The Correlation Between Leadership and Coaching

The Correlation between Leadership and Coaching

Christopher H. Thompson

Professor Tina Holden

KINE 1301

Central Texas College

Abstract:    

     This project will examine the infrastructure of coaching in order to show how great leadership and great coaching are interdependent. I will describe the career and its responsibilities, I will discuss in what leadership and coaching fundamentals are. I will provide examples to support my discussion, and I will conclude with why I chose this career field.

    Coaching is the art of assisting people to enhance their effectiveness in a way they feel helped. To accomplish this, coaching must be a comprehensive communication process in which the coach provides performance feedback to the coachee. Leadership is an essential part of any organization. If an organization does not have great leaders it is likely to fail, maybe not right away, but eventually it will.

     What example, what visual image, what person, what definition comes to mind when you think of a great coach that has effected your life? That person (s) who have mentored and lead you down the path of enlightenment toward a successful life. Within this project I will show how the aspect of coaching and leadership are interdependent and potentially one and the same. 

Review of Literature:

     When one thinks about how the value of sports play role in our socioeconomic infrastructure, it is quite amazing. The importance that the enabler of sports plays in developing personality traits like leadership, or the effect sports have on families and its ability to facilitate character change are unique.

     Whether anyone likes it or not sports in the American culture are a cornerstone of our society in influencing and developing not just our youth but adults as well "Sports do not build character they reveal it" (John Wooden, member of the Basketball Hall of Fame). This simple injection of Dr. Wooden delivers exactly what many coaches and leaders resonate with and realize at almost every level of sports; but sports have more than just the benefit of discovering one-self. Adults, young adults, teenagers and/or youth enroll and enlists in various team sports each year and for good reasons…as sense of belonging and team building. However, there are additional benefits outside of developing character and team building that comes from playing sports. For one individuals can learn to become leaders! This is beneficial for everyone, especially youth, in the present and in the future.

     Great leaders influence people to accomplish tasks to a standard and quality above their norm. Leadership is an art and a science. It is an art because it continually evolves, changes form, and requires creativity. It is a science because there are certain essential principles and techniques required.  A great leader knows how to adapt to any situation, to change shape because they are highly attentive to those around them. Leaders do this by communicating a vision that motivates, and inspires followers, enabling them to transform, in a positive manner, his or her organization (What Makes a Great Leader, 2004). Do these examples, these scenarios sound familiar? Well they should because this is the exact blue print any great coach utilizes to accomplish his mission.

Discussion:

Leadership Fundamentals

     What is Leadership? Leadership can be defined as a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs an organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge and skills (Concepts of Leadership, 2008).

     Leaders can also carry out this process by following the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. The first practice is to inspire their subordinates through action…lead from the front. This will instill a visual image of a leader that is committed to achieving high standard supporting the old adage “I cannot ask anything from my subordinates that I myself am not willing to do.” Leaders establish principles concerning the way people should be treated and the way goals should be pursued. They create standards of excellence and then set an example for others to follow (Leadership Challenge, 2002).

     The second practice is to inspire a shared vision. Leaders inspire a shared vision by imagining the opportunities. Leaders believe they can make a difference. Leaders cannot force an employee to commit, they can only inspire them. People must believe that leaders understand their needs (Leadership Challenge, 2002).

     The third practice is to challenge the process. Leaders venture out and take risks. They don’t wait for opportunities to fall into their hands. Leaders are pro-active they are innovators, enabling growth and improvement. Great leaders are also willing to fail, they understand you must be willing to experiment and risk “breaking a few eggs”…the ends justify the means. (Leadership Challenge, 2002).

     The next practice is team effort. Leaders foster collaboration and build spirited teams. Great leaders enable others by delegating responsibility, thus through accomplish each task create a functional level of trust.

     The last practice is to encourage the heart. Accomplishing extraordinary things in organizations is hard work. To maintain any level of motivation requires a unique fortitude, specifically if you are attempting this through encouragement. This can be accomplished! But only when you have great leaders who are able to visually and behaviorally link rewards with performance (Leadership Challenge, 2002).

     Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow. Success in leadership, success in business and success in life has been, and will continue to be a functional socioeconomic necessity. The result? In order to be a great leader you have to understand how to coach your subordinates.

Coaching Fundamentals:

     At this point of the paper you are potentially asking yourself how does coaching feed leadership and how does leadership correlate to and/or with the art of coaching? It is actually quite simple. The process and/or approach to correlate leadership with coaching is call transformational coaching. Transformational coaching is the art of assisting people to enhance their effectiveness in a way they feel helped. To accomplish this, coaching must be a comprehensive communication process in which the coach provides performance feedback to the coachee. A coach acts as a guide by challenging and supporting people in achieving their personal and organizational performance objectives. If this is done as a trusted learning partner, people feel helped by the coach and the process (Heart of Coaching, 2002).