Outstanding leaders don’t just give orders or manage performance; they coach people to think, grow and take ownership.
Leadership has changed, but too many leaders are still operating from an old playbook, or as I say like ‘it’s 1999’. They believe their job is to have all the answers, fix everyone’s problems, make the decisions and keep everything moving.
And of course, sometimes that is exactly what leadership requires.
But if that becomes your default, you don’t build capability. You build dependency.
Today, people don’t want to be micromanaged. They want clarity, support and room to think. They want leaders who don’t just direct the work, but help them grow through the work.
That is where coaching comes in.
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch
Most managers were promoted because they were good at solving problems. But leading is different from doing. At some point, the shift has to move from:
“I know the answer”
to
“How can I help you find a better one?”
And that shift does not happen automatically. Coaching is a leadership skill. It takes practice. It takes unlearning old stuff. And it takes the discipline not to jump in too quickly. There is still a place for direction. But great leaders know when to manage, when to mentor and when to coach.
When leaders stop rescuing, teams start growing
A few years ago, I was brought in to coach a senior leader in a fast-growing technology business. Let’s call her Sarah. She was smart, capable and deeply committed, but her team had become far too dependent on her. Every decision, escalation and client issue landed on her desk, and she was exhausted from constantly firefighting.
The shift we worked on was simple, but not easy: stop solving every problem in the moment and start coaching her team to think it through. Instead of saying, “Here’s what I would do,” she began asking, “What options have you considered?” and “What do you think is the best next step?” At first, her team hesitated. But over time, they became more confident, more proactive and more accountable. Sarah didn’t just create more space for herself; she built a stronger team.
Coaching is not just a nice idea
According to Gallup, leaders and organisations who take a coaching approach can see a 21% increase in employee engagement, along with stronger retention. It makes so much sense: when people feel listened to, trusted and developed, they are far more likely to take ownership, contribute ideas and stay connected to the work. So, coaching is not a soft optional leadership extra; it directly impacts performance, commitment and culture.
Five coaching habits leaders can start practising
1. Ask more, tell less
This is often the hardest shift for leaders because giving advice feels useful. But if you are always the one with the answer, your team never builds the muscle to think it through for themselves. Coaching leaders create space before they jump in.
Try asking:
“What options have you already considered?”
“What do you think would be the best next step?”
2. Listen with curiosity
Coaching is not waiting for your turn to speak. It is listening to understand what the person is really thinking, where they are stuck and what they might not be seeing yet. The quality of your listening often determines the quality of their insight.
Try asking:
“What feels most challenging about this?”
“What else might be going on here?”
3. Encourage ownership
A coaching leader does not rescue people from every difficult decision. They support, guide and challenge, but they also leave the ownership where it belongs. That is how people become more confident and accountable.
Try asking:
“What do you need to take ownership of here?”
“What support would help you move this forward?”
4. Give feedback that builds learning
Feedback should not just correct behaviour; it should help people learn. A coaching approach turns feedback into a conversation, not a verdict. Instead of focusing only on what went wrong, help people reflect on what they noticed, learned and would do differently next time.
Try asking:
“What did you learn from this?”
“What would you do differently next time?”
5. Keep developing your coaching skill
Coaching is not just a nice conversation. It is a skill, and like any leadership skill, it improves with practice. The more leaders learn how to ask better questions, listen more deeply and hold back from fixing too quickly, the stronger their people become.
Try asking yourself:
“Am I helping this person think, or am I just giving them my answer?”
“Where could I practise coaching rather than solving this week?”
If you’re interested in developing stronger internal coaching skills across your leadership team, get in touch and let’s explore how a practical workshop or leadership coaching program could support your leaders. jessica@intactteams.com