How to Coach for Results
Why Most Leaders Struggle With Coaching
Welcome to part three of my 4-part series on the most requested leadership training topics for 2025!
So far, we’ve covered two foundational skills that every leader needs:
Today, we’re diving into the skill that ties everything together… coaching.
I say this every time I teach this course: Coaching is not a “nice to have” anymore. It’s a core leadership competency.
In my experience, most leaders know they need to coach but they don’t really know how to do it properly. 95% of leaders have never been taught this skill.
The Two Types of Coaching Leaders Need to Master
Here’s what makes it harder for leaders: There are two types of coaching.
Let me explain this by sharing an example.
I recently worked with a VP whom we will call James.
In a recent coaching session, he said to me, “Vanessa, I coach my team all the time, but I still struggle to hold them accountable, so I feel like I am putting out fires all day.”
Sound familiar?
Well, it turns out that he was only doing informal coaching, which is quick chats, real-time fixes and daily problem-solving. While this type of coaching is very helpful, a piece was missing.
James had no big-picture clarity because he wasn’t pairing informal coaching with formal coaching.
He was missing the structured one-on-ones where he could talk to his team about priorities, goals and overcoming their obstacles.
Once he used both types of coaching everything changed. His team became more independent, more aligned and he finally stopped putting out fires all day!
Understanding Formal vs. Informal Coaching
Here is a quick overview of the two types of coaching:
- Formal Coaching: It is planned, structured and focused on priorities and moving goals forward. This is where alignment, clarity and real development happen.
- Informal Coaching: It is focused on quick, in-the-moment check-ins and on-the-spot problem-solving. This is great to keep projects moving forward successfully and in a timely fashion.
Formal coaching focuses on accountability and results. Informal coaching keeps things moving day to day.
You need both!
How to Implement Both Types of Coaching
Coaching doesn’t have to be long or complicated. It just needs to be intentional.
When you can learn to use both formal and informal coaching, your team will become more engaged, more proactive and far less dependent on you.
Now wouldn’t that be great!
This is exactly what we dive into in my Coaching for Results program and why it’s one of the most requested topics for 2025.
Please reach out if you are interested in bringing this very practical workshop into your organization.
