GREAT LEADERS COACH, NOT JUST GIVE ADVICE
The legacy he created will outlive him—and will outlive all of us. An unprecedented 10 national championships, an unbelievable 88-game winning streak and countless other milestones with his teams. Who was this man?
John Wooden, known more affectionately as “Coach!” John Wooden was the epitome of what a coach should be and can be.
All leaders want to see their team members thrive, but it can be tricky to maintain a balance between guiding and handholding.
While some leaders might think the best way to lead is to constantly offer their Team “advice,” recent research suggests that coaching them, or helping them maximize their own performance potential, is a more effective leadership style.
Unfortunately, the percentage of leaders who use coaching as a leadership strategy is not as high as it should be. In fact, a recent study published in the Harvard Business Review shows that the majority of leaders act as consultants, rather than coaches. In other words, they lead their teams by micromanaging and prescribing advice — not by helping them learn to come up with their own solutions.
Although leaders who constantly give advice might mean well, the best ones are those who help their team members set actionable goals, give constructive feedback, and practice compassionate directness. Here are three simple steps to help you avoid leadership pitfalls and become a better, more effective leader.
Start each of your meetings by telling everyone what the goal is.
There's nothing worse than ending a meeting with the feeling that you didn't accomplish what you set out to do. An easy remedy for this is to begin each meeting by setting an actionable goal for your team and allowing them to work towards that goal as a unit. By immediately and clearly stating the meeting's purpose, leaders are able to foster a sense of team unity around achieving the shared goal.
Before your next one-on-one, pause to reflect before giving feedback.
Considering that your team member’s point of view is a crucial step in the feedback process but reflecting on your current state of mind is just as important. If you're feeling stressed, rushed, or burned out, you're more likely to deliver feedback without compassion or empathy — even if that's unintentional. In your next meeting, before you offer any feedback, try pausing and taking stock of your own emotional well-being before offering any constructive feedback. As a leader, this is your opportunity to point your team in the right direction and allow them to find their own paths towards success.
Each time you have constructive feedback, share it with compassion.
Above all, remember to always practice compassionate directness as a key to being an effective leader and strengthening your relationship with the team. Compassionate directness — or empowering team members to speak up, give feedback, disagree, and surface problems in real time, rather than waiting for structured reviews — allows teams to foster a healthier, more trusting organizational culture. Even when delivering criticism, always remember to be straightforward, kind, and understanding. This lets the team know that you're not trying to put them down, but rather giving them the feedback they need to grow as individuals. Giving compassionately direct feedback is how you course-correct and come up with the best ideas possible.