Building a coaching habit, as difficult as it is, is an “essential leadership behavior” that should be adopted by most managers in order to:
Help their team unlock their true potential.
Make their team members more confident and therefore self-sufficient.
Provide purpose and value to their team on a daily basis.
Seven Essential Questions
Leaders and managers often admit that they don’t get or give effective coaching.
Most often, coaching is too theoretical, too boring, unpractical and not empowering enough. The greatest reason why coaching doesn’t seem to work is because it is difficult to shake off old habits.
There are seven questions that you can pose, one at a time, to coach someone in seven minutes or less. These seven questions will assist you in leading a full conversation and successfully coaching yourself and your team.
1. The Kickstart Question: “What’s on Your Mind?”
The Kickstart question breaks the ice and helps you start an opened and focused conversation.
It allows people to easily talk about the things that matter to them the most.
2. The AWE Question: “And What Else?”
The advice that leaders and managers gives is not always the best.
The AWE question restrains the need to give advice and instead helps you to stay quiet, curious and genuine.
It stops you from offering up advice in the form of a question.
3. The Focus Question: “What’s the Real Challenge Here for You?”
Leaders may want to always have the solution and be able to fix the problem without identifying it or having their team fix the problem.
The Focus questions helps you help your team identify the challenge that needs sorting out
4. The Foundation Question: “What Do You Want?”
It takes courage to ask for what you want knowing that the answer can be possible be no, that your question can be misinterpreted.
The Foundation question is a direct question that gives people the “responsibility for their own freedom” which is difficult to do.
5. The Lazy Question: “How Can I Help?”
Leaders and managers love to step in, be helpful and feel needed. However, this need to help gradually becomes the root of their frustration.
With the Lazy question, you get a clear and direct request. Then, you stop helping for no reason and you save up on time.
6. The Strategic Question: “If You’re Saying Yes to This, What Are You Saying No To?”
Leaders have to be clear about their boundaries which means they have to know how and when to say yes or no.
The Strategic question allows you to be clear about what you want, to be committed to your “yes” and definitive to your “no”.
7. The Learning Question: “What Was Most Useful for You?”
Leaders need to create learning spaces for their teams.
The Learning question is a great way for you to finish the conversation and leave people with a sense of empowerment.
Review
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier is easy and fast book to read, with great tips for managers who are looking to improve their leadership and communication skills.
The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier is written for on the clock managers who have no time for long-winded trainings.
The seven questions are direct and allow leaders to minimize their stress and to improve the interaction with their team.
Furthermore, The Coaching Habit presents several tips and scenarii to help managersspecifically identify their emotional, situational or locational triggers. With The Coaching Habit, managers are able to pick up some new skills and define different habits in less than 10 minutes.
Let me know below what you think about this book!
Favorite quote(s)
Tell less and ask more. Your advice is not as good As you think it is.
Annual Performance Reviews are often dreaded by most employees.
It is the time of the year where we often get offended, where leaders realize that they don’t really understand what is going on in their organization.
In addition, most employees believe that their performance review is inaccurate and biased. It has been shown that it doesn’t help employees improve their performance reach their greatest potential, or grow personally.
That is because, performance reviews:
Are given annually which is insufficient. Indeed, mistakes have time to fester for a whole year.
Don’t provide enough details. The annual performance review tracks a few of our skills and take snapshots of our behaviors.
Take into account only one person’s point of view.
Cross-examines someone with different sets of sills with defective criteria.
Wondering how to adequately give and receive feedback?
The ability to give and to receive feedback is essential to success and to being a great leader. It is a personal development tool and a skill that can be learnt.
What is constructive feedback?
Feedback is the general way you perceive people, is a shared appreciation of a person and of a situation.
Furthermore, feedback is constructive criticism, challenges the way you think about yourself and aims to see people improve and become their best selves. It is the desire for employees to perform well and to find satisfaction in their job.
In fact, giving feedback is similar to coaching, mentoring or teaching.
Feedback is different from micromanagement, negative criticism or emitting judgement. It can be wrong but it is unfortunately necessary for our growth.
Benefits of the feedback process
We perpetually need evaluation to assess our current situation, our ego and our work performance.
