Great Leaders Are Great Coaches — Part 1: The 5 Qualities of Effective Coaching
The best leaders wear a wide variety of hats. There's times where you gotta play the role of vision caster. There's times where you have to play the role of manager, of teacher. Right? Leader as teacher has incredible hat to wear, of mediator.
Alex Judd:There's times that you need to wear the CEO hat. There's times where you need to be, wear the facilitator hat. There's times where you need to wear the friend hat or maybe even the counselor hat. There's so many different hats that, leaders wear, but here's what I want you to know is great leaders are also great coaches. As a leader, one of the most impactful roles that you can play in the life of the people that you lead.
Alex Judd:I'm not just talking about your employees, although this certainly affects your employees. But the greatest role that you could play in the lives of the people that you lead might be the role of coach because great leaders are great coaches. Okay. Let's start with a question. What do leaders do?
Alex Judd:There's so many different ways we could answer this question, but here's the answer I'd like us to kinda start with and, like, I... I'd like us to operate from. The highest calling of a leader is to unleash the best in others. And there's so much wrapped into that answer, but let's start off with what they don't do. They don't just give the best to others.
Alex Judd:One of the principles that we say all the time is you are responsible to people. You can't be responsible for people. Right? As a leader, we've gotta understand that, man, you are responsible to provide clear communication, clear expectations, clear boundaries, and and understanding of values. You're responsible to provide those things.
Alex Judd:You cannot be responsible for people taking the action to do the work to act on the expectations that you provide. So so what do you not do? Well, you don't give the best to others. What's also kind of bulked into this understanding of the the highest calling of a leader is to unleash the best in others. Well well, they don't just stand by.
Alex Judd:Right? Leadership is not a spectator sport. And one of the principles that we have to understand, especially as we get into this series, is leadership and passivity never coexist. Leadership always demands intentionality. Leadership always demands actions, and and the best leaders that I know have a bias towards action.
Alex Judd:And so what what do leaders always do? They always live in the tension between the imposition and their will and passive acceptance. Think about this idea with me for just a second that, like, what is passive acceptance? Well, passive acceptance is just like, man, the world happens to me. What other people do happen to me.
Alex Judd:The direction of our company happens to me. You're really a victim in so many ways. What is the imposition of your will? Well, you are a a conqueror. Right?
Alex Judd:I happen to the world. I happen to everything. You impose your will on the team, the person, the marketplace. Right? And in reality, when...
Alex Judd:If you actually try to conquer other people or conquer the marketplace, that actually doesn't work out so well. And so what do we have to do? We live in the tension. We're not passive, but we don't just get to impose our will. Rather, we are active participants in the reality that God is bringing about to pass.
Alex Judd:Now, obviously, there's a statement of faith in there, but but what I would encourage you to think about is think about yourself as an active participant. And what's so cool is that that means that as a leader, you can't control outcomes, but you can influence them. Man, I had a mentor for a handful of years that he gave me, so much advice that was so helpful, especially in that stage of my life. But there was one line that he would say just about every single time we would sit down, and I just needed to hear it over and over again back then. So often, I need to hear it right now.
Alex Judd:He said, Alex, you can't control what you can't control. And it's so simple, but it's so true. Right? You can't control what you can't control. But but what's wrapped into that idea?
Alex Judd:You can control what you can control. And if we think about it for a moment, what are the fruit of the spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. Right? God actually believes that it's a spiritual virtue for us to exercise, grow in, and increase self control.
Alex Judd:So what are we called to control? The things and attitudes and behaviors that are most closely related to ourself. So I can't control what other people do, what other people decide, other... What other people say, what other people think. I can't control those things.
Alex Judd:What can I control? I can control my attitude, my actions, my words, my approach, my preparation, And so leaders don't stand by. They understand that, man, I get to influence the outcomes that I experience. They have agency. Okay.
Alex Judd:So that's what they don't do. Now let's get into, like, breaking down what this definition actually means. The highest calling of a leader is to unleash the best impossible. What is just bulked into this idea? Well well, number one, leaders believe that your best is in you.
Alex Judd:This is so much a part of why our company exists. Right? Our mission statement as a company is we exist to help impact driven leaders step into who they were created to be so that others benefit and God is glorified. And think about that that first part of that mission statement for a second. We exist to help impact driven leaders step into who they were created to be.
