Bringing a Coaching Mindset to Leadership: From Directing to Empowering
- Baskaran Rajamani
- Oct 21
- 3 min read
In my executive coaching sessions, many clients express a strong desire to develop their coaching skills and bring a coaching mindset to their leadership.
They believe — rightly so — that this shift allows them to:
Enhance their overall leadership effectiveness,
Enable their teams to become the best versions of themselves, and
Deepen their impact through stronger collaboration and influence with peers and stakeholders.
At its heart, this is not about becoming a professional coach. It’s about leading with curiosity, empathy, belief in others’ potential and being humble and willing to learn.
The Challenge: Letting Go of Being Directive
Interestingly, the biggest realization I’ve had while coaching these leaders is this: even the most seasoned professionals find it very difficult not to be directive.
They’re used to solving problems, moving fast, and giving answers. Their experience equips them with sharp instincts — but it can also become a trap.
When we explore this in coaching, many clients admit that they struggle with:
Having the patience to ask open-ended questions.
Allowing team members to arrive at their own solutions.
Resisting the urge to “fix” things immediately.
The intention is always good — they want to help. But they soon recognize that helping doesn’t always mean solving.
Coaching in the Flow of Work
Most of my clients are not in roles where they hold formal one-on-one coaching sessions with their teams. Instead, they need to coach in the moment — during meetings, hallway conversations, project discussions, feedback sessions or even emails.
We explore ways they can bring a coaching mindset into these real-time interactions, such as:
Asking open and curious questions to expand thinking.
Framing the issue differently so the team member can see it through a new lens.
Showing empathy and understanding before advising.
Challenging with care, to stretch potential while maintaining trust.
Encouraging accountability while offering guidance and support.
These micro-coaching moments, when practiced intentionally, have a profound cumulative effect.
Extending the Coach Mindset Beyond the Team
Another powerful insight my clients gain is that a coaching mindset is not just limited to team members — it’s equally valuable in how leaders engage with peers, managers, and stakeholders.
Bringing this mindset means:
Focusing on shared goals rather than positions,
Exploring underlying interests in decision-making,
Considering long-term implications of choices, and
Engaging in constructive dialogue that builds mutual understanding and respect.
This transforms routine interactions into opportunities for influence, collaboration, and trust.
The Aha Moment: Recognizing One’s Own Patterns
The real transformation happens when leaders begin to see their own patterns — their default tendency to direct, to decide, or to deliver answers quickly.
Through coaching, they discover the power of pausing.
That moment of reflection allows them to choose curiosity over control.
It’s in this pause that leadership maturity deepens.
Clients often leave these sessions with fresh insights and renewed energy — eager to experiment with new ways of engaging their teams and colleagues.
Leadership as Everyday Coaching
Bringing a coaching mindset into leadership is not a one-time skill. It’s a daily practice — one that requires self-awareness, patience, and belief in others’ capacity to grow.
Even having the conversation about this in coaching often becomes a turning point. Leaders realize that adopting a coach-like stance can profoundly enhance their impact — in every meeting, every interaction, every decision.
When leaders lead with curiosity, empathy, and accountability, they don’t just manage performance — they ignite potential.
Reflection for You:
In your next interaction, pause before offering a solution and ask yourself:
“What question could I ask that helps this person think differently”
You may be surprised at how powerful that single shift can be.
Suggested Call-to-Action:
If you’re a leader looking to build a coaching mindset and transform how you lead, let’s explore how executive coaching can help you bring that shift to life.
Book a discovery session today and start leading with curiosity and impact.
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