4 Reasons Why Good Leaders Should Coach, Not a Boss

Good leadership is usually behind the success of any profitable business. One of the best leadership skills you can master is to be a coach for your employees. Leadership based on coaching others is often more effective than being a boss because it involves more interaction with employees. Coach management styles help inspire confidence, trust, and loyalty in employees.

One of the reasons why many managers adopt the ‘boss management’ style is that it is easier. As a boss, it is easier to enforce rules, give orders, and keep the lines of communication clear. Making decisions is also easier if you are a boss, not a coach. However, just because some style of management is easier, it doesn’t mean to say that it is effective.

In this article, you will learn about the many advantages to coaching your employees not bossing them.

Coach management vs. boss management

What does it mean to use a coaching style of management to organise your employees and drive your company’s success?

According to researchers from Harvard University, coaching management styles require becoming a guide to your employees. This means that helping them to succeed and assisting them in making decisions is an essential part of the coaching approach to management. (1)

In fact, the Business Dictionary describes a business coach as one collaborates with team members and who shares leadership responsibilities. Coaching in the business setting also relates to training others to accomplish a task or goal. (2)

Being a boss usually involves issuing orders, direction, and leading from a ‘top-down’ approach. Employees are usually expected to follow the boss’s direction. In some cases, this style of management is necessary. However, there are many advantages to being a coach, not a boss.

4 Reasons why being a coach is better than a boss

Let’s look in more detail at the advantages of leading your team through a coach management style.

1. A coach creates a positive workplace environment

It has been said that employees leave bosses, not companies. Being a coach to your employees helps to create a positive environment in the workplace. The reason for this is that, as a coach, you take an active interest in your employees and assist them to improve their personal performance.

2. Increase employee engagement through coaching

Being a coach, not a boss, allows you more time to engage with your employees or team members. Effective coaching management requires that you take time out and converse with your employees. This helps to focus on learning and career development. In the end, employees feel that they have the chance to learn and grow. This also instils a sense of loyalty in employees.

3. Coaching boosts employee confidence

Because employees feel more engaged with the company, their confidence will also grow. Leading through coaching helps managers to see strengths and weaknesses which they can then build on them or address any issues. In the end, employees who can make decisions and take responsibility for their actions become a more useful asset to the company.

4. Coaching makes it easier to adapt

One of the biggest advantages of adopting a coaching approach to management is that your company will adapt better in changing times. Some industries change faster than others and ridged ‘boss management’ styles can hinder change. Coaching makes companies stronger because they have a dedicated team of employees who engaged with the company on an individual level.

How to be a coach not a boss

Changing your mindset from being a boss to a coach is not an easy transition. At first you may feel as if you are losing control; however, the benefits of coaching your staff will soon become apparent.

How can you coach rather than boss? Here are a few ways:

• Allow your team to explore solutions to problems rather than tackling problems yourself. You also need to be willing to work along with what your team comes up with.
• Take time to engage with your team on a one-to-one basis. Use these sessions to get feedback from team members that help them become more self-aware of their roles.
• Take time out to work with your team and give constructive feedback on their progress and methods.