Being a Leader-Coach in the Digital Era

Jack Welch, former CEO of GE is acknowledged as a great leader. However, during his first year there, Welch blew up a pilot factory plant at GE, effectively believing that it was the end of his career at GE. At the time he was progressively empowered by a leader who coached him with the retrospection of the incident. At the time, Charlie Reed, the Senior Vice President of Technology, instead of firing Welch, asked him to reflect on two important questions – ‘Why did it happen?’ and ‘What could you have done differently?’ Years later, Welch credits this incident as one of the turning points in this professional life. While Welch is a celebrated leader today, but he was coached along the way.

As we embrace digital driven boundary-less organizations, it is imperative for managers and leaders to look beyond hierarchy, and adopt collaborative and approachable personas in supporting their teams and guiding them to be leaders in their own capacities.

‘Hit Refresh’ by Satya Nadella highlights that that the role of a leader is to bring in clarity to the team, energize them, infold failures and constantly focus on the results to be achieved. Leaders in the digital age need to have real human skills like empathy and collaboration to imbibe the art of coaching to lead a successful organisation (or team). The team’s success should mirror the leader’s success as a coach. For starters leaders need to do the following:

The shift from being fault-finders to being skill seekers –

 As illustrated through Jack Welch’s anecdote, leaders need to overlook errors and faults and identify how best can they use the resource understanding their strength and the value they bring to the organization. At the same time, leaders need to guide the team on ways to build on their weaknesses.

Practice empathy –

 We get so soaked in our day to day regime that as managers we forget to practice empathy. This trait needs to be recognised and implemented more often than not.

 Coaching is not a natural progression to experience- 

It should not be mistaken that an experienced leader can naturally progress to be a coach. Leaders need to make conscious efforts to advance as a coach. It is imperative for leaders to give up the dictatorial leadership practice basis the experience they have and replace it by empowering the teams through knowledge and letting the employees at all levels take ownership. As Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo acknowledges “Leave the crown in the garage.”