Alex Judd:One of the things that I constantly have to remember is that, man, the process of stepping into who you were created to be is not making you more of something that you aren't. It's making you more of what you actually are. And that's what great leadership does is they understood that, man, the best is in you. It's not taking you and making you someone else. Right?
Alex Judd:The goal of these podcast episodes of all the content that we put put out within Path for Growth is not to make you more like me. The last thing we do is we need you to be like me. Right? I'm already like me. We need you to be more like you, and we need to see God's fullest expression of your talents, gifts, abilities, strengths, leverage in service of others and for the glory of God.
Alex Judd:So number one, leaders believe that your best is in you. Number number two, what else do leaders believe? And this is critically important. This is so important. Your best is possible.
Alex Judd:Here's the principle that I wanna... I want you to understand. Effort never sustainably exceeds belief. I'm gonna say it again. This will change your life if you understand it.
Alex Judd:Effort never sustainably exceeds belief. So that goal, that aspiration, that desired state, do you believe that it's possible? Not that it's guaranteed, but do you believe that it's possible? Because to the degree that you believe that it's possible, you will do the work. But if you don't even think that it's possible, why on earth would you ever invest all the effort and energy to go after something that you don't even know if it's possible or not?
Alex Judd:The proverb says that hope deferred makes the heart sick. As leaders, it's so incredibly important that we hold belief for ourselves, but also we've gotta have belief for others because, man, I bet this is true. I bet there have been times in your life, maybe this is even going on right now, where other people believed in you more than you believed in yourself. And what did you have to do in that moment? You had to borrow some of their belief.
Alex Judd:And here's what I would tell you, is if you're gonna be a great leader, if you're gonna unleash the best in others, sometimes people are going to need to borrow some of your belief. I I love that idea. I want I want you to believe this. You are not what you could be. Right?
Alex Judd:That is such an attack. Right? You are not what you could be. Right? Because that's an ideal.
Alex Judd:What you could be represents an ideal, and you are not what you could be. So, yes, it's an attack, but, oh my gosh, it's so encouraging. You are not what you could be. That kinda begs the question, what could you be? And as leaders, man, we should walk around seeing everyone as...
Alex Judd:Man, we're we're incredibly grateful for who you are right now, what you contribute right now, but we gotta have this belief for people that you are not what you could be because the best, not only is it in you, the best is possible. And then finally, the best simply needs to be unleashed. Here's what I found in coaching is that there's there's two things that often get in the way of high performers operating at their best. And it's two... This is very simple, but but critically important.
Alex Judd:Two things that get in the way from people operating at their best. Number one is the presence of conflict. There's something that is causing dissonance within them or sometimes externally outside of them, and that conflict is preventing them from being their best, or a lack of clarity. Presence of conflict or lack of clarity is what keeps people from being their best. And so think about that word unleashed.
Alex Judd:It's like, man, the best is possible. The best is in you, but so often, there's all these things surrounding us, other people's expectations, the assumptions that we're making, the thing that we think we should be or the thing that we think we have to do or or or unnecessary needs for security or validation. Right? These all represent either a lack of clarity or a presence of conflict that kinda represent a leash or chains that keep us from operating in our best. Right?
Alex Judd:Whenever we have this idea of like, I don't know if I have what it takes. What that represents is conflict. Like, I want to do this, but I don't know if I have what it takes, and therefore, what do great leaders do? They help unleash those limiting beliefs, the conflict. They help empower clarity so that the best becomes possible, so that the best becomes actionable.
Alex Judd:And, man, if you actually kinda absorb that understanding of the highest calling of a leader is to unleash the best in others, oh my goodness. If you attribute yourself to that, if you apply yourself to that, gosh. The... I mean, that's the type of living that lasts a lifetime. Right?
Alex Judd:And so it's in that context that... Let's talk practically for a moment. The best leaders wear a wide variety of hats. And you can think about this. Right?
Alex Judd:As a leader, you know, many of you are business owners or or you're a leader within a business. Right? There's times where you gotta play the role of vision caster. There's times where you have to play the role of manager, of a teacher. Right?
Alex Judd:Leader as teacher has an incredible hat to wear, of mediator. There's times that you need to wear the CEO hat. There's times where you need to be... Wear the facilitator hat. There's times where you need to wear the friend hat or maybe even the counselor hat.
