Most leaders are very comfortable in managing the day-to-day performance of their people.  The typical career progression for a leader means that they were likely promoted from within, largely because they have demonstrated mastery in their technical area.  However, as your organization grows there is a need for your leaders to evolve from telling, or using a directive leadership approach to coaching which relies more on asking thought provoking questions. This is a key step that unfortunately many businesses and leaders miss. It is vital to get this right if you want to become an exceptional leader. Not only that but it develops you and your people to a much higher level, adn really helps a company excel through engaging their people for success. Your managers and leaders need to embrace the fact that they no longer have to have all of the “right” answers, and can’t be expected to in today's rapidly changing workplace. However, what they need to do to combat this, is they need to know how to ask the “right” questions. 

Leaders would not be where they are if they did have the skill to manage the day-to-day activities of their teams. This is a key fundamental part of leadership, but it can also be a key trap. We all know that when we are under pressure we revert to ‘type’ and in this case that means doing what you know you can do, and have had success in achieving. This is where potential leaders can fall into the trap of becoming command and control managers. However there are ways to avoid this, and the tools below are the ones you need to embrace and use to stop this from happening to you, or your people. 

Leaders often have to wear multiple hats that include both managing the performance of the team and taking a role in the development and growth of the team members. This is where an exceptional leader is very clear and directed in their approach to achieve this. Leaders that act more like coaches help to develop the growth of team members, as a way of supporting and meeting the overall objective of the organization and the team.  Performance still matters. Deadlines still matter.  However, Leaders as coaches learn from helping team members develop, and this stops them from becoming command and control. It also has the added benefit of improving their coaching and mentoring skill set. Which is a crucial core skill of an exceptional leader. This allows them to become more aware of any issues or beliefs that may be holding back their people or the progress toward goals. Plus this is a great springboard that allows them to take the next step and become respected authentic leaders that fully engage with their people. If leaders lead from a coaching and mentoring perspective they are asking questions and supporting solutions, this is much more valuable to any business than just telling and directing. This not only creates massive value in any business, but leads to a fully engaged team that will excel and create more than the norm.