“I don’t have time to coach” is a common phrase I hear from leaders, and I understand.
The days are full, the demands are relentless, and adding one more responsibility to the list can feel like a setup for failure.
However, finding time to coach is not about doing more. It is about doing what matters most.
Research consistently tells us that when employees are asked what they want most from their leaders, coaching is at the top of the list. It’s not more feedback sessions. It’s not more directives. People want a leader who helps them think, grow, and perform better. The gap between what leaders are doing and what their people are asking for is a delta of lost leadership energy.
Don’t lose energy. Close the gap.
Here are a few keys for implementing coaching in your daily leadership practice. Leaders who lead with coaching share consistent patterns; check them out below.
- They empower instead of holding all the answers.
- They relate to their teams as partners rather than subordinates.
- They ask before they tell, and they listen far more than they talk.
- They trust the process enough to let go of control, and they develop people through honest feedback rather than constant instruction.
- They focus on building on what is working, rather than fixating on every problem.
- And when someone takes a risk that does not pan out, they treat it as data, not disaster.
The surprising upside is that coaching doesn’t take as much time as you think if you take the time to do it with focus. Some of the most powerful coaching conversations I have experienced are under five minutes, because the leader knew how to ask the right questions.
Questions like:
- “What is your best suggestion/solution?”
- “If our roles were reversed, what would you do first?”
- “What is one thing that would move this to the next step?”
- “What would you do next if you couldn’t get in touch with me?”
These are not complex questions that lead to lengthy conversations; they are precisely targeted ones. They shift the thinking from the leader solving to the employee owning, which is exactly what you want.
That shift, repeated consistently, is how “coaching leaders” build teams that do not need to come to them for every answer. It is how leaders create more capacity for themselves, not less.
If you are curious about how to make this shift in your own leadership, I would love to think through it with you. Reach out to me at stacy@sbjconsultinginc.com and let’s explore what that looks like.
Think about the last time someone on your team came to you with a problem. Did you solve it for them, or did you help them solve it themselves?
