Best Practices for Coaching Future Leaders

There's an old adage that says great leaders must be “player-coaches,” both doing work and coaching their teams. It sounds appealing as an executive: hands-on and guiding. A two-fer, or two-for-one in one salary. Lovely. But in reality, the dual role splits focus and dilutes impact. Do you want that of your leadership team? True leaders either coach or play. Mixing both guarantees underperformance. Executives know too well that attention is zero-sum. You're either listening to your CEO or Board with your whole self, or you're not. So when you dive into projects, you lose sight of team growth and strategy. When you coach, you can’t deliver on tasks at scale. Splitting time means neither your execution nor your mentoring or coaching, depending on the scenario, ever reaches full power. Executives can easily fix this, but I'm not sure they want to know how. The easy fix is separating roles. Create dual career tracks: one for deep experts (“players”) and one for strategic mentors (“coaches”). You can also spin up “learning labs” into structured apprenticeships run by senior ICs. Conversely, schedule dedicated “coaching sprints” so leaders focus solely on team development. Auditing your leadership model/approach, particularly given it's mid-year review time, is a great first step. Ask yourself, "Are my leaders playing more than coaching? Who is it and why?" This gives you the insight you need to reassign hands-on tasks to expert contributors and free your leaders to guide the team. This shift will multiply impact, scale talent, and cement your team’s competitive edge. Have you ever been labeled a player-coach or asked to be? How does this resonate with you? I can't stand trying to do both. I find I always have failed at one or the other when I do. #leadership #humanresources #customerexperience #futureofwork

The Better Leadership Project, a part of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), has identified three pillars of better leadership—compassion, well-being, and belonging. It should come as no surprise that compassionate leadership drives stronger workplace cultures where employees at all levels feel a sense of belonging and experience greater physical, mental, financial, and social well-being. However, the pathway most leadership development programs take is flawed. It’s not enough to focus on presentation skills, assertiveness, influence, and negotiation. It’s equally important to provide ongoing, hands-on training and coaching for leaders to learn how to: ·      Create psychological safety during high-stakes communication ·      Center those experiencing marginalization in communication ·      Recognize and address bias ·      Navigate the myriad of uncomfortable sensations that emerge when doing hard things—and saying hard things! For many organizations (and likely yours!), now is the time to make plans for 2024.   How are you ensuring that your leadership development initiatives actually equip your rising and established leaders with the nuanced leadership competencies they need? Whether you are a current client and Step into Your Moxie is supporting your executive talent and people development, or you simply want to ensure your workplace leaders are set up for sustainable success in the coming year and beyond, here are some recommended MUST HAVES for your people.   Ensure they— 1. Develop tools to manage fear, self-defeating thoughts, and uncomfortable bodily sensations and feelings that emerge in connection with communicating ideas to team members, clients, and colleagues 2. Cultivate the ability to listen keenly to what is and isn’t being said in high-stakes communication moments, how to make others feel seen and validated when conflict emerges, and learn how to heal from negative feedback experiences 3. Utilize a coaching conversation framework in feedback conversations as both the giver and receiver 4. Explore how to transition from a fixed or growth mindset to an innovation mindset – and uncover how doing so allows them to use communication to solve problems and sell timely solutions 5. Boost their personal well-being and mental health—and create cultures where the people they develop do the same What other priorities do you have for your leaders and their talent development next year?

You can’t just “choose any coach” to help your emerging leaders… and here’s why. One first-time leader I worked with had already been through two leadership training programs. She described them as “good” but said they were full of information that didn’t really help with the limiting beliefs holding her back. When her role was extended and the pressure mounted, training wasn’t enough. She felt like a fraud, dreading each day, and was counting down the weeks until it was over. Coaching was different. It gave her a safe space to reflect, test ideas in real time, and build the confidence she’d been missing. A few sessions in, she began leading meetings with more presence, shaping her team with clarity, and even started thinking about applying for the role permanently. But not just any coach will work. If you’re supporting emerging leaders, here’s what to look for: - Real-world leadership experience: Someone who has led teams themselves, not just reads about it. - Evidence-based methods: A grounding in psychology, leadership science, or performance research. - Focus on the inner game: Confidence, resilience, and self-awareness matter just as much as skills. - Ability to connect context to practice: Every organisation, team, and leader is different. - Action over talk: Some coaches act more like mentors or guides, and the sessions end up being a lot of talking with no action. Because training fills your head. And generic coaching can sometimes do the same. The right coaching transforms how leaders lead. #coaching #leadershipcoaching #highperformance #corporatecoaching

