Adopting a Coaching Leadership Style
- Fern Beauchamp
- Mar 23
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 25
Over the course of my career, I’ve come across all kinds of leaders — from the truly inspiring to the ones who make you quietly vow to do things differently.
But before we give our former bosses too much of a bad rap, here’s a surprising fact: according to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), 82% of UK managers step into their roles without any formal leadership or management training.
No wonder we inherit so many myths about what leadership should look like — like the belief that leaders must have all the answers.
The truth? The most effective leaders know how to ask the right questions instead.
Research from the HCI and ICF (2023) shows a 72% correlation between coaching and higher employee engagement.
That’s why adopting a coaching leadership style isn't just a nice-to-have — it’s one of the most practical ways to build more self-aware, inclusive, and motivated teams.
Contents
What Is a Coaching Leadership Style?
Coaching isn’t about telling...it’s about UNLOCKING
Coaching leadership is a style that focuses on developing individuals' skills, abilities, and potential.
Rather than simply directing or managing, coaching leaders work alongside their team members to help them grow professionally and personally. Their priority is to help their team members reach their full potential. This approach emphasises asking questions, active listening, and providing constructive feedback to guide employees towards their goals.
A leader who adopts a coaching style typically:
Actively listens to others: This means paying full (full, full, full) attention to team members, seeking to understand their perspectives, ideas and challenges.
Asks powerful questions: Using open-ended questions to stimulate thinking and problem-solving skills.
Encourages self-reflection and problem-solving: Promoting self-awareness and learning from experiences.
Provides regular, constructive feedback: Offering specific, actionable feedback that helps individuals grow and improve.
Strength spot: Helping team members identify and leverage their strengths.
Supports employees in goal setting: Working with team members to establish and achieve meaningful goals.
Creates a safe environment for experimentation and learning.
Benefits of Coaching Leadership
What's so great about adopting a coaching leadership approach?
A coaching leadership style can create numerous benefits for leaders, their teams and, ultimately, the entire organisation:
For Leaders
Reduced burnout: Leaders who try to solve everything themselves risk burning out. Coaching style leaders empower others and themselves. Enhanced leadership skills: Coaching others improves communication, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
Better team performance: As team members grow and develop, overall performance improves, reflecting positively on the leader.
Increased job satisfaction: Oh, it can feel good! Leaders often find greater fulfilment in developing others than in a command-and-control leadership style.
For Team Members (and the Organisation)
Enhanced performance: By focusing on individual development, coaching leaders can help team members improve their skills and performance. This often leads to increased productivity and better overall results for the organisation.
Improved employee engagement: Coaching leadership empowers employees. When team members feel supported in their growth, they're more likely to be engaged and committed to their work. In fact, a recent study suggests that “coaching leadership has a direct and significant positive impact on employee engagement” (Tang et al., 2024, p.10).
Stronger relationships: The one-on-one nature of coaching helps build trust and understanding between leaders and their direct reports. This can lead to improved communication and collaboration across the organisation.
Increased innovation: By encouraging experimentation and learning from failures, coaching leaders create an environment where innovation can thrive. Team members feel more comfortable taking calculated risks and proposing new ideas.
Boosted confidence and skill development: Coaching helps individuals acquire new skills and refine existing ones. And as team members overcome challenges and achieve goals, their self-confidence grows.
Better retention: Employees who feel supported in their professional development are more likely to stay with their organisation. This can lead to reduced turnover and associated costs.
How To Adopt a Coaching Leadership Style
Five steps leaders can take:
Develop active listening skills
Practice giving your full attention to team members, asking clarifying questions, and truly understanding their perspectives. 👀 See: A Leader's Handbook to Active Listening
Ask powerful questions
Instead of providing immediate solutions, ask thought-provoking questions that encourage self-reflection and problem-solving. 👀 See: 30 Questions Great Leaders Ask Their Teams
Provide regular feedback
Offer specific, timely, and constructive feedback to help team members grow and improve. 👀 See: A Leaders Guide to Giving and Receiving Effective Feedback
Support goal setting
Work with team members to establish meaningful, achievable goals that align with both individual and organisational objectives.
Create learning opportunities
Encourage experimentation and view failures as learning experiences rather than setbacks.
Leadership Group Coaching: A Powerful Tool
Complementary to these steps, leadership group coaching can be an effective way to develop coaching skills among leaders. This approach brings together small groups of leaders to learn and practice coaching techniques under the guidance of a professional coach.
Benefits of leadership group coaching include:
Peer learning and support
Diverse perspectives and experiences
Cost-effective development for multiple leaders
A consistent coaching approach across the organisation
Inclusive Leadership and Coaching
An important aspect of effective coaching leadership is inclusivity. The American Psychological Society defines inclusion as:
“an environment that offers affirmation, celebration, and appreciation of different approaches, styles, perspectives, and experiences, thus allowing all individuals to bring in their whole selves (and all their identities) and to demonstrate their strengths and capacity.”
In the context of leadership, inclusive leaders create environments where all team members feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and ideas. First introduced as a concept in 2006, leadership inclusiveness was defined as “words and deeds by a leader or leaders that indicate an invitation and appreciation for others' contributions” (Nembhard & Edmondson, 2006, p.947).
The concept has developed over the years. A recent review of the research suggests that inclusive leadership even goes beyond fostering uniqueness and strengthening belongingness. It also shows appreciation and supports organisational efforts.
Deloitte’s research identified six signature traits of inclusive leadership, often referred to as the six Cs;
Curiosity
Cognisance
Cultural intelligence
Collaboration
Commitment
Courage
Diversity within and across an organisation's length and breadth plays a fundamental role in today's business landscape.
Coaching can also play a crucial role in developing inclusive leadership skills by:
Increasing self-awareness of biases and blind spots
Improving empathy and understanding of diverse experiences
Developing skills for creating psychologically safe environments
Encouraging leaders to seek out and value diverse perspectives
Challenges and Considerations
While coaching leadership offers numerous benefits, it's not without challenges.
It requires a time investment from busy leaders in leadership skills development and in providing space for team members to learn and develop. It can be tempting for a busy leader to dive in and solve challenges, especially under pressure to deliver solutions fast.
For coaching leadership to be effective, there needs to be organisational support and a culture that values learning and development. A coaching leadership style may face resistance if the broader culture is very hierarchical or focused on short-term results.
Summing Up
Adopting a coaching leadership style can be a powerful way for leaders to empower themselves and their teams.
By focusing on individual development, building a growth mindset, and creating an inclusive environment, coaching leaders can drive improved performance, engagement, and innovation within their organisations.
As the rate of change continues to accelerate, the ability to coach others to think for themselves, rather than being the leader who tries to have all the answers, will become an increasingly valuable skill for all leaders. By investing in coaching skills now, leaders can position themselves and their organisations for long-term success.