Alex Judd:Right? There's so many different hats that leaders wear, but here's the one that I wanna focus on for the remainder of this episode and for the series that we're walking into. Yes. You need to wear the hat of vision caster and manager and mediator and teacher and facilitator and friend. But But here's what I want you to know is great leaders are also great coaches.
Alex Judd:And I would actually argue that as a leader, one of the most impactful roles that you can play in the life of the people that you lead... I'm not just talking about your employees, although this certainly affects your employees. But but the the greatest hat, the greatest role that you could play in the lives of the people that you lead, being your employees, being your family, being the people in your community, being the young people that you invest in, the greatest role that you could play might be the role of coach because great leaders are great coaches. Now I gotta tell you, I gotta be very candid here and very honest. I actually kind of hate the word coach.
Alex Judd:And, really, I hate what culturally and societally we've done to the word coach. And that's kind of, unfortunate because I own a coaching company. Right? But but the reason why I hate the word coach is because so often, because of what's happened on LinkedIn and the fact that everyone has become a coach in some different arena, I I literally saw something the other day that that, someone in our neighborhood runs an embodiment coaching business. What does that even mean?
Alex Judd:You're gonna coach me to embody? Right? Right? Like, what is? I don't know what that means.
Alex Judd:Right? But I think sometimes we can get this idea of, like, coach is just a professional advice giver. Like, oh, I... I'm the expert that has all this knowledge, and if you just come sit at my feet, I'll dispose of my knowledge and... Through the lens of my quirky personality, and I will help you solve your life.
Alex Judd:Right? That, that is such a trash answer. Right? Or, you know, or even beyond that, coaching is just an excuse to sit at home and wear your pajamas and not actually have to do work. Right?
Alex Judd:Ugh. This drives me crazy. Right? You see why I hate the word because that's not actual coaching. Right?
Alex Judd:And in so many ways, that's just the creation of a a cult of personality. Right? But in so many ways, here's what I want you to know is that great coaches are great leaders, and that's really why we're recording this series right now is that if you are a leader, which everyone listens to this podcast is an impact driven leader. Right? If you are a leader, then, man, you have this incredible opportunity, but also this incredible responsibility to grow in your ability to coach other people, to grow in your ability to unleash the best in others.
Alex Judd:And so what we're gonna walk through over the course of the next series is what we call the five qualities of coaching. Now I want you to understand the context of this. We own a coaching company, but our coaching company is a little bit unique in that we don't hire professional coaches. We actually hire, business owners, like leaders that have either owned a business or or currently own a business, and we're effective doing it. Right?
Alex Judd:And so the the people that we hired, they're, I mean, absurdly smart, intelligent, intentional, hardworking, wise, mature. They have insane amounts of experience in so many ways, both in business and leadership, both arenas. They're raising families, all of this stuff. Right? But they've never worked in professional coaching capacity.
Alex Judd:And that's a little bit of a unique dynamic because we're a coaching company. So what we kinda said is, like, the experience, all of that experience is stuff that I can't train. Right? What we can train is how do you be a great coach? And so so much of what our business operates with is how do we take this person that has the raw skills and abilities to lead people really well, and how do we teach them how to be a great coach, a great developer of people?
Alex Judd:And what we found is that there's five qualities that we like to focus on that, man, to the degree that you focus on and apply yourself to implementing these five qualities in your conversations, in your meetings, in your interactions with the people that you're wanting to develop, oh my gosh. You're going to improve as a coach, and you're ultimately gonna start achieving that goal of unleashing the best in others. So what I'm about to share with you is actually the training content that we use for all of our coaches. It's five qualities, and this is the base level foundational content that every coach walks through a training plan through in their first 90. So they walk through this content, but then we obviously walk through mock calls, training, conversations, reading associated with these qualities so that they can develop them and act upon them.
Alex Judd:But the reason why I want you to walk through this series is because, like I've already said, you have no idea how empowering it can be, how inspirational it can be for you as a leader to adopt the role of coach. Your people will benefit. You will serve others better if you start to put on that coaching hat. And I wanna equip you with the skills, the tools, and the abilities to be able to do that. So with that, I'm gonna walk you through the five qualities high level here in this introduction episode.