Dr. J’s Leadership Insight: Empowering a Legacy of Intergenerational Excellence In today’s fast-paced world, leadership that lasts is not about titles but the legacy we build through the people we empower and the systems we create. Great leaders unite generations, blending past wisdom with present action to shape the future. The Power of Intergenerational Leadership Every generation offers unique strengths. Veteran leaders provide seasoned insights, emerging leaders fuel innovation, and younger generations drive creativity. Intergenerational leadership harmonizes these strengths, fostering collaboration and long-term success. Dr. J’s philosophy reminds us that transformational leadership unlocks collective potential, inspiring both present and future progress. The CARE Method: A Transformative Framework Dr. J’s CARE Method is designed to cultivate leadership growth and impact across generations: 1. Confrontational Coaching – Breaks down limiting beliefs, encouraging new thinking and accountability. Example: A leader challenges outdated policies to promote inclusion and innovation. 2. Aspirational Coaching – Inspires individuals to dream beyond limitations and set bold goals. Example: Leaders motivate their teams with a vision that sparks ambition. 3. Resilience Coaching – Strengthens the ability to thrive in adversity and uncertainty. Example: Teams develop agility to adapt swiftly during crises. 4. Emerging Life Coaching – Prepares future leaders to succeed in evolving environments. Example: Rising leaders build emotional intelligence and adaptability through mentorship. This method has empowered over 1,200 leaders and coaches worldwide, driving personal and organizational success. Dr. J’s Legacy Principles for Leaders 1. Lead with Legacy in Mind Leadership is about lasting impact. Ask yourself: What am I building today for the next generation? 2. Adapt Across Generations Recognize and respect generational differences while uniting teams with a shared mission. 3. Inspire Through Action Leadership is action-driven. Your commitment to growth and excellence inspires others to follow. 4. Create Systems, Not Just Solutions Focus on frameworks that empower others to sustain and expand your vision. 5. Balance Humility and Confidence Be humble in recognizing others’ contributions and confident in your vision’s transformative power. A Vision for the Future Leadership today demands emotional intelligence, collaboration, and diversity of thought. Intergenerational Excellence equips leaders to build inclusive, innovative teams where generational strengths fuel growth. By paving opportunities for others, leaders ensure that their legacy endures through the successes of future generations. Closing Thought True leadership is about creating leaders who will shape the future. This is the legacy of Intergenerational Excellence. I hope you have a super fantastic day. Dr. J

Every one-on-one ends with an update. But 99% of one-on-ones don’t improve performance. Here are 10 moves to run a one-on-one like a leader: 1. Shift from updates to ownership. A one-on-one is not a report. It is a coaching session. A manager says, "Give me an update on everything." A leader says, "Before updates, what is one thing you are trying to improve right now." This single shift changes the whole meeting. It turns the employee into the driver, not the passenger. 2. Start with growth, not tasks. Open the meeting with their development. Keep it tight. One skill. One behavior. One outcome. When you begin with tasks, you train them to wait for instructions. When you begin with growth, you train them to think like an owner. 3. Use three coaching prompts every time. Run the first part of the one-on-one with these prompts. - "What are you trying to improve right now." - "Where are you seeing progress." - "Where are you getting stuck." This creates a simple loop. Goal. Evidence. Blocker. Progress starts when they own their growth. 4. Develop people, not just review work. Work review is easy. People development is leadership. Work review sounds like status. People development sounds like patterns. You focus on the habits behind the work. You coach the choices that create the work. That is where performance actually changes. 5. Focus on thinking, not just results. Results tell you what happened. Thinking tells you why it happened. The quality of thinking determines the quality of results. A manager says, "Great job hitting the number." A leader says, "Walk me through how you approached it." This turns a win into a system. 6. Make success repeatable. Plenty of people hit a goal once. Few can repeat it. The difference is clarity. They know what they did. They know what mattered. They know what to do again. Coach the process so the result can scale. 7. Debrief like a pro. Use a simple debrief. - What worked well. - What did not work well. - What will you do differently next time. This builds judgment. It also builds confidence. They stop guessing. They start learning on purpose. 8. Shape decision-making. Outcomes are lagging. Decisions are leading. Spend time on the decisions they made. The tradeoffs they chose. The risks they avoided. The risks they took. If you coach decisions, performance improves even when the work changes. 9. End with a clear commitment. A one-on-one without a next step is just a conversation. A manager ends with, "Keep me posted." A leader ends with, "What is one action you are committed to before we meet again." One action. Not five. Not a vague intention. A real move. 10. Measure the commitment. What gets measured gets managed. Commitments need a scoreboard. End with one more line. "How will we know it worked." Change happens between meetings, not during them. The meeting sets the aim. The week creates the proof.

