10 characteristics of an impactful leader as coach

An impactful leader as a coach will inspire and guide their team members towards achieving their goals, maximising their performance and unlocking their potential.

Here are 10 qualities and approaches of an effective leader as coach:

1. Clarity and vision – they will help their team members understand their vision and will create achievable goals to inspire and motivate their team towards this.
2. Active listening – they will listen actively to their team members to understand their needs and challenges before responding.
3. Empathy – they will demonstrate that they can understand their team members’ perspectives and feelings and can put themselves in their team members’ shoes.
4. Belief in potential – they know that coaching creates sustainable change in their team members and accordingly hold a mindset that demonstrates their belief that their team member has the answer (rather than just seeing a problem to solve).
5. Demonstration of curiosity and interest – they will be keen to explore their team member’s ideas and solutions by asking open and exploratory questions before offering their ideas.
6. Flexibility – they know that every conversation will not be a coaching conversation (considering time, perceived risk, team members’ experience) and yet they know that they can use coaching skills in almost every conversation.
7. Feedback – they will provide regular and constructive feedback to their team members with the intention of improving and developing their skills.
8. Empower – they will empower their team members at the end of every conversation by agreeing clear actions and responsibilities.
9. Collaboration – they will foster a culture of collaboration and teamwork, where team members feel supported and encouraged to work together to achieve common goals.
10. Growing talent – they will encourage their team members to develop their personal and professional skills and create opportunities for them to do so.

If you are interested in developing your coaching skills with Catalyst 14, you can learn more about our coach training services here.