Alex Judd:And what I wanna challenge you to do is, man, subscribe whether you're on the YouTube channel or you're listening on audio. Subscribe to the channel, and every week for the next several weeks, we're gonna be releasing a new episode on one of these qualities, and we're gonna just kinda methodically walk through these. And I'm gonna teach it to you the way we would teach it to one of our coaches. Right? And and what I want to challenge you to do is start thinking about how you can practice these in your interactions.
Alex Judd:What... What's so cool is... I mean, you know, like baseball, it's like you can't just go out and play baseball. Right? You you you need a baseball diamond.
Alex Judd:It'd probably be good to have a bat, be good to have a ball, be good to have a glove. Also good to have, like, I don't know, like, nine other people. Right? And you can't always have that. What's so cool about this skill is it's not like baseball.
Alex Judd:You can literally go out and practice today. You you can practice with the cashier. You can practice with the Uber driver. You can practice with your children. You can practice with your spouse.
Alex Judd:Because what is coaching? It's it's unleashing the best in others, and and that's a form of leadership. And leadership is something that, man, is always readily available to us if we're willing to take responsibility. So with that, I'm gonna give you the five qualities high level, and this is what you can look forward to as we kind of walk through this. I'm so excited to share this content with you because it's been personally transformative for me, and we've shared this with so many leaders around the country.
Alex Judd:And it's been so cool to see how they've used it to impact the lives of others. So so here's the first quality. Number one, great coaches are relational. Right? Here's the principle.
Alex Judd:People don't care what you know until they know that you care. And here's where I'll take it just a little bit farther. People don't care what you know until you show that you care. The best leaders that that I know, they have one thing in common. They are people people.
Alex Judd:They care deeply about people. Now don't hear what I'm not saying. What I did not say is the best leaders that I know are always extroverted. Sometimes they're extroverted, but that... That's not what I'm talking about.
Alex Judd:Do you love people? Do you agree that people are the point? And have you mobilized your time, energy, resources, and efforts to focus on being a relational leader and a relational coach? Great coaches are relational. Number two, great coaches are curious.
Alex Judd:Here's the principle. Good leaders give answers to people. Great leaders extract answers from people. So often, we think that people are coming to us for answers. And in reality, what they're actually coming to you for more often than not is encouragement, support, and confidence.
Alex Judd:And think about that for a second. Because if people are coming to you for confidence, but in the in the in the face of their question, you just respond with the answer, you actually hamstring their confidence because you teach them you can't come up with answers. You have to come to me to do this. In reality, the best leaders I know respond with questions, and it's in those questions that they're able to coach and develop people. So so the impulse of great leaders is to ask great questions.
Alex Judd:Great coaches are relational. Great coaches are curious. Number three, great coaches are assertive. Now this one's interesting because this one... I wouldn't say it competes with being curious, but it certainly complements it.
Alex Judd:And and the two live intention is what I would say is... Man, I... I'll tell you. I've coincided with coaches before, and there are people in my industry that they will question you to death, and they are just a passive recipient to the point where you could actively be making choices and decisions that are not good for your life, leadership, or business, and all they're gonna do is sit there and ask a question. Oh my gosh.
Alex Judd:Drives me freaking crazy. Yes. There is a place for curiosity. But just like in any relationship, especially in a coaching relationship, there is a place for you to say, that's not true or that's not accurate or that's not right or you don't actually believe that. And, obviously, this has to be done with wisdom.
Alex Judd:It has to be done with nuance. It has to be done in service of the other person. But what I would tell you is don't be a a passive participant in someone ruining their life right now. You actually do as a coach. It's a responsibility to assert yourself.
Alex Judd:And, you know, what we always train our coaches is like, man, you wanna build the level of trust with your client that that not only can they speak openly, but you can also speak openly. And that's not to say that any of you is infallibly correct, but it's in the interplay and exchange of really wise ideas that we often land on the truth. And so as a great coach, yes, have to be curious, but you have to balance that curious, and you have to wrestle through the tension of when's the right time to ask a curious question and when's the right time to make a bold assertion. You've gotta be assertive. Next, what are great coaches?
Alex Judd:Great coaches are relational. They're curious. They're assertive, and then they're directional. Here's a definition you're gonna hear a lot, especially in the fourth episode in this series. Leadership is helping people go from here to there.
Alex Judd:And there's so much wrapped into that definition that we're gonna make really, really practical here in just a couple episodes. But if that's the case, then leadership and especially coaching always has a sense of decided and desired aim and intent. And in coaching interactions, in coaching conversations, the question should always be asked and answered, where is this going? What are the objectives? What are trying to...