Leadership stalls when you stay in one mode. The best leaders adjust in real time. Because leadership isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s a dynamic blend of: 🧠 Coaching ⚙️ Consulting 🌱 Mentoring 📋 Managing Let’s break them down: 🧠 Coaching ↳ Help them think for themselves by asking, not telling ↳ Guide with questions that unlock their own ideas ↳ Use when: They need help unlocking the answer ↳ Say: “What do you think is possible here?” ⚙️ Consulting ↳ Share expert advice to solve problems faster ↳ Step in with proven solutions when time is tight ↳ Use when: Your insight is the shortcut ↳ Say: “Have you considered this approach?” 🌱 Mentoring ↳ Offer perspective based on personal experience ↳ Share lessons to help others grow long-term ↳ Use when: They need context, not just tactics ↳ Say: “Here’s what worked for me when…” 📋 Managing ↳ Set direction, assign tasks, and keep things on track ↳ Ensure clarity, alignment, and follow-through ↳ Use when: Progress and deadlines matter ↳ Say: “What’s the status on your deliverables?” These aren’t just titles.  They’re tools. And the power lies in using the right one  at the right moment. So the next time you’re leading a conversation… Don’t ask, “What should I say?” Ask, “Which mode does this moment need?”

Your leadership training isn't working. Here's why: 45% of managers say their companies aren't doing enough to develop future leaders. But the problem runs deeper than just "not enough training." After a decade of designing leadership programs, here's what I consistently see organizations get wrong: ➡️ They treat leadership development as an event, not a journey. Think about it: You send your high-performers to a 2-day workshop. They return energized with new ideas. Then... nothing changes. Why? Because the training isn't integrated into their day-to-day performance. Here's how to fix this: 1️⃣ Start with the end in mind Map out exactly what success looks like for your leaders. What behaviors and outcomes do you want to see? Build your development plan backward from there. 2️⃣ Create accountability partnerships Pair leaders with internal mentors who can provide ongoing support and feedback. (36% of managers report witnessing ineffective leadership regularly - mentorship helps break this cycle.) 3️⃣ Design learning that sticks Instead of one-off training sessions, create a blend of: - Practical assignments tied to business goals - Peer learning groups for real-time problem solving - Regular coaching check-ins - Opportunities to teach others 4️⃣ Measure what matters Track behavioral changes, not just completion rates. Are your leaders demonstrating improved communication? Better decision-making? Increased team engagement? 5️⃣ Make it systematic Leadership development should be part of your performance management system. Tie development goals to promotions and compensation. Remember: Great leaders aren't born in a classroom. They're developed through intentional practice, meaningful feedback, and real-world application. What's one thing you're doing to develop leaders in your organization? #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #TalentDevelopment #OrganizationalDevelopment

