June 5, 2025
Leadership today is a challenging responsibility, whether you are the CEO of a multinational company, a school principal, a pastor, or the CEO of a family. The truth is that leadership has always been a challenging choice, as it involves navigating changing times. Leadership practice has always been about the constant evolution of oneself as a person to lead, and to develop leadership skills based on the three Cs: Core, Capacity, and Context. Leadership’s Core is the foundation of values, purpose, motive, and mindset. Leadership capacity is an ever-evolving skill that leaders develop and utilize in their daily practice. These skills evolve to meet the Context of the time, and different leadership capacities become more imperative to learn and grow in order to lead.

In describing today’s context, a term from the 1990s comes to mind. In the 1990s, the U.S. War College, in its study of changing military environments, coined the term V.U.C.A. The term V.U.C.A. stands for an environment that is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. This acronym is certainly a relevant description of today’s environment or context. This context is undoubtedly a challenge; however, it is also an opportunity. According to the author and futurist Bob Johansen in Full-Spectrum Thinking, the role of leadership today is to lead to a different V.U.C.A. context. This V.U.C.A. world he described was one where leadership created an environment based on Vision, Understanding, Clarity, and Adaptability. Leaders must develop and refine leadership capacity skills in this environment. Leadership expert the late Warren Bennis described this process: “Leaders must encourage their organizations to dance to forms of music yet to be heard. A critical leadership capacity skill for leaders today is coaching. Today’s leadership context makes coaching an essential leadership capacity. In turbulent times, leadership anchored in the leadership capacity of Coaching becomes a vital force for navigating uncertainty. Grounded in empathy, curiosity, and empowerment, this “boots on the ground” leadership capacity equips and develops leaders leaders to foster resilience and adaptability. Coaching capacity is essential to leadership, and leadership is essential for effective coaching.

In an April 2021 article Benefits of Coaching: Purpose, clarity, and passion in daily life, Allaya Cooks-Campbell writes, “Working with a coach is an incredible and powerful tool that helps create a more productive and engaging work environment. FlashPoint Leadership Consulting, in a 2016 article Trends and Benefits of Coaching in the Workplace Why Coaching is Good for Everyone, Beth Bates cites the importance of Coaching in leadership. She writes ‘more and more organizations are recognizing the value coaching can have on their leaders across all levels. “Providing coaching support to leaders within an organization helps them execute strategy, manage through dynamic change, and engage their employees. “

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This Thursday’s leadership insight describes what Coaching is and shares five common misconceptions about Coaching. A four-stage framework is shared, highlighting five benefits of an intentional practice that enhances the capacity of coaching for leaders and organizations.

The coaching industry has experienced exponential growth over the last few years, expanding into various areas beyond leadership. Over the last couple of decades, the field of executive Coaching alone has grown significantly. The International Coaching Federation estimates that 53,300 practicing executive coaches worldwide, up from 47,500 in 2011. Coaching according to a LinkedIn article of September 11, 2019, COACHING INDUSTRY – STATISTICS!! Written by Umesch, Vankatesh reports,” I expect the market value to reach $20 billion by 2022 with a 6.7% average yearly growth rate from 2019 to 2022.” The term” coachin”g has been applied to various areas, including life coaches, relationship coaches, success coaches, mindfulness coaches, and career coaches,among othersw. The growth of Coaching and its expansion to a wide array of areas have led to confusion and more current misunderstandings of what Coaching is.

To provide clarity, the following five definitions of leadership capacity in Coaching, as outlined by noted coaching experts and organizations, are provided below.

1. Nicki Keohou, the co-founder of the Direct Selling World Alliance, an international coaching company, refers to Coaching as a process to help people move beyond where they are to where they want to be
2. The Late Sir John Whitemore is considered the father of modern-day Coaching. His definition of Coaching was unlocking people’s potential to maximize their performance; it involves helping, rather than teaching, them. He noted that Coaching was a process of helping others to achieve heightened awareness and responsibility, moving them from where they are to where they can be. He further believed that coaching was a learnable skill, enabling leaders to lead their teams to high performance. His GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, Will) remains a foundational framework for structuring growth-oriented conversations.
3. Valorie Burton defines coaching as “moving from where you are to where you really want to be,” stressing intentionality and navigating challenges through actionable insights. Her focus on practical transformation aligns with real-world leadership demands.
4. Michael Bungay Stanier, author of The Coaching Habit, highlights coaching as a cycle where “new insight leads to positive behavior change,” advocating for leaders to “stay curious longer” and delay advice-giving.
5. The International Coaching Federation defines Coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

These definitions display several common themes. Coaching can be defined as a partnership process that raises self-awareness, reduces barriers, and increases responsibility by building trust and fostering learning through present listening, powerful questions, and reflection. This is a learnable “boots on the ground “daily leadership capacity that helps those you lead and serve to achieve high performance.

