How Top Leaders Develop Future Executives
Have you ever walked away from a conversation thinking, “They just don’t get it”?
I hear this frustration from leaders all the time.
They’re trying to develop their teams, but something isn’t clicking.
When we dig deeper, we usually discover the same root cause: no one is really listening.
What is Coaching in the Workplace?
Coaching isn’t about having all the answers or telling people what to do.
It’s a series of meaningful conversations that help your team members develop their skills, boost their performance (and confidence!), and address issues before they become major problems.
In today’s competitive market, your ability to coach effectively directly impacts your succession pipeline.
The leaders who excel at coaching are creating pathways for high-potential talent to grow into tomorrow’s executives.
Over the next four weeks, I will be highlighting the top skills for effectively managing your team. Today, I will start with the first skill: listening.
Why Listening Forms the Foundation of Effective Coaching
I recently worked with an executive who was frustrated that her succession planning efforts weren’t yielding results.
“I keep telling them what they need to do to advance,” she told me, “but they’re just not getting it.”
When I observed her interactions, the issue became clear.
She was doing 80% of the talking and only 20% of the listening.
True listening goes beyond staying quiet while someone speaks. It’s about:
- Being fully present (not checking your phone or thinking about your next meeting)
- Listening for understanding rather than waiting for your turn to speak
- Catching not just the words, but the emotions and unspoken concerns
I like to think of effective listening as “peeling the onion.”
The first thing someone says is rarely the complete picture; it’s just the outer layer.
When you practice deep listening, you create space for those deeper layers to emerge.
For example, when a team member says, “I’m just not sure about leading this project,” the surface issue might seem like confidence.
But with attentive listening, you might discover the real concerns are about knowledge gaps, resource constraints, or even succession readiness.
Practical Ways to Strengthen Your Listening Skills Today
- Practice the 80/20 rule: Listen 80% of the time and speak only 20% in coaching conversations.
- Eliminate distractions: Create a distraction-free zone for important coaching conversations.
- Use reflective listening: Paraphrase what you’ve heard to confirm understanding.
- Watch for non-verbals: Pay attention to body language, tone, and hesitations.
- Create psychological safety: Ensure your high-potential talent feels safe sharing concerns without fear of judgment.
How Listening Develops Your Succession Pipeline
When you truly listen to your team members, you gain invaluable insights into:
- Their aspirations and career goals
- Hidden talents and untapped potential
- Barriers holding them back from advancement
- Knowledge gaps that need to be filled
This intelligence is gold for succession planning.
In fact, some of the most successful succession plans I’ve seen have emerged not from formal assessments, but from leaders who consistently make time to listen to their teams.
