Being an effective leader means wearing several hats.

For instance, as a finance leader, I wear… a finance hat. Easy! Sometimes though, I must wear a sales hat, because I need to put myself in the shoes of the GM, the sales director or the client to understand what their needs are and how I can best support them. I will put my finance hat back when I need to set some boundaries for instance.

It is the same when developing your team. You must keep your leader hat and at times wear a coach hat.

Now, coaching is still that thing that many companies or people mistake for mentoring or consulting. Coaching is different. Coaching is not about teaching or giving a solution to someone. Coaching is about empowering people to find their own way.

To be an effective leader and a coach, you need to use tools and techniques that coaches would use to empower people. Without being trained as a coach, that seems really challenging.

There are however a few tools that everybody can start using without significant training and that will enhance your leadership effectiveness. Here are 2 quick wins for you:

• Improve your listening skill by making sure you also hear what is not said and that you can see through body language, tone of voice. You know, it’s like going back home after work, and just by hearing how your spouse greets you, you instantly know something if you are going to have a nice or bad evening.
• Ask better questions by focusing on “what” and “how” open-ended questions, that will more often than not let the other person speak freely and tell you everything you need to know to support them better.

What else have you found valuable to act more as a leader and coach at work? Tell me in the comments.

For comments or questions, please visit my website or contact me at pascal@p-m-coaching.com