The Relationship Between Leadership and Coaching

Leadership has been researched extensively but yet scholars are yet to find or compile an exact definition. As (Kent, Todd, 2004) explain there have been many efforts in defining leadership and several ideas have been compiled yet there is still a distinct discrepancy amongst scholars. Author Chelladurai breaks down leadership into three elements: "(1) leadership is a behavior process, (2) leadership is interpersonal in nature, and (3) leadership is aimed at influencing and motivating members toward group goals" (pg. 160). These are the ways he focuses leaderships and their intentions towards leading. Kent and Todd further discuss the importance of leadership and its distinct aspect to society and organizations, and that future successes are largely dependent upon it (2004). Another area in the domain of leadership styles is when (Zorn & Violanti 1993) define leadership as "patterns of behaviors, assumptions, attitudes, or traits exhibited by individuals in attempting to provide leadership" (pg. 70). Additionally we further examine (Bloom, Vallée, 2005; Chelladurai, 1990; Chelladurai & Seleh 1978; Zhang et. al. 1997) in which "they break down the different styles of leadership into five categories, autocratic, democratic, positive feedback, social support and training and instruction. They

Leadership has been defined in various ways according to different schools of thoughts and approaches in which the concept has been looked at, but the general ideas that leadership is about the effective vision drawing, planning for achieving the goals, motivating people towards the pre-determined achievements, monitoring the performance, reviewing the results of past agendas and ability to avoid shortcomings if present. There are several theories of leadership depending on the approaches of the person in leading. These are “Great Man” or trait theory, position –function of the leader, power relationship – effect on group behaviour and the leadership from the influence on the organisational culture.

Coaching leaders help employees by identifying their unique strengths and weaknesses. They encourage employees to establish long-term goals. Coaching style is used least often because many leaders don’t have time to teach people and help them grow. Studies have shown that leaders who have mastered four our more especially the authoritative, democratic, affiliative and coaching styles have the best climate and business performance. I believe in order to master the art of leadership we need to comprehensively understand human behavior and have the ability to adapt. Leadership styles can lead to different types of success, as mentioned in the article leadership will never be an exact science. But neither is it a complete mystery. I believe that the business environment is continually changing, all leaders have to respond. Leaders must know when to use the right style at the right time to gain success. Although not all skills are equally effective leaders could use multiple styles at one time to gain success. For example leaders could use the authoritative style to mobilize people towards a vision while at the same time creating bonds and harmony through the affiliative

A1. Leadership Style Upon conducting research, it is clear that the definition of “leadership” is not agreed upon. It is fluid, based upon many perceptions, situations, and surroundings. According to Robinson (2010), adopting a specific style of leadership is rather futile as it is, “contingent on the personal traits of the leader, the people being led, and the nature of the activity.” Tools are available to help guide potential leaders in determining a preferred style of leadership. For example, utilizing the “Leadership Self-Assessment

Leadership is summarized as ‘the process in which an individual impacts a variety of individuals to attain a common goal’. The goal is attained by mutual collaboration and cohesive behavior. A leader infuses a sense of positivity and manages others to reach a specified goal. Leadership has had a very profound influence throughout my life by affecting my family, friends, teammates, and the overall decisions that I have made. By using my personal experiences with leadership, I have learned how to use these skills not only on the field, but throughout my everyday actions.

In the broadest sense, whenever you are working with someone acting in a coaching or mentoring capacity in an ongoing relationship to; raise your awareness, grow as a human being, develop your leadership skills and effectiveness, work through some of the common challenges managers and leaders face, close gaps between where you are now and where you want to be, translate goals into specific actions, change behavior, increase the impact you are having, and generally get better results - you could be considered to be engaged in some form of leadership coaching.

Since the beginning of recorded history, leadership has been one of, if not the most important elements in the success or failure of an endeavor. This is whether it involved a prehistoric hunting party or ruling the Roman Empire. Today, leadership is recognized as a vital factor in an organization’s quest to be productive and profitable. For an organization to be competitive and achieve optimum success in the 21st century, it is vital that they employ effective leaders that will be able to communicate their vision and goals, motivate their employees and develop trusting and loyal relationships with its stakeholders. There is no one or best way to accomplish this mission. There have been numerous leadership theories and styles which have been developed over time which can enable leaders to choose which method would be most effective for them in establishing collaborative working relationships and a respectful team environment in a group setting (Landis, Eric A; Hill, Deborah; Harvey, Maurice R, 2014).

