Research Paper: Coaching as a Leadership Style: Unleashing the Workforce Talent

Situational Leadership –Using the right style at right place

The Pioneers of the situational theory are Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey. As per this theory the right style needs to be deployed at the right time. Leaders are essentially people who know their goals and have the power to influence the thoughts and actions of others to garner their support and cooperation to achieve these goals.

Synergies of Leadership and Coaching

Thus we see that Leadership is a very dynamic space in today’s complex environment. Unless the leader associates with the followers he or she is lost in pursuit of goal accomplishments. To make the leadership journey smooth the basic competency that every leader needs to inculcate is that of a coach. In any of the Leadership styles if the individual is operating with this competency of a coach, the results can be path breaking.

In the knowledge era leaders are constantly working with experts, specialists and consultants. Thus the approach to getting the best of the human capital is a mission of every leadership journey. In business, leadership is welded to performance. Performance comes through unleashing of the every individual potential.

With the demographic and intellectual changes in the knowledge capital of organizations, the increased need to explore different management or leadership styles are evolving.

According to works of William B Cole , the major qualities, that distinguished the great from the very good are

1. They cared deeply about people.
2. They had incredibly high personal standards and ambitions.
3. They had a high level of self-knowledge.

Research Paper International Coaching Academy

Critical 15 attributes of top-notch coaches are following:

1. Exquisite self-awareness.
2. High emotional intelligence.
3. Broad vision with focus on important details.
4. Nuanced, crisp, superb communication.
5. Highest regard, caring and respect for clients.
6. Creative, innovative learner and developer of custom coaching methodologies.
7. Perceptive, intuitive, curious and inquiring.
8. Quick study with capacity for deep and wide learning.
9. Student of coaching and other disciplines that support helping others.
10. Sincere interest in clients and desire to help.
11. Continuous learner of themselves and their experiences.
12. See coaching as a two way interchange of energies and learning.
13. Humble, open, nurturing and grateful to the world.
14. View coaching as a calling, an art and a discipline.
15. Walking the talk and modeling a good life for their clients.

Expert coaches work on themselves unceasingly. They are open to new ideas and philosophies. This brings us to coaching as a lifestyle for every leader. As every leader also needs, the above attributes to make things happen in the environment. Coaching skills couples with the ability for situational leadership abilities can give great results and ROI to the business.