What is a coaching leadership style? A way to engage employees.
- Ryszard Skarbek
- Aug 30, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
The coaching leadership style is an approach that creates a high-performance culture at work. It also ensures a safe work environment and supports individual satisfaction. The hallmarks of this culture are collaboration, empowerment, and personal and professional fulfillment.
Collaboration is the most important of these characteristics and often contrasts with a "command and control" approach, aka autocratic style. "Command and control" behaviors suppress individual potential and enforce a high-pressure work environment. Leaders need a better way to motivate and lead their teams.
In addition to explaining what a coaching leadership style is and where it comes from, we will also provide an example of a coaching conversation with an employee and demonstrate its impact compared to traditional leadership.
You will also find links to supplementary information, for example, to a comprehensive study entitled Leader as a Coach, which includes, among others, examples of specific questions and tools that a manager can use in conversations with an employee.
At the end of the article, you will find a link to a free ebook that helps leaders in building psychological safety. This is achieved thanks to the technique of asking powerful questions.
The foundations. Key traits of the coaching leader.
Coaching leadership and management encompasses mindsets and behaviors, combining them to create the best leadership possible. This is done by focusing on getting the best out of each team member.
The coaching style of leadership and management is based on specific skills. It is also deeply rooted in ethics. Its key elements are:
Partnership and cooperation,
Faith in human potential,
Trust and security,
Pure intention,
Continuous learning and development,
Strong questions,
Active listening,
Feedback.
In recent times, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, empathy has become increasingly important. In short, a coaching leadership style offers high levels of personalized support balanced by helpful feedback. We can consider it the polar opposite of an autocratic style.
It is also worth mentioning that this management style is often confused with the democratic style. However, they differ significantly. For more information on democratic style, please refer to the respective sources.
Who is the creator of the coaching leadership style?
Sir John Whitmore, widely recognized as the father of modern business coaching, is considered the pioneer of this style.
It all began in the late 1970s when Sir John brought the concept of The Inner Game to Europe, created by Tim Gallwey for the sports community.
A group of IBM executives who had experienced the concept as skiers asked if they could bring it to their company. They were very intrigued by this method of releasing human potential. Sir John accepted the challenge, and the 'leader-coach' approach was born.
This is what Sir John Whitmore said about it:
“A leader’s task is simple: to get the job done and develop employees. Coaching is one process with both effects.”
What is the difference between a coaching style and a traditional style? Examples.
The traditional "command and control" management style is one where leaders know best and have all the answers (or feel they should). On the other hand, the coaching leadership style fosters collaboration between the leader and team members, empowering everyone. The introduction of this change puts people behind the wheel of their actions.
The video below shows this fundamental difference live and explains how to embody this style in 5 minutes. Please see the benefits demonstrated in real life. You will see both goal achievement and employee development co-occurring.
Is the coaching approach related to emotional intelligence?
In the book titled Coaching for Performance, often called the "Bible" for business coaches, Sir John Whitmore explains that coaching is the practice of emotional intelligence. It is primarily a mindset, a way of being, not just a set of skills.
Research shows that high emotional intelligence gives managers a significant advantage in effectiveness. It is twice as important as cognitive ability in predicting outstanding performance.
What are the benefits of a coaching leadership style? What is the impact on individual and team performance?
This approach to leadership emphasizes support and encouragement to help individual team members improve their skills and reach high standards. Unlike a top-down approach or laissez-faire leadership, the coaching leadership approach combines elements of transformational and situational leadership. It can incorporate executive coaching practices to develop leaders and teams.
Key benefits for individuals:
Skill development: Coaching focuses on identifying strengths and gaps so team members develop specific leadership skills and technical capabilities.
Improved confidence: Providing constructive feedback, praise, and recognition helps in building self-confidence and motivates people to take on stretch assignments.
Personalized growth: Coaching leaders need to tailor conversations to each person, which helps individuals feel seen and more likely to improve their performance.
Career progression: Examples of coaching leadership demonstrate how targeted guidance accelerates career paths and prepares individuals for new roles.