Leadership is a term that cannot be defined or simplified with a standard definition (Bethel, 2011). The term’s complexity is a phenomenon, as it carries a different meaning for each person. During the

Leadership theories in and of themselves carry negative and positives characteristics. Within the various theories lie strengths and weaknesses that when applied to complex problems can highlight each one respectively. As I examine a few theories, I will look at the strengths and weaknesses of each and determine when and with which situation would these theories best be utilized. Collective leadership or distributive leadership, and leader-member exchange are both theories that incorporate specific team or group mentalities.

Classical organisational theorist defined leadership in terms of achieving a group’s objectives R.C Davies (1942) referred to leadership as “the principle dynamic forces that motivates and coordinates the organisation in the accomplishment of its objectives.” Similarly, Urwick (1953) stated that the leader is “the personification of common purpose not only to all who work under taking, but to everyone outside it.” K. Davies (1962) defined leadership as “the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards goals.” Cattell (1951) took the extreme position that leadership is whatever or whoever contributes to the group’s performance. To measure each members Leadership, Cattell noted, removed him or her from the group, one at a time, and observe what happens to the group’s performance. Calder (1977) and Pfeffer (1977) “stated that leadership is mainly influence and is even attributed to participants after the fact.

In today’s competitive world, leadership skills are crucial for both personal and professional development. Leadership is an important function of management which helps an individual or a business to maximize efficiency and to achieve goals. Leadership has different meanings to various authors.Most commonly, leadership is defined as influence, that is, the art of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals. (Koontz). Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of either formal or informal group in the task of goal setting and goal achievement. A leader is one whose magnetic personality innervates people for some cause. Not by words, but by their actions is

Justin, to this writer, has a couple of critical issues in addition to perceived separation issues. Justin, without question, needs a positive role model that is what you provide and kudos to you for demonstrating a grounded male role model. However, the issues presented appear to be mental health crisis not the lack of life coaching guidance. Please allow this writer to submit this for consideration. Author Collins (2009) states:

In a business there are several different factors, and attributes that can excel or hinder a company’s environmental and economic success. Most people believe that a business’s longevity relies solely on its profits and regulations, when in actuality, it is the coaching and the leadership of the business. In fact, coaching and leadership are the greatest attributes that accumulate to a company’s success, but if they are abused, or misused, they can cause severe damage to the company’s well-being. For this paper I will be covering the topics of coaching and leadership in the workplace and will be giving different types of styles for both concepts. I will also evaluate the correlation between the two and will give several examples throughout to help comprehend the topics. I will then explain how these attributes can be abused and can cause more harm to a company than good. I will conclude my paper by highlighting all of the main points throughout the paper, and then give my own opinion on the subject.

To define leadership as a process, it can mean that leadership may not be a trait or characteristic that resides in a leader, but rather it is more of a transactional event that occurs between the leader and the followers. This process affects both the leader and the followers. It does also say that leadership is not a linear one-way process but involves the whole team to interact with the leader and work together as one. In addition, some researchers define leadership in terms of power. The power relationship that exists between the leader and followers. From this point of view, it’s said that leaders have the power to captivate and wield an effect to change others. It is a transformational process that makes followers to accomplish more than what is expected. Finally, other scholars believe that leadership could be skill motivated or seen from a skill perspective. This can be defined on how followers can be using the capabilities (knowledge and skills) from the leader to make effective leadership.

Through my engagement with the course material in EXMN 675, my examination of the role of coaching as a fundamental component of leadership effectiveness has revealed and articulated certain key elements that have engaged further personal exploration in this area. In this paper, I will share three of these specific elements of coaching that I feel have been the foundations that have intrinsically informed and challenged my understanding of coaching as it pertains to leadership. I will briefly discuss each of these elements and how they have created a process of examination and self-reflection.