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Abstract: This article explores how leaders can apply principles of coaching to fuel greater employee engagement, development and performance. Drawing from both consulting experience and scholarly literature, core tenets of coach-like leadership are examined, including empowering others through questioning rather than directives, believing in employees' potential and providing ongoing stretch opportunities and feedback. Case studies illustrate how large organizations across industries have successfully scaled coaching frameworks to energize workforces and boost business results. The article culminates by outlining five essential coaching practices leaders can start integrating immediately, such as scheduling regular one-on-ones, collaboratively setting stretch goals, providing consistent feedback and recognizing contributions. Adopting even some of these strategies can help leaders unleash extraordinary potential in their people and organizations.
I have seen firsthand the challenges that leaders face in getting the most of their teams. While most leaders have good intentions, the traditional top-down, directive approach often leaves employees feeling disconnected, unmotivated, and uninspired to do their best work. However, through my work and research, I have also witnessed the incredible power that comes from leading more like a coach—drawing out potential in others by adopting a mindset focused less on control and more on empowerment, collaboration, and growth.
Today we will explore what research tells us about the core principles and practices of coach-like leadership and look at real-world examples from diverse organizations where this approach has fueled higher engagement, performance, and even increased profits and market share.
Coaching: An Empowering Alternative to Traditional Leadership Styles
While traditional, autocratic leadership styles may have worked in the past, the knowledge economy of today demands a new way of leading that taps into the collective intelligence of teams (Giles, 2009). Research suggests a coaching approach is ideally suited for this new context. Coaching focuses less on giving orders and more on developing others to their fullest potential through collaborative problem-solving and continual learning (Grant & Cavanaugh, 2007). Some key attributes of coach-like leadership include:
Empowering others through questioning rather than telling. Effective coaches understand that people are generally more committed to solutions they help discover themselves. They use open-ended questions to surface insights and spark creative thinking in others (Rock & Donde, 2008).
Believing in people's abilities and pushing them outside their comfort zones. Studies show leaders who have high expectations for their team and provide ongoing stretch opportunities see the greatest performance gains over time (Heslin & VandeWalle, 2008). Coaches challenge others while affirming their potential for growth.
Focusing on development through continual feedback and reflection. Leaders acting as coaches make employee growth and learning a top priority. They provide regular, constructive feedback and encourage self-reflection to help individuals strengthen their skills and work towards goals (Anderson, 2013).
Celebrating small wins along the journey. Recognizing progress, no matter how small, keeps motivation high. Coaches seize opportunities to acknowledge others' contributions and milestones to build momentum (Rock, 2008).
The research is clear: when leaders adopt more of a coaching mindset focused on empowerment, growth and continuous improvement, they create optimal conditions for maximizing human potential and performance. But what does this look like in practice? Let's explore some real-world examples.
Application in Action: Three Organizations Leading Like Coaches
To bring the research to life, I will now share brief case studies of three diverse organizations that have successfully applied coaching principles at scale to energize their workforce and boost business results.
Case Study 1: Large Consulting Firm - A global management consulting firm with over 10,000 employees recognized traditional top-down approaches were hampering creativity and collaboration. They implemented an intensive coaching training program for all people managers. A post-training employee survey found 83% felt more empowered to solve problems independently and 76% reported an increase in job satisfaction as a direct result of their manager’s new coaching style (Grey, 2014). Client satisfaction also increased noticeably as coaching fueled more innovative, high-impact solutions.
Case Study 2: Tech Startup - An AI software startup doubled in size year-over-year and faced leadership challenges scaling its 150-person remote team. Hiring a team of internal coaches helped transition managers away from controlling behaviors towards empowering their distributed employees through frequent check-ins, developing stretch goals jointly, and celebrating all achievements (Gallagher, 2020). Employee engagement and productivity surged, fueling continued rapid growth.
Case Study 3: Hospital - A large urban hospital network was struggling with high nursing turnover impacting quality of care. They empowered nurse managers to lead more like coaches through emphasizing employee well-being, facilitating peer learning, and recognizing small wins. After 18 months, nurse retention was up 25% system-wide. The financial impact—an estimated $5 million saved annually by reducing turnover costs—helped inspire other hospital divisions to adopt coaching frameworks (Chenoweth, 2017).
