Discussion Adaptive Leadership Toolkit

InthearticlebyIbarraandScoular(2019),welearnedaboutthefour

differentstylesofcoaching:directive,situational,laissez-faire,and

non-directive.TheGROWmodelisamethodforleaders/coachesto

improvetheirnon-directivecoaching.Thismethodrelatestoleading

byquestioningteammembersandreallylisteningwithoutjudgement

(Ibarra&Scoular,2019).Inthiswaywecanascertaindifferent

perspectivesandpromotefreethinkingandcreativity.Withthe

GROWmodel,coachingisdonethroughgoal-setting,exploring

optionsalongthewayandsettingspecific,measurablemetricsin

placeforaccountabilityandclarity.

BasedonthefindingsoftheEmployeeEngagementSurvey(EES),

themostpredominantpainpointintheorganizationrelatestothe

relationshipbetweenteammembersandtheirsupervisors.Thereis

agenerallackoftrustandteammembersdonotfeeltheyarea

proactivepartofthetraining,development,andreviewprocesses.

Landry(2020)citesarecentstudyinwhichnearlythree-quartersof

employeessurveyedratedteamworkandcollaborationasessential

forengagement.Anotherstudyshowedeighty-sixpercentof

processfailuresinanorganizationcanbeattributedtoineffective

communication.Clearly,specificprocesseswillneedtobe

implementedtobridgethegapbetweenteammembersandtheir

supervisors.

ReflectingbackontheTenCommitmentsofExemplary

Leadership(Kouzes&Posner,2017),fourofthefiveleadership

practicescoulduseimprovement.InModeltheWay,leadersare

askedtofindtheirvoicewithintheteambysettingtheexampleand

aligningtheirwordstotheiractions.IntheEES,employeesgave

theirsupervisorlowscoresinquestionsrelatedtotrustandsupport.

Leadersthatdonotwalkthetalkareperceivedasonesthatdonot

understandtaskstheyareassigningandthereforeincapableof

helpingsubordinateswithchallenges.EnableOtherstoActasks

leaderstobuildafoundationofcollaborationtostrengthenmembers

oftheteam(Kouzes&Posner,2017).Withlowfavorabilityscores

relatedtoinclusivenessandfeedback,thisisanotherareaof

opportunity.Lastly,EncouragetheHeartsuggeststhatleaders

shouldappropriatelyrecognizecontributionsandcelebratesuccess

(Kouzes&Posner,2017).WhiletheEESscoresshowpositive

answersaboutgoalsspecifically,theyfallshortwhenitcomesto

recognitionandrewardsystems.

TheGROWmodelencouragesthatgoalsbeclear,measurable,

groundedinreality,andactionable(Ibarra&Scoular,2019).Based

ontheEESscores,coachinginthepasthaslikelyfallenmoreintothe

directivepath.Supervisorshavespecificinitiativesfortheirteam,

theyrelaytherequirements,andthenfollowupwhenthereisa

problem.Supervisorsaregiventheauthorityandareperceivedto

"know"theroletheyareoverseeing.Oftentimesthisisn'ttruein

reality,especiallytodaywhenrolesarebecomingmoretechnicaland

specific.Ateammemberwhobelievestheyknowmoreaboutthe

jobthantheirsuperiorisonewhocaneasilydisconnectandlose

respect.Throughnon-directivecoaching,leaderscanbetterallow

thespaceforinnovationwhileimprovingtheirrelationshipwithteam

members.

Byimplementingnon-directivecoachingbehaviorsandsetting

clear,measurablemetrics,theorganizationcanbegintorepairthe

relationshipbetweenleadersandteammembers.Thisprocesswill

startwithproactivelistening-andhearingfeedbackwithout

judgement.Afterroundsofdialogue,acollaborativeprocessof

settinggoals,identifyingimportantprocesses,andimplementing

desirablerewardsystemswillfurtherbuildabridgeintheteam.

Leaderswillsupportandencourageteammembersalongtheway,

sharingopenlywhenchallengesarise,andworkingthroughthem

togetherwithoutheavy-handedpunishment.Crews,Brouwers,and

Visagie(2019)saythattransformationalleadershavecharisma,a

sharedvision,areexpressive,andcommunicate:withthenew

performanceandrewardmetricsinplace,theorganizationwillseea

healthyimprovementtotheirEESscoresintheyearstocome.

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