The feedback process, if done the right way, will:
However, giving or receiving feedback is difficult: it relies on false assumptions, it consumes time and energy, is often met with avoidance or with resistance.
Nevertheless, being closed off from feedback unequivocally leads to conflicts, to setbacks, to communication issues, to an inability to find a solution.
How to receive feedback?
Receiving feedback as a leader will set the example and encourage people to listen to what you have to say.
Receiving feedback doesn’t mean automatically acting on the advice or immediately starting the changing process. It means that you must:
Understand that there is always room for improvement.
Be open to feedback in general and therefore to understanding someone’s perception of you.
Listen to what people you trust are saying about you and give the thoughts some consideration.
Understand that you have the option to choose to apply the feedback.
Identify your triggers and fortify your emotional intelligence. You must therefore be willing to ask the right questions, to objectively talk about issues regarding you and to separate the person giving you feedback from the actual message.
Learn from your mistakes and give yourself time to apply what you have learnt.
How to give feedback?
Leaders who are able to effectively receive feedback are able to give them as well, must exhibit exemplary behavior. To give effective feedback:
Find out why you are implementing the feedback process.
Specifically identify the issues you need to deal with, the reasons and the solutions for them.
Understand that everybody processes information differently, has their personal systems of belief and their own truths. This makes the interpretation of feedback difficult.
Before starting the process, collect enough information to form an accurate opinion. Prepare examples to back up your claims. Do not assume things about people and do not classify them.
Don’t project, force people to change, force people to be something that they are not or treat them like a project that needs to be fixed.
Mind your intent and be genuine in your delivery. Inauthentic feedback breeds distrust and generates negative emotional responses.
Be empathetic. Think about what you are going to say and do before meeting with the person. Show appreciation, choose your words and timing carefully.
Discuss people’s work performance but not their personality nor core values.
Focus on people’s strengths rather than their weaknesses.
Avoid definite terms such as “never”, “always”, “must”, “should”, and make “I’ statements.
Encourage positive behavior. Work is not always fair and not everyone plays by the same rules.
Acknowledge that there are consequences to every action.
Give frequent feedback outside the annual performance review, in private, as soon as possible.
Last Word Of Advice!
Human beings are very sensitive and most people are not confrontational. So, treat people like you would like to be treated. Don’t seek to offend or to blame, and don’t talk down to them.
Hope that I’ve helped you get it together on your way to leadership!
Don’t forget to like, share and leave a comment below.
Leadership style refers to the way that the leader interacts with his or her subordinates, influences their behavior, motivates them, makes decisions for them and for the organization. A specific leadership style can deeply influence the quality of work, the commitment, the work satisfaction of both leader and subordinates.
Throughout their career, to be successful, leaders need to continually assess and improve their leadership style, identify its strengths and weaknesses, adapt it to their environment, their organization and to their followers, and even combine them into one suitable and adaptable leadership style.
For leaders to adapt their leadership style to the context, they must get to know themselves and be authentic to their values and beliefs beforehand, get to understand their team members working style and expectations from a leader, get to acknowledge the company culture.
Wondering what leadership styles you have developed across the years or would like to acquire and which one is suitable to your work environment?
In order to determine the best leadership style, the leaders have to contextualize, consider the situations and the people that they face on a daily basis.
There are many leadership styles that are common to most workplaces, that most leaders identify with the most, that are more or less efficient depending on their personal background, their employees personalities and background, and on the organization culture. These leadership styles are to possibly be combined into one and modulated to different situations.
Democratic or Participative leadership
Democratic or participative leaders listen to their followers and consider their opinions, are generally high performers and high achievers. Even though they have the final say, they gather information from their employees before making a decision.
Democratic leaders influence their employees by:
including them in the decision-making process,
informing them about the company’s strategies and decisions,
sharing adequate responsibilities with them,
instilling trust, cooperation, values, synergy in their employees,
allowing them to set their own goals,
enabling them to improve their skills and knowledge,
promoting, recognizing and encouraging accomplishments.
