Introduction
Modern management and leadership strategies define the quality of work and the success of a business in various ways. There are many ways for individuals to improve their performance, and the article by Herminia Ibarra and Anne Scoular for Harvard Business Review in 2019 focuses on understanding the role of the manager as a coach. The authors underline that such a fundamental shift is not always easy for all leaders, and it is critical to learn how transformations should occur (Ibarra & Scoular, 2019). The chosen article explains why not all leaders can become good coaches, what ways exist to help with transitions, including the GROW model, and how to implement coaching as an organizational capacity in today’s business.
Discussion
At the beginning of the article, attention is paid to the areas of improvement in management and leadership. Ibarra and Scoular (2019) identify the major fields of technical, functional, and professional domains. It is not enough for a good manager to command and control other employees or give answers and share examples. Today, more benefits are related to the coaching ability implemented in working relationships. Instead of judging and dictating rules, leaders ensure that employees properly define their organization’s culture and ask questions to motivate (Ibarra & Scoular, 2019). The article shows a significant gap between what leaders understand as aspiration and practice, and coaching has to be a meaningful strategy.
One of the major steps in implementing coaching as a leadership approach is recognizing current mistakes and misunderstandings. Ibarra and Scoular (2019) rely on a study where 3,761 executives had to access their coaching skills, revealing that about 24% continued overestimating their abilities and interpreting their obligations incorrectly. Even the most competent managers are not able to accept coaching in their leadership. Therefore, companies need new tools for assessing their leaders’ decisions to deal with the challenge of confusion between control and inspiration. The styles of coaching represented within two axes define what individuals do and do not as directive, situational, laissez-fair, and non-directive leaders in a complex working environment (Ibarra & Scoular, 2019). The GROW model is another approach to demonstrate what actions should be taken to recognize the leader’s roles and values properly. To be successful, coaching must include goals (what to achieve), reality (when and where to do), options (the decisions to make), and will (the intentions to promote) (Ibarra & Scoular, 2019). Rewards will be observed when leaders start to delegate their responsibilities and involve employees in discussions.
Therefore, the establishment of coaching as an organizational capacity is a serious element in organizational leadership. Managers have to understand why they need to gather outside opinions and make observations, how to create model behaviors, support transformations, and remove barriers rooted in biased judgments (Ibarra & Scoular, 2019). Coaching is not a new style of leadership but a perfect combination of several styles’ traits with the help of which managers support their employees, motivate their goals, and achieve the best outcomes in delegation and education.
Conclusion
The offered article generally contributes to a better understanding of what sufficient leaders could do. Today’s business is never simple, and executives are responsible for various decisions and steps to be taken by other employees and stakeholders. Rewarding teams is not enough; leaders should offer institutional support and represent themselves as coaches. Many ways to maximize performance exist, and it is the leader’s responsibility to learn what the company can do for its employees and vice versa. Leadership as coaching is a new tendency in management, and the chosen article properly explains the basics of this approach.
Reference
Ibarra, H., & Scoular, A. (2019). The leader as coach. Harvard Business Review, 1-11.