate the complexities of leadership. It helps them become more reflective, empathetic, and resilient, enabling them to inspire and empower their teams.
Become a great leader who coaches at every opportunity and see improved performance in your teams. Join our Level 1 ICF Coach Training Programme. Register today!
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About the Author
Jean Balfour is Managing Director of Bailey Balfour and Programme Director of our ICF Accredited Coach Training Programmes. Jean is passionate about helping people to have good conversations both at work and at home. She believes that coaching is a life skill and that you never regret learning to coach.