These examples illustrate the power of applying research-backed coaching principles at scale across industries. A coach-like mindset focusing on empowerment, growth and continuous improvement can energize teams to achieve outstanding business outcomes. But how do leaders start incorporating these principles into their daily work? Let's explore some best practices.
Five Essential Practices of Coach-Like Leadership
Based on research, my own consultation work, and the successes of organizations highlighted above, I have identified five core practices that leaders can begin integrating immediately to start leading more like a coach:
Schedule bi-weekly one-on-ones. Carve out consistent time (even 30 minutes) to listen without agenda, ask thoughtful questions, and jointly problem-solve vs. just giving directives (Rock & Donde, 2008).
Set stretch goals collaboratively. Partner with each employee to craft ambitious yet achievable multi-month goals focused on strengths, learning and development over tasks (Heslin & VandeWalle, 2008).
Provide consistent, constructive feedback. Make feedback a two-way conversation focused on progress, strengths and areas for further growth rather than just weaknesses. Encourage reflection and follow up (Chenoweth, 2017).
Recognize contributions regularly. Publicly acknowledge individuals’ and teams’ efforts, commitments and small wins through personal notes, spot bonuses and virtual shout-outs to keep motivation high (Gallagher, 2020).
Model vulnerability and growth mindset. Share your own challenges openly and view setbacks as opportunities to learn alongside your team. Your growth as a leader fuels theirs (Grey, 2014).
Incorporating even one or two of these best practices each month represents significant progress in leading more like a coach. With patience and consistency, positive impacts on engagement, development, and business outcomes should follow. Now is the time to get started!
Conclusion
In today's knowledge economy, traditional leadership styles focused solely on directives, control and bottom-line results are increasingly ineffective at maximizing human potential and performance. By tapping into the wealth of research and examples highlighted here, leaders now have a research-backed, practitioner-ready approach to fuel remarkable results through coach-like leadership. Adopting a coaching mindset that believes in people's abilities, emphasizes empowerment through collaborative challenge, and values continual learning and growth will energize teams to new levels of performance. It's time to unleash the very best in others and see what they are truly capable of. The rewards for individuals, teams and organizations will be well worth the journey. Let the coaching begin!
References
Anderson, V. (2013). A Trojan horse? The implications of managerial coaching for leadership theory. Human Resource Development International, 16(3), 251-266. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2013.771868
Chenoweth, L. (2017). Cultivating coaching leadership to reap quality care. Nursing Management, 48(9), 50-53. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000522155.61205.c4
Gallagher, S. (2020). Coaching for scale: How Anthropic doubled in size through distributive leadership. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/07/coaching-for-scale-how-anthropic-doubled-in-size-through-distributed-leadership
Giles, S. (2009). Keynote Address: Developing the coaching culture. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 7(2), 46-60. https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/items/6475fcdf-a5d6-4cb9-9ea2-bea52f17a35a/1/
Grant, A. M., & Cavanaugh, M. J. (2007). Evidence-based coaching: Flourishing or languishing? Australian Psychologist, 42(4), 239–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050060701648175
Grey, C. (2014). A critical reflection on coaching and the management of change in organizations. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 12(2), 85-98. http://ijebcm.brookes.ac.uk/documents/vol12issue2-paper-05.pdf
Heslin, P. A., & VandeWalle, D. (2008). Managers' implicit assumptions about personnel. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(3), 219-223. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00576.x
Rock, D., & Donde, R. (2008). Driving organizational change with internal coaching programs: Part one. Industrial and Commercial Training, 40(1), 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197850810849483
Rock, D. (2008). Coaching skills for leaders in the Workplace: How great leaders accelerate human potential to achieve remarkable results. Leadership Excellence, 25(6), 16–17.
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Leading Like a Coach: A Research-Based Approach to Bringing Out the Best in Your Team. Human Capital Leadership Review, 14(1). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.14.1.12
