Coaching: A Leadership Necessity
By Margie Zohn
I’ve taught coaching skills to leaders and managers for years. At first, many of them will comment:
“This is great stuff—and I’d love to work for someone who leads this way—but honestly, I just don’t have time to coach.”
But it’s worth asking: how much time is lost when a talented employee leaves because they don’t feel developed or valued? Or when you repeatedly have to “rescue” a project because no one else has learned to think at your level?
That’s why coaching isn’t a luxury skill for managers—it’s a leadership necessity.
Why Coaching Works
Coaching works because it’s both strategic and human. It’s grounded in data, and it creates behavioral change that lasts.
Studies show that leaders who receive coaching perform dramatically better and advance faster. In one study of 370 participants, executives improved from the 50th to the 93rd percentile in performance. In another, managers who received coaching earned 50% higher salary increases than their uncoached peers.
But beneath the metrics lies something more essential: coaching helps leaders stay balanced.
The Balance That Drives Growth
Here’s my philosophy:
A great coach helps people find the balance between reflection and action that drives meaningful and measurable progress.
Too much action without reflection leads to exhaustion, tunnel vision, and misalignment with values.
Too much reflection without action leads to analysis paralysis and missed opportunities.
Coaching creates the space to pause, think, and act intentionally—so leaders can move forward with clarity and purpose.
Two Quick Coaching Moves to Try
1. Coach for Reflection.
After listening, reflect back what you heard:
“What I heard you say was… did I get that right?”
It takes mere seconds and makes people feel seen and understood—often sparking their own insight in the process.
2. Coach for Action.
Ask:
“What is one simple thing you can do right now to move this forward?”
Encourage concrete, immediate steps. Follow up. That accountability builds momentum and trust.
To Coach or Not to Coach?
That’s not the question anymore.
In today’s business climate, coaching is how leaders build capability, engagement, and trust—the very things that drive performance.