This post is written by Paul Boston, business advisor, leadership development at Ontario Public Service and an endurance athlete.

  • The problem: Leaders are facing unprecedented challenges.

  • Why it matters: People and teams need to be heard and understood during these challenges.

  • The solution: Leaders need to develop skills that enable them to deeply connect with the people they lead.

As the year 2022 is underway and governments around the world are moving into the third year of Covid-19, for many leaders the demands placed on them have exceeded their capacity. Leaders now are seeking more effective ways to lead people. Over the last couple of years, within my leadership development work, I have seen a resurgence of leaders seeking development of their coaching skills.

There are a multitude of coaching models; however, what is evolving in the area of leadership are leaders acting as coaches during Covid-19, giving people a feeling of confidence and reassurance during a time of change and uncertainty. As an elite level endurance athlete, I learned and experienced human-centric performance coaching that enabled me to grow and develop as an athlete beyond what I could have imagined. It’s these leadership coaching skills I now teach leaders in the area of leadership and organisational development.

"As a leader, it’s important to create a safe space for coaching people towards discovering their intrinsic motivators."

Coaching people towards their intrinsic values

In sports, there are a tremendous number of different viewpoints about motivation. All leaders have heard over their career’s phrases such as, “I am not motivated, I am lacking motivation, and I am so motivated”. What I learned when I was coached as an elite level endurance athlete, was that there is an immense difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

Western culture focuses a lot on extrinsic motivation; however, this type of motivation fluctuates a great deal, causing an emotional roller coaster. Think about a time when you made your New Year’s resolutions on January 1. Initially, you might have been highly motivated to accomplish your goals, but by February 1 that motivation faded as you fell back into old habits and routines. In performance psychology, intrinsic motivation is seen as the motivation with “staying power” because it encompasses something very personal and internal for that person. When I was racing at the elite level, my intrinsic motivator was the hope of racing at the world triathlon championships. It was personal and meaningful, and it was one of the motivators that would get me to do the unpleasant work such as getting up on dark and cold winter mornings here in Canada to get my workouts in before my workday started.

As a leader, it’s important to create a safe space for coaching people towards discovering their intrinsic motivators. This is achieved through frequent coaching touchpoints and one-on-one coaching sessions, allowing people the opportunity to discover their intrinsic motivators, and showing them how those motivators align with the organisation’s goals and objectives.

"the reality is, people and teams do not perform at a high-performance level for any sustained amount of time."

Coaching people towards purposeful performance

When people start to understand their intrinsic motivators (or their “why”), leading them towards performing their work with purpose and focus will fall naturally into place. Why is this important for leaders? Given the volume of work and the challenges people in the public sector face, it’s essential that people and teams be reminded of (and sometimes refocused on) the purpose of their work.

It’s more than just a mindset change the leaders are accomplishing. Rather it is a redirection of people’s energy and intention as they navigate an unpredictable and changing world. Most people I have worked with within the public sector possess a sense of purpose and see deep meaning in their work. Leader coaches just need to remind them of their purpose or help them rediscover it.

Establishing an optimal performance environment while avoiding burnout

Creating high-performing organisations over the last several decades has been a popular leadership topic; however, the reality is, people and teams do not perform at a high-performance level for any sustained amount of time. Even high-performing athletes only achieve high performance for short periods of time. There needs to be time for rest, recovery, and growth.

What we have discovered during Covid is the importance of “optimal performance”, helping people to avoid burnout and giving them the ability to be agile and nimble. As a leader coach, a simple way to create an optimal performing environment is through frequent team meetings where you as a leader incorporate coaching language into everyday conversations. People will be receptive to what you are saying and start to recognise you don’t have all the answers but will support them towards their optimal best in order to move their projects and careers forward.

Moving away from monologue to dialogue with yourself

Leaders can often find themselves engaging in internal talk. Very often it takes the form of a monologue where you keep repeating the same negative thing to yourself.

It’s important for leaders to catch themselves when doing this and self-coach themselves towards dialoguing with themselves instead. This is done by challenging oneself on negative thoughts, almost making an argument on how things could be, and eventually will be. This simple act of dialoguing will energize you as a leader coach and start to provide insights on opportunities that you and your teams can capitalize on. This is important for any leader coach because when we lead and coach people, they will always pick up on what’s not being said rather than what is being said, hence the term, mental contingency.

Leadership and coaching skills have merged during Covid, and as the world moves forward towards starting a normal life again, it’s essential for leaders in the public sector to lead the way by being a leader coach.

All the best on becoming a leader coach in 2022.

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