Leader as a Coach

And why this builds better brains

The leaders as a coach puts the leader into a development role rather than an authoritative role. But is this really the most effective way to lead and if so, what is happening in the brain to explain this?

The concept of the leaders as a coach is not new - it has been around for decades – it has been a narrative ever since I did my executive coaching qualification in 2008. It has been incorporated into many executive development programmes over the years. It was also thrust into the broader collective spotlight after an internal study by Google.

Google constantly collect data – no surprise there. But this is also internal data, so Google employees are constantly filling our surveys and questionnaires. And they used a lot of this data to help determine what made successful teams and successful leaders. Remember Google is the techiest of the tech companies – renowned for its culture and ability to attract the nerdiest of nerds. So, what did they find?

Well, what they found was a surprise to many - and completely unsurprising to many leadership development experts.