Impact on team performance:
Better collaboration: When leaders create an environment of trust and continuous feedback, the entire team communicates more openly and works toward shared goals.
Higher engagement: Coaching leadership develops ownership and commitment because team members feel supported rather than controlled by a typical approach.
Enhanced adaptability: Known as situational leadership, this style helps teams adjust their methods and priorities to changing needs, outperforming rigid transactional leadership styles in dynamic contexts.
Improved results: A coaching leadership style focuses on developing capability, which often leads to sustained performance gains and a culture of continuous improvement.
How does it change leader-team dynamics?
Leaders empower team members to solve problems rather than issuing directives, so team members feel trusted and are more likely to take initiative.
Coaching leaders encourage ownership: They help the team achieve objectives by developing capacity instead of relying on a top-down approach.
Coaching leadership focuses on creating an environment where continuous learning is the norm, enabling organizations to cultivate a pipeline of capable leaders.
Coaching leadership style examples are especially effective when the leader and their team face complex challenges that require growth, creativity, and collaboration. It is less effective when immediate compliance is required (where transactional leadership styles or top-down decisions may be necessary). Overall, coaching leadership fosters long-term performance by helping individual team members develop, improving team cohesion, and enabling organizations to sustain high standards.
Among the most immediate benefits is stress reduction, both for teams who feel more empowered and for leaders who no longer feel they have to give all the answers. Independent studies also show a measurable improvement in employee engagement and the bottom line (please see the post: History of Coaching).
Leaders who adopt this approach are called "leader-coaches". They increase their people's sense of responsibility and self-confidence. They offer choice wherever possible while providing a good balance between support and challenge.
Coach-style leaders are also great at giving constructive feedback to improve performance. They foster open communication and help their employees define and pursue individual development goals. They schedule a time to talk one-on-one with each team member and focus on steering them toward their preferred career goals. And they can smoothly work with both short- and long-term goals.
Such coaching leaders are also open to constructive criticism from their team - even if that feedback is hard to hear. They are neither defensive nor aggressive and are capable of reflecting on the information they obtain. This builds a culture of mutual trust and enhances the psychological safety of all employees.
According to Performance Consultants, co-founded by Sir John, the benefits of the style change are far-reaching, affecting not only professional life but life in general.
"It will change your life, not just the way you work with others."
Strengths and weaknesses. What are the disadvantages of this approach?
In today's dynamic business environment, a manager who relies solely on a coaching style will not be effective. Other skills, such as goal setting, delegation, and decision-making, are also important.
Here are situations when this approach should not be used:
An employee needs clarification: For example, they are seeking to understand the company's strategy and how their work contributes to the overall picture.
Providing quick feedback is more beneficial: It helps you support employees in different ways. Providing timely feedback also helps employees learn and develop.
Onboarding or training a new team member: In such a situation, asking questions is completely pointless. Instruction, training, or even mentoring is a much better solution.
An employee struggles to achieve their professional goals: A direct report who doesn't meet the basic expectations of their role needs clear expectations about what is necessary to be considered improved.
It is necessary to make a quick decision: When time is of the essence (especially in crises), the coach's role must be put aside, and the responsibility for making the decision must be taken.
How to use a coaching style of leadership at work? How to deploy it?
If you want to try this style at your organization, here are some tips on how to get started:
Meet your people regularly.
Set individual development goals. Make team members responsible for managing them.
Provide team members with regular feedback and support.
Proactively collect feedback on yourself.
Celebrate successes, and give credit where credit is due.
Be flexible and adapt your approach when needed.
Goals are the catalyst for long-term growth. Well-defined goals ensure that each developmental objective is achievable. Hence, let us underline the importance of goal-setting skills and remind you of the SMART objectives technique. The SMART objective should meet the following criteria:
Specific. Goals should be clear to avoid confusion.
Measurable. You should be able to measure the progress. Similarly, you should be clear about how you will know the objective has been achieved.
Achievable. The goal should align with an employee’s performance to ensure it is realistic.
