Episode 12: Coaching Conversations as a Leader

Sarah and Paul discuss the emerging trend of creating a coaching culture in an organisation and how a leader can bring a coaching approach to their conversations.

In this episode we cover (1) coaching as a leader and why leaders need to go deeper into introspective work, so that they understand fully how they show up within the workplace, the impact they have on their immediate team, and sometimes an entire organisation; (2)  the difference that it makes when you're able to notice the assumptions you're making, put those to one side and bring to the conversation your curiosity instead; (3) the shift in the identity of a leader, from somebody who needs to know all the answers to the idea of leader as coach, somebody who draws out the wisdom and the intelligence of the people around them; (4) the small changes you could make to a conversation that would bring a coaching approach such as phrases to use and questions to ask; and finally (5) the difference it makes when we bring our compassion to a conversation, particularly when the pressure is on and the stakes go up: compassion for self, but also compassion for others. We discuss how we can shift into a more spacious way of operating and of talking, so that instead of falling into the trap of reactive behaviour, we can tap into deeper resources, deeper parts of ourselves and have a positive impact in the conversation and upon the people we lead and indeed, across the organisation as a whole.

 

About Paul Williamson

Paul is Group Head of Talent Development at ATG Entertainment, Regional Chair (Great Britain) at the Association for Coaching and an accredited Executive Coach.

Paul has nearly 30 years experience working for ATG entertainment, the world's largest live entertainment group, where he's been a senior leader in sales, ticketing and HR, as well as in learning and development and talent development. Paul is also the author of the chapter, ‘Who Are You’ in the book ‘Coaching as a Leader’ (2025) edited by Jen Kidby and published by Kogan Page Publishing and the Association for Coaching (AC.)

Check out Paul’s LinkedIn profile here.

Find out more about ‘Coaching as a Leader’ here.