Mentor. Coach. Leader.

Is the leader a mentor ? A coach ?

Well, the leader needs to be able to do both, to the right people at the right time. I discuss this in my upcoming book on leadership. I have shared a few extracts below.

“...A great leader will set the intent of the delivery. What does a successful end game look like ? What are the key stepping stones towards that success. But the leader will then become a coach in the purist sense of the word and put it on the team to develop a more detailed strategy of how the success will be realised. The leader, through active questioning and listening, will challenge the strategy, but ultimately be in a position to (merely) approve the proposal, leaving accountability and responsibility with the team to deliver their proposal. The questioning, reviewing and learning will be a constant process for the team to go through. But not from a position of mistrust....The leader is creating a learning environment where it is safe to discuss the strategies and methods of delivery and make changes, as and when the team see fit...

Coupled with the leader coaching the team, mentoring needs to be used to supplement learning, development and performance. I would propose that at various stages of any programme delivery, the leader will need to be constantly nurturing their team through regular mentoring as well as providing coaching to members or groups within the team as and when specific issues or problems (opportunities ?) present themselves. The key is that the leader develops a culture of learning and development and that this is constantly and consistently monitored and administered throughout the entire deliverable or wider corporate organisation. Mentoring on a more personal level will assist in building and maintaining relationships which, in itself, is a plus point. But if these relationships offer individuals an insight into potential solutions, then this can only be seen as a positive for the wider delivery team.

This approach....is a strong building block in the concept of psychological safety an area that is receiving greater focus in recent years. Psychological safety will offer teams a safety net whereby asking questions and offering advice and support is not only allowed, but, in fact it is an absolute requirement of high performing teams. The leader needs to encourage and nurture such an environment to improve the chances of a successful delivery.

And the numbers do paint a pretty picture to the canvas of this concept. Organisations that have a coaching culture can expect to realise 60% higher revenue growth than their peers without such a process (1. www.linkedin.com 2023).

Reference

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/roadmap-intergate-coaching-organisational-success/ (2023) A roadmap to Integrate Coaching into Organisational Success..”