Coaching and Its Importance in Modern Leadership

"Everyone needs a coach," said Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world, to Forbes. Could this have been the secret for his success in leading the largest software company ever? And could this be the key differentiator that every leader needs to become successful?

Over the past years, coaching as necessary knowledge or a tool for self-development has become a popular topic. It is now widely said that this knowledge can help many people explore and develop the best methods to perform their duties. Leadership has undoubtedly been one of the areas that has been linked to coaching and questions have increased over the years about what coaching can provide to leaders. Is it important enough to be considered a skill that sets leaders apart? To delve deeper into this, we need to take a closer look at the meaning of coaching and leadership, and the effectiveness of coaching within organizations.

What is coaching? There is no one definition for it as it involves several concepts, each differing from the other according to the entity providing this service. Moreover, coaching is a self-development tool that branches out into different types of coaching, each with a different definition according to the field of specialization. However, in our context, we will focus on a comprehensive definition approved by the top international official entity in this field, the International Coaching Federation, which defines coaching as a creative dialogue that relies on asking constructive questions. It is a judgment- and instruction-free process that aims first and foremost to help the beneficiary delve deeper to identify his potential and transform it into effective drivers that help him realize his personal and professional goals.

What is leadership? The concept of leadership is also understood differently by different people. However, in this context, we will define leadership as the ability to motivate and capture the interest of a group of people, in addition to unlocking their potential to achieve their goals with enthusiasm, earning their loyalty, and creating a sense of cooperation between them in order to realize their desired goals.

Accordingly, we can conclude that leadership coaching aims at delivering a new model of leadership by actively listening to employees, asking important questions that provoke employees to reflect positively and drive them to find the most effective solutions to deal successfully with situations they face within the organization.  Looking at the principles of coaching according to the International Coaching Federation's standards, we can summarize these principles in the following points: 1. In coaching sessions, you do not make judgements, or instruct. You create a safe environment where the other party can feel comfortable to discuss ideas without fear.

2. Do not push a certain idea or draw boundaries that cannot be crossed. On the contrary, you should allow the other party to suggest their own ideas. Furthermore, you should allow them to expand on the available solutions and find alternative solutions and creative options that they can deduce to reach the desired goal. By using these points as a leader, you will be able to lead your organization using a leadership methodology that is not focused on issuing top-down orders and expecting blind obedience, but rather on engaging with all individuals to succeed. Nowadays, we see many lists and topics on skills that leaders must have. What would happen if we were to add an important skill: the art of asking constructive questions, (which coaching depends on), to the skills required for leaders? By mastering this skill, leaders become more able to communicate effectively with those around them. They have a positive influence, and become role models through their behaviors and actions. This influence relies on the art of asking effective questions which allow leaders to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each individual in the group, and consequently place each employee in the right place. Leaders also become able to resolve the crises that their teams face with skill and shrewdness. By asking the right questions, they acquire more information. This information, gathered by asking the right questions, helps leaders devise more constructive questions that motivate employees to think and inspire them to discover creative solutions for their current and future problems in their business environment. For example, many sources mention the importance of constructive questions and their role in helping leaders successfully manage crises that their teams face in the workplace and overcome them with minimal damage. In contrast, there are examples of various crises that had a negative impact on humanity because no one asked the right questions at the right time. An example of this is the Titanic, the great ship that sank in 1912, which demonstrates what could happen when we fail to ask questions at the right time. Reading accounts of the sinking of this massive ship provokes many questions. Readers feel an urge to ask the captains of the ship to find out if something would have happened or other events would have unfolded if they had analyzed and asked enough questions before sailing. There are texts issued by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation that summarize international books in minutes, and in the summary of the book "Leading With Questions" by Michael Marquardt, the author stresses the importance of effective questions for leaders and how they impact their own and the team's productivity. He uses the sinking of the Titanic as an example of effective questions. After the ship sank in the ocean, many questions arose about the nature of this incident: Was it caused by failure or negligence to ask questions?

The author says that investigations proved that many of the ship’s officials were concerned about the possibility of some unfortunate consequences. However, they never bothered to ask any questions. The captains of the ship had received many reports of icebergs on their path, but they never cared, "asked", or requested any coordinates. What if someone had been brave and curious enough to ask for more information about the giant icebergs that awaited them? Oftentimes, asking one question can save thousands of lives.

The adoption of coaching as a leadership methodology can strengthen the concept of leadership which cares for individuals and social relationships, and can encourage employees to set bigger future aspirations. Therefore, if you are a leader or someone interested in leadership, these two methods will surely help you:

First: You can start investing in the current leadership team in your organization by enrolling its members in accredited programs specialized in the training of leadership coaches to qualify them to adopt coaching as a leadership methodology within the organization.

Second: You can engage an accredited coaching service provider to provide the necessary tools to manage leadership sessions within your organization through the coaching methodology of the International Coaching Federation. For example,a leading center in the KSA in the field of coaching is Octarium, which is led by coach Abdullah Salman Alyahya. Octarium was the first Saudi center accredited by the International Coaching Federation in 2015. It offers various coaching services aimed at developing the human and creating positive change for people both inward and outward.

Lastly, in this fast-paced, ever-changing and ever-evolving world of business and leadership, which is full of leaders showering those around them with so many questions, it is important to focus on the type of questions asked and to prepare them well; a skill that leaders can master if they adopt coaching as a leadership methodology. By mastering the skill of asking questions, leaders can change the way they listen to those around them, which will create a safe and encouraging environment fueled by creativity under a distinguished leadership that believes in the importance of coaching as a leadership style. Eventually, this will help leaders achieve the real concept of leadership by paying attention to people, relationships, and the future of the business.

References: 

1. coach federation
2. alkyad balasel
3. What Employees Really Want At Work