Coach Within a Leader

Some of the best leaders I’ve known didn’t lecture or direct. They coached.

Early in my career, I thought being a good manager meant keeping people busy, informed, and on schedule. I held meetings, gave updates, reviewed results. It looked like leadership. It wasn’t.

Then I had a manager who did something different. During our one-on-ones, he didn’t start with numbers or deadlines. He started with questions. “What went well this week?” “What felt off?” “What would you try differently next time?” Sometimes I left those meetings without a single answer, but always with a clearer sense of direction.

When I later began leading teams of my own, I tried to copy that approach. It was harder than I expected. Coaching takes time. It requires patience when silence stretches and you want to jump in with the solution. But the moments when I held back and let someone find their own path were the moments when real growth happened.

A manager drives results. A coach builds capability. One delivers outcomes; the other creates owners.

Now, every week, I make space for one-on-ones that aren’t just updates. We talk about wins and misses, about what each experience taught us. I remind myself not to fill the silence. My job is to guide, not to give.

“Make it a dialogue, not a monologue.”

That line has stayed with me for years. Because leadership isn’t a performance. It’s a partnership in progress.

𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.