Appropriate context
The democratic leadership style is appropriate when the leader:
is directing a small team,
has highly skilled and experienced employees,
desires to be transparent, keep employees informed and involved in the decision-making process,
wants to build up his or her employees self-worth and job satisfaction,
is implementing changes in work processes, job roles and organizational structures,
resolves conflicts that necessitate the employees input
The democratic leadership style is ineffective when:
gathering employees input requires time that is lacking,
gathering employees input is not cost-effective
Visionary or inspirational leadership
Visionary leaders share their dreams and purpose with their employees, possess an ability to inspire people, and develop drive and purpose.
Visionary leaders influence their employees by:
stating, defining, creating and sharing a vision of the organization with them,
acting on that vision,
being decisive,
winning them over.
Appropriate context
The visionary leadership style is appropriate in innovative and complex situations.
Coaching leadership
Coaching leaders align their employees’ aspirations with the organization goals and values.
Coaching leaders influence their employees by:
delegating challenging assignments,
demonstrating faith that demands justification,
teaching them how to manage their time and solve problems accurately,
giving them some authority and independence over their work,
promoting transparency and authenticity,
instilling high levels of loyalty.
Appropriate context
The coaching leadership style is appropriate when :
employees need to build strong long-term competencies and are willing to learn from their experiences,
employees are responsible,
employees lack motivation or faith in the project,
employees want to improve on their weaknesses and commit to the process,
a toxic workplace need a turn around.
The coaching leadership style is inefficient when:
employees resist change,
the leader lacks expertise in the field,
Affiliative leadership
Affiliative leaders bring themselves and their employees into association and create a sense of belonging. Affiliative leaders help in solving conflicts and in building teams up.
Affiliative leaders influence their employees by:
welcoming and valuing them,
providing frequent positive feedback,
healing rifts between coworkers and curing toxicity,
Appropriate context
The affiliative leadership style is appropriate when:
employees need reassurance,
the organization is facing stressful and volatile situations,
morale and harmony are low,
the organization is in reconstruction.
The affiliative leadership style is inefficient when:
employees are complacent in their work performance,
needing to predict the rise of conflicts and problems.
Pacesetting or Task-Oriented Leadership
Pacesetting leaders are task-oriented and directive, plan and execute assignments, make followers meet deadlines, accomplish challenging projects and reach goals, are concerned with the general effectiveness of their team. They are by the book and enforces the rules and regulations of the company.
Pacesetting leaders influence their team by:
defining set outcomes and means to achieve these goals,
using conditional reinforcement,
providing rewards on performance tasks,
differentiating employees in regards to their contributions to the team,
showing additional support for employees that achieve set goals
relying on deadlines, structured tasks, definite standards for performance and procedures,
making sure that their team is effective and productive enforce standardized procedures,
researching employee performance and behavior rather than employee satisfaction.
Appropriate context
Pacesetting Leadership style is most appropriate when the leader has to:
repetitively perform routine tasks,
reinforce procedures and policies,
mobilize an already motivated and skilled team,
deliver results quickly.
Pacesetting leadership style is ineffective when:
employees have ingrained certain work habits and refuse to break them,
employees are no longer motivated,
employees are burnt out,
employees don’t go the extra mile to meet the expectations.
Commanding or Authoritarian leadership
Commanding leaders create a fearful environment to instill respect and get quick results from followers, rely on threats and punishments as incentives, lack trust in their employees and make decisions without employees input and without giving any explanation. Commanding leaders tend to retain power and demand immediate compliance.
Commanding leaders influence their employees by:
disallowing any input, power and decision-making responsibilities to their employees,
wanting complete and blind obedience from their employees
using punishments and rewards as incentives,
Appropriate context
The commanding leadership style is appropriate when:
employees are inexperienced or lack training in a field,
employees are not receptive to other leadership styles and there is no other way,
time is lacking to make a decision,
employees challenge their authority,
the organization is facing a crisis.
The commanding leadership style is ineffective when:
employees do not respond to threats anymore,
employees are disengaged, unmotivated, fearful or resentful,
the rate of employees quitting is high.
Relationship building or Bridging Leadership
Relationship building leaders are generally supportive and accepting of subordinates, use communication skills to create synergy and motivation among their subordinates, foster a climate of trust, transparency and confidence, promote collaboration and inclusion.
