Author: Oshana Dias
PCC | Alumni of Smart Quest
Leadership and coaching were once viewed as separate disciplines—one focused on direction and control, the other on development and discovery. Today, the most effective leaders understand that these approaches are not just complementary but essential for sustainable success in our complex, fast-changing world.
The Evolution of Leadership Through Coaching
When I began my coaching journey in 2020, I quickly realized that coaching principles don’t just enhance leadership—they fundamentally transform it. This transformation isn’t just theoretical; it’s evident in organizations worldwide and in personal experiences that reshape how we understand effective leadership.
One of the most powerful examples from my own career came from an unexpected source. Earlier in my career, I worked under a finance director who, looking back, was a great coach. Instead of giving me direct answers to challenges, he would guide me to find my own solutions. Then came the crucial part—he would tell me to figure out the way forward and provide support when I needed it.
This approach gave me the space to grow, learn from mistakes, and develop my own problem-solving capabilities. It was transformative because it honored both the need for results and the importance of developing people’s capacity to think and act independently.
Global Examples: When Coaching Meets Leadership
The power of coaching-informed leadership is evident in some of the world’s most successful organizations. Microsoft’s transformation under CEO Satya Nadella exemplifies this approach, with his leadership style emphasizing “curiosity, listening, and humility” alongside “growth mindset” and “empathy”. Nadella shifted Microsoft from a culture of ‘know-it-all’ to ‘learn-it-all’, demonstrating how coaching principles can revitalize even the largest organizations.
Google’s Project Oxygen research has shown improvements in employee performance, satisfaction, and turnover by focusing on fundamental coaching skills rather than traditional management approaches. These organizations prove that coaching-based leadership isn’t just about being nice—it’s about creating sustainable competitive advantage through people development.
Balancing WHY, WHAT, and HOW
. Effective leader-coaches know when to ask different types of questions:
WHY Questions explore purpose and motivation:
- “Why is this important to you/the team?”
- “What’s driving this priority?”
- “Why do you think this challenge exists?”
WHAT Questions clarify goals and outcomes:
- “What would success look like?”
- “What resources do you need?”
- “What are the key priorities?”
HOW Questions focus on action and implementation:
- “How might we approach this differently?”
- “How will you measure progress?”
- “How can I support you in this?”
The key is that coaching leaders “don’t just focus on the what (the tasks at hand) but also the why and the how. They encourage their team to think critically, set their goals, and figure out the best way to achieve them”.
Practical Steps: What You Can Start Doing Tomorrow
If you’re ready to integrate coaching into your leadership approach, here are five practical actions you can implement immediately:
- Replace Statements with Questions Instead of: “Here’s what you need to do…” Try: “What do you think would be the best approach?”
- Create Thinking Space Before meetings, ask: “What’s most important for us to discuss today?” Give people time to think before responding.
- Practice Active Listening Focus entirely on understanding rather than formulating your response. Ask follow-up questions: “Tell me more about that” or “What else is important here?”
- Delegate with Development in Mind When assigning tasks, ask: “What would you like to learn from this project?” and “How can I support you without taking over?”
- Implement Regular Check-ins Schedule brief, regular conversations focused on: “How are you feeling about your current challenges?” and “What support do you need?”
The Balance: When to Coach, When to Direct
Leader-coaches must develop situational awareness. Not every situation calls for coaching. In crisis situations, clear direction is essential. When safety is at risk, immediate instruction trumps development. The skill lies in recognizing when to shift between modes.
Use coaching approaches when:
- You have time for development
- The person has the capability to find solutions
- Long-term learning is more important than immediate results
- You want to build ownership and commitment
Use directive approaches when:
- Safety is at risk
- Time is extremely limited
- The person lacks essential knowledge or skills
- Clear compliance is required
Overcoming Common Challenges
Many leaders struggle with the transition to coaching-based leadership. Common challenges include:
“It Takes Too Long”: Start with small coaching moments. A two-minute coaching conversation can be more effective than a twenty-minute directive session.
“I Don’t Know How to Ask Questions”: Begin with curiosity. If you genuinely want to understand someone’s perspective, the right questions will emerge naturally.
“My Team Expects Me to Have Answers”: Reframe your role. Instead of being the person with all the answers, become the person who helps others find the best answers.
The Ripple Effect: Building a Coaching Culture
When leaders embrace coaching principles, they create ripple effects throughout their organizations. Teams become more collaborative, innovative, and resilient. People feel more engaged because they’re not just executing tasks—they’re contributing to solutions.
This cultural shift doesn’t happen overnight, but it starts with individual leaders making different choices about how they interact with their teams. Each coaching conversation, each empowering question, each moment of giving someone space to think and grow contributes to a larger transformation.
Conclusion: The Leader-Coach Advantage
The intersection of coaching and leadership represents more than a management trend—it’s a recognition that the challenges we face require collective intelligence, not individual brilliance. Leaders who master this intersection don’t just achieve better results; they create more leaders.
My five-year journey has taught me that coaching-informed leadership isn’t about becoming a professional coach. It’s about becoming a leader who can unlock potential, navigate complexity, and inspire others to do their best work. In an uncertain world, this might be the most important leadership skill of all.
The question isn’t whether you should integrate coaching into your leadership approach—it’s how quickly you can begin.