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The exponential growth of Coaching leads to a lack of regulation and misuse of the term. These misunderstandings, although many of them are well-intentioned, are not coaching. Here are five main areas of misconception about Coaching

1. Coaching is Not Consulting.

Consulting assumes the consultant is an expert in the field who provides answers to specific areas, directs learning, and leaves. A coach does not have to be a subject matter specialist. They are great listeners, questioners, and reflectors who help the person being coached discover their answers.

2. Coaching is not mentoring.

Mentors are sought for their wisdom in an area of development. They are a sage guide who knows the way. An effective coach partners with the person they coach to facilitate the coachee’s discovery of their path and action plan to move forward

3. Coaching is not training.

Trainers teach those they work with what to do because they possess the knowledge and expertise in the material and process. They follow a step-by-step process with their goals and objectives as the guide. The person being taught is expected to receive, understand, and apply the material. Coaching helps a coachee determine what they need to learn and the process for teaching it.

4. Coaching is not counseling

Counseling is provided to those with emotional needs. Most Coaches are not trained counselors and psychologists. In the practice of Coaching, a well-trained coach will refer clients to mental health professionals to support their emotional needs.

5. Coaching is not only for top Leaders.

Coaching is often reserved for top decision-makers or as part of the onboarding process. Coaching made available and taught to all levels of the organization can foster a culture of coaching and learning.

There are four stages of a powerful and effective use of Coaching Capacity.

1. Choosing to be a coach-like leader
2. Developing a coach-like leader mindset
3. Incorporating the leadership capacity of effective communication built on the four pillars alongside a Coaching Capacity a.Present Listening: Create space for deeper understanding by focusing entirely on the speaker, using silence to encourage reflection b. Powerful Curious Questions: Ask open-ended questions like “What’s the real challenge here?” to uncover the root issues. Practice matching and looping to affirm and deepen learning c..Pausing to Reflect and Respond: Resist rushing to solutions; allow insights to emerge naturally d.Practice: persistently seek opportunities to grow and refine one’s coaching capacity
4. Utilize a framework to develop coaching capacity, leveraging the leadership potential of effective communication. There are many very effective coaching frameworks. This article will showcase the work of Valorie Burton of Maxwell leadership’s A.O.O.O.O.A. framework

Agenda: Clarify the discussion’s focus.

Outcome: Define the desired result.

Obstacles: Identify barriers to progress.

Opportunities: Explore untapped resources or strengths.

Action Plan: Develop SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time-bound) steps.

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Five Benefits of developing a leadership capacity of Coaching are;

1. Enhanced Adaptability: Coaching cultivates agile thinking, enabling teams to pivot during crises
2. Stronger Trust: Active listening and empathy foster a sense of psychological safety, thereby enhancing collaboration.
3. Innovation and learning Catalyst: Curiosity-driven questions spark creative problem-solving
4. Resilience Building: Employees coached to self-reflect and develop grit amid setbacks
5. Sustainable Performance: Coaching reduces turnover by aligning individual growth with organizational goals In an era marked by rapid change, leaders who embrace a “boots on the ground” capacity of Coaching, combined with the leadership capacity of powerful communication, not only manage but also inspire leadership and lasting transformation. By prioritizing potential over problems and curiosity over control, they equip teams to thrive amid turbulence. As Sir John Whitmore noted, the goal isn’t to have all the answers but to “create the conditions for learning.” This is the essence of boots-on-the-ground leadership. Leadership expert the late Warren Bennis noted decades ago that “Coaching will be the model for leaders in the future… I am certain that leadership can be learned and that terrific coaches facilitate learning.”

The Leadership question for you, then, is

Will you choose to develop the leadership capacity of coaching in your leadership practice?