Relationship building leaders influence their team by:
using unconditional reinforcements,
recognizing the worth of their employees,
building the self-esteem of their employees,
building quality relationships with their employees,
assessing how their decisions will impact their employees,
being concerned about the welfare and satisfaction on the job of their employees.
Appropriate context
The relationship building leadership is appropriate when:
the leader needs a collective response from their employees,
team cohesion has previously been fractured.
Laissez-Faire or Hands-Off Leadership
The laissez-faire or hands-off leader gives his employees as much as freedom, authority and power as possible. Little or no directions is given to their subordinates that are able to determine their goals, plan and execute their tasks unsupervised.
The laissez-faire leader does not manage his or her subordinates nor use his or her influence. The laissez-faire leader interfere the least possible with employees savoir-faire and jobs to increase employees pride and motivation.
Appropriate context
The laissez-faire leadership style is appropriate when the leader has:
experts or consultants on his or her team,
highly skilled, experienced, educated employees, trustworthy, prideful and driven people in his or her organization,
employees are well-educated and experienced, are good decision makers, feel in control,
need freedom to thrive on their job and to love their job,
plans to expand the business and to delegate leadership responsibilities to other employees,
employees who are in remote locations or who don’t require a lot of face to face time.
The laissez-faire leadership style is ineffective when:
employees are worried about making mistakes,
employees don’t have good communication skills,
the leader’s absence, lack of feedback, lack of validation and lack of recognition makes their subordinates feel insecure,
the leader doesn’t understand his or her responsibilities and rely on his or her subordinates to pull all the weight.
Charismatic Leadership
Charismatic leaders influence through their personality, share vision, captivate and persuade an audience, are self-confident, eloquent, have high energy and are emotionally intelligent. Charismatic leaders use their charisma to achieve their own goals and ambitions.
Appropriate context
The charismatic leadership style is appropriate when:
the leader has to inspire and raise morale,
the leader is involved on short-term projects or projects that are lacking energy and motivation.
the organization needs to promote its brand and expand in the marketplace.
The charismatic leadership style is inefficient when:
the leader believes too deeply in himself or herself and feels invincible,
the project is chaotic and needs immediate guidance and direction.
Analytic Leadership
Analytic leaders analyze figures, hard data to solve problems, to make better decisions, to increase in productivity. Analytic leaders are also good at controlling their emotions.
Analytic leaders influence their employees by:
requiring hard data from them to closely follow the execution process,
valuing accuracy and logic,
dismissing feelings and opinions of their employees.
Appropriate context
The analytical leadership style is appropriate when the organization needs facts and data to advance and make a decision.
The analytical leadership style is inefficient when:
there is too much emotional distant between the leader and the subordinates,
the organization is facing a stressful situations and there is no time for over analysis.
Reflective Leadership
Reflective leaders are introspective and often quiet or reserved, trust their insights and intuition, are emotionally intelligent, are self-aware, promote self-awareness, reflect on the impacts of decisions before taking them, and seek opportunity in failure. Reflective leaders decode observations about their organization and coworkers and excel in analyzing the behavior, body language, tone of voice of themselves and others.
Reflective leaders influence their subordinates by:
understanding their observations about their organization and coworkers,
understanding the reasons for a flow of events and connecting the dots,
understanding their employees, their way of thinking, their preferences, their motivations, capabilities, strengths, weaknesses and blindspots in order to achieve a specific goal,
being flexible in their responses, being open and sharing their thoughts and conclusions with your employees,
actively listening to their employees and confronting their ideas or assumptions,
setting goals, giving feedback, effectively distinguishing obstacles and picking out effective problem-solving approaches.
Appropriate context
The reflective leadership styles is appropriate when:
the workplace climate is conflictual and volatile,
change is needed in the organization,
the leader’s position is unstable.
Corrective Leadership
Corrective leaders identify the past mistakes of the organization, find solutions and apply corrective actions to set it back on an ideal track, facilitate collaboration and synergy with their team.
Corrective leaders influence their subordinates by:
setting clear goals and timelines,
communicating effectively to identify the root of the problem,
focusing their employees attention on the goals to correct the mistakes,
monitoring step by step the implementation of the solution,
implicating their employees in the planning process,
avoiding experimenting with new ideas and untested solutions,
keeping reports on the mistakes and the change process.
