A Culture of Coaching as Professional Development

Full Disclosure - before understanding the concepts of leadership coaching, I thought it was, well, hooey. Imagine any pop culture personality saying something like, "My life coach told me I need to take time for me." No kidding. Your "life coach" told you to do something that you should be doing? Poppycock.

Then I got more curious about leadership coaching versus life coaching. I learned more and importantly that I was wrong. Wrong about cognitive coaching versus athletic coaching. Wrong about the value coaching actually brings. Good coaching isn't anyone telling their client what to do, it's helping the client find their best solution.

Now imagine this at work; people go to their boss and ask questions expecting an answer. What if the boss engaged in inquiry instead of "giving the answer," in most situations?

People are generally smart and competent at work (thought neither quality may always shine through). When they ask a question, sometimes they want an answer. Other times, they want someone to help them think through a problem.

This article won't spend a lot of time elaborating on the stressors of leaders in the middle. As a reminder, here are some high points:

1. Caught in a Contradictory Role: Middle managers are stuck between directing work and performing it, often owning problems but also being responsible for solving them.

2. Overwhelmed by Administrative Burdens: A significant portion of their time—nearly half—is spent on non-managerial or administrative tasks, such as individual-contributor work or planning.

3. Lack of Empowerment and Autonomy: Many middle managers feel like "go-betweens" without enough influence, leading to disengagement and a sense of being undervalued.

4. Unrealistic Expectations and Resource Constraints: They face immense pressure to deliver results—hitting numbers, staying on schedule, and meeting customer demands—while simultaneously being responsible for employee retention and wellbeing.

5. High Stress and Burnout: This accumulation of tensions, contradictory roles, and high-pressure environments results in middle managers experiencing high levels of depression and anxiety compared to other roles.

6. Limited Career Advancement and Recognition: The middle management level can feel like a bottleneck, making it difficult to move up.

   
   

These are important because middle managers might be questioning more than "how do I do [a specific administrative task]," and be more conceptual in nature. "How do I help my team perform better within the incentive structure of the company?" (Side quest - it's rarely about monetary or tangible incentives, but a little more on that here)

One of the best ways to engage, motivate, and support middle managers (most people, really) is effective utilization of your time with them.

The Evolution: From Commander to Coach

The role of manager can be improved. Start with the stereotypical, hierarchy-based militant roles ending with, "that's an order," and move to an athletic coach. Even many athletic coaches are more directive than developmental. Thankfully, those aren't the only two models.

Leadership coaching helps people think through problems rather than barking orders or telling them it's time to run sprints if they step out of line. This shift aims to unleash the potential, creativity, and motivation of frontline employees by inspiring them rather than simply dictating tasks.

This "coach model" emphasizes several crucial skills:

• Collaboration: Demand for collaborative skills in managerial job postings increased threefold between 2007 and 2021, while supervisory capabilities decreased. Effective management now involves coordinating and collaborating across functions to achieve objectives.

• Interpersonal and Social Skills: It's impossible for a manager to know everything, making the ability to understand and connect with the people they manage increasingly vital.

• Adaptive Learning: Given the rapid pace of change, managers need foundational skills that allow them to continuously learn and adapt to new situations.

• Coaching and Feedback: Managers must be skilled at providing constructive feedback, coaching employees, and guiding teams to find their own solutions.

I've made no secret that I thought coaching was for wealthy pop-culture icons, at first. When I learned more, I recognized the behaviors. I had been a coaching supervisor for most of my professional career. It wasn't an overt choice to be a "coaching boss." It was absolutely a choice to value my team to ask them questions about what they saw as solutions and their observations regarding the best path forward.

Now is the right time to engage in behavior change to impact workplace culture. Here are some ideas...

Actionable Strategies for Mid- and Upper-Management

1. Value and Empower: Explicitly communicate the value of middle managers, share their ideas across the organization, and provide recognition for their contributions. Decentralize decision-making, moving it to the lowest possible point and incorporating middle manager input based on their real-world experience.

   
   

2. Provide Context and Clear Expectations: Nurture a culture of respect and empowerment, offering clear vision and mission while balancing it with adaptability. Set realistic goals that are challenging yet achievable, ensuring managers have the necessary resources. Be open to pushback and empower creative solutions. This isn't micromanagement, it's leadership through clarity.

   
   

3. Offer Robust Support and Resources:

   • Coaching and Networking: Provide qualified coaches (ideally from outside the organization for objective advice and a safe space) and avenues for middle managers to build networks with peers to share challenges confidentially.

   • Training and Development: Invest in hands-on training for essential skills like constructive feedback, coaching, and guiding solutions. Focus on interpersonal, social, and adaptive learning skills.

   • Reduce Administrative Load: Streamline processes and leverage technology to free up managers' time for strategic and developmental tasks. Avoid excessive training that exacerbates pressure.

   • Wellbeing Support: Offer mental health resources and encourage a healthy work-life balance through flexible arrangements and breaks.

   
   

4. Lead by Example and Build Community: Upper management must model the behaviors they expect, demonstrating transparency, accountability, and genuine care. Leaders should act as a "traffic cop." A leader's team should likely not get the same style and volume of challenges as the leader. And the leader has the responsibility of directing and redirecting organizational needs, even drama, to allow their teams to function at high levels and not be oblivious to the realities in which their working. This behavior builds trust and keeps culture-breaking behaviors like toxic positivity at bay.

   
   

5. Proactive Engagement: Conduct "stay interviews" to re-recruit team members, asking what drew them to the organization, what's working, and what their frustrations are. Address these concerns promptly to foster a sense of value and belonging.

   
   

   (Second side quest, first hot take - start stay interviews and abandon exit interviews completely. If exit interviews MUST be done keep them out of the chain of command)

By investing in and strategically supporting middle managers, organizations can transform a demanding role into a rewarding one, fostering stronger teams, driving innovation, and achieving sustainable growth. Like any growth, there will be stumbles, frustrations, and newly valued investments.

No one ever improved at anything by doing what they've always done.