Are you being the best leader you can be? Being a leader is not an easy task, but do it right, and you will make both your team and business thrive. As leaders, we are constantly dealing with people, and since every person in our team is different, it makes sense that we would need to adapt our leadership style to each person.
This is where knowing your and your team’s Spotlight profile can help. In addition to using a coaching leadership style, you can also adapt it to each person in your team. In this article, we will give you some pointers about how to adapt your coaching leadership style to each profile to make sure your team thrives.
What’s a coaching leadership style?
First, let’s talk about what a coaching leadership style is and how it can benefit both your team and business.
Coaching leadership is a style of leadership that is characterised by collaboration, support and guidance. It involves and facilitates people’s engagement by drawing out, understanding, and empathising with their specific and individual motivations.
Coaching leadership aims to bring the best out in teams by guiding them through their goals and challenges. The ultimate purpose of this leadership style is to develop people and create a continuous learning environment.
You can read more about the coaching leadership style here.
Learn a bit more about Spotlight Profiles
Spotlight and other diagnostic tools are not new. They are widely used in organisations, and when used effectively, they can be incredibly beneficial for everyone in the team.
A Diagnostic Profiling tool helps you identify your personal preferences (how you behave, how you prefer to communicate, etc) and it can deepen your understanding of yourself and your team. Even more, you can use this knowledge to get the best out of each person on your team.
Read more about Spotlight and how it can help you and your team here:
How can you adapt your coaching leadership style to each profile?
Let’s start by reaffirming that every person is uniquely different, even if they have similar profiles. Each of us is a complex individual and this is not about putting people in ‘boxes’, but rather about better understanding each other and how we can work more effectively together.
Red/Forceful Profiles
Tend to be goal-oriented, direct and to the point, determined, unfiltered and assertive.
People with this personality preference tend to focus on action, they want to get things done and like to communicate directly.
As a leader, you can adapt your coaching leadership style by:
- Being direct and to the point in your communication. Make sure conversations are fast-paced and practical in nature.
- Giving consistent feedback and supporting them to move forward.
- Helping them to consider more options before deciding what action to take.
- Helping them to consider that not everyone moves at the same pace as them.
Yellow/Expressive Profiles
Tend to be people-oriented, enthusiastic, expressive, persuasive, and sociable individuals.
People with this personality profile tend to be big-picture thinkers, they prefer to talk about the why rather than the how and can struggle with details.
As a leader, you can adapt your coaching leadership style by:
- Supporting them in creating a stimulating and dynamic environment.
- Asking about their thoughts and feelings on the topic.
- Helping them frame their big ideas towards practical action.
- Staying authentic and open-minded in your interactions with them, allowing them to voice their true concerns.
Green/Empathic Profiles
Tend to be amiable, encouraging, and relaxed. They also like collaboration.
People with this personality profile tend to be team players, they like for everyone to be heard before making a decision and they can struggle with change for change’s sake.
As a leader, you can adapt your coaching leadership style by:
- Demonstrating sincere interest in them as a person.
- Helping them focus on the impact of their actions on their future goals and other people.
- Ensuring they feel supported when tackling a challenge.
- Giving them time to think through important decisions.
Blue/Logical profiles
Tend to be detail-oriented, analytical, cautious, and deliberate.
People with this personality profile tend to be analytical, they like details and they want to make sure that things are done correctly even if it takes longer.
As a leader, you can adapt your coaching leadership style by:
- Giving them enough time and space to process information and articulate their thoughts. You may want to give them directions or information ahead of a meeting.
- Helping them look at the big picture.
- Being ready to provide data and details when talking to them. When giving feedback, make sure you have enough data to corroborate your feedback.
- Supporting and encouraging them to stand their ground on important matters. Don’t disregard their attention to detail, or their risk and rules assessments.
The Optimist View
As mentioned above, there are so many nuances to each individual. There is no black and white when it comes to people. However, the tips and pointers in this article aim to support you in making the best out of each interaction with every person on your team.
If you’re ready to learn more about Spotlight and about yourself and your team, get in touch with us and find out how diagnostic profiling can help you become the best leader you can be.