What difference does a leadership coach make? 

 What difference does a leadership coach make? 

A year has passed already. I can’t quite believe how quickly that has gone!  So much has happened. 

The work I have been doing with my clients over the last year has been so varied.  It might help you decide whether leadership and/or business coaching is for you if I give an overview of some of the types of projects we’ve been working on:

Team Cohesion Leadership Development

In a very demanding, fast-paced environment, with a big team consisting mainly of part-time workers, it is a challenge to get that communication and connection flowing at optimum levels.  The actual time spent with everyone in one place is extremely rare.  (You may experience this yourself in your company.  It is a common challenge, too, with remote or hybrid working.)

The piece of work in this situation was focused on effective communication at a deep level, so that every interaction between team members has the best impact. 

It is a fundamental human driver to be heard and understood.  When this is going well, the team functions more effectively. When people are in a rush, or the work is more demanding, it is easy to take shortcuts, and this can jeopardise effective communication.  We can all be guilty of this.

Sometimes slow is fast.

To develop this aspect of the team working on this client project, we worked on understanding each individual’s preferred communication style. To achieve this, we explored DISC profiling. We delved into the four different communication styles attributed to the four behaviour types.

We carried out refresher training on how to listen effectively, too. This involved using blindfolds – and that required an element of trust. 

It is always so impactful to notice how much-sighted people rely on non-verbal clues in a communication interaction. 

We have two eyes and one mouth. That’s no coincidence. 

The method of communication used can also impact heavily on a team.  Over-reliance on emails can make a big difference.  Making sure that a team can connect as a team is key. So, building in the time and the system for this must be a priority – so set out a plan to ensure that this works for all team members. 

We also set out clearly defined behaviour statements for the core values, which then made clear what “good looks like” when the team demonstrates the behaviours aligned with the values. There is a power that comes from the clarity provided by describing what is, and what isn’t acceptable in the way a team functions. It provides a framework which leads to security. 

Promoting a Team Member to Take the Lead

One of the toughest ways to get a promotion is to step up to lead your peers.  That is possible, but comes with a set of challenges around new boundaries. This revolves around a slightly new identity and a clear understanding of the new role. 

Supporting a young leader in this project to become confident to lead a team meeting, establish new systems and processes to drive quality improvements and to lift productivity was so rewarding. 

In the first instance, it required some training to equip the newly appointed manager with the skills to lead.  Then it was a case of developing a change management programme, which crucially involved all the team in the change process. This ensures ownership and builds trust. 

This whole programme was devised specifically to meet the needs of the organisation, to fit around their demanding routines and the manager’s preferred learning style. A combination of Zoom calls, face-to-face training workshops – with some 1:1 coaching as well, created an opportunity for a good feedback loop and some experimentation. 

Importantly, the individual team members were considered – again with their particular behaviour profiles in mind, to ensure that effective communication could take place. 

Teaching a new leader to have self-awareness, first of his /her own preferred behaviour styles, then to understand the team and become aware of how to adapt to other styles, has been a key part of the changes taking place since being promoted. 

Building Systems and Processes

Other projects across the year have focused on setting out a plan for business improvement aligned to great leadership. 

The businesses I have worked with on these projects have all taken part in the Deep Dive Day, first, to ascertain:

• Where are they now?
• What are the important, desirable SMART goals for the next 3 years?
• What would that look like in a year’s time?
• What does the next quarter look like?
• What is working well currently?
• What is holding progress back? Where are the pinch points in the business?
• Where are the quick wins with the least effort for maximum gain?
• What are the priorities for the next 90 days? 

This is deep, focused work, but provides clarity.

Changing habits is the hardest part.  

In most of the work I do, the clients realise that to change their business, they usually must change something about themselves.  This can be something simple like learning something new, or something more demanding, such as building new habits.  

That’s why having a coach makes such a big difference.  I am there to encourage and support you, hold you accountable and share your successes!

Find out more by booking a free session with me.