August 15, 2023
by Stephen T. Messenger
I sat down with a student from a local university last week to talk about leadership. During the conversation, it occurred to me that coaching this subject is hard because there are so many different ways to do it.
Afterward, I thought about how I frame the topic of leadership during coaching sessions with others. Using the six components of the Army leadership definition, a coach can ask probing questions to generate great conversation on strengths and weaknesses. It also works well to reflect on this in your own journey.
Leadership, as defined by the United States Army: The process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.
Remember, coaching is not counseling. It’s question based. Use these six questions to develop your people.
Six Components of Leadership
Influencing Others. Why do your people follow you? Because they have to or because they want to? In organizations, people follow supervisors because of their position; they have to. With the best leaders, people follow them because of who they are and what they represent. John Maxwell suggests there are five levels of leadership, and the goal is to move up the mountain to where people follow you not just because they have to, but because they choose to.
Providing Purpose. Why do your people do what they do? As Simon Sinek writes in his book, Starts with Why, everyone knows what they do at work, some know how they do it, but very few know why their job is important. The best leaders provide their people with a purpose and core reason, besides money or profit, to come into work and excel every day.
Provide Direction. Where are you heading in the short-, mid-, and long-term? The best leaders articulate a long-term vision of clear goals that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely) with nested mid- and short-term goals that lead the organization there. Without these, you cannot clearly move towards a target.
Provide Motivation. How do you inspire your people? James Sale, creator of ‘Motivational Maps,’ believes there are nine work motivators. Every one of us is motivated in different ways. Great leaders can motivate both groups and individuals to excel by unlocking what drives others based on relationships, achievements, and growth. Knowing what motivates others is critical to success.
Accomplish the Mission. What results are you generating? At the end of the day, results are what matter. The problem is many of us do a lot of “things,” but are we doing the right “things.” Superior leaders generate effective strategies using efficient means to get stuff done. You must take the right steps every day to generate positive effects for the organization in the most efficient way possible.
Improve the Organization. How are you leaving it better than when you found it? The company Lean East talks about high performing organizations (HPO) needing three things: People, Processes, and Performance. Great leaders coach, teach, and mentor people; understand processes and make them better; and increase the performance of the organization.
A Way — The Leadership Coaching Framework
Using these six components of leadership (Influence Others, Provide Purpose, Provide Direction, Provide Motivation, Accomplish the Mission, and Improve the Organization), you can sit down with anyone on your team and simply ask where they are on these leadership attributes.
The conversation will be invaluable… with them and with yourself.
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