Relevant. Individual goals should be aligned with company-wide objectives or your department's needs.
Time-bound. Each goal should have a reasonable time frame for its realization so your team remains motivated to work towards it without feeling overwhelmed.
I also invite you to visit a subpage on our website, which is part of the knowledge library.
There you will find, among others:
An intriguing comparison of two leadership styles: Problem-focused leaders and leaders-coaches.
Four specific tools that you can start using immediately, and practice the latter leadership style.
In addition, our website offers a free e-book titled The Engaging Leader Questions Library.
There, you will find specific question sets.
Their great advantage is that they naturally increase employee engagement and motivation.
In this free PDF, you will also find a notable chapter on developing yourself, along with an orderly process of collecting feedback about yourself.
These hints will significantly help you get feedback from anyone.
Of course, all are based on adequately formulated questions.
Free PDF e-book: The Engaging Leader Questions Library
This is also the space where you can find a comprehensive description of The Situational Leadership Style.
You will find an explanation of employee readiness stages and different leadership styles you apply to manage this readiness and achieve its full potential.
What challenges are involved in implementing a coaching leadership style?
Adopting a coaching leadership style can transform team performance, productivity, and long-term capability of the workforce, but organizations often encounter multiple practical and cultural barriers. Below are the common challenges leaders face when implementing a coaching leadership style, why they matter, and concise strategies to address each one.
Mindset shift from command-and-control to partnership: Many managers are socialized to give direct instructions and measure outputs. Transitioning to a coaching leadership style requires embracing curiosity, active listening, and facilitating others’ development rather than prescribing solutions. To overcome this, provide mindset training, role modeling from senior leaders, and opportunities for reflective practice.
Time constraints and short-term pressures: Conversations take time and feel like a luxury when deadlines loom. Leaders must balance immediate deliverables with development. Build coaching into regular workflows (e.g., brief weekly one-on-ones), protect dedicated time, and set clear expectations that development contributes to performance.
Lack of coaching skills and confidence: Effective coaching requires specific skills - asking powerful questions, giving balanced feedback, and guiding action plans. Invest in skills-based training, peer groups, and observation/feedback cycles so leaders gain confidence and competence.
Inconsistent practices across the organization: If only some leaders coach, employees experience mixed signals. Create a common framework, simple tools (question banks, development templates), and measurement criteria so coaching leadership style becomes consistent and scalable.
Unclear metrics for coaching outcomes: Organizations often struggle to link coaching to business results. Define measurable outcomes (engagement, retention, internal mobility, performance improvements) and capture qualitative stories to demonstrate impact while tracking quantitative indicators over time.
Resistance from employees unused to ownership: Team members accustomed to directives may initially resist being asked to solve problems or set goals. Prepare employees by clarifying expectations, offering coaching on self-directed work, and gradually increasing autonomy while celebrating small wins.
Cultural barriers and power dynamics: Hierarchical cultures can inhibit the open dialogue and vulnerability required for coaching leadership style. Leaders must model humility, confidentiality, and psychological safety; run team meetings to agree upon norms, and encourage upward feedback to shift culture.
Poor alignment with performance management systems: Traditional appraisal systems that emphasize ranking and unilateral evaluation conflict with coaching’s developmental focus. Align performance processes with development goals, regular check-ins, and 360-degree input to reinforce expected behaviors.
Limited senior leadership buy-in: Without sponsorship from the top, coaching initiatives can stall. Secure executive endorsement by presenting evidence, piloting in high-impact teams, and sharing success stories to build momentum.
Overemphasis on technique over relationship: Some leaders treat coaching as a set of tools rather than an ongoing relational approach. Emphasize growth mindset, trust-building, and long-term developmental commitment alongside practical techniques.
Addressing these challenges requires a coordinated approach: training and practice for leaders, systems, and processes that reward development; cultural interventions to increase psychological safety; and metrics to demonstrate return on investment. When organizations commit to these elements, the coaching leadership style becomes sustainable and drives stronger engagement, performance, and growth.
See also:
David Clutterbuck - the father of modern mentoring
Comments