Alex Judd:We... Trying to accomplish? And all coaching conversations, all coaching interactions are always gonna end with one of two things. This is our fork in the road. Right?
Alex Judd:What are the decisions that we're going to make, or what are the actions that we are going to take? Those are our two choices. Because otherwise, we're base... We're not doing coaching. We're doing kumbaya.
Alex Judd:Right? And if we if we don't wanna do kumbaya, if we actually wanna do coaching, right, well, then what's gonna move us forward? It's gonna be decisions and actions that will move us forward. And coaching is... Or the role of the coach is to make sure the ball keeps moving forward.
Alex Judd:We're gonna keep inching our way towards the ultimate goal. Leadership is helping people go from here to there. Great coaches engage in directional coaching. So relational, curious, assertive, directional, and then finally, great coaches that... What what do they do?
Alex Judd:They engage in coaching that is principle based. So if you wanna make someone's day better, help them solve a problem. If you wanna make someone's life better, help them learn a principle. I'm so excited to share with you because if we we were to look at, you know, the concepts that have had the greatest impact on my life and leadership, principle based thinking, leading, and coaching has gotta be towards the top of the list. Because what I have learned to be true is that a principle is a concisely worded statement of truth that transcends circumstance.
Alex Judd:And and what do great leaders do? Well, I like Peter Drucker's line. He says that the greatest leaders don't make a great many decisions. Rather, they make the fewest number of decisions at the highest possible conceptual level. And what he's talking about there is the greatest leaders, they don't get into the weeds.
Alex Judd:They go... They don't get into the x's and o's of a situation. Rather, they're able to get above the x's and o's in so many ways and say, what is this actually all about? What are the rules of the way God structured the universe, the rules of human nature, the way our company works, the way that companies in general work? And out of that, they're able to deduct patterns, and where there's a pattern, there's a principle.
Alex Judd:And when they start to understand those principles, they start to create an operating system through which they're able to make decisions and take actions with continuity and consistency for their entire life, leadership, and business. It's incredibly powerful. But the biggest thing that I want you to understand here is that, man, if you're gonna engage in coaching, what you don't have to do is be an expert all the individual circumstances or situations that someone is operating through. What you do need to be great at is understanding and listening to where they're at, and then out of that, observing and extrapolating the overarching principles that apply to that situation and can be leveraged to serve the people around you. So so let's review.
Alex Judd:The highest calling of a leader is to unleash the best in others. And one of the things that we have to believe is that, man, your best is in you, the best is possible, and the best simply needs to be unleashed. And within that, man, we can wear a bunch of different hats. We can wear the hat of vision caster, of CEO, of mediator, of facilitator. But one of the greatest hats we can wear is the hat of coach.
Alex Judd:And what are great coaches? Well, great coaches, this is what we're gonna be focusing on for this whole series. They're relational. People don't care what you know until they know that you care. They're curious.
Alex Judd:They're assertive. They're directional, and they're principle based. I hope that you'll tune in for this whole series. I think it's gonna bless you. I think it's gonna empower you, and I hope that you're able to use it to serve other people exceptionally well.
Alex Judd:Let's go. Well, there you have it. Thanks so much for joining us for this episode. If you want any of the information or resources that we mentioned, that's all in the show notes. Hey, before you go, could I ask you for one quick favor?
Alex Judd:Could you subscribe, rate, and review this podcast episode? Your feedback is what helps our team engage in a sequence of never ending improvement. We wanna amplify what's valuable to you and obviously reduce or even remove the things that aren't. Also, you leaving a positive review is what helps us connect with, build trust with, and serve other leaders around the country. So thanks in advance for helping us out on that front.
Alex Judd:Are you a leader that wants to grow your business in a healthy way, serve people exceptionally well, and glorify God in the process? Go to pathforgrowth.com to get more information about our community of impact driven leaders and schedule a call with our team. Hey, thank you so much to the Path for Growth team, Kyle Cummings and the crew at Pod circle, and the remarkable leaders that are actively engaged in the Path for Growth community. Y'all are the people that make this podcast possible. Y'all know this.
Alex Judd:We're rooting for you. We're praying for you. We wanna see you win. Remember, my strength is not for me. Strength is not for you.
Alex Judd:Our strength is for service. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