Appropriate context
The corrective leadership style is appropriate when:
the organization is in a state of emergency and is deteriorating,
impactful mistakes have been made by employees,
organizational procedures have not been followed.
The corrective leadership style is inefficient when:
Change leaders embrace innovation, system alterations, problem solving. Change leaders are determined, persistent, resistant and eager to make change happen.
Change leaders influence their subordinates by:
explaining that change is a necessary good,
sharing the visions of the change process results,
removing their employees and organization out of the comfort zone,
encouraging their employees to implement the change process and to adapt to the new versions and norms of the organization,
sustaining the change process and incorporating it in the company’s culture,
Appropriate context
The change leadership style is appropriate to most types of situations and organizations that have plateaued because change is nowadays detrimental to any organization’s success.
Multicultural or Cultural Intelligence Leadership
Multicultural leaders enjoy ambiguous situations and see problems as opportunities, gain energy and motivation through cross-cultural interactions, encourage innovation by taking into account their subordinates multicultural differences, advocate for understanding and mutual respect, render their subordinates effective.
Multicultural leaders influence their subordinates by:
understanding, learning and harmonizing with the cultural backgrounds of their employees,
adapting to diverse cultures and encouraging their employees to do the same,
being open-minded and accepting of different cultures,
being accountable for their actions around different cultures.
Appropriate context
The multicultural leadership style is appropriate for multicultural or multinational corporations.
Servant Leadership
Servant leaders lead by example and choose to serve their subordinates highest needs first and lead afterwards.
Servant leaders influence their team by:
giving all the credit to their employees,
staying out of the spotlight,
involving their employees in the decision-making process.
Appropriate context
The servant leadership style is appropriate when:
the leader is head of an association or community,
employees pull their weight on their own.
The servant leadership styles is uncommon and inefficient in:
corporate and organizations where leader has to make quick decisions,
in competitive situations.
Transactional Leadership
Transactional leaders gain compliance by offering rewards for good performance and severe punishments for lack of performance or of compliance.
Transactional leaders influence their employees by:
working by the book,
encouraging the status quo,
compensating them for achieving goals and enforcing the company rules,
clarifying everyone’s role and responsibility.
Appropriate context
The transactional leadership styles is common in large administrative organizations, in urgent and conflictual situations.
Transformational Leadership
Transformation Leaders share visions and goals with their subordinates, create intense emotions in them, align them with core values, unify them with a purpose and involve them in the decision process, encourage change in others and themselves. Transformational leaders wholeheartedly embrace change, challenge the status quo and invest in the development of their employees.
Transformational leaders influence their employees by:
openly communicating a vision with them,
not using positional authority to convince,
encouraging them to view problems with a different perspective,
supporting and stimulating their innovative ideas,
challenging the status quo,
expecting the best of them and strengthening their optimism and enthusiasm,
Appropriate context
The transformational leadership style is appropriate when:
the organization is dormant and require change,
employees require optimism and enthusiasm,
employees are detail oriented.
In conclusion
There are several leadership styles to choose from or that you have already identified with. No leadership style is the absolute best but is relative to a given situation.
Hope that I’ve helped you get it together on your way to leadership!
Don’t forget to like, share and leave a comment below.
Wondering what leadership you have developed across the years or would like to acquire? Find below the different existing styles of leadership.
Leadership style refers to the behavior of a leader and to the manner he or she engages and motivates their followers.
There are six main styles of leadership:
Democratic leadership. You listen to followers and consider their opinions.
Visionary leadership. Your followers share the same dreams and purpose.
Coaching leadership. You align follower’s aspirations with the organization goals.
Affiliative leadership. Brings you and your followers into association. And creates a sense of belonging.
Pacesetting leadership. You are task-oriented, plan and execute assignments, make followers meet deadlines, accomplish challenging projects and reach goals.
Commanding leadership. You create a fearful environment to instill respect and get quick results from followers.
There are many leadership styles that are common to most workplaces, that most leaders identify with the most, that are more or less efficient depending on their personal background, their employees personalities and background, and on the organization culture. These leadership styles are to possibly be combined into one and modulated to different situations.