Who will be leading our teams 5 years from now? 10 years from now?   There's a good chance that the answer is someone who is not yet in leadership.   Most leaders started their journey as individual contributors, and then moved to a formal leadership role somewhere along the way. So how do we identify potential future leaders so we can help position them for future success?   Every person and every situation is different, but here are some traits that are good potential indicators of a future leader:   -They have strong communication skills. This one is at the top of the list for a reason. Being a leader means clearly tailoring your message to audience and being comfortable communicating to all levels of the organization.   -Track record of increasing responsibility. Leaders carry a lot on their shoulders. If an employee continues to seek more challenging assignments, and successfully delivers, that's a great sign.   -Solution oriented. When problems arise, do they quickly pivot to brainstorming possible solutions?   -They celebrate successes as team accomplishments. Great leaders call out the contributions of others.   -They request and embrace feedback. A key part of being a leader is a desire to continually improve.   -They have a positive attitude. This doesn't mean ignoring issues. But part of being a leader is focusing on what's possible, not just what's wrong with the current situation.   -They adapt well to change. If someone is resistant to change, it's unlikely that they'll be able to successfully lead others through it.   -They're interested in leadership. This is at the bottom of the list, not because it's least important, but because it needs to be the final deciding factor. A great employee may have every trait listed above. But if they have no desire to shift to a career in leadership, we need to respect that. We need rock star individual contributors as much as we need great leaders. And the best leaders want to be leaders.     None of the above guarantee someone will be a great leader. But as I mentioned, these are good indicators that it's at least worth having the conversation. If we can identify potential future leaders early, we can provide them training, opportunities, and support to gain leadership skills. Not only will that help them in their careers, it will help ensure our companies have leadership talent pipelines to be well positioned for the future.   #Leadership #Mentoring #Coaching #FutureLeaders   Image Courtesy of Rebrand Cities via Pexels

🚧  Leaders Build Pipelines & Pathways, Not Just Fill Positions 🚧 Early in my career as a field leader, I learned something that stuck with me: if you only hire the “ready-made” pro, your team will always look strong on paper but stay thin in depth. I knew the better path was to hire for growth. Because in construction, it’s not just about what someone brings on day one—it’s about how far they can go with a productive culture and support. That conviction shaped how I built crews and, later, how I infused those concepts into future leaders. I saw firsthand how a young worker with drive, paired with a clear game plan and a coach in their corner, could outpace someone who seemed “perfect” at the start. Taking this path requires commitment not only from you, but also from your company leadership, because at some point in the journey, it will become hard, seem futile, and not worth the time. With the right plan, it certainly is, and will pay off. Here’s what worked every time: ✅ A solid game plan with development skills, milestones, and accountability. ✅ A Buddy/Foreperson Coach model—one for daily guidance and one for standards. ✅ Regular check-ins for safety, initiative, and reliability discussions. ✅ Tracking so progress was visible. Hiring for growth isn’t lowering the bar—it’s building the runway to it. And when leaders do this consistently, they don’t just fill positions — they create pathways. That’s how we create capacity for the future. 👉 Leaders, what’s one time you took a chance on someone’s potential—and saw it pay off? #ConstructionLeadership #HireForGrowth #FieldLeaderTraining #JobsiteCulture #WorkforceDevelopment

A question weighing on my mind lately - Are we leaning too hard into the player/coach model of leadership? ⛹🏼♂️🏈🧢🏟️ With boomers retiring and org charts flattening, we’re asking leaders to carry heavier and heavier loads and we might be crossing a line. Younger and younger managers are stepping into bigger shoes. That’s great news for growth and opportunity! But more often, I see this play out like this: 🔹 Lead the team 🔹 Coach every person 🔹 Deliver outcomes 🔹 Manage change 🔹 Drive culture 🔹 Complete this project 🔹 Oh - and do your actual job too That’s not leadership development. That’s a recipe for burnout. 💡So let’s ask: Do our leaders really have the time and support they need to lead well? I love the intent behind the player/coach model: modeling excellence, staying close to the work, building trust through action. But here’s how we minimize the risk: ✅ Clarify capacity. Be real about how much time leaders actually have for coaching and strategy. Adjust expectations accordingly. ✅ Coach the coach. Provide high-quality development and peer forums where managers can process, vent, and grow. ✅ Create coaching moments, not marathons. Help leaders build coaching into daily touchpoints instead of blocking out hours they don’t have. ✅ Simplify the noise. Give leaders fewer priorities so they can focus on the things that matter: people, performance, and purpose. The best leaders don’t do it all, they do what matters most. Let’s not just promote people, we’ve got to prepare them. Because the future of leadership isn’t just about being in the game. It’s about knowing when to lead from the field and when to step back and guide from the sideline. #QuickBitesofInsight #LeadershipDevelopment #PeopleFirst #Development #FutureOfWork #PlayerCoachLeadership