Christoph Schalk
The crucial question for anyone in charge of others - whether as a pastor of a church or manager of a company - is: When do I lead my staff, and when do I coach them?
To answer this question you must first be aware of the basic principles of leading and coaching. You can then decide from one situation to another whether leadership or coaching is needed and which one will get you to the desired goal.
In a nutshell…
Leading means ensuring instructions are followed, defining limits, and clarifying general conditions. Examples of this in church life are statements such as: “From January onwards the church bulletin will appear every two months instead of once a quarter” or “All section leaders are accountable to the pastor”. In a company this might be: “Private phone calls are not allowed during working hours” or “From January onwards department X and department Y will be merged”. These rulings and limitations leave no room for discussion or change. In such cases the pastor/leader has to make sure the rules are observed, i.e. demonstrate clear leadership.
Coaching, on the other hand, is suitable for situations where a worker is free to act and create. It is important to clarify the scope of this freedom exactly with the worker – otherwise misunderstandings and role conflicts can occur and the coaching will not work properly. Freedom of action in the example of the church bulletin might mean that the person responsible can decide how he wants to solve the task of more frequent issues, e.g. by acquiring additional co-workers or by reducing the size of the bulletin. The coaching pastor supports him in his search for the best solution and the implementation of appropriate measures. As with the combination of two company departments, the director can use coaching questions to guide his workers to play an active, creative role in the restructuring process. He can encourage them to take responsibility, think up measures for themselves, and put them into practice.
Coaching makes use of workers’ potential
Coaching is a good way of encouraging workers to achieve their own personal goals (which are subordinate to the overall goals of the church or company) and of supporting them in the corresponding planning and implementation processes. Coaching is also helpful in providing advanced training on the job and in making sure the church or company really benefits from the newly acquired skills and knowledge of co-workers.
The coach can guide workers by focusing their attention on things that are already functioning well using questions such as: What strengths, abilities and approaches are already available? What skills do the workers have? What is already functioning well? The pastor’s/leader’s or executive’s task is to enhance the workers’ awareness of these positive aspects, show his appreciation of them and provide encouragement. Workers often have all the skills and resources required but feel trapped in their particular task or situation. In such cases, the coach reminds them of their strengths and motivates them to adopt a more positive outlook by focusing on what is possible and giving this precedence over what appears impossible. A few simple questions are often all that is needed to clarify the situation - and the workers then feel in a position to act.
Examples of questions which raise a person’s awareness for potential solutions are: “What exactly do you want to achieve?”, “Have you any ideas about ways to find a solution?”, “What will make outsiders notice we have come to grips with this problem?”, “What has functioned well up to now?” Simple questions such as these - oriented towards a possible solution - have produced some amazing results.
Coaching means letting go
Coaching means making workers aware of their own ability to find solutions. The worker should then also be allowed to take responsibility for the solutions they choose to pursue. The line between leading and coaching may be crossed in the process. In the church bulletin example this would mean: “From January onwards the church bulletin will appear every two months instead of once a quarter” (clear statement – leading). The conversation might then progress to questions such as: “Have you any ideas on how we might go about this? What has to happen in order to reach this goal?” (scope for own ideas – coaching).
For people in executive positions an essential part of coaching is learning to let go: You have to let go of your own ideas, suggestions, and practical aids – otherwise it is the coach who ends up solving the problem. Coaching also means giving people freedom of action. You have to give them the chance to demonstrate their own abilities, ideas, knowledge and competence. They must feel free to make their own decisions, take the initiative, find solutions, and plan their steps towards the desired goal.
Food for thought…
+ What freedom of action do my workers have in their tasks?
+ How was this freedom of action formulated exactly?
+ What issues may still need to be clarified?
+ What instructions do I need to give them? How?
+ Which areas can I coach them in?
- In the achievement of their own goals?
- In planning their way to the goal and putting it into action?
- In their own personal development?
Christoph Schalk is a psychologist (M.A. in Organizational Psychology) and works as a coach and coach trainer. During the last 15 years he has personally coached more than 300 leaders and executives as well as trained 600 coaches in over 25 countries. His favorite topic at present: “The leader/executive as coach”.
