As a founder, you feel like you need to have all the answers. The truth is, you don’t. In fact, focusing on answers is the Achilles’ heel that holds good founders back from becoming great ones.
In October, Cheraé invited Anita and me to give a workshop at Flybridge’s Founders Summit on “How to Stop Fixing and Start Coaching.”
As founders, we default into fixing mode. We tend to think:
“I’m the founder, so I need to appear as the expert.” or “I want to check this problem off my to-do list and it’s easier if I just fix it.”
Fixing can seem like it’s saving time ⌚, but long-term it prevents your team from learning and solving their own challenges.
Coaching is a process that enables your team to find their own answers, rather than being reliant on you to solve problems. This not only leads to better decision-making, but also to a deeper level of self-awareness and personal growth. Coaching enables your team to tap into their own wisdom 🧠 and holds them accountable to achieving their goals.
Next time a team member asks you for guidance, try these coaching questions:
- What is your desired outcome?
- What will realizing that outcome do for you?
- What options do you have to make progress toward that outcome?
- What is holding you back?
- What resources do you need?
Remember your job as a coach is not to have all the answers. It’s to help the other person find their own answers. This requires patience, trust 🙏, and a genuine belief in the other person’s ability to figure things out for themselves.
When your team sees you as the go-to person for answers, coaching can feel like a big shift. But it’s a shift that will pay off in the long run, as your team members become more self-sufficient and empowered 📈.
We would love to see you at our December workshop — Leader as Coach.
We know many people are looking to level up their leadership skills — whether you’re new to managing people or an experienced leader, there is value to learning how to adopt a coaching mindset! Join us for an online, interactive workshop on fixing versus coaching and gain tools you can implement to practice coaching in your own career and life.
The workshop will be hosted by our Grand Coach, Stephanie Movahhed on Thursday, Dec 8th from 12pm - 1pm PT.
